Don’t you love it when you get that order of French fries and find an onion ring in the container? What about getting an extra soda from the vending machine? Free things tend to make your day or at least make the moment. Why not keep the spirit alive in your investment strategy?

My friend Chris Hubinsky and I recently formed an investing company called H&L Ventures, Ltd. Our goal for the first few years is to build a strong portfolio with a solid base. We want a structure that will last for years and solidify our financial futures. We are employing a dividend grabbing strategy that I will call the Check, Please! Strategy or CPS.

The CPS focuses on buying stocks from secure companies that pay dividends numerous times each year. Many of the big corporations pay dividends quarterly. These dividends are free bonuses to the shareholders (you) that can be rolled right back into your investment. More often than not, the dividends are between 10-50 cents per share. “This Joe Lawrence guy is a moron!” you must be saying to yourself.

You would be right on many occasions, but not here. Let me show you some numbers. If you bought $300 worth of General Electric (GE) back on January 6, 2006, you would own 8.45 shares (I went to 2006 to use real numbers). GE paid $.25 per share dividends throughout 2006. After the first quarter you would have made $2.11. Again, not much but work with me here.

Allow the dividends to be reinvested (most brokers do this automatically, like Sharebuilder.com) and you will have .06 of a share. Your new total shares are 8.51. Keep this up until today, and you now made $24.74 in dividends and own 9.18 shares. That is $25 for free in two and a half years. Sure, it is not a retirement check, but give it a few more years and that number will continue to grow.

H&L Ventures uses Sharebuilder.com because it allows for fractional stock purchases and only $4 fees per trade. To learn more check out Quality Over Quantity.