There has been reasonable growth in my life, financially, over the past two years. Some growth morphed from tragedy, some from carefully selecting investments, and most of which from hard work that demanded a great deal of free time. Embracing this growth, my attention has focused on my accomplishments and a new direction to channel currency.
Compensation for my time (Production) has increased with a job rather than my business. Although I am still working in the same sector (Transportation), I have sold assets, closed my business, and returned to a former employer. This change enabled me to save, invest, and enjoy my income. Recently, I enjoyed an annual raise in addition to increased demand further inflating my compensation.
My business venture turned from being President of a Company to owning equity in Corporations'. I followed a slow and disciplined monthly investing regimen, focused on migrating funds to equity in one or two companies per year. Those investment started roughly five years ago. I built a successful portfolio to date with Biblical and modern guidance. All my equities have increased in value significantly. In addition, they all provided dividends with quarterly payments, annual increases, and a return of at least 3% from my initial investment. My portfolio value increased 18% over two years (Entire Portfolio).
Although I have not took advantage of reduced mortgage rates, Interest from savings has improved seven-fold from switching Financial Institutions. I moved all my savings to an out-of-state financial institution that offers 0.75% interest. While this is not a modest income stream, it is seven and a half percent higher than previous savings accounts. There are some limitations on the account that require better planning. First and foremost is a limit on monthly withdraws and checks. However, there are no maintenance fees as I had with my business account.
Recently, attention spun from saving to reducing debt. Luckily, my only debt is a Mortgage. That is something enjoyed from sacrifices most of my peers and friends are not willing to embrace. Mortgage reduction will be achieved by employing the well-known tactic of doubling my mortgage payments (or 1.5*). Although allocating the required funds is not easy, and a far stretch from what my discontinued savings goals will provide, it can be accomplished channeling the increased compensation and dividends from investments.
I have growing fears about the financial situation our Nation faces. The Real Estate Market is improving and the Stock Market is at record highs. My intuition senses a switch or refocus of mainstream savings. A migration from Stocks to Real Estate is coming. In addition, I do not see job growth. I see low-paying jobs being created. They are jolting the numbers presented by major media. Most importantly, there is a gut feeling things are going to get worse Nationally. A feeling felt twice in my life, a feeling that was accurate. For this reason, I hope to have my Mortgage eliminated quickly. I don't want to find myself facing another financial hardship ever again in my life. Everyone wants something. Right now, I want to be debt free for the rest of my life!