Mid-Year Goals Review For 2015

Goals5Can you believe it? 

We’re halfway through July and more than halfway through 2015. I used to lament how fast time passed by, feeling like my time was slipping away right through my fingers.

Time passes by a bit slower for me these days, but it still seems to slip away faster than I’d like.

However, I try to look at the positive side of it all. Every new day is an opportunity – an opportunity to bring me that much closer to my goals. And I feel like I’m a better me with every day that passes. So, in that sense, the passing of time is actually a huge benefit. Glass always half full, right?

Furthermore, I can look back on the last six months with a lot of pride. I set some really intense and challenging goals for myself at the beginning of the year – all are SMART goals. Well, I can sit here a bit more than halfway through the year and say that I’m more or less on pace to accomplish all of them.

I figured I’d be far behind on pretty much every single one by this point in the year; I went ahead and put some really difficult goals out there just to see what was possible. But that’s given me the motivation to see exactly how hard I could push the envelope. I never back away from a challenge, and 2015 – my most challenging year yet – is no different.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank all of you readers out there. You guys push me, motivate me, inspire me, and support me. I really appreciate it. I try to repay that support by putting out the best content I possibly can. You guys inspire me to be the best version of myself, and I hope that in turns inspires you to be the same.

I also want to quickly mention that I’m incredibly fortunate and grateful to even be in this position, on this journey of mine. Just to be alive, healthy, and young is such a gift all by itself. But to then be able to save a large portion of my income and invest that excess capital in high-quality businesses that reward me with growing dividends takes it to another level. So even being able to set goals in the first place is just a wonderful spot to be in.

With that said, let’s take a look at what my goals for the year are and then see where I’m at thus far.

Goal #1 – Receive $7,200 In Dividends During The Year Of 2015

I figured I’d be really behind on this after six months at it. To be honest, this is putting me ahead of pace for my long-term goals. My overarching goal is to become financially independent by 40 years old, and I figure I’ll need about $18,000 or so per year in dividend income to be there. It’s a moving target, but that’s what I’m shooting for. Nonetheless, I originally anticipated earning about $6,000 in dividend income this year when putting together some calculations back in early 2010.

Well, $7,200 puts me about a year ahead of pace. And, as we know, dividend income compounds… which means it’s very likely my pace will pick up and put me even more than a year ahead here pretty soon. All good things, which I’m so proud of. I’ve worked very, very hard to be in this spot. And I’m here to tell you that if you work hard and believe in yourself, amazing things can and do happen.

Progress? I’ve received $3,405.32 in dividend income during the first six months of the year (or $567 per month). That’s 47.3% of the way there, which makes it look like I’m slightly behind. Technically true, but the second half of the year will undoubtedly be better than the first half due to dividend raises, dividend reinvestment, and new investments with fresh capital all combining to help out tremendously as the year closes out. I’m fully confident about being able to exceed my goal, assuming that income and capital deployments remain similar to what they’ve been in the first half of the year.

Grade: Passing!

Goal #2 – Save 50% Of My Net Income, Averaged Monthly

This goal might not seem all that challenging at first. After all, I’m the guy who saved more than 50% of my net income for four years straight and just barely missed it last year after quitting my full-time job to take on the opportunity to pursue my passion for writing, sharing, and inspiring. Oh, and I’ve hit a 70% monthly net savings rate 14 times now since the start of 2011.

But it’s a challenging goal because I no longer have the day job to fall back on. No comfortable paycheck being direct deposited into my bank account. I gave up about $60,000 per year to do what makes me happy because that’s what this is all about. We’re pursuing financial independence to maximize time and happiness, so I figured why not just cut to the chase? But in the process, I put myself in a predicament where I had to basically replace that level of income right out of the gate – 2015 would be my first full year without a traditional job to rely on.

Well, I’m on pace. I can’t believe it, but I’m on pace. Again, hard work is underrated. I’ve been writing so much I actually broke my laptop earlier this year. And the coffee shop across the street practically has my drink ready to go for me before I even get over there. But I’m really enjoying it. I’m sometimes a bit overwhelmed, but it’s all in the name of doing what I love to do. I’ve tried to take advantage of every opportunity that’s come my way, and that’s paid off for me. I’m currently at a 50.1% net savings rate on the year, averaged out monthly. I think it’s quite possible I’ll even exceed this goal by a healthy margin, again assuming that income remains steady over the next five months.

Grade: Passing!

Goal #3 – Weigh 180 Pounds Or Less By The End Of 2015

This has always been a tough goal for me. And that’s because I naturally tend to work out a little too hard and pack on a little more muscle than I’d really like. It’s just my background in competitive bodybuilding taking hold, as well as my competitive spirit. Eight reps last week? Let’s do nine this week.

However, I’m more interested in a leaner frame these days. Less difficult to maintain and probably healthier, overall. The days of squatting 405 pounds for reps are long behind me. But I actually find it more challenging to slim down than to bulk up, likely just due to my genetic makeup. Regardless, I continue to stick to my frugal fitness routine which involves a lot of reps, a fast pace, and more cardio than I ever used to engage in.

I was putting in two-mile runs before my workouts there for a while. Well, I’ve scaled that back to one mile, three times per week. To be honest, that’s due to a couple reasons. First, I’m just too busy for that extra 12 or so minutes. Second, and more importantly, I just plain hate running that much every week. It was draining and also hard on my joints. But it also means I’m not as far ahead on this goal as I’d like to be. I currently tip the scales at 182 pounds. So I’m behind a bit here. It’s obviously not difficult to trim a couple pounds and nail this, so I’m not overly concerned. Just gotta stay away from those late-night pizzas!

Grade: Failing!

Goal #4 – Net $36,000 In Online Income This Year

I honestly figured this would be the most challenging goal of all. And while it’s proven to be difficult, I’m doing a lot better here than I thought I would. Something else to chalk up to hard work and staying persistent. But something else to chalk up to the support of you guys – of the community. I couldn’t do it without all of you, so thank you so much for that.

This goal is honestly the most important. And that’s because the savings and dividend income goals both hinge on my ability to bring in the revenue necessary to save and invest. If I don’t earn enough, I can’t save enough and I can’t invest enough to accomplish my other goals. So I’ve prioritized writing great content and taking advantage of every opportunity possible to make this work, while also making sure quality reigned over quantity.

That’s panned out really well for me thus far. Again, I’m super fortunate. I’m doing what I love and making a pretty decent living at it. Online income can be fickle in a lot of ways, so it’s difficult to know if this will persist. But I’m making the most of it while it lasts. I’ve earned a total of $23,513 in online income this year, after taxes. That’s 65.3% of my goal this year, which means the latter half should be mostly icing on what’s already a really delicious cake. Thank you all so much for your continued support.

Grade: Passing!

Conclusion

I’ll take three out of four. Besides, I’m barely behind on the weight goal, which is just a function of me missing the boat a little bit on that one. An extra bite here and one less mile there adds up. But I’ll just have to remain diligent over the next few months when it comes to watching what I eat while keeping up the weekly workouts.

Everything else is exceeding my expectations. I’m honestly blessed to be here. I’ve surely worked hard and earned my fair share of the luck I’ve received, but I’m also very, very fortunate. It’s humbling to be in this position, and so I’m just doing all I can do to remain worthy of staying in this position.

