The Dividend Daily

The initial upbeat start to today’s trading didn’t last long as the markets were unable to get over the current “fiscal cliff” cloud overhang. We are locked into watching weekend talk shows these days with political pundits dictating whether or not the week will start off good or bad. This trend is certainly not what I prefer — nor should investors with a longer-term game plan.

That said, Wall Street analyst upgrades helped get things off to a positive start for stocks like William Sonoma (WSM), Dell (DELL), and Estee Lauder (EL). The commentary was not as positive for shares of FedEx (FDX), which traded lower on those cautious comments, taking down other transport plays like Union Pacific (UNP), Norfolk Southern (NSC), and main competitor United Parcel Service (UPS).

Success and Struggle Have Never Been So Magnified as They Are Now

Let’s face it, we are in an information-based world where scoreboards are flashing above our heads, letting the masses know how well life is proceeding. People go on social networks like Facebook to keep tabs on friends and family, follow celebrities and athletes on Twitter, and whomever else they can follow on whatever the platform. The big issue with this trend is that individuals take these pressures as means to take action, often not helping their long-term case. Hey, we just saw someone on Facebook go on a nice vacation, why not us? This often dictates how we feel and what kind of financial decisions get made. Someone buys a new car and you know about it instantly. If they can afford it, so can we!

The fact of the matter is that those who are building a great long-term plan don’t need to broadcast their results each day, let alone each week. The challenge we all have is to avoid the “now” mentality being instilled in us from all things media. If you can do this, your life will be much simpler, and a heck of a lot more worthwhile than spending time matching up with your peers on material possessions and mimicking how others live their lives. Let this mentality I recommend influence how you respect money and what it can do for you when you understand the rules of financial engagement (work, save, invest, grow income sources rather than work, spend, need to work more to spend more, debt overtakes your life – game over).

Quick Note on Recommended List

It was pointed out to us that Aetna (AET) may have appeared on our recommended list late Friday by mistake. Please disregard that and while we do like the company, it is not a name currently being recommended. Again, anytime we make a new recommendation or change to our list, we send out an alert, which we did not do. We do apologize for the mix-up.

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