Calvin, you are a huge inspiration. Within the past year I’ve been fantasizing over just getting away. Getting rid of my student loan debts, saving, and getting away from people. I have grown more misanthropic seeing all the horrible things people do to eachother (both in the past and presently), to animals, and to our environment and planet. You have it figured out, if I may, how do you live off of dividends and avoid the chains that working brings. We live in a world where we are slaves to work. Many people believe in having the latest phones, cars, fancy houses in order to be happy. I just want a small cottage or cabin in the woods or mountains, an animal companion, and to get away from everyone. How can I go about this?
I think you still need to endure work. The price of freedom is temporary slavery. I estimate a place far out in the county will not cost too much so you just need to save for it. If you can save and buy this cottage outright, it would be great, and then buy shares or ETFs to cover your living costs. Otherwise put all your money into shares and ETFs and rent the cottage just in case you want to move. While working you should simplify and aim for a minimalist life. Get a place far from the city and/or get flatmates to reduce cost. If you care about the animals then a plant based diet can save you a lot of money.
I will also add that you don’t need to go out into the wilderness to seek solitude and independence. Being in a metropolitan area has its benefits e.g. access to supermarkets, ATMs, etc. You can still live your current life now but simply take steps to shield yourself from society. Being able to produce passive income from dividends allows you to shield yourself from society. You also have the freedom to reconnect with others on your own terms as you are able to retreat back into your fortress if needed. Your greatest power is your ability to walk away.
Hey Calvin, recently discovered your blog, really interested in picking your brain about VDHG and VDCO specifically as I’ve just started investing in those and most ‘professional’ financial advisors have no decent advice to offer me on this topic. If you could spare the time would love to fire off a couple of questions via email. Let me know
Happy to help, Sam. Why not send me a message via Reddit? See my account at https://www.reddit.com/user/Calvinhague note that I am definitely not a professional advisor but send me a message
Update: I will just add that I don’t use Reddit much. If anyone wants to ask me a question, it is better to leave a comment on this blog.
Much appreciated! It actually helped solidify a lot of ideas that I was contemplating during the time that you posted it. Thanks a lot for the great content!
Hi Calvin – just came across your blog after reading about your piece on the Betashares’ Dividend Harvester Fund. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions on finances and life, very good insights. Look forward to reading more from you.
Up untill now my entire plan has been to invest regularly no matter what the market’s doing, reinvest all dividends and just keep going until I build my portfolio up to the point that I can live of the dividends.
The portfolio is: WDIV 30%, DUI 30%, IFRA 10%, ARG 30%.
The main reasoning behind this portfolio is;
1) I’m afraid if I just buy high yield ETFs like VHY etc. That the capital base won’t keep pace with inflation
2) Worried about investing only in Australia and ignoring the rest of the world
My question is do you think I’m Devrsified enough? Particularly with having big chunks of my portfolio exposed to active management in LICs?
Hi Chris. I had to research what DUI was but with those four investments it seems quite well diversified. The DUI and ARG provides Australian companies and higher dividends while the others diversify outside of Australia. I think your fears of going all in VHY are quite valid. LICs vs ETFs is another issue altogether. I personally use all ETFs. Other sites may have more info on LICs vs ETFs. The active management in LICs may be a worry but that being said there are many active ETFs as well so I think the true distinction between them is the corporate vs trust structure.
Not quite at the point were I’m interested in allocating anything outside of equities, however I came across two active ETFs which I thought were interesting. XARO and DHOF, two quite different funds.
Thank! I hadn’t heard of those ETFs until you brought it up. I have looked into and purchased some HBRD which is an actively managed Australian bank hybrid ETF but DHOF seems to invest in both Australian and international hybrids.
