I’m currently 33 years old and I earn approximately $50,000 per year.

I’m not rich, but I’m also not making minimum wage. I’m somewhere in the middle. We’ll call it comfortable.

But I certainly don’t make enough to retire early.

Or do I? 

It might sound crazy, but I plan to retire by 40 years old.

What I mean by that, is that I plan on being financially independent at 40 – I’ll never have to work for pay another day in my life, unless I want to.

I say this in all seriousness, even realizing that it’s only seven years from now.

For many people with a similar income, the idea of retiring early doesn’t just sound like a pipe dream; it sounds downright delusional.

But I’m going to show you exactly how I plan to fund my early retirement.

I think you’ll be surprised at how simple, yet realistic my approach is, and how easy it’d be for anyone to simply copy my strategy.

[ad#Google Adsense 336×280-IA]Of course, it takes some discipline and possibly even a lifestyle change that may take some getting used to.

For example, I watch my expenses like a hawk.

As a result, I’ve been able to save just over 55% of my net income, averaged out annually from 2011 to 2014.

But I’m not stuffing all my hard-earned cash under the mattress, and I’m definitely not gambling it away on the next “hot” investment idea.

Instead, I’m using almost every cent I save to invest in stocks. And not just any stocks, but a very select and special group of stocks.

So special, in fact, that I expect to generate enough income from these stocks to comfortably retire on in just seven short years from now… without eating into ANY of my principal.

In short, I’m putting my money into high-quality companies that have been around for years and that regularly grow their revenue streams, profits, earnings and, most importantly, their distributions to loyal shareholders like me.

To be clear, by “distributions” I’m talking about cash dividends. And not just cash dividends, but cash dividends that are often increasing significantly faster than the rate of inflation.

In other words, I plan on funding my early retirement with a healthy and well-diversified portfolio of dividend growth stocks.

Several of my favorites — like McDonald’s Corporation (MCD), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) and The Coca-Cola Co. (KO) — have increased their respective dividends each and every year for over 25 years in a row!

Many of them are boring companies that don’t necessarily come to mind when you think of making a lot of money.

But by their very nature, “boring” companies like these have the potential to generate enough cash to pay shareholders throughout practically any kind of market environment.

That’s because they sell the kind of ubiquitous products and/or services that people use every single day.

These companies provide the food you eat, the beverages you drink, the gas you put in your car, the toothpaste you use to clean your teeth, the power you use to light up your home, and the hardware and software necessary to power the device you’re probably using to read this article.

Selling products and services that billions of people around the world use every single day is precisely what protects these businesses from recessions and allows them to expand even in times of distress. Even if you’re unemployed you’re still going to eat, drink, and brush your teeth!

You can see how that worked out during the financial crisis and ensuing Great Recession that started back in 2007 – almost every single company I’m currently invested in actually increased their respective dividend payments to shareholders right through the worst financial calamity my generation has ever witnessed.

If you’re interested in knowing exactly which stocks I’m personally invested in right now, click here to take a look at my real-life, real-money portfolio.

I’m so confident in these companies and their futures, that I’m banking my early retirement on them and the ever-growing dividend income stream that they could pay me.

— Jason Fieber, Dividend Mantra

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