Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Dividend Income - November 2015 Update

Hi Everyone,

Another month is in the books and with that, just 1 more till 2016.  Where has this year gone?  The weather has been a little above average in my local but with this storm system, it appears as though winter is coming.  Warmer temps in November matched up really well with our dividend income ...  Hot!  Another great month of income in the books so keep reading to see all the juicy details!

Not having to work for money is the best way to make money so hopefully this post inspires other families out there to start saving and investing as soon as they can. The power you feel knowing that you are richer than you were yesterday and you didn't have to work for it is a wonderful feeling.

We realize that our situation is different than every other blogger out there but its not how much you make, its how much you save. We make a middle class income but we live well below our means and this gives us the benefit to invest the surplus month after month and subsequently drive our passive income to new heights!

This past month was quite active in terms of deploying capital.  We made three purchases:  WBA, HCP and UVE for a total of roughly $4,500.  We have greatly exceeded our goal of investing $40,000 this year as we have invested.... $46,500!!!  Even with the purchase of a new truck in October, we continued to plow money into our investments and are looking forward to these paying off in the future.

We want to thank all of you readers out there who have stopped by and congratulated us thus far.  You are the reason these posts keep coming out and continue to get better and better!

So with that being said, lets get down to the numbers.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Recent Buy - Universal Insurance Holdings Inc. (UVE)

Hi Everyone,

Another purchase is in the books.  This one is a bit out of the normal for me.  To be perfectly honest, I have been looking to initiate a position in this company for a while now but: 1) Never had the capital and 2) It always seemed over-priced.  However, this purchase was made with a 'trade' mentality in mind.  Against most Dividend Growth Investors rules, the timing of this purchase was made for a short term gain with the idea of long term hold in the background.

Universal took a substantial nose dive on the 17th of November which is the same day I bought the stock.  The stock fell because of an analyst that came out saying it could represent one of the greatest shorts of his life.  Few shares, a CEO's son in trouble with the law (which is same name as CEO) and a sell first, think later mentality I believe led to a catastrophic fall of over 30% in one day!  

I purchased 100 shares of Universal (UVE) at $20.07.  This purchase adds $48.00 of annual dividends to our account.

With that being said, I had a sell order in at $27.00 (and still do) to capture a 35% gain but unfortunately the stock only bounced back to $24.50ish and has since leveled off around $20.00.  I've heard the saying don't turn a trade into a investment but I'm hoping this works out for the good.

The company purchased almost $10 million dollars worth of stock the day of the 30+% drop and initiated another $10 million dollar buyback a few days later good through 2016.  The company has over $200 million in cash and has a Price to Book of 2.49 (a common insurance valuation metric).  Normal Price to Book values for big time insurance companies are usually around 1.50.  This might still make UVE a bit expensive but this is a small cap insurance company that is expanding rapidly into new markets/states.

The major concern that the "big time" short seller stated was the fact that most of the companies customers are in Florida and it will take just one major hurricane to destroy the company.  This is suspect timing to say the least since Florida is at minimum 6 months away from hurricane season and the "potential" for one of these major hurricanes.  UVE brought in roughly $30 million net income last quarter.  Another 2 quarters without a major hurricane and that $200 million in cash turns into $250+ million.  The company is rapidly expanding into new states which further diversifies their portfolio so a major hurricane will not destroy them.  No one can predict the weather but Florida could go another 10 years without seeing a major hurricane, although doubtful, I'd expect UVE to be a massive company in that time if no hurricanes occur.

I have been looking to diversify into a smaller market cap company with significant growth and this stock fits the bill.  They have a short time frame with regards to dividend growth of just two years but the most recent increase was 20% and have paid out a special dividend of .15 cents the last two years.  This stock adds a little bit more risk to the portfolio but I'm still young and all it could take is just one homerun to really knock my investment returns out of the park.  I'd call this my fifth really risky/speculative stock right behind:  SAM, PSEC, SN & UA.

If you jump over to our Portfolio page, you can see the rest of what we are working with.  Notice that we almost have basically an entire month of expenses taken care of if we choose to quit our day jobs and that's another reason I'm okay picking up a risky company.  At age 28, we are significantly ahead of most of our peers and if this investment fails, we have time to make up for the stumble.  If it takes off, we might look back in 20 years and say that was the best decision of our lives.  Using Aflac as a proxy, investing $2000 in 1995, you'd end up with over a 1200% return or $26,000 today.  Going back to a higher growth stage for Aflac in 1985, investing that same $2000, you would have over $140,000 today!  A 7,000% return!  Not saying UVE will be the next Aflac, but I'll take my chances right now.

You can check out all the other purchases we have made for the year on my Stock Purchases and Sells page.

So there you have it, the next building block on the path to the American Dividend Dream!  What do you think, good purchase, bad purchase?  What are you looking to buy next?

ADD

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Recent Buy - HCP Inc. (HCP)

Hi Everyone,

Another building block to the American Dividend Dream has been bought.  This time, a little bit smaller of a purchase than some of the previous ones but a purchase nonetheless.

Just a quick post tonight.  I just want to get the information out there for all to see...

We purchased 27 shares of HCP, Inc (HCP) at $37.05 on November 2nd.  This purchase adds $61.02 of annual dividends to our account.

Of course hindsight is 20/20 and would have loved to buy it for the current price of $33 or less, but with any luck the stock will stay at this level when the dividend payout occurs.

For all of you keeping track at home, we made the purchase of WBA which only has a yield of about 1.65% but was purchased for the potential growth of the dividend.  With that being said, this next purchase I thought needed a little more bang for the buck so at $37, we are looking at a yield around 6.00%.  Combined, this results in about a 3.50% dividend yield - $85/$2500 = 3.40% and about a 5.00% growth rate.  I think this growth rate could expand to 6 or 7 percent combined when WBA starts seeing synergies with the recent merger and the potential Rite Aid purchase.  Anything over 10% combined growth is gravy in my book and that's what I was shooting for with these two purchases!

You can check out all the other purchases we have made for the year on my Stock Purchases and Sells page.

