Investments That Pay You Every Month

Expect a steady flow of cash from these three portfolios. Your bills are due every month. I know mine are. Most of you have to pay rent or the mortgage and utilities. You may have to make car payments and pay insurance premiums. You probably have to pay your credit-card bill, too. Yet the majority of income investments pay less frequently. Stocks generally declare dividends quarterly. Treasury securities and nearly all municipal bonds send you interest every six months. First Financial Fund (symbol FF), a high-yielding closed-end fund that mostly owns bank and insurance stocks, distributes cash just once a year -- around Christmas -- although virtually all of its holdings pay quarterly dividends. A nit-picker will argue that waiting six months or a year for your money cuts the true yield on your investment. Money you can... [read full story]