I Live Off Dividends 
Calvin, you are a huge inspiration. Within the past year I’ve been fantasizing over just getting away. Getting rid of my student loan debts, saving, and getting away from people. I have grown more misanthropic seeing all the horrible things people do to eachother (both in the past and presently), to animals, and to our environment and planet. You have it figured out, if I may, how do you live off of dividends and avoid the chains that working brings. We live in a world where we are slaves to work. Many people believe in having the latest phones, cars, fancy houses in order to be happy. I just want a small cottage or cabin in the woods or mountains, an animal companion, and to get away from everyone. How can I go about this?
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I think you still need to endure work. The price of freedom is temporary slavery. I estimate a place far out in the county will not cost too much so you just need to save for it. If you can save and buy this cottage outright, it would be great, and then buy shares or ETFs to cover your living costs. Otherwise put all your money into shares and ETFs and rent the cottage just in case you want to move. While working you should simplify and aim for a minimalist life. Get a place far from the city and/or get flatmates to reduce cost. If you care about the animals then a plant based diet can save you a lot of money.
I will also add that you don’t need to go out into the wilderness to seek solitude and independence. Being in a metropolitan area has its benefits e.g. access to supermarkets, ATMs, etc. You can still live your current life now but simply take steps to shield yourself from society. Being able to produce passive income from dividends allows you to shield yourself from society. You also have the freedom to reconnect with others on your own terms as you are able to retreat back into your fortress if needed. Your greatest power is your ability to walk away.
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Hey Calvin, recently discovered your blog, really interested in picking your brain about VDHG and VDCO specifically as I’ve just started investing in those and most ‘professional’ financial advisors have no decent advice to offer me on this topic. If you could spare the time would love to fire off a couple of questions via email. Let me know
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy to help, Sam. Why not send me a message via Reddit? See my account at https://www.reddit.com/user/Calvinhague note that I am definitely not a professional advisor but send me a message
Update: I will just add that I don’t use Reddit much. If anyone wants to ask me a question, it is better to leave a comment on this blog.
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Do you still have your YouTube video about “hard work” posted somewhere? It was a very inspirational video. I really appreciate your perspective.
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Much appreciated! It actually helped solidify a lot of ideas that I was contemplating during the time that you posted it. Thanks a lot for the great content!
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No problems!
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Hi Calvin – just came across your blog after reading about your piece on the Betashares’ Dividend Harvester Fund. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions on finances and life, very good insights. Look forward to reading more from you.
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Thanks for reading, Jeff
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Hi Calvin,
Would love to hear more financial type blog posts, specifically focussing on portfolio construction and management.
More technical is more better.
Mo
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HI Calvin,
Up untill now my entire plan has been to invest regularly no matter what the market’s doing, reinvest all dividends and just keep going until I build my portfolio up to the point that I can live of the dividends.
The portfolio is: WDIV 30%, DUI 30%, IFRA 10%, ARG 30%.
The main reasoning behind this portfolio is;
1) I’m afraid if I just buy high yield ETFs like VHY etc. That the capital base won’t keep pace with inflation
2) Worried about investing only in Australia and ignoring the rest of the world
My question is do you think I’m Devrsified enough? Particularly with having big chunks of my portfolio exposed to active management in LICs?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Chris. I had to research what DUI was but with those four investments it seems quite well diversified. The DUI and ARG provides Australian companies and higher dividends while the others diversify outside of Australia. I think your fears of going all in VHY are quite valid. LICs vs ETFs is another issue altogether. I personally use all ETFs. Other sites may have more info on LICs vs ETFs. The active management in LICs may be a worry but that being said there are many active ETFs as well so I think the true distinction between them is the corporate vs trust structure.
LikeLike
Thanks Calvin,
Not quite at the point were I’m interested in allocating anything outside of equities, however I came across two active ETFs which I thought were interesting. XARO and DHOF, two quite different funds.
LikeLike
Thank! I hadn’t heard of those ETFs until you brought it up. I have looked into and purchased some HBRD which is an actively managed Australian bank hybrid ETF but DHOF seems to invest in both Australian and international hybrids.
LikeLike