So there you have it, the next building block on the path to the American Dividend Dream!  What do you think, good purchase, bad purchase?  What are you looking to buy next?

ADD

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Dividend Income - October 2015 Update

Hi Everyone,

Another month is in the books and with that, just 2 more till 2016.  Where has this year gone?  The leaves are changing, the weather is getting cooler and with that, the dividends have cooled off quite a bit this month.  But, not working for money is still the best way to make money.  Hopefully this post inspires other families out there to start saving and investing as soon as they can. The power you feel knowing that you are richer than you were yesterday and you didn't have to work for it is a wonderful feeling.

We realize that our situation is different than every other blogger out there but its not how much you make, its how much you save. We make a middle class income but we live well below our means and this gives us the benefit to invest the surplus month after month and subsequently drive our passive income to new heights!

This past month we only made one purchase in stocks but one major purchase in a new truck!  The truck will set us back a little bit with regards to retirement, but I plan to drive that thing into the ground over the next 15 years or so!

We want to thank all of you readers out there who have stopped by and congratulated us thus far.  You are the reason these posts keep coming out and continue to get better and better!

So with that being said, lets get down to the numbers.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Recent Buy - Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA)

Hi Everyone,

Another building block to the American Dividend Dream has been bought.  This time, a little bit smaller of a purchase than some of the previous ones but a purchase nonetheless.

Personally, these buy posts make me hungrier than ever to keep making money, keep saving and keep investing.  This lifestyle is not for the faint of heart as you might be called stingy, might over spend on a new toy or obsess over retirement, but I have an amazing wife who appreciates my work ethic and determination to retire at an early age. The income that we are starting to make every month is starting to accelerate and it is fun to watch.  If you jump over to our Portfolio page, you can see that we are bringing in a pretty substantial amount of dividend income every year.   

With this recent purchase, my wife and I have put a total of around $43,500 to work since the beginning of 2015.  My goal of investing roughly $40,000 has been accomplished! With that being said, lets get down to the numbers...

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Did I make a mistake? Also, Recent Buy!

Hi Everyone,

This post is a bit behind but nonetheless, here it is.  We were able to pull out one purchase recently even though our expenses have taken a bit of a hit this year.  I have mentioned in a few areas of the blog that I need a truck to do my job.  Well, my previous truck crapped out on me and I was getting tired of buying higher mileage trucks and needing to put work into them a few years down the road.

Because of this, I ended up buying a used Dodge Ram 2500 with only 13,000 miles on it for an enormous....   $35,000....   OUCH!!!  I have felt uneasy about this purchase over the past couple weeks because I have never had a car payment before.  We were able to put down $20,000 on the truck which we are very thankful for, but the $400 car payment showed up in the mail and I got choked up a little bit.  It's a weird feeling but I only drive about 10-15K miles per year so we realize that I could have this truck for 15-20 years, maybe longer if things go well...  fingers crossed!! 

I think I've held off on writing this post because this goes against the retire early community big time. To think that $35,000 at 4% is $1,400 in dividend income I'm missing out on is a heart breaker.  That would pay for more than a month of our mortgage payment per year.  Or, that would take care of all of our additional expenses for one month every year...

But then I think about all the good things.  The truck is beautiful.  All chromed out like I have always wanted, fully loaded, large crew cab (think car seats for babies!) low mileage, one year old, cheaper than brand new since its slightly used, no thought of it breaking down in the near future and most importantly...   I will make money with it!  The truck should pay for itself in just a few years time and if it lasts 15-20 years, you are looking at 10-15 years of positive cash flow.  

Other than our house, this is the biggest purchase I have ever made.  Hopefully it will last for years to come and awesome memories will be made with it!  

With that being said, our goal to invest another $6-10K this year will be very tough.  I highly doubt it will happen because I'd love to be able to pay off the truck by December/January by using some of our emergency fund and any additional savings we will have. But we will see.  If the markets tank, I might decide to buy some stocks instead!

Now the good news...  

My wife and I bought Kinder Morgan (KMI) on October 1st.  With this purchase, we have put a total of around $42,000 to work since the beginning of 2015.  My goal of investing roughly $40,000 has been accomplished! So now for the numbers... 

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Dividend Income - September 2015 Update

Hi Everyone,

It's that time again when we get to post about a favorite topic of ours, dividends! We hope this post inspires other families out there to start saving and investing as soon as they can. The power you feel knowing that you are richer than you were yesterday and you didn't have to work for it is a wonderful feeling. Watching the totals pile in from all the various bloggers out there in this community continues to be a driving force to get ourselves to save and invest more and more.

We realize that our situation is different than every other blogger out there but its not how much you make, its how much you save. We make a middle class income but we live well below our means and this gives us the benefit to invest the surplus month after month and subsequently drive our passive income to new heights!

We want to thank all of you readers out there who have stopped by and congratulated us thus far.  You are the reason these posts keep coming out and continue to get better and better!

So with that being said, lets get down to the numbers.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Dividend Income - August 2015 Update

Hi Everyone,

It's that time again when we get to post about a favorite topic of ours, dividends! We hope this post inspires other families out there to start saving and investing as soon as they can. The power you feel knowing that you are richer than you were yesterday and you didn't have to work for it is a wonderful feeling. Watching the totals pile in from all the various bloggers out there in this community continues to be a driving force to get ourselves to save and invest more and more.

We realize that our situation is different than every other blogger out there but its not how much you make, its how much you save. We make a middle class income but we live well below our means and this gives us the benefit to invest the surplus month after month and subsequently drive our passive income to new heights!

We want to thank all of you readers out there who have stopped by and congratulated us thus far.  You are the reason these posts keep coming out and continue to get better and better!

So with that being said, lets get down to the numbers.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Recent Buy - Exxon Mobil (XOM)

Hi Everyone,

The buys keep piling up this month.  This is the last buy post I have right now so next post will be the dividend income for August post...  just a tad bit behind.  

