This 13.4% Dividend Pays the Bills in Any Market

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This 13.4% Dividend Pays the Bills in Any Market

Here’s one thing I can say for sure about 2026: This year, we’ll be grateful we’re NOT sitting on “America’s ticker”—my name for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY).

I call SPY that because pretty well everyone owns it. But its 1% yield makes it more likely that holders will be forced to sell low in the next pullback, if they’re leaning on it to pay the bills.

Not us! We’ll be pocketing the 8%+ cash payouts from the portfolio of my Contrarian Income Report service. So while SPY holders face the next pullback with dread, we’ll be chugging along with our usual “dividends and chill” approach.… Read more

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A 12.5% Divvie for the Government Restart

My kids were minting money. One dollar for a regular bookmark. Two bucks for a fancy one!

Designed on the spot at the school bazaar. Took all of ten minutes. Aside from “labor,” the margins were huge. Paper and markers provided by the school.

The storefront? Courtesy of the school. Foot traffic from the local community! A captive, motivated audience!

The venture, Books and Marks (LLC?), also sold used books! Donated by parents and the campus, of course. Perfect margins for the operation.

The only thing that could slow this cash cow was 3pm—the end of the bazaar. Pack up the books, and the extra marks.… Read more

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The AI Economy’s Quiet Winners Yield Up to 11.7%

The manic market just dumped business development companies (BDCs), again. These three dividend stocks paying up to 11.7% are poised to bounce back when sanity returns.

BDCs, which lend money to small businesses, are on the “outs” with the Wall Street suits after multiple soft jobs reports. The spreadsheet jockeys fret about an unemployment-induced economic slowdown and miss the real story: small businesses are making more money than ever thanks to AI.

Here is what’s actually happening in the Main Street economy:

  • Employers—especially nimble small business owners—are implementing AI to streamline and even run their operations.
  • With AI tools, fewer humans are needed.

… Read more

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3 “Sleep-Well” Monthly Dividends Averaging 10%+

Last Friday’s jobs report confirmed what we contrarians have been discussing for months now—thanks to AI, employers no longer need to hire more employees to grow.

Bosses simply need to implement AI tools to grow their businesses. The machines are a managerial dream. Once trained they are, in many cases, better, faster and cheaper than people.

Robots always report for work. They will grind all the time. And they are never sick or hungover!

Two years ago, my current software company engaged about 15 contractors in various capacities. Today, thanks to AI, we have only two-and-a-half. Yet even with only one-sixth the “manpower,” sales are climbing, and the bottom line has never looked better!… Read more

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The “Safe 5%” Party is Ending (Welcome to the 11% Afterparty!)

Money market accounts still offer 5%, but these rates won’t last. Short-term yields are dropping, fast.

With the “safe 5% party” ending, you and I should skedaddle to the “11% yield afterparty” now. Fear not, my fellow contrarian—I have an extra dividend VIP pass for you.

Fed Chair Jay Powell’s tenure is in the homestretch. Whether or not ol’ Jay makes it to the finish or gets hauled off prematurely, the Chair is a lame duck as far as the markets are concerned.

Traders are pricing in two Fed cuts over the next nine months. Meanwhile, the industry projects money market rates to plummet to 3.8% by year end, with the 2-year Treasury yield also trending down, currently at 3.9%.… Read more

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How to Get $24,876 in Dividends (and Know the Exact Day They’ll Hit Your Account)

There aren’t many things we can say for certain these days, but there is one: We dividend investors are far better off than the mainstream crowd!

Consider the poor souls holding “America’s ticker”—my name for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). I call it that because, well, pretty well everyone owns it. These folks white-knuckled it through the April “tariff tantrum” and are now on a knife edge as the ETF bobs around near all-time highs, boosting the odds of yet another sharp drop.

Of course, pullbacks are a constant in investing (and something we contrarians love to tap for bargains!).… Read more

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This 11% Dividend is Backed by the Steadiest NAV We’ll Ever See

Vanilla investors fixate on price. We contrarians know better.

It’s all about the NAV. Net asset value, baby.

Price is what people pay at a given moment. But people panic. Many like to buy high—and sell low!

NAV, on the other hand, is what something is worth at that same moment. Price and NAV can become disconnected, especially during emotional market moments. When this happens, it is often a buying opportunity for careful contrarians like us.

Let’s take a pop quiz. Think about the funds you hold in your portfolio. What was your top performing NAV for the month of April?… Read more

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My 5 Favorite CEFs for 2025 with Yields Up to 13.7%

Are higher interest rates and lower bond prices a sure thing for 2025? Mainstream financial pundits say yes.

Which gives us thoughtful contrarians pause. Their narrative against bonds is assumed. When this happens, markets tend to move in the opposite direction of conventional wisdom.

Which means we should bet with bonds. At least in the near term to start the new year. Let’s watch bonds rally and surprise everyone except for us. The “Trump is bad for bonds” trade may eventually be correct, but my hunch again is that this “surefire” call is early.

For all the recent commotion, the 10-year Treasury yield bounces between 3.3% and 5%, with an even narrower 3.6% to 4.7% range recently.… Read more

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My 5 Favorite CEFs for 2025 with Yields Up to 13.7%

Are higher interest rates and lower bond prices a sure thing for 2025? Mainstream financial pundits say yes.

Which gives us thoughtful contrarians pause. Their narrative against bonds is assumed. When this happens, markets tend to move in the opposite direction of conventional wisdom.

Which means we should bet with bonds. At least in the near term to start the new year. Let’s watch bonds rally and surprise everyone except for us. The “Trump is bad for bonds” trade may eventually be correct, but my hunch again is that this “surefire” call is early.

For all the recent commotion, the 10-year Treasury yield bounces between 3.3% and 5%, with an even narrower 3.6% to 4.7% range recently.… Read more

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These 10% Bond Deals Are Still Around (But Their Discounts Are Closing)

There is a ton of demand for bonds out there right now, and it’s easy to see why: they’re offering big income streams—especially when you buy your high-yield “corporates” through our favorite income plays: closed-end funds (CEFs).

These days, there are plenty of CEFs kicking out yields of 12% or more. Put just $10,000 in a dividend-payer like that and you’re getting $100 per month. Or you could replace the median American income of $41,261 a year with just $342,842 invested.

These days, thanks to the Fed’s rate hikes, holding bonds—and essentially becoming a lender by doing so—means a lot more cash in your pocket, since you’re essentially “lending” at rates not seen in over two decades.… Read more

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