I think the odds are excellent that I’ll exceed all four of these goals by the time 2015 comes to an end. If I don’t, it won’t be for lack of trying, that’s for sure. I know nothing less than 100%, so that’s what I continue to give day in and day out. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, I hope all of you out there are exceeding your goals as well. Let’s work hard, stay industrious, and be all we can be!

How are you doing with your goals? Is 2015 exceeding your expectations? Working hard? 

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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140 Comments

  1. Three out of four isn’t bad at all – the whole muscle thing is so complex. How does someone effectively cut weight while retaining or even gaining muscle. I’d even argue that being fit at 185 is better than being out of shape but at 180, pretty crazy though you squatted 405lbs. Can’t say I’ve ever ventured that high. Go Go mid year goals!
    -Rich

  2. Jason,

    Congrats on the great progress, it’s a great feeling to exceed your own expectations.

    The online income is impressive, and definitely helps drive your other two financial goals.

    As for the weight goal, 2lbs off is a rounding error in my book 🙂

  3. Good job, Jason – keep up the good work!! I am a new reader of your blog, but I think it is excellent. Thank you for being so inspirational.

  4. RBD,

    Within destruction range. Ha! I love it. 🙂

    Doing all that I can. If there were ever someone to give this thing 100%, it’s me. Some will do better than me, some worse. But I don’t think anyone tries harder.

    Appreciate the support. Keep up the great work over on your end too!

    Best regards.

  5. Speeding ahead towards a year of achieved goals there, Jason 🙂

    My goals:

    Achieve over 3650 euros in dividends:
    -I’m at 3000+ euros already (Finnish and Swedish companies have annual dividends). My US and UK stocks should pay me a minimum of 800 more. That puts me well into the black vs. my goal.

    Have a savings rate of over 60%:
    -I’m at 55% for the first have. I’ve had heavily first half weighted costs this year. 60% is still in reach. Should get the job done with reasonable certainty.

    Diversify:
    -I’ve added BHP Billiton, Diageo, JNJ, PX, HSY and EMR to my portfolio. That counts as a most definite YES 🙂

    Br

    Jarmo

  6. Rich,

    Yeah, I don’t miss my bodybuilding days. That was a lot of work, a lot of food I didn’t like, and probably pretty unhealthy. I don’t think it’s good for the joints to be lifting that much weight or good for the organs to support all that weight and caloric intake. I’m much happier these days. 🙂

    Fit and 185 is definitely much better than being out of shape. And I’d venture to say (not out of ego, but just out of statistics) that I’m in better condition than 80% or 90% of the population. I’d put myself up against the population any day of the week. But I always aim for more. A couple pounds shouldn’t be difficult for me, especially when I used to have to cut 10 or 20 pounds rapidly.

    We’ll see how it goes!

    Cheers.

  7. RTR,

    Ha! Yeah, definitely a rounding error. I don’t think I’ll lose any sleep over it if I miss my mark by a pound or two. It’s really more about a lifestyle and not so much an exact number. And I live the lifestyle fairly well. Not the best, but far from the worst. 🙂

    Appreciate the support very much. The online income is really driving everything else. Without that, I don’t save as much as I want to and can’t invest enough to hit the dividend income number. So it all emanates from there.

    Hope you’re on pace for all of your goals as well!

    Cheers.

  8. Biggies,

    Appreciate you stopping by. Glad you found the blog. And I’m really glad you’re enjoying it thus far. I do my best to provide great content that’s motivational, inspirational, and educational. 🙂

    Stay in touch!

    Best regards.

  9. Congratulations Jason, you have been a great inspiration to your readers! Reaching 75% of your goals that were challenging and a stretch is something to be proud of. Who would have thought by leaving your job, you would have accomplished your income goal?

    Thinking of it this way, without any goals you would have reached either 0% or 100%, depending on your perspective. 🙂 To me this reinforces the reason that we all need to set some goals that are measurable. We can then thrust up our hands (think DM graphic) knowing they were worthwhile and enjoy their success when we actually achieve them. 

  10. the way it looks, you will have no problem passing all your goals this year. As far as the weight goal. Don’t worry about the number. What matter is how you look and feel.

  11. Jarmo,

    Nice job over there!

    Great stuff with the savings rate. I’ve achieved a 60% annual savings rate only once, and it was really tough. I think there’s an outside chance I could do it this year, though. It’ll just depend on how a few things go. But it’s within reach. That would be one hell of a way to start my first year of working for myself.

    Keep it up over there. Looks like you’re having an excellent year.

    Take care!

  12. Bryan,

    It’s really crazy. I didn’t anticipate 2015 going quite this well. But I just kept my head up, kept working hard, and kept believing in myself. I think that’s really key to everything I do. It all starts with belief and hard work.

    Goals are incredibly important. I’ve been talking about goals since the blog started. And that’s because I knew right away I had to measure myself against where I wanted to be. Otherwise, how would I know how well I was doing or whether or not I was on track? How do we know anything at all unless we measure ourselves against what we want? Against our best effort?

    Thanks for dropping by. Hope all is well with you guys over there!

    Best wishes.

  13. FFdividend,

    Thanks. I’m having a great 2015. Really fortunate to be here. 🙂

    Yeah, I look and feel great. Really in some of the best shape of my life, overall. No complaints. Just gotta keep it that way!

    Thanks for stopping in.

    Cheers!

  14. I was thinking the same thing about how quickly the Summer was going before last weekend. Realized that July was half over as of yesterday! Great work on your goals, I’d say you are basically 4/4 already if you keep sticking to them. We’ll just say you drank some water before you weighed yourself 🙂 Nothing wrong with that weight if it’s from adding muscle as long you are staying active I think.

  15. Great job Jason! You’re doing awesome on all of the goals you set out for the year and I have no doubt you’re going to crush all of them by the end of the year. Keep on inspiring and motivating. Your passion really shines through your writing.

  16. Excellent progress on all of your goals. Very impressive on your savings rate as well as online income. You’re making excellent stride toward being financially free.

  17. DH,

    I’m with you. Time is somewhat relative, but a minute is still a minute. And time passes way too fast for us all. Which, I think, is all the more reason we should get to the point to where we own and control our time. 🙂

    Appreciate the support. And, yes, we’ll just assume I downed some liquids before weighing myself. Ha!

    Hope you’re closer to your dreams!

    Take care.

  18. Hi Jason
    Looks like you are doing very well on the goals you set for the year. Keep up the good work, and their should be no doubt that you should achieve your yearly goals. Congrats on what you have achieved so far. Cheers

  19. JC,

    Thank you so much. It’s been a great journey thus far. Not only has it been so amazing for me, but it’s been fantastic to share it with everyone and see so many others in the community get closer and closer to their own dreams and goals. It’s a fantastic thing to see in real-time.

    Glad the passion shines through. I live and breathe this stuff. 🙂

    Keep up the great work over on your end as well!

    Best regards.

  20. Tawcan,

    Appreciate it!

    Doing my best, that’s for sure. What you see, as always, is my best effort. I leave it all out there, so I have no regrets with how it all shakes out. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by. Keep on crushing it over there.

    Cheers.

  21. Michael,

    It’s been a great 2015, but I owe a lot of it to you readers. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be here. So thank you!!

    Plenty more content to come, so stick around. I’ve got so many ideas. Just have to find the time and opportunity to put them out there. The best is yet ahead. 🙂

    Cheers!