Personally, these buy posts make me hungrier than ever to keep saving, keep making money and keep investing.  The income that we are starting to make every month is starting to put a significant dent into our expenses.  If you jump over to our Portfolio page, you can see that we almost have an entire month of expenses taken care of if we choose to quit our day jobs.  Eleven more months to go and we are home free!!  In a previous post, I asked you readers what company I should buy but, there were no comments and our money is just burning a hole in our pockets so no more waiting around.  

With this purchase, my wife and I have put a total of around $40,000 to work since the beginning of 2015.  My goal of investing roughly $40,000 has been accomplished! We are about three quarters of the way through the year and we still have the pedal to the metal.  We are trying aggressively to put another 6-10K to work this year.  We shall see how it goes!  So now for the numbers... 

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Recent Buy - Apple (AAPL)

Hi Everyone,

The buys keep piling up this month.  For all you readers out there waiting for the dividend income post, I've got bad news...  you are going to have to wait a bit longer.  I have another buy post coming after this one before I get up the dividend income.  I'm trying the best I can to get caught up.  Life is getting in the way a little bit right now but no complaints here.  

Personally, these buy posts make me hungrier than ever to keep saving, keep making money and keep investing.  The income that we are starting to make every month is starting to put a significant dent into our expenses.  If you jump over to our Portfolio page, you can see that we almost have an entire month of expenses taken care of if we choose to quit our day jobs.  Eleven more months to go and we are home free!!

In this post, I asked you readers what company I should buy but, there were no comments and our money is just burning a hole in our pockets so no more waiting around.  

With this purchase, my wife and I have put a total of around $38,000 to work since the beginning of 2015.  My goal of investing roughly $40,000 is coming ever so close! We are about three quarters of the way through the year and our total is 95% of the way to our goal.  So now for the numbers... 

Monday, September 14, 2015

Recent Buy - 3M Company (MMM)

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I continue to be blessed with the way this year has shaped up.  Personally, these buy posts make me hungrier than ever to keep saving, keep making money and keep investing.  The income that we are starting to make every month is starting to put a significant dent into our expenses.  If you jump over to our Portfolio page, you can see that we almost have an entire month of expenses taken care of if we choose to quit our day jobs.  Eleven more months to go and we are home free!!

The previous month was crazy busy but now that summer is coming to an end so are our social gatherings on every weekend.  As said in my last post, we have still been saving a good portion of our income which has afforded us to make another purchase into our growing portfolio

In my last post, I asked you readers what company I should buy but, there were no comments and I just could not wait any longer.  

With this purchase, my wife and I have put a total of around $36,000 to work since the beginning of 2015.  My goal of investing roughly $40,000 is coming ever so close! We are about three quarters of the way through the year and our total is 90% of the way to our goal.  So now for the numbers... 

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Phew I've been busy - Plus a Recent Buy - DOV

Hi Everyone,

Sorry y'all for being out of pocket so much the past month!  Our schedule has been jam packed with stuff to do every weekend and work has been really been draining me of energy recently.  Since my last post, my wife and I have had three weddings, one week long vacation and other minor social gatherings.  I might have mentioned this but my wife's friends all live primarily out of state so we are either flying or driving 4+ hours to every wedding.  This traveling really takes a toll on the energy levels since we get back on a Sunday afternoon, have to do the laundry, clean up the house and get ready for the next week of work.  It seems like I don't catch my breath till Wednesday or Thursday and we are right back at it either Friday or Saturday night traveling.

All this travel you would think takes a toll on the finances but we have done our best to share hotel rooms with other couples and eat at cheaper establishments which makes a big difference.  Over the past month and a half we have had some of our smallest expense totals to date since I have started tracking our combined expenses over 2 years ago!

To top off our travels, we drove down to the shore for a week with my wife's family which is always a great time.  This vacation really allowed myself the ability to take a step back, stop going through the motions of my daily life and really relax.  I made it a point to really take this week and rejuvenate.  I routinely woke up early - 615am - went surfing till 930am and came back to the house to nap until noon.  I was able to start and finish two books which I have NEVER done in my entire life while on vacation and I was able to really enjoy the time spent with my wife which we do not get to do much of during our daily lives.  This was one of the first vacations I have been on since my journey to retire early and I now want that type of life - wake up when I want, nap when I want, read what I want - for every day of my life.

Once again, our finances did not take much of a hit.  My wife did a fantastic job pre-cooking a lot of our meals for the week and we only went out to eat twice.  Quality time was spent with family instead of rushing to play mini-golf, or go-karts, etc so we did not spend much money frivolously which was nice.

With that being said, hopefully I'll be able to get back on the horse and pound out some new material and updates to all the usual reports/dividend posts that have need to be developed.

Recent Buy

On September 1st, we bought 33 shares of Dover Corp. (DOV) at $60.00 per share.  This purchase adds $55.44 of annual dividends to our account based on .42 quarterly payout.  The P/E at time of purchase was roughly 15, the yield is 2.8%, market cap of 9.35B and the stock has fallen roughly 40% from the peak of $96.00.  This was a chance to average down on Dover after this purchase at $74.00.  I will bring up just one main point from that post ----  Dover has been raising its dividend for 60 YEARS now.  I have confidence they will continue this trend into the future so why not average down on this company?  

The market has been all over the place the past month and I have seen other bloggers take full advantage of the pullback.  I will be doing research thoroughly to try and pick up some companies on the cheap.  My watch list in no particular order, looks like this:

ENERGY:   EMR, CVX, XOM, KMI
HIGH YIELD:  T, VZ, OHI, O, WPC
GROWTH:  MMM, UNP, AAPL, DIS

Please pick one stock from each category that you think I should purchase!

How has your last month been?  Look forward to talking to you!

ADD

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Dividend Income - July 2015 Update

Hi Everyone,

It's that time again when we get to post about a favorite topic of ours, dividends! We hope this post inspires other families out there to start saving and investing as soon as they can. The power you feel knowing that you are richer than you were yesterday and you didn't have to work for it is a wonderful feeling. Watching the totals pile in from all the various bloggers out there in this community continues to be a driving force to get ourselves to save and invest more and more.

