Why would one be pleased with a transaction where i have received shares which are now worth less, with the NET effect of NO change in the total value of the stock/fund ? And no, stock prices do not always go up. Thats like saying you would be happier with 10 dimes (ie 1 dollar) vs 4 quarters (ie 1 dollar), because you like having 10 of something vs 4 of something.
Let me attach another article about dividends not being so great: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/dividends-are-not-exciting/ The TL;DR; of the article : ‘Bottom line: Don't bother rejoicing when you see the dividends roll in each quarter. You don't need dividends for compound interest to work on your investments, and they're producing a tax drag on your taxable portfolio that isn't helping matters.”
David: 1) Disagree- many, many people think they are getting free money from dividends 2) the figures in the article i attached, come to the opposite conclusion of your first point 3) re your second point: why would one restrict themselves to only spending dividends ? The stock market returns 8-10% / year of which dividends make up perhaps 3%. Why would you not spend some or all of the remaining 5-7% of gains ? That’s just a recipe for underspending during retirement and limiting one’s ability to enjoy that which they have accumulated. Not saying spend it all. Not saying don't leave an inheritance. In fact, recents articles, from multiple sources, suggest that many of us are significantly underspending during our retirement years. The best example, referenced by multiple authors, is a paper by Michael Kitces who showed that the average retiree dies with 2.6 x more assets than they retired with !
It is common on this and every other financial site on the web for people to be all excited about dividend stocks. I’m afraid nothing could be further from the truth. There’s no such thing as a free ride. There’s no such thing as free money. On the day the dividend is paid out, the value of the stocks or fund drops; you neither gain nor lose money at the time of the payout. Please read the attached post. https://www.downtownjoshbrown.com/p/dividends-are-a-feature-nothing-more
Totally agree. I was completely reliant on my wonderful wife for nearly everything ! It would have been impossible for someone living alone to have managed. They would have had to have spent that time recovering in an inpatient rehab facility.
Mytimetotravel wrote: “On the other hand, I have seen how devastating falls can be as you get older, which is a big incentive to keep exercising but also be careful”. As a public service announcement, from likely one of the younger readers, let me emphasize : DO NOT FALL ! I still remember being taught in residency that past a certain age, likely 65 years old, 50% of those who fall and break a hip will die within 2 years. Yours truly fell on the ice, 4 months into retirement, at age 58. I broke my leg and ankle. When I now share my post-op x-rays, filled with titanium, to my more recent orthopedic docs, they all tell me that I did a really impressive job ! Two months on the sofa until I was allowed to bear weight caused my thigh muscles to noticeably shrink. With physical therapy etc I made a full recovery - however, in an older person- MUCH less likely.
Thanks for your post. It would take far too much time to respond to each of the points above in detail.
The upshot seems to be a combinations of 1) we keep prices higher just because we can, 2) incredible mental gymnastics about supply and demand and 3) price fixing and gouging.
Noting that everyone is different- my journey: Undergrad 4yrs
PhD 4 yrs,
post-doc 1 yr,
medical school 4 yrs,
residency 3 yrs,
followship 3 yrs.
Age at first "doctor" paycheck = 38. Thats a lot of "compounding time" on earnings lost
Comments
If you want free cash flow, just sell some stock.
Post: Dividend Days
Link to comment from July 1, 2025
It is not FREE cash flow. There is NOTHING free about dividends.
Post: Dividend Days
Link to comment from July 1, 2025
Why would one be pleased with a transaction where i have received shares which are now worth less, with the NET effect of NO change in the total value of the stock/fund ? And no, stock prices do not always go up. Thats like saying you would be happier with 10 dimes (ie 1 dollar) vs 4 quarters (ie 1 dollar), because you like having 10 of something vs 4 of something.
Post: Dividend Days
Link to comment from July 1, 2025
Let me attach another article about dividends not being so great: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/dividends-are-not-exciting/ The TL;DR; of the article : ‘Bottom line: Don't bother rejoicing when you see the dividends roll in each quarter. You don't need dividends for compound interest to work on your investments, and they're producing a tax drag on your taxable portfolio that isn't helping matters.”
Post: Dividend Days
Link to comment from June 30, 2025
David: 1) Disagree- many, many people think they are getting free money from dividends 2) the figures in the article i attached, come to the opposite conclusion of your first point 3) re your second point: why would one restrict themselves to only spending dividends ? The stock market returns 8-10% / year of which dividends make up perhaps 3%. Why would you not spend some or all of the remaining 5-7% of gains ? That’s just a recipe for underspending during retirement and limiting one’s ability to enjoy that which they have accumulated. Not saying spend it all. Not saying don't leave an inheritance. In fact, recents articles, from multiple sources, suggest that many of us are significantly underspending during our retirement years. The best example, referenced by multiple authors, is a paper by Michael Kitces who showed that the average retiree dies with 2.6 x more assets than they retired with !
Post: Dividend Days
Link to comment from June 30, 2025
It is common on this and every other financial site on the web for people to be all excited about dividend stocks. I’m afraid nothing could be further from the truth. There’s no such thing as a free ride. There’s no such thing as free money. On the day the dividend is paid out, the value of the stocks or fund drops; you neither gain nor lose money at the time of the payout. Please read the attached post. https://www.downtownjoshbrown.com/p/dividends-are-a-feature-nothing-more
Post: Dividend Days
Link to comment from June 30, 2025
Totally agree. I was completely reliant on my wonderful wife for nearly everything ! It would have been impossible for someone living alone to have managed. They would have had to have spent that time recovering in an inpatient rehab facility.
Post: Beyond the Balance Sheet: Investing in Yourself
Link to comment from June 22, 2025
Mytimetotravel wrote: “On the other hand, I have seen how devastating falls can be as you get older, which is a big incentive to keep exercising but also be careful”. As a public service announcement, from likely one of the younger readers, let me emphasize : DO NOT FALL ! I still remember being taught in residency that past a certain age, likely 65 years old, 50% of those who fall and break a hip will die within 2 years. Yours truly fell on the ice, 4 months into retirement, at age 58. I broke my leg and ankle. When I now share my post-op x-rays, filled with titanium, to my more recent orthopedic docs, they all tell me that I did a really impressive job ! Two months on the sofa until I was allowed to bear weight caused my thigh muscles to noticeably shrink. With physical therapy etc I made a full recovery - however, in an older person- MUCH less likely.
Post: Beyond the Balance Sheet: Investing in Yourself
Link to comment from June 22, 2025
Thanks for your post. It would take far too much time to respond to each of the points above in detail. The upshot seems to be a combinations of 1) we keep prices higher just because we can, 2) incredible mental gymnastics about supply and demand and 3) price fixing and gouging.
Post: A Rant about the Price of Gas, Part II: Live Experiment
Link to comment from June 13, 2025
Noting that everyone is different- my journey: Undergrad 4yrs PhD 4 yrs, post-doc 1 yr, medical school 4 yrs, residency 3 yrs, followship 3 yrs. Age at first "doctor" paycheck = 38. Thats a lot of "compounding time" on earnings lost
Post: Quinn Explores the Question: Are Doctors Overpaid?
Link to comment from June 6, 2025