  22. Greetings from Estonia!
    As a personal trainer its always fun to read about fitness goals as well as financial goals 🙂

  23. Märt,

    Thanks for stopping by from Estonia! It’s so awesome to have readers from all over the world. 🙂

    I actually studied to be a personal trainer another lifetime ago. I actually memorized every muscle in the body at one point. But the field was so competitive back then. Not sure if it’s different these days. Of course, it all worked out in the end. But I think that’s a great way to make a living. It’s similar to what I do: You motivate people by leading by example and then teach them all that you know. Great stuff.

    Stay in touch!

    Best wishes.

  24. I just stopped over at that article, and it is really cool to see what you thought back then. What impresses me the most is that you set these challenging goals in January and have kept going with them. With the savings goal, you say that it will be hard without the commissions, but what the heck, you are going to try it anyway.

    That’s what I really like about motivated people. They set goals that will push themselves and they don’t worry about the negatives that could arise from those goals.

    Thanks for the article and have a good day,
    Erik

  25. That is a really nice mid year report. Something to be proud off. It seems that you work hard on the right things that help you to life the live you want. Kudos to you.

    Next week I am on holiday and I will be making my mid year review then.

  26. Hi Jason!

    Very nice progress with your goals. Looks very likely that you will reach all of them if you just keep working hard. Offtopic: What did you think of PM Q2 results? Pretty good if you ask me. They’re committed to returning 100% of FCF to shareholders so maybe we’ll get a little raise this year too. What do you think? Thanks for the awesome blog and keep up the great work!

  27. Erik,

    Thanks so much for checking it out. 🙂

    One thing I’ve learned is that if you want to make it as someone who’s self-employed, then you really have to be motivated. With nobody around to tell you what to do, you have to be the one calling the shots and doing the motivating. So you end up wearing many different hats. Of course, the rewards are worth the hard work, in my opinion.

    Appreciate the support. Let’s keep making ourselves that much more successful every single day.

    Cheers!

  28. ambertreeleaves,

    I’m really proud. The results are just the end result of a lot of hard work, and it’s the hard work that I’m most proud of. Output tends to mirror input. 🙂

    Enjoy your holiday. Hope you have a great time!!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Best regards.

  29. Wow! Great job on your goals! They are very inspirational. I need to start tracking our dividends for after tax brokerage account like you. Based on how many dividends we get back on annual basis. I think right now it’s close to $500.

  30. I think you are too harsh on yourself Mantra – with just 3 passing grades and a fail. You are blowing through your goals like a bullet train…Meaning – you are doing pretty well.

    Last year when you quit, I told you that online income could be fickle and unpredictable. It is true, online income can be fickle (which might be stressful), but you also have options and all the time in the world to figure out how to earn more income if it doesn’t work out as expected. The important thing is to keep delivering value.

    Of course, having an “emergency fund” that can cover 5 months of expenses from income or 11 years from assets is a decent safety mechanism…

  31. Sampo,

    Gotta love PM. This quarter was much like the last quarter, in that it was really solid. I honestly don’t get why some people are knocking the stock. But that’s what makes it a market. Volumes barely declined and adjusted (factoring out currency) EPS growth is fantastic. I’d expect a modest dividend increase because of the currency headwinds, but the stock continues to be a tremendous long-term opportunity. The only reason I’m not buying is because I’ve already bought all I can afford.

    Thanks for stopping by. Hope you’re having as great of a 2015 as I am. 🙂

    Best regards.

  32. Congratulations Jason.
    I’m still impressed (and, may I admit, a bit Jealous) by your online income. At this rate, you’ll net close to 50K after taxes by the end of the year, which is simply impressive. Keep going!

  33. SFL,

    Appreciate that. So glad you’ve found some inspiration here. I truly believe setting and tracking goals is key to long-term success. It’s integral to everything else I do.

    Best of luck growing your dividend income over there. $500 is a great start!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Take care.

  34. DGI,

    Ha! Yeah, I tend to be hard on myself. But that’s only because I hold myself to really high standards. However, I’m very, very proud of what I’ve accomplished thus far. I’m on it 100% pretty much every day. And I’m having a ton of fun.

    Online income can be fickle, no doubt about it. Really tough to make long-term projections. But it can also be exponential, unlike the day job income. And that’s factoring out all of the other rewards, like working for yourself and increasing your overall happiness. All in all, making the leap has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Get yourself far enough along that spectrum of freedom, and you really can’t miss. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  35. StockBeard,

    I’m impressed as well. It’s really exceeded my expectations. I know there are some people out there making six figures per month from online income, but I’m really exceeding what I need to hit my goals here. And I’m having a great time with it. I’m very, very happy with that. I see little need for improvement. It’s now my aim just to kind of stay at this level for a while.

    Appreciate the support. Lots of opportunities out there for those looking and willing to put in the work. 🙂

    Take care!

  36. I hear ya with the joints thing – playing soccer for the past 20 years I can already hear the knees clicking.. ohh the joy.

    “I’d put myself up against the population any day of the week.” straight up The Walking Dead style 😉

  37. Congrats on really being on top of things goal wise this year. Do you have a stretch goal now that you are so close at the halfway point? Maybe it’s $42,000 in online income or $7500 in dividends. I find that if I’m too complacent with my initial goal I end up meeting that and not trying to push even harder on it.

  38. DD,

    That’s a good question. No, I don’t have any stretch goals or any plans to change the goals. I set interim/annual goals more for tracking myself against my long-term objectives. So I want to know where I am and where I need to be so that I know I’m on pace for certain markers along the way. But I don’t necessarily set these goals for motivation. Now, publicly mentioning these goals puts me out there and means I want to hit them. But I’m pretty much 100% all the time. There’s no greater motivation for me than financial independence. 🙂

    In addition, I’m already way ahead of pace here. I think some people always want “more, more, more”, and I’m not sure that’s a good idea. It’d be like earning $100,000/year in online income and then setting a goal for $125,000 just to improve on it, even if $100,000 is $25,000 more than you need to accomplish all you could ever dream of. That seems like score keeping to me. And it reminds me of more “keeping up with the Joneses”, which is something I’ve already discussed on the blog. I tend to find my enough and end up pretty happy with that. But it’s important not to confuse complacency with happiness.

    Either way, I’m very, very happy with the way things are. If I can end up hitting all of these numbers, that’s fantastic. Exceed them? Even better. But I don’t need to keep pushing the bar higher just because. It’s already higher than I need it to be.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  39. Great to hear about your goals Jason, I was actually just looking at your goal pages and figuring out how you were doing a few days ago had I just waited you would have done it for me lol.
    My goal this year isn’t as exciting as yours, the major ones are to get my cholesterol down to a healthy level (just had my check up and I’m closer than ever) make my first passive/online income, and end the year with less debt than I started. All but the debt have or are close enough to being reached that I would say they are met. Thanks for the inspiration to continue on.

    Tyler

  40. Jason,

    Heck yeah! Congrats on the great progress so far in 2015. You are killing it. I can’t wait to see your third quarter review, especially as you start to receive the dividends from your crazy June, where it seemed like you were purchasing a new stock every other day! If you are at 47% now, just wait until you start receiving all of those extra dividend checks.

    It is inspiring to see that you took such a big leap last year and it is paying off. You are focused and it seems determined to continue to generate the online income needed to continue to surpass goals #1 and #2, and your mindset and hard work will only pay larger dividends in the future. For me, I would love to be in your spot one day and I know that Lanny and I are taking as many steps as possible to make financial freedom a reality.