We realize that our situation is different than every other blogger out there but its not how much you make, its how much you save. We make a middle class income but we live well below our means and this gives us the benefit to invest the surplus month after month and subsequently drive our passive income to new heights! The month of July is typically a slower month and overall this month turned out to be a disappointment.  Quarter over quarter my income decreased, but we will get into that below.

We want to thank all of you readers out there who have stopped by and congratulated us thus far.  You are the reason these posts keep coming out and continue to get better and better!

So with that being said, lets get down to the numbers.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Stop Going Through the Motions

Hi Everyone,

I hope this post finds you all doing well and living life to the fullest while aggressively pursuing financial independence.  But, let me tell you a little bit about the past few days.

About a week ago, I was reading this post  by Retire29 regarding the quote "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." by John Lennon.  The post first struck me as incredibly well written but after the jealousy wore off, I found myself questioning my life.

Am I embracing my life?  Am I living my life to the fullest right now?  Am I taking the time out of each day to appreciate the little things?  Or, am I taking my life and luxuries for granted?

I have reread that post quite a few times and I think everyone should read it.  And reread it about once a month.  Then ask yourselves the same questions I posted above. Follow that up by looking around, taking a deep breath when in a stressful situation, step outside for a break, take a new way to work, change up your routine...  just do anything to open you senses and appreciate the life you are living.  I have done that this past week and I can only hope all the following weeks will be the same.

Now for the details...

I work an incredible amount of hours as it stands right now.  On any given day, 10 hours is usually a minimum on the weekdays.  A few hours on the weekends, and it starts all over the next week.  I get home from a long day of work and the rest of the night is spent relaxing on the couch, spending just a few short hours with my wife catching up on the day, before falling asleep.

This is the part where most people say...  "But this week was different"  ...  however if I said that, I'd be lying to you.  After you read someone say those words, the next sentence begins...   "I took off 2 days, or I left work early a few days" or something of the sort.  My thought is that you can only do that so many times before your boss or your income or your job security takes a hit.  You cannot continue to take time off unless you are at the point of retiring so instead, I still worked 10 hours a day, but my eyes were "open" each hour of each day.  I looked at every hour with appreciation for the life I was living.  By doing this, I was able to slow time down and enjoy an incredibly relaxing and gratifying week.

The week started just like any other.  I woke up, worked out for about 15-20 minutes and left for work around 7:15am every day.  Instead of taking the usual way to work, I decided to go a different direction every day.  There are only 3 different ways to really get to my work but each day I went a different route.  Mixing it up allowed me to truly enjoy the sunrise every day.  The different angle of the sun, the way it shines through the trees or the openness while driving down the highway all opened my eyes to the beauty of the world around me.  Traffic lights were no longer viewed as torture when I just missed a green light.  Instead, I was tuned into my surroundings, watching people sing in their cars to the morning radio was a true delight.  The smell of fresh cut grass as I was stopped at those lights or the smell of rain after it had stormed the night before was incredibly soothing.

Once at work, I usually get a cup of coffee before starting the day.  The coffee is free, so why go to a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts before hand right?  My company has a Keurig type coffee maker and I love the french vanilla flavor.  But this week, I tried a different flavor every morning.  This is something that I will definitely continue into the future.  Caffeine is supposed to make you more awake and alert.  However, I think that if you drink the same flavor coffee with caffeine every day that your body becomes immune to the stimulating affect of the caffeine.  Some mornings I would have a cup of coffee only to be just as tired as before drinking it.  This week was different.  My body was more alert because the flavor I was tasting was constantly different.  My taste buds were on full alert and every cup I savored to the last drop. It was delightful.

The rest of the week was much of the same.  I tried to eat something for different for lunch every day instead of the usual lunch meat sandwich.  I mixed up the meat, the bread, the chips, everything.  I went for a slow walk around the building, going down hallways where I've never been.  Said hello to employees that I've never seen before.  But to top it all off...

On Friday, I took the long way to work, I pulled up in the parking lot 15 min late and there it was...  A baby deer chilling in the middle of the parking lot.  I have been parking in the same lot every day for 5 years and never have I seen a deer in the parking lot.  It might not be all that big a deal to many of you out there, but had I not slept in or taken the long way to work, this moment would have been missed.  It was like a sign from above that I need to be living my life like this every day.  It was an amazing ending to the week.

And this is why we are striving for financial independence.  Little changes to a daily routine and your week slows down.  The past week felt longer than the past month before when I was just going through the motions.  The idea that every day can be different once retirement hits is a driving force within me now.  I will strive to continue to mix things up and enjoy the beauty around me.  You only get one life so why not enjoy every minute of it!

So, I encourage you all to change up your routine over the next week.  Stop going through the motions.  Embrace the subtleties throughout your day.  Appreciate the little things like a different sunrise every morning, a new flavor of coffee, sleep in a few extra minutes and maybe you'll see nature in a different way.  Once you open up all your senses you'll find that the minutes seem like hours and the amount of enjoyment in your life will surely increase.

I can only hope that your stories will be like mine.  Live in the moment and as my younger brother says  "YOLO"!!

ADD






Thursday, July 23, 2015

Recent Buys - W. P. Carey (WPC) & Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI)

Hi Everyone,

I have been a little MIA the past couple of weeks but this summer has been extremely busy.  Wedding season continues to be in full swing, lounging by the pool, playing golf (I know, not very frugal), working my butt off and overall just trying to enjoy life, has taken priority over the blog...  Sorry!

I'm hoping to get back to writing a little bit more frequently but thank you all for being patient.  Now to the good stuff...

On June 24th, we bought 33 shares of WPC at $61.45.  This purchase adds $125.92 to our annual dividends based on a .9540 quarterly dividend.  I went over some of WPC's business more in depth in this post a while back when I made the first purchase.  At the time, the REIT's were still falling so we decided to buy some more of this great company.  Hopefully they continue to grow just as rapidly in the next few years as they have in the past few years.

