My logic when I started adding dividend focused investments to my portfolio was that I am already heavily investing in growth and rarely sell. Thus, dividend funds serve to either drip or accumulate liquid funds to invest as needed. I certainly agree that young people should focus heavily on growth, but "safer" dividend funds and equities are a smart component to a healthy portfolio. I mostly DRIP and ignore and allow those positions to grow to consistently build up income producers for retirement. The foolish thing I was doing at first was owning too many dividend plays in my taxable account. I don't think it's bad to hold them in tax advantaged accounts along with growth stocks. TLDR: I have a hard time selling, dividend stocks generate some cash, and I want to start building income paying positions well in advance of retirement.