    Keep up the great work and the grind. Congrats again on a great quarter!

    Bert

  41. Look at you go man. I get so much value watching your progress each and every post. You’re always preaching that success begets success and you’ve been walking the walk by pursing your dreams and passions. It’s contagious and I’m a better person for having discovered your way of thinking and living. Now please destroy these goals during the rest of the year…. Thanks for sharing my friend and keep at it for all of our sake…especially your own 🙂

  42. Jason, you’re really the most disciplined guy I’ve ever had the chance to chat with in my life. You must have been a ninja or a samurai in a previous life. 🙂

    Seriously, congratulations man. Keep up the good work!

    I thought I wouldn’t meet my goal too this year but somehow when we fix SMART goals, something inside of us makes them come true… I don’t know if it’s my ego or something else but it works.

    I had the goal to reach 2000$ CAN in forward dividend income and I’m already at 1905$ CAN with still 5 months to go. I’ll for sure at least reach my goal even though we’re awaiting a baby (which adds extra expense to my budget).

    I had a weight goal too but I must say I failed. I’m busy renovating my house almost every nights and week-end. I want to be done once and for all with that and as such I often eat fast food and don’t exercise enough…

    It’s tough to do everything at the same time!

    Cheers

  43. Congrats Jason, you’re killing it, whether you end up achieving those goals or not!

    Awesome to see someone so committed and hard working being rewarded so well for it. I’m thrilled you went down this path to see what you could achieve in the online world! Very inspirational!

    Cheers,

    Jason

  44. Like your take on it and support you 100%. I have always found for my personal development, similar to my financial independence goals, that I learn more or accomplish more by having a stretch goal over and above the initial one. May not be something I actively pursue knowing I would be satisfied with hitting my goal, and celebrating it, but once I hit the goal I have something actively to keep pursuing. Not looking to keep up with the Joneses, but definitely something that helps me. Glad you have a system that works for you. Keep up the good work!

  45. Nice progress, Jason.

    The online income goal is well and truly being passed! Amazing! Should continue to super charge your investments for the future as well.

    Keep up the good work!

  46. I recently added a weight goal and documented it on my blog to keep myself motivated and accountable. First stop is 225# where I’ll see if my knees will not protest too much if I take Jiu Jitsu back up. Final goal is 175# and an end to my blood pressure medicine which was not added until after 180#.

    Your near miss inspires me. Thanks!

  47. Tyler,

    I wish I could say I saved you some time. 🙂

    Great goals over there. A nice mix across areas of your life that will provide for meaningful improvement and overall increase in happiness/well-being. Keep it up over there. You’re becoming a better version of you every day with every opportunity taken advantage of.

    Thanks for the support!

    Best regards.

  48. Bert,

    The last couple months have been really great for saving and investing. The first couple months weren’t nearly as kind to me, so I’ve been making up some ground here and there. So far, so good! 🙂

    I’m sure you guys will be in a similar spot as well as long as you keep working hard, remain persistent, and believe in yourselves. Good things happen to good people that work hard and want it. I really believe that.

    Keep it up!

    Cheers.

  49. Ryan,

    Thanks so much, man. I’m so grateful to be in this position. Not only do I get to chase my dreams and see them come true in real-time, but I also get to inspire others out there (like you) in the process. It’s like a dream within a dream. 🙂

    We’re radically changing our lives for the better every single day. That’s really incredible. Can’t wait to see where some of us are in a few years. Life is good, my friend.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best wishes.

  50. Allan,

    Ha! I wouldn’t mind being a ninja. Sounds like a lot of fun, right? 🙂

    SMART goals are really where it’s at. Being vague with your goals will give you vague results. Output roughly mirrors input. But if you give yourself something specific, measurable, and attainable to shoot for, you know exactly where you stand when it’s all said and done. And you put yourself in a great position to get to where you want to be.

    I can imagine renovating a house is tough work. That’s never been an interest of mine. But I’ve gotta imagine seeing the results of your hard work is really rewarding when it’s complete. It’s tangible and immediate.

    Best of luck getting through that project and then getting to where you want to be health-wise.

    Thanks for the support!

    Best regards.

  51. Jason,

    Hey, I really appreciate it. Couldn’t do it without the support of you guys, though. You’re making it possible for me. 🙂

    I’m definitely ahead of pace here. So I’ve set goals that are fantastic in that even if I don’t achieve them, I’m still that much closer to financial independence and probably still on pace anyway. And now that I’m working from home and everything, I’m living the life I would even if I were already financially independent.

    Let’s keep it rolling!!

    Cheers.

  52. Adam,

    Yeah, the muscle thing is a gift and a curse. 🙂

    I actually used to be really skinny when I was a kid. And then I started working out heavily when I was 11. By the time I was 14, I was much larger than everyone else. A lot of hard work went into that, but I think I also just have good genetics for it.

    Appreciate the support. I’m hoping to really crush that 50% savings mark by the end of the year. The holiday season might be tough, but I should be able to build up a nice margin of safety before then.

    Cheers!

  53. TDD,

    Thanks!

    The holistic picture definitely emanates from the online income. If I’m able to get that right, the rest should fall into place. I just continue to focus on working hard and being the best I can be. 🙂

    Looks like you’re having a great 2015 as well. Let’s keep it rolling!

    Cheers.

  54. FV,

    Nice!

    Best of luck with that goal. I’m sure you’ll nail it if you stick with it. Just like with everything else in life, hard work, consistency, and persistence pays off. It’s hardest just to get started. Once you get rolling, you build up momentum and it gets easier. I’m sure you’ll kill it. 🙂

    Cheers.

  55. Jan,

    I have no idea. I pay no attention to the noise out there. I’ve only been over to the MMM forums a few times and I’ve noticed “cult-like” behavior regarding index investing. To each their own. But those who go on and on and on criticizing someone else or ideas that oppose their own aren’t worth my time at all. I’m too busy trying to make my dreams come true. 🙂

    Take care.

  56. Congrats on your progress. My two goals were to hike the Colorado Trail (about 500 miles) and retire from my full time job next year. I had a slight setback on the hike, I got an infection in my leg which has taken me off the trail for a week. I will be back on the trail tomorrow and hopefully finish the hike in the next two weeks. Financially I have replaced my salary between my pension and my dividend income, so I will be retiring next June (age 53). Goal setting is huge, we need a target to aim for.

    Brad

  57. Hi Jason,

    Congratulations on the outstanding progress against your goals. That is impressive.

    For me I’m doing well against my goals on improving the home with a kitchen remodel and renovation (done already) and replacing all the old windows that have water leaks during rain storms (to take place in August). I’m paying to have this done but need to supervise the work and review the details so it’s a painful project in some sense. On track.

    I’m also making good progress on my Biotech startup that I’ve just created, getting more clinical data and filing for international patent protection this year. On track.

    Finally my dividend income goal of $50K this year is behind target as of the first 6 months- only $22K in so far. Adding more capital in June and continually reinvesting dividends in quality companies should help me beat this goal. Cautiously on track here.

    And I love your point about keeping up with the Joneses. This is so true and I’m perhaps guilty of that myself since I can already live off my passive income. What keeps me going is that I have energy and passion and am looking to channel these financial resources into other causes (a larger family, to help other people) so I will keep raising the bar so long as I have energy and motivation left in me and with the grace of God this may be for quite some time longer.

    Peace.

    Mike.