On July 17th, we bought 56 shares of OHI at $35.74.  This purchase adds $123.20 to our annual dividends based on a .55 quarterly dividend.  I went over OHI in more depth on this post a while back so feel free to check that out if you want more info.  OHI has fallen over 20% from its 52 week high and another 10+% from our last purchase at $40.  OHI could be in a great position in the future with regards to the baby boomers getting older and the need for more skilled nursing facilities.  Hopefully there growth continues to be stellar and they dividend keeps increasing every quarter!

So thats it,  These two purchases have added $249.12 to our annual dividends.  Not too shabby.  Now if we could only pick a stock like AMZN, NFLX to really accelerate our portfolio!  Visa is helping out tonight/tomorrow and UNP keeps falling to more attractive levels.

Overall, I think UNP, MMM, DNKN, DPS could warrant initial purchases after their recent drops due to earnings. We should really just buy UA and let it ride...   It continues to be in exponential growth mode and I would not be surprised if it becomes the next NKE.

Anyways, what do you think of the purchases? What are you all looking to buy next?

ADD

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

401K Update - July 2015

Hi Everyone,

Hope all is well.  I continue to embrace the blogging community and I continue to love it.  Just a quick post tonight about my 401K Portfolio.  I said that I would post about the 401K when big changes were made or about twice a year in July and January. Usually in June and December, some of my funds pay some dividends and after 6 months of new capital, there are a decent amount of shares added.  My company's 401K policy is that employees receive 3% company match throughout the year and then a bonus of 2% at the end of the year.  My portfolio now looks like this:

As of 7/5/2015:



At the present time, I view my 401K Portfolio as an added bonus to my path to financial independence.  The overall goal of my investing journey is to retire at an age much younger than most which is why I am mostly invested in a taxable account.  I need to be able to retrieve those funds and more importantly, the dividends that are generated to support our family when the time comes.  I call my 401K an added bonus because from what I have read, I cannot touch that money until at least age 55 (depending on stipulations that I may or may not be able to take part in) but most likely 59.5 without incurring penalties.  Therefore, this money will sit in my account just compounding away for the next 32 Years!

Combining both my 401K and my taxable account, I hold roughly $143,000 in investments!

This is an increase of about $30,000 from my last post in February!!

Thanks,
ADD

Monday, July 6, 2015

Dividend Income - June 2015 Update

Hi Everyone,

It's that time again when we get to post about a favorite topic of ours, dividends! We hope this post inspires other families out there to start saving and investing as soon as they can. The power you feel knowing that you are richer than you were yesterday and you didn't have to work for it is a wonderful feeling. Watching the totals pile in from all the various bloggers out there in this community continues to be a driving force to get ourselves to save and invest more and more.

We realize that our situation is different than every other blogger out there but its not how much you make, its how much you save. We make a middle class income but we live well below our means and this gives us the benefit to invest the surplus month after month and subsequently drive our passive income to new heights! The month of June is typically the second highest dividend income month behind December as our 401k funds usually pay out hefty checks twice a year and this month did not disappoint!

We want to thank all of you readers out there who have stopped by and congratulated us thus far.  You are the reason these posts keep coming out and continue to get better and better!

So with that being said, lets get down to the numbers.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Recent Buy - Boeing (BA)

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I continue to be blessed with the way this year has shaped up.  Personally, these buy posts make me hungrier than ever to keep saving, keep making money and keep investing.  The income that we are starting to make every month is could put a significant dent into our expenses.  If you jump over to our Portfolio page, you can see that we almost have an entire month of expenses taken care of if we so choose to quit our day jobs.  Eleven more months to go and we are home free!!

The next couple of months are going to be extremely busy with activities and such going on just about every single weekend.  Between weddings, birthdays, parties, etc. hopefully we will still be able to keep saving at the pace we have been the past 2 months.  

In my last post, I asked you readers what company I should buy after the RAI/LO merger gave me about $1,700 of capital to work with.  I received quite a few comments but ultimately I decided to buy Boeing (BA). 

With this purchase, my wife and I have put a total of around $28,000 to work since the beginning of 2015.  My goal of investing roughly $40,000 is coming ever so close! We are about half way through the year and our total is 70% of the way to our goal.  So now for the numbers... 

Sunday, June 14, 2015

What would you do? RAI Merger

Hi Everyone,

I just logged into my retirement account and noticed that the RAI, LO merger has gone through.  My 33.69 shares of LO turned into 9.89 shares of RAI and a deposit of $1,717.10 into my account.

So what would you do?

Would you immediately buy shares in RAI?  Would you spread the money out into other stocks?  Would you buy a different tobacco company like MO or PM to stay in the same area as LO but could provide better returns than RAI that has a PE of 25?

I currently have a list of 5 other stocks that I would like to be a part owner of so I could easily spread the money out into those. They are OHI, DPS, DE, T and BA.

At the time of the LO merger, I was receiving roughly a 3.65% yield on my money so I would like to get at least that through a single purchase or a combination of different companies so I do not lose out on any dividend income.

I'm leaning towards buying some more OHI since they are still depressed a good bit and then some DPS because they have fallen from their highs by roughly 8%.  I'd be looking to initiate a position on a 10% pullback.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.  One of my best picks is now gone...   :(   If I had it my way, LO and RAI would have never merged, but so is life.

Lets try to pick out my next best performer!!

ADD

Recent Buy - Parker-Hannifin Corp.

Hi Everyone,

I fell behind a little bit with getting this post out, but its been a busy couple weeks.  This purchase actually occurred on June 6th.  It looks as if I'll make another purchase here pretty quickly because of the RAI/LO merger.  I received quite a decent chunk of funds for my shares.  I might just buy RAI to stay in the tobacco area, or maybe split the funds between RAI and MO.  Not sure what I'll do with those yet.  My wife and I had a record month of May on the savings front and that has opened up the opportunity to invest some extra capital which is always an amazing feeling!  

With this purchase, my wife and I have put a total of around $26,000 to work since the beginning of 2015.  My goal of investing roughly $40,000 is coming ever so close! We are just about half way through the year and our total is just a tad more than 50% of the way there.  We are in a great position to reach this goal.  I moved away from the REIT area with this purchase but I feel this is a great time to start a position so without further ado...

