The single smartest move you can make before interest rates fall any further

By Scott Phillips, Chief Investment Officer, Motley Fool Australia

You've no doubt seen the recent headlines — we all have:

… and, who knows, maybe you've even come across some of the same troubling charts and graphs that I have been lately, like this one:

But have you stopped to consider just how much damage chronically sinking rates could do to your actual lifestyle over time?

To get some sense of just how devastating it could actually be, all you have to do is have a look at some of the stunning data one of our top research analysts just put together:

As you can clearly see, even though a few percentage point difference in returns might not sound like a big deal on the surface…

Compounded over a decade or more, it can start to turn into a truly massive — and costly — problem!

In fact, as the chart above bluntly illustrates, if you have a nest egg of $100,000 saved up, the difference between earning a solid 6% per year and a measly 0.5% per year could wind up costing you nearly a quarter of a million dollars over the next 20 years!

I don't know about you, but missing out on that kind of money would make a major impact on how my family and I live our lives — and keep in mind, if you have even more saved up, the dollar-for-dollar impact would be even greater!

Truth be told, it could mean the difference between:

• Having to work harder and harder for your money over time… OR just kicking back and relaxing as it works harder and harder for you…

• Being able to afford nice holidays for you and your loved ones…OR being able to afford your own holiday home…

• Spending all your time worrying about how you'll be able to pay for retirement… OR spending that same time planning how to best enjoy your dream retirement…

Of course, you may already be at a time in your life when you're not really looking to grow your savings but rather just earn some meaningful income off of them…

However, unfortunately for you, the devastating effects of ever-shrinking rates is exactly the same:

	6%	2.5%	1%	.5%
Initial Deposit	$250,000.00	$250,000.00	$250,000.00	$250,000.00
$ Income	$1,250.00	$520.83	$208.33	$104.17

Frankly, it's downright disheartening…

And, even worse, it can lead those who don't have proper experience navigating complex and difficult situations like this one to make some hasty — and even outright risky — moves with their money!

Which is precisely why I recently gathered some of our top investors, analysts, and advisors here at The Motley Fool, and tasked them with developing an "action plan" for hard-working savers, investors, and even retirees who aren't willing to settle for meager 1% or less returns on their money.

Perhaps not surprisingly the #1 recommendation that our group came up with was for investors to begin focusing on adding dividend-paying shares to their portfolio. 

But not just any dividend-payers (or even bank shares), mind you…

Instead, we believe the single smartest move investors can make before cash rates drop any further is to isolate dividend-paying shares that ideally:

But, of course, we realise that not everyone has the time… patience… know-how… or even interest to dig through hundreds of dividend-paying shares on the ASX in order to find the select few that meet this stringent criteria…

Which is why I took this whole project one giant step further and asked our highly respected resident dividend expert and former "ATO insider", Edward Vesely, to put together a brand-new research report highlighting the top five dividend shares he believes investors should buy right now…

We call it, "Cash Kings: 5 Top Dividend Shares to Buy Before the Cash Rate Sinks Any Lower" — and for a limited time, you can get the full story on one top pick from this report absolutely free of charge by simply entering your email address below:

When you do, you'll not only discover the name, ticker symbol, and key details on one of Ed's favourite shares featured in this report, which:

• Is an under-the-radar business juggernaut that owns and operates 479 stores selling items from 12 different and very well-known brands. (While you're likely very familiar with many of them — and possibly even a customer yourself — chances are you probably aren't familiar with the parent company and don't own its shares!)

• Saw its net profit after tax grow by 22.5% year over year — thanks in large part to solid revenue growth and a management team that has been incredibly effective at keeping costs under control…
• Increased its dividend payout a whopping 22% over the past year — and currently pays a fully franked yield of 5.1%!

But you'll also have the opportunity to claim your very own copy of "Cash Kings" and access ALL of Ed and his team's top dividend research and recommendations in the process.

However, please keep in mind, that because the specific concerns, strategies, and recommendations revealed in this report are incredibly timely, there's no telling how long we'll be able to make it available for.

So please be sure to enter your email address in the box below so you can get all the key facts and important details — before it's too late.

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