Agree completely on the Seeking Alpha 'lock up'. What a pain, and a huge loss for the entire community. Being prudent with one's finances to me means not paying 'fees' needlessly for 'services' that don't stand out. Seeking Alpha is (was) a great place for information, but I'm slowing losing interest as more and more information is put behind the paywall. Oh well, I'll keep looking for a replacement....
Dividend investing and DRIPs to me are two different strategies. Dividend investing is the ONLY way to go for me, especially in retirement. DRIPs on the other hand cause me more stress, and so I turned them all off. I felt like I'd lost control of what I was investing in and how much I paid for it. Those prices on the minute that the DRIP is executed just made me crazy. I take everything into the cash position, and decide if / what / and when to act. Many times the cash sits there, waiting for the inevitable buying opportunity for one of my existing positions, or a new position to complement what I have.