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Dividend Income - May 2015 Update

Hi Everyone,

It's that time again when we get to post about a favorite topic of mine, dividends!  We hope this post inspires other families out there to start saving and investing as soon as they can.  The power you feel knowing that you are richer than you were yesterday and you didn't have to work for it is a wonderful feeling.  Watching the totals pile in from all the various bloggers out there in this community continues to be a driving force to get ourselves to save and invest more and more.

We realize that our situation is different than every other blogger out there but its not how much you make, its how much you save.  We make a middle class income but we live well below our means and this gives us the benefit to invest the surplus month after month and subsequently drive our passive income to new heights!  The month of May is typically the slowest month and the past 31 days was no different.  However, any money we do not have to work for is far better than working.  So with that being said, lets get down to the numbers.

Between last year and this year, we have put a ton of money to work in the market and the decisions of our past continue to reward us quite well!  This months total came in at $257.18 which is a 85.34% higher than last year.

We made two stock purchases in the month of May, WPC and DLR.  The REIT's continue to remain a bit depressed so we are looking to add to our position in O and OHI.  As my wife and I continue to put more and more capital to work, it is truly paying off...  literally.  This is the first month of the year that we have not had a 100% increase in dividends from last year.  To see that kind of growth month after month is really exciting!  My wife and I continue to be blessed and this journey continues to inspire us to keep on going.

March Dividend Income:
  • VZ - 68.16
  • T - 23.58
  • OHI - 18.46
  • GLP - 29.68
  • PG - 15.36
  • O - 8.83
  • KMI - 46.86
  • PSEC - 43.62
  • Money Market - .02
401K:
  • Bonds - 2.61
Total:  $257.18



Jump over to our dividend income page to see the increases month after month.  There is also a nice chart on that page for all you visual learners out there.  On that page, you can easily see dividend income investing at work which hopefully one day will be greater than our expenses and that's what we like to call The American Dividend Dream!  Check out our complete portfolio here updated on 6/1/2015.

Looking out in 2015, we are thinking of adding some more O, OHI, another healthcare (perhaps DGX or GILD) and WAGE.

How was your April?

Thanks,
ADD

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Recent Buy - Digital Realty Trust, Inc (DLR)

Hi Everyone,

Well, like I said with the last recent buy post, things have slowed down a bit, but this month my wife and I have now managed to purchase 2 fine companies!  A third purchase may come soon after this one, so stay tuned.  The student loans are paid off and we are 1 wedding down out of the 7 we are attending this year.  With most of the costs such as hotels and gifts paid for already hopefully we can get back to putting more money to work.  

With this purchase, my wife and I have put a total of around $24,000 to work since the beginning of 2015.  My goal of investing roughly $40,000 is coming ever so close! Greater than half way to our goal with still more than half the year left to go...  pretty sweet!  I'm sticking with the REIT theme as they are still depressed due to potential rate hike increases so with that being said, my next purchase was Digital Realty Trust, Inc (DLR)...

Friday, May 15, 2015

My Amazing Wife

Hi Everyone,

I might be just a tad biased, but I truly believe I have one of the greatest wives you could ever ask for.

I've thrown around hints on various blogs that I work on average 50-60 hours per week year round.  I'm doing this because I want to spend as much time with my future kids/family as possible when the time comes.  However, this time away from home leaves my wife alone and wondering what time I will be finished...  every night.  

She is incredibly supportive and understands that this lifestyle we live is a means to an end but my work load is putting a strain on my personal well being.  I love my wife, if I didn't I would not have married her, so being away as much as I am just kills me at times.  We shoot down invitations to fun activities and generally she is just sitting at home waiting for me to get there.  I would kill to be cuddled up on the couch watching a movie with a cold beer in my hand, but our life is not that way.  

She works a full time job as a social worker which is a tough job.  The stories she hears and the situations that occur in that line of work send chills down my spine but she truly has a kind soul.  She'll put anyone before herself and she's always there when you need her.  She works a thankless job 40 hours a week and then comes home to another "thankless" job...  but no longer!

Now I'm not one to put gender roles onto anyone, but we have kind of fallen into the I work and she cooks type of roles.  I would completely become the homemaker if the situation presents itself but right now we don't have that type of lifestyle.  With that being said, she has done an amazing job over the past few months to have dinner on the table when I get home and the house is in tip top shape as well.  Like I said, being a homemaker can sometimes be a "thankless" job so I just want her to know that she is seen.  Even though there is no extra money being made with the things that she does, if it wasn't for her our "house" would not be a "home".  She saves us money by cooking homemade meals which I might add are delicious and she removes the stress of coming home to a dirty house. I'm grateful and I admire the heck out of her for doing what she does every day/night.

You hear all the time that marriage can be tough.  Taking two lives and turning it into one is a never ending challenge, but currently my wife and I have found a common goal...   To live the American Dividend Dream!  Being on the same path and having the same mindset has been a key to success in our house.  Without her support and her willingness to take care of our home, I would be lost.  Our marriage would not be as strong as it is today.  She is truly my rock and I can't wait till our dividends are throwing off substantial income so I can drop down on my working hours and hang out with her more.

For all the bloggers out there with families, how do you get by?  Did you work hard when you were young to have more time in the future?  Or are you regretting you didn't find the dividend investing lifestyle sooner?  

Thank you, C!

I love you

ADD

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Dividend Income - April 2015 Update

Hi Everyone,

It's that time again when I get to post about a favorite topic of mine, dividends!  I hope this post inspires other investors out there to start saving and investing as soon as they can.  The power you feel knowing that you are richer than you were yesterday and you didn't have to work for it is a wonderful feeling.  Watching the totals pile in from all the various bloggers out there in this community continues to be a driving force to get myself to save and invest more and more.

