One of the benefits of having a diversified portfolio is regular income from dividend payments. While the more dramatic disasters, like hurricanes and H-bombs, may get more discussion, the fact of the matter is a loss of an income stream is a major personal problem. Having passive income from investments can mitigate against such losses. On that note: which mutual funds do you invest in for regular income streams? Which do you avoid? Thanks for sharing!
One of the most challenging issues pople face is the ability to create an alternative income stream that makes money work for them. Company bonds are am excellent option since they don't require a big capital outlay. They pay some dividends biannually and are better than most fixed deposit accounts. People can also pool resources and form an investment group to invest in treasury bills. My best investment vehicle proposition is real estate investment trusts (REITs).
I've based the main emphasis in my portfolio towards dividends and dividend growth. The goal being that even if I stop investing new capital and/or reinvesting the dividends, the income stream will still grow faster than inflation. I tend to stay away from mutual funds and rather invest into stocks and bonds directly.
I have not had good luck with Mutual Funds either, and now avoid them like the plague. Two stocks that I would recommend are ATT (T) and Coca Cola (KO). Both are very stable. Not a wide margin between 52 week high and low. Both pay nice dividends. Not likely either of them are going anywhere. Go to your local bank and start a brokerage account. Buy one share at a time, and let the dividends accumulate to buy more stock. I wish I had done this 20 years ago.
