Goals

It has been said the definition of a goal is "a dream with a deadline."  I tend to agree.  The following goals are ambitious, achievable, and will require me to reach a personal best in employment income as well as a very high savings rate. 


Here are a few of my goals for the new year.

2017:

I have listed my 2017 goals here.

2015:

I have listed my 2015 goals here.



2014:


1.  Own shares of at least 25 different companies in my taxable account.  SUCCESS

2.  Receive $12,000 in dividends/interest in my taxable account.  SUCCESS

3.  Forward dividends/interest of $14,500 in my taxable account.  SUCCESS

4.  Receive and reinvest $7,000 in dividends/interest in my 401k account.  FAIL

5.  Reach $650,000 in net worth.

6.  Buy my first rental property. EPIC FAIL---I didn't even look at any houses. at any houses.

7.  Read at least 24 books on topics such as investing, sales processes, personal growth, exercise, and networking.  SUCCESS

8.  Find a few mentors in the investment community to help me along with my journey towards financial independence.  BIG SUCCESS

9.  Start selling off mutual fund holdings and replacing them with individual companies.  SUCCESS

10.  Document all of my activities and results on this blog.  SUCCESS

26 comments:

  1. good luck on you goals. I wish you the best.

    ReplyDelete
  2. FF dividend,

    Reading blogs like yours provides inspiration to keep fighting the good fight for FI.

    MDP

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey MDP,
    Those are some great goals and wish you the best. Could you share some details about yourself - how old are you, where do you live? Puts things into perspective.

    regards


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. R2r,

      Sure thing. I am 42 and live in the great state of Texas. I hope to reach financial independence within the next five years.

      Take care,

      MDP

      Delete
  4. Just found your blog and loved it! Added to my favorites and I'll be back regularly.
    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow great goals! I like your blog and you have a cool picture! By the way you can listen to book as well! This can help if you are commuting or doing something. I like the app Overdrive, you borrow audio books from the library.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy Healthy and Wealthy Girl,

      Thanks for the info on Overdrive. I love audio books and normally buy them from Itunes or Amazon There are also some good podcasts that are available for free from Itunes.

      MDP

      Delete
  6. MDP,

    I just found your blog. Great blog and a great start of achieving early FI. It's also always nice to meet another Texan. You should add an "About" tab to your blog to tell your story in more detail. It would be great to add context to your goals and status.

    cpa4fi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. cpa4fi,

      Thanks for visiting. The weather in Houston is beautiful today. It's days like this that I love living here. As for the dogs days of summer that is another story. I may just take your advice on the "About" tab. Thanks for the suggestion.

      MDP

      Delete
  7. That is one helluva list! Speaking of books, I just got this one from the library today: https://www.poorcharliesalmanack.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Really great goals DMP,

    You are almost close to the financial freedom. 24 books in one year is impossible for me, but I know many people read more than 50 per years.

    Good luck with your goals,

    Best Regards,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arun,

      Reading is difficult sometimes due to the daily demands we all face. I would suggest a listening to audiobooks while driving or when working around the house. Many of the best business books are available on audio.

      MDP

      Delete
  9. MDP,

    Those are some fantastic and diverse goals there. Seems like you're doing great thus far. Keep knocking it out of the park, my friend!

    Best wishes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DM,

      Thanks man. Finding your blog definitely fits the "find a few mentors" goal. Thanks for all you do!

      MDP

      Delete
  10. Nice to cross off your goals. You should do an ABOUT page so readers can see how you came about to amassing your current portfolio. Guess, I'll have to dig into your posts for further info lol. Great job on your dividend stream.. I would love to get there one day. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi MDP,

    I see lot of work in your portfolio this year. Wish you good luck to achieve your goals.
    I see you completed goal 7 already. Can you please share with us from which book/s you took most? Can you recommend something?
    Thank you.
    Best regards,
    George

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous,

      Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham are two good books to read through the holidays. Also, The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason is a relatively quick read that has a lot a great wealth building tips.

      MDP

      Delete
    2. Hi MDP,
      thanks for ideas. I like books that have less than 200 pages, but Intelligent Investor is one of book with much more pages I read. I think it is something like "bible" for investor. I guess Think and Grow Rich and Richest Man in Babylon is more about motivation than investing right? Maybe I will look at this book as well :)
      I will also share with you one of books I read recently.. it is "The Ultimate Dividend Playbook" which probably helped me to discover dividend investing blogs. But I guess you know this book.
      So thanks for sharing and good luck with your future investments.

      George

      Delete
    3. Dittos on The ultimate dividend playbook, I have read about 8 div books and that is the only one I recommend. Liked it so much I get the authors newsletter. He has been wrong several times--like over investing in financials during the mortgage bubble-- but he does admit his mistakes and learn not to repeat them.

      Delete
  12. Why did you decide to get out of funds and invest in individual companies?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TJ,

      For one, the fees seemed to eat a lot of my gains/dividends and also I liked the idea of being more directly involved with my investments. After doing a lot of research on the largest holdings within the fund I owned, I realized that only about 15 companies made up 50% of the total holdings. I can buy those companies periodically without the fees and have better results because of lower costs.

      MDP

      Delete
  13. I just came across your blog this and I am sure glad that I did. It is nice to read a fellow Houstonian's perspective on FI. I was reading your goals for 2014 and noticed that one of your goals was to find a few mentors in the investment community to help guide you towards FI and you marked this as a "BIG SUCCESS." I would be very interested in hearing about your experience and/or willing to listen to you about your comments and/or suggestions for starting towards this path. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jacob,

      Thanks for visiting. I have found many people who I view as mentors even if we only visit via comments on each others websites. If I were just starting out my FI journey, I would keep an open mind and try to extract information from those who have already walked the walk.

      Blogs that I found very helpful at first were Dividend Mantra, Accumulating Assets, All About Assets, and FI Fighter. These individuals provide motivation, education, and most importantly transparency in building their asset bases and passive income streams. Their approaches are all unique and in my opinion very effective.

      They can be found on my sidebar along with many other exceptional blogs that I visit often.

      I hope this helps.

      MDP

      Delete
  14. I like your answer to the Jan. 2nd inquiry about why you invest in individual stocks instead of funds. I think you are right on the money.

    I haven't been around your blog long so you may have covered this elsewhere, but based on your earlier fees response... have you considered/why aren't you doing DRIPs? Dividend Re-Investment Programs sponsored by the individual stocks. Talk about low fees?! They are some of the cheapest in the industry and can often offer share purchases below market cost.

    ReplyDelete