I realize that our situation is different than every other blogger out there but its not how much you make, its how much you save.  My competitive nature drives me to save as much as I can which in turn creates more passive income once the money is invested.  So with that being said, lets get down to the numbers:

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Recent Buy - W. P. Carey Inc. (WPC)

Hi Everyone,

Well, the year has slowed down a bit with regards to buys, but the savings account has been built back up after I used them all up to pay off the student loans so hopefully I can get back to putting more money to work.  With this purchase, my wife and I have put a total of around $22,000 to work since the beginning of 2015.  My goal of investing roughly $40,000 is within sight! To think that we are more than half way to our total is a great feeling since we are just 4 months into the year.   The market continues to stay at elevated levels but there was some recent weakness in REIT's so with that being said, my next purchase was W.P. Carey Inc. (WPC)...

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Exxon Raises, Chevron Disappoints

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I'd throw a quick post up since I haven't done one in a while.  With a lot of raises going on the past month with regards to dividends, there was an interesting situation today between XOM and CVX.

XOM raised the dividend 5.8% while CVX did not raise the dividend but was expected too.  It just goes to show how the fall in oil is affecting companies differently.  Exxons raise gives me roughly $5 more per year in dividends which I did not have to do anything to earn, just be invested in a great company!

I'm disappointed with CVX, but technically it still has a chance to keep the dividend streak alive if it raises its dividend within the next quarter or two so I will hold onto it for now.

What did you think about the XOM, CVX dividend dilemmas?  Are you going to sell CVX if you are a diehard dividend growth investor?

It will be interesting to see how these two companies play out over the coming months.

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, April 6, 2015

Dividend Income - March 2015 Update

Hi Everyone,

It's that time again when I get to post about a favorite topic of mine, dividends!  I hope this post inspires other investors out there to start saving and investing as soon as they can.  The power you feel knowing that you are richer than you were yesterday and you didn't have to work for it is a wonderful feeling.  With that being said, lets get down to the numbers:

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Changes to our finances



Hi Everyone,

Over the past two weeks, my wife and I had quite a few changes to both our lives that will significantly impact our finances.  For this reason, I wanted to give a quick update to all of my readers out there to keep you in the loop.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Recent Buy - Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI)

Hi Everyone,

The buys keep coming!  It's been a real busy start to the year and things are not slowing down.  I just got a raise at work, my wife is getting a new job that could potentially earn us a fair bit more money and we recently paid off the last of my student loans.  With all this movement with regards to our finances, we are still saving a good bit of money to invest and hopefully we'll be able to up our investing a bit more!  With this purchase, my wife and I have put a total of around $20,000 to work since the beginning of 2015.  My goal of investing roughly $40,000 is within sight! To think that we are half way to our total is a great feeling since we are just 3 months into the year.   The market continues to stay at elevated levels but there was some recent weakness in REIT's because of the anticipation of rising interest rates.  Well, the Fed did not raise the rates but it gave us an opportunity to buy at lower prices.  With that being said, my next purchase was Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI) so without further adieu...

Monday, March 23, 2015

Free at Last!

Hi Everyone,

It's a big day for me today.  I no longer have any student loans!!  Way back in 2009 I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology and with my 8 X 11 piece of paper, I had roughly $25,000 in student loan debt.  At the time, I had two loans.  One was around $8,000 with a high interest rate of about 5.50% and the other was about $17,000 and an interest rate of 2.25%.

Monday, March 9, 2015

SMART Goals - Update on 2015 goals

Hi Everyone,

While at work today, my employer sent out a corporate email stating that our performance review meetings are coming up.  Performance reviews are basically a way for the company to tell you what you are worth to them.  Every year it is the same thing.  My supervisor and his boss call me into their office and we go over what I have accomplished in the past year and what my goals are for this coming year.  Normally, I would not be writing a post about this but the corporate email that was sent asked us to create SMART goals that give them a well-defined perspective of what we want for our future.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Dividend Income - February 2015 Update

Hi Everyone,

It's that time again when I get to post about a favorite topic of mine, dividends!  I hope this post inspires other investors out there to start saving and investing as soon as they can.  The power you feel knowing that you are richer than you were yesterday and you didn't have to work for it is a wonderful feeling.  With that being said, lets get down to the numbers:

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Having some fun in Austin!

Hi Everyone,

One of my goals this year was to save as much as possible but to live life.  My wife and I have a goal of traveling as much as possible before we have kids.  A few reasons for this:  1. It will be cheaper.  2.  We have more free time/flexibility.  3.  It's simpler.  Therefore, we took a trip to Austin, Texas and had some fun!  Read on to find out how it went...

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Go TROW Go!

What a day!

I had three companies increase their dividends today.

Kimberly Clark raised the dividend to $0.88 which was good for a 4.8% increase.

Lorillard raised the dividend to $0.66 which was good for a 7.3% increase.

And the granddaddy of them all!

T. Rowe Price raised the dividend to $0.52 which was good for an 18% increase!

Not only that, but T. Rowe Price will also be paying out a special $2.00 dividend in April.

I own 25 shares of T. Rowe Price so that special dividend alone will add $50 to my yearly dividend total that I was not expecting to receive whatsoever!  The $0.08 raise will add an additional $8.00 to my yearly total as well.

The magic of dividend growth investing is at work and this post proves how awesome this journey can be!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Recent Buy - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Hi Everyone,

Finally, my last purchase with funds left over from last year.  I'm having mixed emotions thinking about writing this post.  I'm thrilled to add more income to the portfolio but I'm fresh out of extra capital to invest at the moment which is a bit saddening. With this purchase, my wife and I have put a total of around $18,000 to work since the beginning of 2015.  My goal of investing roughly $40,000 is within sight! To think that we are almost half way to our total is a great feeling.  I was also able to add most of this capital before the companies started paying out their 2015 dividends so our portfolio/income goals are much better off. I thought of holding out until the market pulled back in order to invest that much capital but I just couldn't do it.  I'm not a fan of sitting on capital for too long at this point in my life.  Plus, after watching the market continue to make new high after new high while the so called "experts" have been calling for a pullback for 4 years I figure screw it, get my money working for me!  With that being said, my next purchase was Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) so without further adieu...

