▲ 393 r/dividends
The MACHINE: 29M, $430k NW. My entire strategy is “build a boring machine, then don’t touch it.”
Been refining this for a while and it finally feels done, so here’s the whole system:
The core (taxable):
- VOO is the anchor. AVUV rides alongside it at 1/8th the size for small cap value exposure
- Dividend sleeve: SCHD (currently frozen at its cap), DGRO (main build), VYMI (15% of the sleeve for international + foreign tax credit)
- VUG is a legacy position. No new money, never selling, just vibes and embedded gains
- One rule governs everything: VOO side to dividend sleeve stays at 60/40. When the ratio hits, flows rebalance automatically. No feelings involved
The flows:
- $330/day in daily buys, every market day, funded by biweekly deposits sized slightly above the run rate
- All DRIPs off. Every dividend lands as cash and feeds the daily buys. One policy, everywhere
- Positions build to a cap, then freeze. Nothing gets a drip of “just a little more”
- When flow has to flex, speculation gets cut first. Core never flexes
Tax stack:
- Backdoor Roth every year (JEPQ, which self-funds growth purchases once its distributions equal the annual limit)
- Just found out my 401k allows after-tax contributions + in-plan conversions, so mega backdoor is next
- Dividend sleeve is all qualified divs.
The rules that actually matter:
- No constant tweaking
- Every raise in income increases the buys before lifestyle (hopefully)
- Margin for bridges only, never for recurring buys
The endgame: dividends to eventually cover the daily buys and eventually to cover my life. The plan to achieve optional labor status.
Still need some time to hit my initial 60/40 cap, but I think I will be there by Winter 2027.
Would love to hear your thoughts!
u/Bortimbor — 3 days ago