  58. DM, by averaging the six months’ saving rates, yes, you arrive at 50.1%. But averaging the six months’ values together does paint the most accurate picture since your total income varies month by month. If you sum your total income for the six months and sum your total expenses for the six months, your real savings rate is 54-55% – yes, I already did the math 🙂

  59. Brad,

    Man, that sounds like a lot of fun. Colorado has to have some killer outdoor adventures. Terribly sorry to hear about the infection, though. That’s such a bummer. Very unfortunate. Glad you’ll be back at it soon, however! 🙂

    Retiring at 53 is really incredible. Although that might seem “late” if you spend all your time around aggressive and extreme blogs (like this one), that’s actually incredibly early relative to the vast majority of the population. The best times are still ahead.

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Best wishes.

  60. Mike,

    Man, those are some incredible, crazy, and great goals over there. On another level!

    I’m jealous of that dividend income. That could bring me financial independence with another financial independence to spare. I’d have two financial independences. That way if I lose one, I’d have a spare at home. Imagine that! Ha! 🙂

    Keep up the great work over there. As long as you’re doing what you’re doing because it makes you happy and not out of just wanting more, it’s all good. I’m always reminded of that exchange between Heller and Vonnegut on enough. I want to make sure that I’m never chasing anything out of keeping score. All that I chase is designed to maximize happiness and well-being.

    Best regards!

  61. RyanD,

    Ha! Thanks for doing the math for me. 🙂

    Yeah, that’s been pointed out before. Although, to be fair, the variation was fairly minor before (I think it was a percentage or so last time?). This year is probably way off because of March’s incredibly low number and June’s incredibly high number throwing the average off. My numbers didn’t vary quite so much a few years back. But, to be fair, the goal and the numbers match up. The goal is to attain a number that’s averaged monthly and the results are averaged monthly. I could do it the other way, but I’m simply too lazy. If it means I’m understating my savings rate, so be it. I’d rather have it that way than overstate it. It’d be a lot easier to just use total income and total expenses if I were reporting the numbers once per year, but I’d otherwise have to keep going back and adding everything up over and over again. We’ll call it a 3%+/- like the Gallup Poll. 🙂

    Cheers!

  62. Pollie,

    Appreciate it. Definitely giving it my all over here. 🙂

    You had a great first half of the year as well. I hope we both have a strong finish!

    Cheers.

  63. Jason, I love your reply. You are wise beyond your years. Like me, you too will have a second financial independence to look forward to in your 40’s. I suspect your drive and passion won’t go away and you will channel it into something else that provides value to others. And that is worth something so I expect that you will continue to earn well and live below your income. You (or the future you) are a deca-millionaire already, but it just takes a little time to unfold. Not that you need the money, but you will find ways to utilize it that are worlds away from wage slavery and freedom but more towards achieving a higher purpose in life. I don’t have a crystal ball so the only way to know is to get there. So let’s keep it rolling!

  64. I also just looked up the Heller and Vonnegut story. What a wonderful punch to the gut! You are very wise and well read, Jason.

  65. Good job, Jason! I think you’re way to harsh on yourself with regards to the weight goal. How can you say “failing” if you’re only 2 pounds over your year-end goal!

    Anyways, keep up the great work!

  66. Mike,

    Glad you enjoyed that. One of my favorites. 🙂

    Appreciate the kind words very much. If I end up even half as successful as you currently are, I’ll end up very, very happy and with more than I ever dreamed of or would know what to do with. Not sure what I’ll be doing in a decade or so, but I just hope that whatever it is is being done purely out of the pursuit of happiness.

    Best regards!

  67. FerdiS,

    Ha! Yeah, gotta be tough on myself. SMART goals are specific and measurable, so they’re quantifiable. You’re either there or you’re not. Unfortunately, I’m not quite there with the weight goal, so it’s a fail. But I’m pretty confident I’ll nail it before the year is over. We’re only halfway there. 🙂

    Thanks for dropping by. Let’s keep it up!

    Best wishes.

  68. Wow! That’s all really amazing! You did it! It’s freakin’ July. If I were you, I’d just attribute those 2 pounds to married life (kidding…well, no, not really). I don’t think there’s many out there like you DM. You are exceptional. I know I feel fortunate to read anything you produce wherever you submit it. I could care less if you took a day off by posting a superb recipe on Asian spareribs. It would be weird, but I would trust that it must be good, so I would run out and buy the ingredients. You’ve got a real good thing here. We all come to your living room and we all like being here. It’s a bigger living room now. You deserve all of the fruits of your labor. You’re a horse! You’re killing it! You are always inspiring, educational, and entertaining with an honesty that is…I appreciate it. Prosper! (No need to reply, you know I feel guilty☺)

  69. Hi there,

    you’re doing great, very impressive to see you earning 23kUSD in online income!

    My goals were to earn generate 3000 EUR in forward dividend income. The strong dollar blew me already over 3400 EUR by End of June, which is impressive, but there’s always the risk that the Euro regains and my income that is generated to 70% out of US stocks, is declining again. So I need to overachieve here significantly 🙂

    Another goal of mine was diversifying. I wanted to achieve that each sector/industry only earns a max. of 10% of my dividend income stream. The problem was that oil was so damn tempting this year, I took a risk an blew up my oil- and gas income stream to 27% (my RDS-B is now my biggest holding with 11000 EUR, followed by BP with 6500 EUR). Dangerous, but it feels good 🙂

    All the best – love your blog –
    Simbi

  70. Jason: Great work on your goals.. You can’t win the race,if you don’t know where the finish line is.

    I know that you research the companies before you decide to buy. Can you please explain any periodic reviews you do to “sort of weed “the garden once in a while .
    How much time do you give to total portfolio review?
    Your dividends are the fruit from the trees. You eat some fruit,you plant some of the seeds from the fruit.
    A tree can look healthily, but have rotten roots. Once the tree falls, it’s too late. You lose your investment.

  71. Jason,
    If your extra two pounds are because you have too much muscle, I would say that’s a good problem to have! And you are killing it on the other goals! Awesome job! Thanks for being an inspiration to me and thousands of others. Dee

  72. Great goals,

    Im sure you will get there! Intresting fitness goal, I am also very keen on fitness more in line with powerlifting. I wish everyone kept fitness as a goal yearly and the world would be a much healtier place.

    Cheers and good luck!

    Pat

  73. Jason,

    You inspire us all, showing us how to set goals that are both challenging and realistic and then showing us every month how you get there grinding it out in the nitty gritty day by day and month by month, and now year by year how to achieve long term goals with writing them out and a plan of actionable goals day by day to achieve them.

    As to regards to your fitness routine. I have been using Fitnessblender.com
    It has tons of free workouts (Jason’s right price). And they also have fitness programs that are like 8 weeks long that are very reasonable ($10 for 8 weeks of planned workouts using their free workouts). I purchased FB30 – 8 Week Fat Loss For Busy People: Lose Weight, Tone Up, Build Lean Muscle from them and am 6 weeks into it. It’s like having a personal trainer right at my side planning it out and I only paid $10!! They using a lot of HIT training along with their strength training to up the calorie burn.

    Short on time, here is a link to my favorite short 7 min workout.
    http://www.fitnessblender.com/videos/the-scientific-7-minute-workout-video-bodyweight-only-total-body-workout

    Thanks again for the inspiration.
    Aiki

  74. Awesome accomplishments. I am really intrigued by #4 for your online income. I am trying to build my online income as well, so it helps to see your success. The amount of online income that I am able to earn will only help to grow our dividend income faster.

