Hi Everyone!
Another month in the books and one more month till 2019. It has been an absolute whirl wind for my family over the past month. Very similar to the markets...
Our largest position, CVS is performing pretty much as expected although there has been some issues regarding a federal judge.
With the markets in such turmoil, our REITs have been performing nicely - people leaving growth and moving more defensive I suppose. OHI has really been on a tear recently which has been nice to see.
So lets get to the numbers, shall we!
CVS -- $327.36
SKT -- $33.39
OHI -- $171.58
O -- $41.81
BTI -- $24.44
M.M. -- $1.27
TOTAL -- $599.85
Guys, that is a huge total for me!! I practically doubled my total from last year and CVS is the heavy hitter. I'm not sure what the market is going to do tomorrow or the next month or the next year but as long as the dividends keep rolling in, I'm happy!!
I will say, now that the market was unable to hold the S&P 2600 level, I think we could see further downside. If the market falls below the 52 week low, I think it is watch out below. This is not the worst thing in the world for dividend growth investors though. A lot of companies will sell for good multiples again (like some already are) and the dividends will start to stack up quick.
Good luck to everyone out there and Merry Christmas!
ADD
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Dividend Income - October 2018
Hi Everyone,
The year end is almost here! Holidays are right around the corner, cooler weather and in fact we had our first snow of the season already. CVS stock is performing as expected so things are going really well financially!
My personal life has become a nightmare, unfortunately. For the long time readers here, you know that my wife and I adopted our first child and we were contacted in April of this year to adopt the second child of the same couple. Well, the couple had the child a week ago and have told us they want to parent this child. Our hearts and minds were crushed - still are. For us, this is a similar situation as a miscarriage/still birth - at the nine month mark. To have your car packed, suitcases ready, crib/nursery set up and then have the carpet ripped out from under you is a tough pill to swallow. We pray for the child. We pray for the family. We pray for ourselves. Its been tough, really tough.
So with all that out of the way, lets get down to the dividend income:
O -- $41.64
MO -- $22.67
CSCO -- $57.07
M.M. -- $1.55
Total: $122.93
A pretty small month, but still better than last year by a whooping $2.50!
November should be a huge month for me. CVS and OHI dividends hit! I continue to believe CVS short term will hit $100 a share. Long term 3-5 years its a $200 stock. Hopefully the stock holds around $80 for a while longer as I might have some extra cash laying around at the start of next year (due to failed adoption) that I can put to work.
Thanks for reading, hope things are going well. Happy Thanksgiving!
ADD
The year end is almost here! Holidays are right around the corner, cooler weather and in fact we had our first snow of the season already. CVS stock is performing as expected so things are going really well financially!
My personal life has become a nightmare, unfortunately. For the long time readers here, you know that my wife and I adopted our first child and we were contacted in April of this year to adopt the second child of the same couple. Well, the couple had the child a week ago and have told us they want to parent this child. Our hearts and minds were crushed - still are. For us, this is a similar situation as a miscarriage/still birth - at the nine month mark. To have your car packed, suitcases ready, crib/nursery set up and then have the carpet ripped out from under you is a tough pill to swallow. We pray for the child. We pray for the family. We pray for ourselves. Its been tough, really tough.
So with all that out of the way, lets get down to the dividend income:
O -- $41.64
MO -- $22.67
CSCO -- $57.07
M.M. -- $1.55
Total: $122.93
A pretty small month, but still better than last year by a whooping $2.50!
November should be a huge month for me. CVS and OHI dividends hit! I continue to believe CVS short term will hit $100 a share. Long term 3-5 years its a $200 stock. Hopefully the stock holds around $80 for a while longer as I might have some extra cash laying around at the start of next year (due to failed adoption) that I can put to work.
Thanks for reading, hope things are going well. Happy Thanksgiving!
ADD
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Dividend Income - September 2018
Hi Everyone!
The quarter end is upon us and boy was it a good one! Like most of you know, the quarter ends are usually the bigger payout months and this month was no exception for us.
As for portfolio and overall market news, I can't complain. Had I written this right at the beginning of the month things would be better but I didn't. And man has the market taken a turn over the past week! The first few down days, my taxable account did not budge. V was down, but MO and CVS and PEP were up. You get the picture - tech/growth hit hard, defensive stocks held their own like they are supposed to do. But then the last two days happened and my portfolio was no different than the market. Both portfolios took a major hit like the broader averages.
However, like I said in the first sentence above, I can't complain. CVS position is still higher than it was a few months ago and these down days make great stocks cheap. Visa and financial technology stocks look good right now and keep adding as they fall. Walgreens just posted earnings and had over 10% revenue growth from year to year. So much for the Amazon effect and destroying retail! I remain confident that CVS will post similar results in the coming quarter. Not to mention it appears that they got the preliminary approval for the merger with Aetna - barring selling off Part D plans.
I look around today and I see no changes (yet) to the economy where I live since last week. If anything, this is the type of pull back you look for. A healthy correction right now. Dip a toe in and keep adding on the way down if this is the beginning of the bear market. We shall see!
As for dividends, they keep on paying!!
V - $22.42
O - $41.39
XOM - $48.52
TAP - $12.02
PEP - $39.82
DLR - $11.21
FTSE - $130.44
M.M. - $0.76
TOTAL: $306.58
Now that's what I'm talking about! Double the income from this time last year when we only brought in $147.11. The Dividend Diplomats preach this all the time but maximizing our 401K is really paying dividends - pun intended. Last year FTSE was $95. This year a $130 check! Visa is another position I am really excited about. A $5 gain from last year all due to organic growth - no extra money was added to the position - just good old dividend increases and reinvestment.
Looking towards the future, my wife and I continue to save as best we can and might have a tad bit of money to invest should the market keep falling.
