How many streams of income do you have?

[james.hendrickson]

Supposedly millionaires have several streams of income.

I'm working on building out my dividend cash flow, so I wanted to ask you guys: How many streams of income do you have?

[bjl584]

4 currently.

Full time job, part time job, under the table gig, dividends

[riverwed070707]

Three. W2 job, rental properties, side hustle in event planning. I'm not a millionaire though and if I were I'd kick at least one of those streams of income (the w2 of course)
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OK after seeing all these responses, I'd like to revise my original assessment.
I have 3 rental properties (7 doors) and if one is vacant, I still have the other 6 coming in. So with that and w2 and side hustle, IDK if you'd call that 5 sources (based on number of properties) or 9 sources (based on number of doors).

Also, my boyfriend and I do not share finances/bank accounts but he does contribute to the expenses... I'm not sure that's an "income stream" for me per say but we are a two income household.

[Fishindude77]

Farm A cash rent income
Farm B cash rent income
Income from federal CRP programs
Board of directors fees (stockholder / director for private company)
Dividend income from stock ownership in above company
Incidental construction consulting work
Interest income from investments
Monthly draws from IRA

Guess that makes (8) sources.
Social security at some point in future will add another.

[disneysteve]

My job
Interest
Dividends
Capital gains

[kork13]

My job
DW's military pension
1x rental property
Savings/Investments returns/dividends/interest

Over the next decade, we're planning to add at least a few more -- new job for DW, additional rental property(s), my military pension (even swap), maybe a part time job for myself... more TBD.

[disneysteve]

Over the next decade, we're planning to add at least a few more.

Over the next few years, we're planning to lose an income stream - my job.

[Thrif-t]

Now only 2 my W2 and DHs.

In retirement 2 pensions
1 social security
2 Roth's - Do these count??
2 401ks- count?

[disneysteve]

Now only 2 my W2 and DHs.

In retirement 2 pensions
1 social security
2 Roth's - Do these count??
2 401ks- count?

Investments definitely count.

In 2020, our investment accounts generated $43,500 in income. It was pretty much all reinvested but in retirement, that will start being our spending money. That will be our "paycheck".

[james.hendrickson]

Incidentally, there is a solid IRS paper on this topic. It basically compares taxpayers who filed F706 (a tax return for an estate) versus those who didn't. The F706 filers had more of the following:

1. Dividends
2. Rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, S corporations, estates, trusts,
   and real estate mortgage investment conduits
3. Wage income
4. Taxable pensions and annuities
5. Tax exempt interest income
6. Business income from sole proprietorships.

Here is the link if you're interested in learning more.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Investments definitely count.

In 2020, our investment accounts generated $43,500 in income. It was pretty much all reinvested but in retirement, that will start being our spending money. That will be our "paycheck".

Not to be a Debbie Downer but that "paycheck" would not be there if the markets see a crash or correction, just saying. We all like to see the market go higher or go sideways but fail to see it crashing or correcting.

[disneysteve]

Not to be a Debbie Downer but that "paycheck" would not be there if the markets see a crash or correction, just saying. We all like to see the market go higher or go sideways but fail to see it crashing or correcting.

For sure. The income generated each year varies considerably based on market performance, portfolio turnover, interest rates, etc. We have some taxable growth funds that sometimes have large capital gains; other years they have much smaller gains. The fixed income stuff is obviously more consistent.

I will say, though, that how much income equities generate isn't necessarily tied to market performance. Dividends can remain steady even if share prices fall. And capital gains in a mutual fund also may not track the market. If anything, there may be more turnover in a down year if the fund has to liquidate more holdings to fund redemptions, potentially generating more capital gains. That's always a bummer in a taxable fund when the account value drops and you get hit with a big CG tax bill.

[scfr]

We (2-adult household) have: Profit, Earned, Interest, Dividends, and Capital Gains. Not all are streams. Some are trickles. One is a river. Others are untapped lakes (won't be converted to streams until after retirement).

[james.hendrickson]

Tom Corley is the author of "Rich Habits", which is an analysis of the behavior and habits of the wealthy. I follow him on twitter, and he is surprisingly responsive on his twitter account. He posted something about streams of income and I messaged him. To my surprise he answered my question.

In general, I like the guys stuff because its based on data - which beats most of the opinion/editorial copy that's published on the internet.

I'm posting the exchange here. Its on-topic.

[disneysteve]

What is TICs?