When it comes to successful long-term investing, it's a good idea to focus on total return: the combination of price appreciation and dividend payments. However, there are times when you might think about optimizing for cash flow instead. If you have upcoming obligations that can't be covered by your job income alone -- like an unexpected medical emergency or a larger-than-expected tax bill -- you might want to look into investments that can help make up a cash shortage. 

Below, we'll briefly review four strategies to access a little more cash.

Many stocks across the investment universe are known for their ability to generate cash, and in many cases even to increase their dividend. Here, I refer to companies like AT&T, AbbVie, and Kinder Morgan -- among other value stocks. But others, typically growth stocks in the tech space, pay no dividend and rely on price appreciation alone to provide returns. 

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Source Fool.com