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Recent Buy - Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)

Hi Everyone,

Another purchase is in the books!  Like I said in the last post, I put a good chunk of change to work in the past week.  The only way to get closer to the American Dividend Dream is to keep buying high quality companies and letting the portfolio compound for years to come.  With the market staying around all time highs I continue to look for companies that are attractively valued.  It gets harder and harder every day as the market keeps going up but I think I found a few good ones.  My next purchase was Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) so without further adieu...

Monday, February 16, 2015

Recent Buy - Dover Corp (DOV)

Hi Everyone,

February is half way over and I put quite a good bit of money to work in the past week.  The only way to get closer to the American Dividend Dream is to keep buying high quality companies and letting the portfolio compound for years to come.  Hopefully I was able to pick stocks that continue to do what they do - reward shareholders!  With the market staying around all time highs I continue to look for companies that are attractively valued.  It gets harder and harder every day as the market keeps going up but I think I found a few good ones.  First up, Dover Corp (DOV) so without further adieu...

Thursday, February 5, 2015

401K Update - February 2015

Hi Everyone,

Hope all is well.  I continue to embrace the blogging community and I continue to love it.  Just a quick post tonight about my 401K Portfolio.  I said that I would post about the 401K when big changes were made and I'm happy to say, BIG changes were made!  This past year my company changed the way we receive our company match.  It used to be we received up to a 6% company match.  Now, throughout the year we receive 3% company match and then a bonus of 2% at the end of the year.  Well, my 2% hit the account on Monday!  My portfolio now looks like this:

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Dividend Income - January 2015 Update

Hi Everyone,

It's that time again when I get to post about a favorite topic of mine, dividends!  I hope this post inspires other investors out there to start saving and investing as soon as they can.  The power you feel knowing that you are richer than you were yesterday and you didn't have to work for it is a wonderful feeling.  With that being said, lets get down to the numbers:

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Recent Buy - T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW)

Hi Everyone,

Once again, January continues to be a busy month in terms of buying companies for the American Dividend Dream portfolio.  I went through my portfolio and noticed that it was lacking an investment management company.  I looked around at a few different such companies and was about to pull the trigger but realized their earnings report was just around the corner.  As you can see from one of my recent purchases MSFT I should have waited until after the earnings report.  Lesson learned and a costly one at that but oh well, I try not to time the market that much and the cash I have is burning a hole in my pocket.  Had MSFT killed earnings, I could post how well that buy was. I waited until after the earnings report for TROW and liked what I saw so I bought it today,  Without further adieu...

Monday, January 26, 2015

Recent Buy - Travelers Companies Inc (TRV)

Hi Everyone,

January continues to be a busy month in terms of buying companies for the American Dividend Dream portfolio.  With the market staying around all time highs I continue to look for companies that are attractively valued.  With that being said, I found that the insurance businesses seem to be of decent value.  In particular, I found that Travelers was one of the cheapest around and has a 150 year history.  With decent value and great history, I figured I would pull the trigger.  My only exposure to insurance is Aflac right now and their business is heavily tied to Japan.  So without further adieu...

Friday, January 23, 2015

Being Called Stingy



Hi Everyone,

This is not a new idea, but one that resonates with me.  There are quite a few posts within this community talking about being frugal vs. stingy so add this one to the list.  Tonight, my wife and I went out for happy hour with a few friends of ours. While sitting at the table, one of my friends called me cheap.  I'm not exactly sure why I continue to be called cheap from this particular friend, but it produces a weird feeling that almost hurts when it is said.  So I want to talk about what could make someone cheap...

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Goals for 2015

Hi Everyone,

Another day, another dollar.  Another year, another opportunity to reach the American Dividend Dream!  This is my first post with regards to setting goals but I believe these are necessary in helping to lay out a plan for the future.  Without planning, we could sway off the path and hurt our ability to reach freedom from the 9 - 5 job.  I believe goals need to be challenging, yet achievable.  If you continually set goals that are too extreme, you will continually disappoint yourself which could hinder your ability to keep going.  With that being said, lets look at my goals for 2015:

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Recent Buys - Microsoft (MSFT), Chevron (CVX), Kinder Morgan (KMI)

Hi Everyone,

January is turning out to be quite the month for purchases!  I said I would probably invest more this month, but who knew I would invest this much.  I currently have a good bit of savings ready to invest and instead of earning 1% in a bank account I thought I would invest some.  Sticking with the theme of trying to add a little yield to the portfolio with reasonable valuations, I bought Microsoft, Chevron and Kinder Morgan which combined give me an average of around 3.75% yield.  I see myself waiting for more of a broad market pullback before investing more, but who knows, January is only half over...

Monday, January 12, 2015

401K Update - January 2015

Hi Everyone,

Hope all is well.  I've been really embracing the blogging world this past week and man, it is time consuming.... but I love it!  Commenting on others posts and getting more involved requires a big commitment but it makes me want to continue to push myself to greater heights.  With that being said, I have finally gotten around to making a new page for the 401K!  This is one of the last financial tidbits that I have needed to get onto the blog for a while now and I am happy I can share it with all of you.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Dividend Reinvestment

Hi Everyone,

I was thinking about what I have left out with regards to my investing style and it hit me:  I have not discussed whether or not I reinvest dividends or I "bank" the money and use it all at once to purchase another stock that I feel is undervalued.

With that being said, I currently DRIP all of my dividends back into the same company that pays the dividend.  So for instance, when Verizon goes Ex-Dividend tomorrow, I will receive $67.35 in dividends.  That income will then purchase 1.43 shares of VZ at the current price of $47.04.  I will then control 123.89 shares of this massive company which will generate $68.14 in dividends and that my friends is compounding at work!

There are a few reasons I DRIP all of my investments:

Monday, January 5, 2015

Recent Buy - Verizon Communications (VZ)

Hi Everyone,

A new year has begun and what better way to get things started then to buy a dividend stock!  I've been looking to add higher yield to the portfolio recently and I also wanted to top off my Verizon stake.  As the saying goes, I killed two birds with one stone.  Verizon has pulled back a bit and has been trading in a range of 46-50 for over a year now so I thought why not buy it!  With this purchase so early in the month, I have a feeling I might buy another company or two before the month is out, stay tuned...