As someone who had to deal with income uncertainty in the past, upto and including homelessness, the peace of mind of watching month expenses slowly get enveloped is incredibly real. This is all apart of our FIRE plan to be able to leave a basic income to our family long after we pass. Yes, I'm aware straight growth investing would be higher returns but it's the price of not having as much anxiety of what ifs.
The list of things I've bought and sold is pretty extensive with a good balance of Dividend staple stocks as well as a tiny tiny amount of a few funds. I heavily simplified it in the last year or so and have created a nifty little setup that hits all of my investing itches. It's a simplified 45%, 45%, 5%, 5% that has the entire possibility of going completely to shit on me but also has worked out so far. As it stands right now it's 45% QYLD, 45% TQQQ, 5% SCHD, and 5% O.
It's not for the weak of stomach to say the least. O covers retail real estate while SCHD provides good growth with dividend return. QYLD forms the base so that every month SOMETHING goes in even if my checks were a little short. The TQQQ provides exponential growth. I don't sell to rebalance just buy more of the lower of the four when ever I buy or get my monthly payouts. I cannot stress how much I do not recommend doing this volatile nonsense but damn is it fun to watch 60% portfolio growth YTD.