    Also – if you are pinched for time, try looking at adding Tabata style workouts. I started creating my own routines and get an awesome workout in less than 20 minutes a day.

  75. I totally agree with you – you have to love what you do. Happiness is important. Maximizing it is very important too.

    My issue is I have now three things I love doing – my portfolio, my site and my work. All three are interrelated, since knowledge from working in say energy, translates into knowledge in evaluating energy companies etc.

    Many jobs offer things like stock/option ownership, bonuses, health insurance, retirement benefits, meals, expense accounts, tuition, gym… I have several friends who have made comfortable six figures from employer stock grants/options within the past 5 – 7 years. I have made money (tens of thousands) with stock ownership too – risk is pretty much zero, while upside is unlimited. Many employers offer a lot of perks – too bad most employees do not take advantage of those.

    I have done a lot of thinking over the years, and have realized that I want to do things as easy for me as possible – there is no extra prize given for working more than I have to. This simplicity is directly inspired by Buffett’s quote “I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.”

    My strategy is to keep stepping over one foot bars, in order to achieve my goals, rather than having to jump through 7 foot bars.

    Good luck on your journey man! I will stop by occasionally to cheer you on!

  76. My goal is to reach 100k networth and $100 per month in dividends. A meagre goal I know, but I am on track to reach the networth goal and exceed the monthly dividend goal.

  77. Jason,

    I’m still plugging away- just picked up another 100 shares of NOV at $42.60. The market made me an offer I can’t refuse. Still reduced to using pocket lint and fumes to fund purchases though…

    -Mike

  78. DM,

    You’re doing a great job thus far on knocking out your annual goals! I would give you a passing grade on your weight goal. Since it’s not the end of the year yet and your technical goal is to be 180 or less the be end of 2015. Since I’ve been seeing these goal check ups popping up, perhaps I should revisit mine in a post. Thanks for sharing.

    – HMB

  79. divy,

    Thank you very much. You’re too kind. 🙂

    I’m really fortunate to have a fantastic and supportive readership. I honestly do my best to produce great content. If I don’t think it’s worth reading, I don’t publish it. I take all of it really seriously. But having that content regularly read and appreciated by people is, for a writer, a dream come true. So thank you!

    I have so many ideas that I haven’t even explored yet. I literally have 100 articles already titled and fleshed out a bit. But it’s so tough to find the time for everything. The good news is that I should be able to produce pretty high-quality content for years to come.

    Hopefully, you’re having a very successful 2015 over on your end as well. I wish everyone as much (or more) success as I’m seeing.

    Best wishes!

  80. Simbi,

    Looks like you’re achieving everything you want to over there. That’s awesome. Congrats!

    I can imagine you’re a bit apprehensive regarding the dividend income because you’re so heavily exposed to currency swings. That’s one thing I’ve mostly tried to avoid with mostly domestic holdings, but many of those companies themselves are heavily affected by currency exchange rates. Just one of those things. The benefits of global markets far outweigh the disadvantages. 🙂

    Keep up the great work. And thanks for all the support!

    Cheers.

  81. Great job so far. You are doing really well on all the goals. The fitness goal is really great. I’m doing pretty badly on that one. Fitness is much tougher than finance for some reason.

  82. Amegalo,

    Absolutely. If you don’t know what you’re aiming for, you have no idea whether you hit it or not. Gotta know where you’re going and how far along you are. 🙂

    I’ve discussed portfolio management here and there. I think this was the most recent article on that:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2014/11/is-managing-a-large-dividend-growth-stock-portfolio-time-consuming/

    You’ll occasionally run into rotten roots, sure. But I think that’s going to be a somewhat rare occurrence if you’re focusing on high-quality companies. It’s not very often a company goes from high quality to low quality quickly. Any news to the contrary (like the accounting scandal with ARCP) is something you just have to look at on a case-by-case basis. I’ve only sold stocks a few times over the last five years, and I think it was only twice because I thought there was some rotting there. Just won’t happen often if you’re sticking to the quality stuff. But it also requires some diligence/monitoring there, which is what I discussed in that article.

    And it’s even less often you “lose your investment”. You might face a severe loss, but even that isn’t common. ARCP was my biggest loss of all, and even that was a bit over 30%. Not fun, but I didn’t lose my entire investment. But since I diversify heavily, it was only a couple weeks’ savings.

    Hope that helps! 🙂

    Cheers.

  83. Dee,

    Appreciate it. Glad you find some inspiration here. That’s what I aim for. I just want to inspire others to reach for their goals and dreams. There are so many opportunities out there for us!

    Hope you’re having a great 2015 over there.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  84. Pat,

    Agreed. It’s a shame that we have so many health problems. It’s certainly not for lack of awareness. Lack of effort in regards to diet and fitness is probably an issue, though. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked out in an empty gym. I read somewhere that 4 out of 5 gym memberships go unused. That’s a shame.

    Best of luck with your fitness goals over there. Every day is an opportunity to better ourselves. 🙂

    Cheers!

  85. Aiki,

    Appreciate that! Doing my best to show the way up the mountain. Seems daunting when you first look upon it, but it’s not really all that tough if you put a game plan together and really stick with it through thick and thin. 🙂

    Thanks for the suggestion there. I’ll check that out. I certainly don’t lack motivation or a good routine; my problem is actually unique in that I sometimes go overboard with the exercising. I’d prefer to actually just be slimmer, which is probably why I should do more aerobic and less anaerobic exercise. But such is life. The 180-pound mark is somewhat arbitrary anyway. It’s just a line in the sand I drew. If I’m 182 or 185 or 187 pounds and very healthy, then that’s great. I’d just prefer to be slimmer.

    Keep up the exercising over there. It’s a great way to feel good, look good, and limit healthcare costs later in life. 🙂

    Cheers!

  86. John,

    Yeah, it’s been really incredible this year. I’m just so grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given. And so I do my best to work hard and make the most of them. 🙂

    I haven’t heard of Tabata workouts. That’s new on me. I’ve actually got my current routine down to a pretty good science. It’s about 30 minutes and extremely challenging. I’m in pretty good shape, but I’m completely exhausted by the end of it. Feels great, though!

    Let’s keep it rolling. Six months to go!

    Best regards.

  87. DGI,

    That’s fantastic that you have the investing, the blog, and your work that all bring you joy and happiness. I bet most people struggle to find just one thing like that. I’ve personally never found a traditional job where I go somewhere and clock in that brought about anything but misery for me, but I say that’s fantastic if you’ve found that elusive job that you really enjoy.

    I agree with that Buffett quote. To me, that’s akin to working smarter rather than working harder. And that’s why I do so many things I do. Having our money work for us is a great example of working smarter. And now no longer working the 60-hour workweeks but still making a similar (or higher) wage is another example. If I can get to where I want to be by jumping over 1-foot bars rather than 7-foot bars, I’ll be very happy!

    Thanks for dropping by. Have a great weekend over there!

    Cheers.

  88. Mike,

    If I could pick up $4,300 worth of stock with pocket lint, I’d be very happy.

    I guess some people think NOV is permanently impaired here and will never regain their former earnings power. We’ll see how that turns out over the next decade or so. 🙂

    Cheers!

