Can Dividend Investing Fund Your Financial Freedom?

In this conversation, 7investing Lead Advisor Matthew Cochrane once again sits down with Ryan Krueger, the co-founder and CEO of Freedom Day Solutions, a family-owned and operated financial advisory firm located in Houston. Krueger is also the founder of the Freedom Day Dividend ETF (NYSE:MBOX).  The Freedom Day ETF is designed, as Krueger explains, to give investors growth of income, not growth or income. Krueger believes the ETF can accumulate a stable of quality companies that pay a rising dividend while avoiding many of the common pitfalls often associated with income investing, namely:  Not investing in companies with the highest yields; Avoiding companies that nominally raise their dividends every year to please income investors; Not investing in companies with unsustainable payout ratios. Cochrane listens to Krueger as he explains why he believes there's a problem with the 4% rule, which suggests retirees can safely withdraw 4% of their retirement savings balance every year. Krueger believes a much safer bet is holding a portfolio of financial instruments that pay dividends in excess of one's expenses.  Along the way, Cochrane and Krueger discuss several of MBOX's holdings. Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) and Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) are two pipeline operators that transport and store natural gas. If global conditions don't change, the two operate profitable companies that pay a nice dividend to shareholders. However, natural gas provides much cleaner energy than coal, and Krueger believes there is a real chance both can experience significant growth as the rest of the globe transitions from coal in the coming years.  Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) is the largest domestic television station owner and operator with almost 200 stations. Even as the world consumes more media via streaming apps, live sports and news still command more viewers than any other type of content. At just 12 times next year's earnings and sporting a 3% dividend yield, Krueger believes Nexstar is undervalued as an operator of attractive and profitable assets.  As a father of five kids involved in youth sports, Krueger is well aware of the allure of Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS), a retailer that sells atheletic apparel and equipment. But Dick's also owns the GameChanger app that allows little league games to be watched online, giving the big box store a digital growth channel.  To see all of Matt Cochrane's top dividend stocks, subscribe to 7investing Premium. Krueger can be found on Twitter @RyanKruegerROI and you can find more information on his advisory firm (and excellent blog) at freedomdaysolutions.com. For more information on the Freedom Day Dividend ETF, you can visit freedomdaydividend.com.