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But what if I told you reliable income doesn’t have to be dull? What if I said two utterly unglamorous companies – one that owns boring shops, another that owns pipes you don’t want to think about – are quietly printing cash like accountants laundering joy? Realty Income (O) and Oneok (OKE) aren’t sexy. They’re not going viral. But they’ve been paying dividends longer than your marriage has lasted. Possibly longer than your mortgage. And honestly? That’s the kind of loyalty you can set your watch to.

This particular stock isn’t just riding the AI gravy train-it’s building the tracks. Revenue growth? Double-digit? Triple-digit? Please, it’s more like “quadruple-digit” if you squint and ignore the math. Analysts whisper this sector could grow into a trillion-dollar pie, and our hero company-let’s call it “Nvidia” for now-is the only chef with a flamethrower and a business degree. (Spoiler: the pie is gluten-free, and it tastes like money.)

The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) is the financial equivalent of a neighbor who prunes their hedges with surgical precision and leaves you a jar of homemade pickles. It tracks high-yield dividend stocks, excluding REITs, which is a mercy if you’ve ever tried to explain what a REIT is to a family member who nods like they understand but is really thinking about their ex. With a 2.5% yield, it’s a gentle nudge toward passive income, though I’ve learned not to get too attached to any dividend-paying company that hasn’t existed since the days of vinyl records and rotary phones.