  89. HMB,

    Yeah, I unfortunately had to give myself a fail on that only because it’s a hard number. The whole reason you use SMART goals is so that they’re quantifiable. No guesswork involved there. But it’s not a fail on the year. Just the halfway mark here. I still have almost six months to make it right. 🙂

    That said, the actual number is somewhat arbitrary. I’m just interested in more or less being healthy, feeling good, and looking good. If that’s 180 or 182, it matters little.

    I’d definitely recommend taking a peak at where you’re at halfway through the year. It’s a lot of fun!

    Have a great weekend over there.

    Best regards.

  90. Joe,

    Appreciate it. You guys are killing it over there as well!

    Yeah, fitness is tough for a lot of people. I’ve been working out since I was 11, so it’s somewhat second nature for me now. But even I have a tough time every once in a while putting on the shoes and hitting the pavement. Never been a runner, so it’s tough for me to slim down as opposed to bulking up.

    Let’s keep it rolling. Six more months of opportunities. I’m excited!

    Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend.

    Best wishes.

  91. I have added 50 K new cash to my brokerage this year. That was my goal and I won’t be adding any more as now it’s time to save for next year’s expenses. The 50k is almost exactly 50 percent of take home pay from work, so happy w that benchmark. In addition should hit goal of 30 k divis received and auto reinvested this year for total of 80 k deployed for equities. Forward dividend for next 52 weeks is calculated at 36 k so happy with that. I’d like to have forward 1 yr dividend income to hit 40 k by end of 2015 but don’t know if I will make it. My one concern is only 30 K left in cash in brokerage account for the entire ret of year for purchases. Will be painful to see missing opportunities if market corrects.

  92. DD,

    That’s fantastic. I’d be happy to be able to add $50k in cash over the course of an entire year, let alone six months. What a great spot to be in. And $36k in dividend income means you’ve got a fire hose of cash flow over there, spraying cash in your brokerage account every month. It’ll be many years before I’m collecting that kind of passive income. Can’t wait to see how great that feels. 🙂

    Keep up the great work!!

    Best wishes.

  93. “The hard part in investing is holding, and learning to tolerate the myriad
    and relentless swings of greed and fear to which an investment holder
    is inevitably subject. But unless you control these impulses—and we all
    feel them, all who “hold” must feel them—you wonʼt reach your ultimate
    goals. Holding successfully requires a kind of spartan attitude, a kind of warrior
    attitude, in which you hold your ground, never tromping away, through
    thick and thin, through storms and sun, never becoming excessively excited
    or happy by profitable rallies, never sinking into gloom or depression or
    second thoughts when prices are on the wane. A warrior attitude in which
    feelings may be felt, even deeply felt, but not necessarily acted out. As
    William Blake put it in rather a different context, in The Marriage of
    Heaven and Hell, “Joy laughs not! Sorrows weep not!”

    As a warrior you understand that there are many ways to win the battle of
    investing, there are many ways to come out on top in the end. But some
    ways are wiser than others, designed to maintain sanity in a chaotic world.
    The warrior attitude says: this is my strategy. It is a good one. It will work. I
    will not deviate from it no matter what the seeming success in the moment of
    some other strategy or approach. I will see to the other side; I will recognize
    that the candle which burns the brightest also burns away the quickest.

    A warrior will continually remind himself through examination of historical
    results that the path of quality and yield is unassailable, and shines with
    increasing superiority the longer the period of comparison becomes. Arms
    folded, feet squarely on the ground, the winds may blow around the warriorʼs
    head, but they serve only to cool his blood. He casts a cold objective eye
    on his companies, their long-term promise and their short-term progress,
    and a still and silent eye on the machinations of others in the market.

    The sun sets and the warrior-investorʼs silhouette is traced in the colored and
    darkening sky. In the morning he stands where he stood the evening before,
    unchanging, glittering in the morning sunlight. All night long he has been
    focused on compounding and logic, and the
    logic of compounding. It is the logic of compounding that is his mantra,
    his mantra to enlightenment.”

    -From Lowell Millers book, The Single Best Investment.

    For some reason that last part about “mantra” reminded me of you…

    Way to go!

  94. Have always enjoyed reading your site, but the “sponsored” posts that are starting to show up and look like actual posts by you are starting to turn me off big time. I do not want to click on what looks like a post by you only to be lead to some 3rd party site asking for my email address. Maybe this wasn’t your doing and you have been hacked? If that is not the case and this is part of you monetizing the blog then you may have lost at least 1 reader.

  95. dividenddad,

    Thanks for sharing that!

    It’s been some time since I read that book, but that definitely resonates with me. Back when the blog was still young, I had a page designed to explain my mantra and how I came about the name for the site. But it’s pretty similar to that. Living below my means and investing in high-quality businesses that pay and grow dividends is my mantra, my way to freedom. 🙂

    We’re all warriors here. And the rat race is our opponent. Looks like the warriors are winning!

    Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend.

    Best regards.

  96. Ron,

    Thanks for taking the time to drop your first comment here.

    Any ads will take you to a third-party site. So that tells me you’re not interested in clicking on any ads and supporting the site. Unfortunately, ads are a way to monetize content on the web. And I make my living by writing now, so I definitely appreciate any support I get. It’s obviously free for you to stop by and read everything I write, so there’s some give and take there.

    Hate to lose you as a reader, but I wish you much luck!

    Take care.

  97. Jaspinder,

    I got what Ron was saying. You’ll sometimes see sponsored posts show up.

    Per my disclosure at the bottom of the site:

    “This blog may have third-party ads served up at any time. I do not make any claims to accuracy of these ads, and these ads do not necessarily represent this blog’s views or opinions. There may be affiliate links throughout the blog which are provided by affiliate partners that I may have financial relationships with. I may receive compensation from these affiliate partners if you purchase products using the links in this blog. These affiliate links will be clearly noted where applicable and/or available either directly or by noted as a partner. I may also occasionally publish articles that are paid for by third-party advertisers, and these will be categorized as sponsored posts.”

    Cheers!

  98. Jason,

    I wanted to get your thoughts on EMR at these levels. I know currency is having a impact on them during this time, but is this back on your watch list again? I wanted to initiate a position with them some time back and now EMR is back on my radar. I know you own them already, any thoughts on picking up some more?

    Cheers,

    Mike

  99. Great job Jason!! Since I’ve been moving my investments from a mutual fund style to a DGI style I really don’t have a grasp of what the goals are other then research. And then afterwards buy quality divi producing stocks that increase those payments over time, hopefully yearly. It’s a slow process but just comparing the monthly income from 2014 to 2015 has been tremendously satisfying, in fact, it’s down right addicting!!

    Now the weight thing–yea I really need to get on that one!!

    You are an inspiration!

  100. Jason, I have been following your site for few months. I truly enjoy the content you put out. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.

  101. Mike,

    I think EMR’s a great pick right now. The valuation is there and then some. Growth over the last decade hasn’t been out of this world, but it’s a dependable company. The dividend growth track record is about as good as it gets and I see no reason why that won’t continue for years to come. The announced spin-off is potentially exciting as well. I haven’t added to EMR in some time now, but I have room for one more tranche… and I may very well make that last purchase of EMR shares here pretty soon at this valuation.

    Best of luck!

    Cheers.

  102. Raymond,

    Glad you’ve found this process addicting. I think that’s healthy as long as you don’t let it overwhelm you. But I live and breathe this stuff, so perhaps I’m biased. 🙂

    Besides, what could be more worth our time, attention, and obsession than our own freedom? What could be more worth owning than our time?

