Payday Can Be Very Frequent or FINAL

Payday can be very frequent and it may be FINAL

This post has two reminders. One has to do with life, and the other has to do with investing for retirement income.

First life: Actor Errol Flynn said, “My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.” He certainly is known for his gross habits (including alcohol and sexual promiscuity), and at least two of them probably contributed to his early death. Some sins can make a body really frail.

It should be noted we all face a payday regardless of our habits. The only question is, “Am I ready to pay?”

Romans 6:23 tells us very plainly we are earning wages, and there is one certain payday coming. Most people want to ignore that payday. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We all have a choice: the free gift received before death leading to eternal life, or rejecting the gift and having the dreadful, eternal wages.”

It would be a terrible shame if I only gave you investing tips for your brief journey on planet earth. However, it is far more important than part two of this post.

Investing For Retirement Income

When it comes to retirement income, Cindie and I both receive Social Security income. Because her payday and mine are on different weeks each month, we have 24 potential paydays each year. In addition, Cindie works part-time, and her employer pays her every other Friday, for a total of 26 days of pay. That means we have a combined total of 50 paydays every year.

Dividends, however, far outpace those paydays in both frequency and income per month. So far this year, we have received about 700 dividend payments to our Fidelity accounts. Total income from dividends is at $113K through today.

Furthermore, we have already had 86 paydays in the first nine months of the year. In addition, many of the paydays will never have income tax withholding, as they are in tax-free or tax-deferred accounts. Of course, the tax-deferred accounts will result in income taxes unless the funds are distributed using the QCD approach. (QCD = Qualified Charitable Distributions)

Two Recommendations

Don’t ignore the final payday. You do that to your eternal harm.

When investing, think about how you can generate income from dividends. It is best not to sell your investments to raise cash for living and giving.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.