In theory, I agree with the DividendInvestor logic and appreciate Josh's honestly and dedication. But loosing years worth income as the form of capital losses isn't my idea of achieving the objective. And it's happened far too often. Just look back at  Muni Mae (MMA), Capital Source (CSE), BioVail (BVF), and First Potomac Reality (FPO). And how are current holders of GE (GE), Bank of America (BAC), and Magellan Midstream (MGG) holders feeling now?

I recently read a reference to Preferred ETFs and how Dividend Investor can do better. These ETFs were actually recommended as a way to play the financial meltdown on the Morningstar site (and since pulled). Both PGF and PGX were down 30% YTD before yesterday's market 500 point decline. Both were crushed (down 8%-10%) yesterday.

 As an alternative, consider TIP. An ETF for U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected bonds, with a current yield of 6.76%. TIP YTD performance before yesterday's decline reflected a capital gain of over 2%. And yesterday as stocks were hammered, TIP gained 0.6%.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the real benchmark. The 3 year trend is just as favorable. I strongly suggest you take a look at your holdings and compare them to TIP, 1 day, 1 week, YTD, 1 Year, 3 Years. Then think about the next dollar you allocate to dividend producing stocks.