    Just wait until you have two or three years of dividend income numbers to compare and go off of. It gets more and more exciting and rewarding as time goes on.

    Keep it up!

    Best regards.

  103. Jay,

    Appreciate the readership very much. So glad you’re enjoying the content. I do my best to keep it fresh and high quality. 🙂

    Plenty more to come, though. I’ve got a lot of ideas. Just have to find the time to put everything out there.

    Stay in touch!

    Best regards.

  104. Nice progress Jason. You are well on your way to accomplishing all four goals. Your online income has grown quite nicely. Well done, and well deserved! You motivate and educate many out there, including our family. Keep up the great work.

    Best wishes and continued success on your journey! AFFJ

  105. AFFJ,

    Appreciate that very much!

    The online income has grown beyond my expectations. I just figured I’d put in the research and work and then see where it takes me. And it’s taken me to a place that I really enjoy. Very, very fortunate. 🙂

    Lots more to come, I promise you that. My draft list grows by the day.

    Looks like you guys are on pace for 12 out of 12 over there. Keep up the great work!

    Cheers.

  106. Jason,

    It’s great to see you making significant strides towards your goals. Keep it up!

    David

  107. David,

    Thank you. If the second half of the year goes as well as the first half, I’ll be ecstatic. 🙂

    Hope you’re making great strides toward your goals as well!

    Cheers.

  108. I was wondering: I’m currently júst starting with working towards financial indpedence since last year or so, and it’s already opened up my eyes a lot regarding the possibilities. And honestly, I can’t wait to reach that goal!

    But after not having to work, do you notice a difference between you and your friends for example? Like, you’re at home, doing whatever you feel like doing, and whenever you feel like it. But your friends still have their 40h work week ahead of them. I’m curious what your opinion is on the difference in lifestyle and, well, speed of how things are happening? I can imagine that with the (near) total control someone gets over their own life when their financial independence goal is reached, you start having too múch time. I mean, you have 40h a week extra compared to your friends who are still working. You can work out, write, have lunch somewhere… but are you afraid that it might leave you with too much time on your hands without the possibility to always share that time with your friends (since they’re at work)?

    To be honest I can’t wait to not háve to work again and live my life the way I want to, but that feeling of having too much time when my friends are still at work, that does creep up on me a little bit 🙂

    Anyway, those mid-year goals are pretty spot on already! Do you calculate your desired goals or primarily work towards any (realisticly set) goal you make for yourself? I bet that reaching most of your goals so often really keeps you motivated as well 🙂

  109. Keep pushing Jason!!!

    Life is hard but your money works harder, so you are going to reach your goals.

    Thanks to your several buys and your consistency, you’re likely to win this match.

    In my opinion, being a smart US investor is a 100%-win bet due to the amount of big companies that are moneymakers and which make dividend raises and share repurchases.

    I wish you the best. Thanks for share your life experiences.

  110. Joram,

    That’s an interesting question, but I don’t think it really makes much of a difference at all. If you’re going to be the type of person rubbing it in your friends’ faces or something, then I’m sure that’ll cause friction. Otherwise, I don’t think working from home or working at a traditional job impacts relationships at all. I mean, unless your friends are also your co-workers, I’ve never been able to “hang out” with people while I’ve been away at work anyway. So still not being able to hang out with them while I’m working from home and they’re still working at their regular jobs doesn’t really change anything. The only difference I’ve found is that it’s sometimes disappointing I don’t have the opportunity to hang out with people on an early Friday afternoon or something because I’m in that rare position where I’m working from home. But most of the relationships I’ve formed in my life are still up in Michigan, so it hasn’t really made much of a major difference for me.

    Now, there might be some resentment there. But, as I’ve written about before, if people are going to resent you for your success and form barriers, then I guess you have to question whether or not those relationships are really what you thought they were and whether or not they’re healthy.

    But part of your question is obviously quite personal. If you feel like your identity is tied in to society – work like everyone else, live like everyone else, schedule your time like everyone else, run the rat wheel like everyone else – then that’s just something you have to really figure out for yourself. I long ago decided that society’s “norms” aren’t really all that fantastic.

    As far as the goals go, my most important goals are the long-term, overarching goals. The annual goals just tie into those. I set annual goals as markers, just to know that I’m on pace along the way.

    Hope that helps! 🙂

    Best regards.

  111. DR,

    Thanks so much. If anyone pushes it as hard as possible, it’s me. I’m on it every day. 🙂

    I agree with you in regards to being a US investor. As long as you’re not messing around with low-quality companies, you’re going to do well over the long haul. The odds are so stacked in your favor, it’s not even funny. You basically can’t fail unless you’re just going about it all wrong. But sticking to the kind of companies I discuss and invest in means you’re very, very likely to do very, very well.

    Appreciate the support. Thanks for dropping by. Hopefully, your journey is proving extremely fruitful over there.

    Best wishes.

  112. I enjoyed reading your progress on these 4 goals. I think you will surpass $7200 in dividend income this year and I am sure our target will be five figures in dividends next year.

  113. Very much so, thanks! I’m not really worried at all about my work-life since, like you, I don’t tend to hang out with collegues. I like to keep my social life and work-life separated. But when my usual friends are still working when I’m FI, that’s something I’m quite curious about. 🙂

    Really, the more I read about financial independence and the people who are doing well in working towards that goal, the more I’m getting motivated to not listen to the “noise” (aka the people not “getting” why you’d want to do such a thing). Aside from the obvious benefits, like time and not having to worry about finances and such, it’s really exciting to have such a long-term goal in general!

    Best regards 🙂

  114. Laura,

    Thanks so much. We’re doing amazing things as a community. I’m just fortunate and glad to be a part of it all. 🙂

    Best of luck with your goals over there. Let’s keep it up!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Best regards.

  115. Awesome job with your goal completion/progress so far DM. Great job! Looking forward to seeing when you reach the rest of them, and how far you surpass them as well. And don’t fret over the 2lb, seems like nothing! Maybe you just had too much water that day and the day before. And you’ve reminded me I should review my goals from the end of last year and see how I’m doing.

    Best of luck

  116. DW,

    Thanks so much!

    It’s been such a great and crazy ride this first half of 2015. If I can do even half as well in the second half of the year, I’ll be very happy. 🙂

    Definitely get a look at your goals and see where you landed, though, if you get a chance. It’s a lot of fun and you’ll know where you stand with everything. Hope you’re on pace!

    Best regards.

  117. I also cannot believe how the first half of 2015 has eased through. Well, time flies. I think you have one of comprehensive goals for 2015. I say this because they are not focused on financial independence but also have health plans. Keep on, you are almost there. Great work, man!

  118. Chella,

    Thanks for the support. Giving it 100%. I promise you that. 🙂

    Hope you’re having a great year as well. Every day is an opportunity to get that much closer to where we want to be.

    Cheers!

  119. I finished the Colorado Trail yesterday. Mentally and physically challenging. I lost 20 pounds, down to 180 pounds! I will be looking for another through hike for next year.

  120. Brad,

    Thanks for stopping back in and sharing that. Congrats on that. That’s a pretty incredible achievement, and far beyond what I’d likely be able to do. And that’s an experience you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. Awesome!! 🙂

    Keep it up over there. Losing 20 pounds is awesome. I did something similar not too long ago and it feels great to carry around much less weight on an everyday basis.

    Cheers!

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