The Dividend Daily

The markets here in the U.S. started off the week in fairly decent shape, despite some concerns over in Europe as political turmoil in Italy rises.

Looking at individual movers, shares of McDonald’s (MCD) were higher following the company’s better-than-expected November sales update. Wall Street analyst commentary was also helping move some names. On the upside, shares of Mastercard (MA) and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) gained ground on the back of some of those positive notes. Apple (AAPL) fell by the close following an up and down session. Two names not participating were Apache Corp (APA) and CME Group (CME), as both names saw their ratings cut by analysts.

What is Dividend Investing?

If you’d been sitting on the sidelines waiting for a perfect entry point to put some money to work, you may be getting the feeling that the proverbial train has left the station. So, has it? The answer is almost always no. If you’re a long-term investor, just keep your eye on the prize of building income streams with dividend stocks. Aim to put money to work each month, if possible.

It’s hard to stay focused on the long term sometimes. Business media coverage typically focuses on stock moves over a 20-minute period, rather than how well a stock has performed if you’d maintained a position for several years.

Dividend investing is about putting as much money as you can to work consistently over a period of years. Your patience will be rewarded, as it has for decades for those who focus on building wealth by acquiring income-producing assets like dividend stocks. That’s really all it is. No shortcuts, no over-the-top hype. Just a common sense approach that works.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.