The Empire Wealth Builder Wealth Ladder: Climb One Rung at a Time The ladder tells you what to do first with your money, so you’re never wondering where the next dollar should go. Before you start, pay your essentials (housing, food, utilities) and the minimum payment on every debt, which is the smallest amount a lender requires each month. Whatever is left over is your surplus, and the ladder tells you where to send it Step 1: Emergency Foundation Send your surplus into a starter emergency fund of $1,000–$3,000, kept in a savings account you can reach quickly. This cushion covers surprises like a car repair or a medical bill, so you don’t reach for a credit card and slide backward. Step 2: Capture Free Money If your employer offers a retirement match, contribute enough to get all of it. A match is when your employer adds money to your 401(k) or 403(b) because you contributed, for example 50 cents for every dollar you put in, up to a limit. It’s free money and the highest guaranteed return you’ll ever get, so never leave it on the table. Step 3: Stabilize the System Now strengthen all three money levers at once: - Save: keep adding to your emergency fund. - Reduce debt: put extra toward the debt with the highest interest rate. - Increase income: ask for a raise, pursue a promotion, or earn money from a skill you already have. Step 4: Debt Elimination Split your surplus 70% toward paying off debt and 30% toward long-term investing. Paying off debt is like earning a guaranteed return equal to its interest rate, and the 30% keeps your investments growing in the meantime, so you don’t lose those years. Step 5: Empire Building Once you’re debt-free, split your surplus 75% investing and 25% strategic savings. Strategic savings is money set aside for planned goals and opportunities, not just emergencies. This is where you build assets (things that grow in value or pay you), income streams, and real ownership At the top: Financial Independence. Your investments pay you enough to cover your life, and work becomes a choice.

Dividend increases and cuts Vertiv (VRT) raised its annual dividend 60% this morning, from $0.25 to $0.40 a share. The Q4 payment of $0.10 is payable December 17 (SEC 8-K). Fidelis Insurance Holdings raised its quarterly payout 46.7%, from $0.15 to $0.22 (GuruFocus). Two small banks also raised: First National Corp. by 11.8% (GlobeNewswire) and Pinnacle Bankshares by 6% to $0.35 (GlobeNewswire). CRA International raised its quarterly dividend to $0.67 (SEC). The cuts are concentrated in credit-sensitive income names. Blackstone Mortgage Trust (BXMT) cut its quarterly dividend 36%, from $0.47 to $0.30. Blackstone Secured Lending (BXSL) plans to cut 22%, from $0.77 to $0.60, and reports suggest that starts in Q1 2027 (InvestmentNews, Finviz). These follow a run of earlier actions. Xerox suspended its common dividend, effective January 2027 (24/7 Wall St.). Notable moves SCHD hit an all-time closing high of $36.02 on Nov. 11 after the midterm results. It slipped 0.25% to $35.93 on Nov. 12 but is still up about 2.4% for the week and about 31% year to date (Motley Fool, Finviz).