One area of our finances that we never talk about is our HSA's. Our boy spent a week in the hospital 8 months ago and I was unsure what costs were going to look like. I pulled out money from our investments and keep the money in a cash account to pay down his medical bills. Well, with maxing out my HSA I had a decent amount of money to invest so I invested 1/3 of it today - the 11th of October. If the market keeps falling, I will look to continue to add.
I don't talk about HSA's or my wife's 401Ks because I view them as our "surprise" funds when we retire. Either the HSA's will be spent on medical bills throughout the years or it will be a lump sum. My wife's 401K might be used as that dream vacation or perhaps college education. Either way, they do not calculate into our FIRE date - at this time.
Hope you had a great September!
ADD
The quarter end is upon us and boy was it a good one! Like most of you know, the quarter ends are usually the bigger payout months and this month was no exception for us.
As for portfolio and overall market news, I can't complain. Had I written this right at the beginning of the month things would be better but I didn't. And man has the market taken a turn over the past week! The first few down days, my taxable account did not budge. V was down, but MO and CVS and PEP were up. You get the picture - tech/growth hit hard, defensive stocks held their own like they are supposed to do. But then the last two days happened and my portfolio was no different than the market. Both portfolios took a major hit like the broader averages.
However, like I said in the first sentence above, I can't complain. CVS position is still higher than it was a few months ago and these down days make great stocks cheap. Visa and financial technology stocks look good right now and keep adding as they fall. Walgreens just posted earnings and had over 10% revenue growth from year to year. So much for the Amazon effect and destroying retail! I remain confident that CVS will post similar results in the coming quarter. Not to mention it appears that they got the preliminary approval for the merger with Aetna - barring selling off Part D plans.
I look around today and I see no changes (yet) to the economy where I live since last week. If anything, this is the type of pull back you look for. A healthy correction right now. Dip a toe in and keep adding on the way down if this is the beginning of the bear market. We shall see!
As for dividends, they keep on paying!!
V - $22.42
O - $41.39
XOM - $48.52
TAP - $12.02
PEP - $39.82
DLR - $11.21
FTSE - $130.44
M.M. - $0.76
TOTAL: $306.58
Now that's what I'm talking about! Double the income from this time last year when we only brought in $147.11. The Dividend Diplomats preach this all the time but maximizing our 401K is really paying dividends - pun intended. Last year FTSE was $95. This year a $130 check! Visa is another position I am really excited about. A $5 gain from last year all due to organic growth - no extra money was added to the position - just good old dividend increases and reinvestment.
Looking towards the future, my wife and I continue to save as best we can and might have a tad bit of money to invest should the market keep falling.
One area of our finances that we never talk about is our HSA's. Our boy spent a week in the hospital 8 months ago and I was unsure what costs were going to look like. I pulled out money from our investments and keep the money in a cash account to pay down his medical bills. Well, with maxing out my HSA I had a decent amount of money to invest so I invested 1/3 of it today - the 11th of October. If the market keeps falling, I will look to continue to add.
I don't talk about HSA's or my wife's 401Ks because I view them as our "surprise" funds when we retire. Either the HSA's will be spent on medical bills throughout the years or it will be a lump sum. My wife's 401K might be used as that dream vacation or perhaps college education. Either way, they do not calculate into our FIRE date - at this time.
Hope you had a great September!
ADD
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Dividend Income - August 2018
Hi Everyone!
Another busy month in the ADD household. We had a one week vacation to the beach and our boy LOVED it! As soon as you put him down he would crawl right to the ocean. When you stood him up by the water he would rock back and forth and smile and laugh every time the water crashed into him. It was a lot of fun! Plus, the relaxation and stress free life for a while was great.
The markets have climbed their way back to new highs over the past month. Will it continue? Who knows, but the dividends keep rolling in! Like last month, I continue to shuffle some holdings around and add to my CVS position. Furthermore, I have been able to deposit some funds from savings to juice up the holding. I start out each year front loading my 401K but my company only matches when you deposit on each paycheck. As such, if I put in 25% of my paycheck in the beginning of the year, I have to lower it down to 5% towards the end to continue to get the match.
I added heavily to CVS around the $65 range and was even able to snag some around $60. My last purchase this past week occurred at $75. Through gains in stock price and adds on the way up, my position is now over $50,000! I know I'm getting away from what a lot of others in the community do - buy multiple different companies at attractive valuations instead of just one - but I'm not backing down from this. There is no turning back, I'll either look like a hero or a failure but I'm committed. This company is now sporting just an 11 forward PE. Market PE is still around 25. This stock could conservatively double from here and only have an average S&P PE ratio - insane!
But, here is what you all came here for - Dividends
BTI - $24.22
SKT - $32.91
O - $41.23
CVS - $191.11
OHI - $343.18
M.M. - $0.19
TOTAL: $632.84
An outstanding month! I would have to go all the way back to June 2016 to see a similar total. 2017 August was only $385 so this is a massive improvement. In October, the total is expected to be around the same but you will see a lot more CVS and less OHI. One big portfolio move that I had this past month was selling half of my OHI position. OHI had a heck of a rally before and after earnings so I thought it was best to take some off the table. The huge dividend will be missed but like I stated above, I think there is more growth potential from CVS at this time.
As for the rest of 2018, I might continue to purchase CVS with any extra funds I come across. I think CVS is still a good purchase up until $80 per share. After that, things will need to be monitored.
Hope you all had a great August!
ADD
Another busy month in the ADD household. We had a one week vacation to the beach and our boy LOVED it! As soon as you put him down he would crawl right to the ocean. When you stood him up by the water he would rock back and forth and smile and laugh every time the water crashed into him. It was a lot of fun! Plus, the relaxation and stress free life for a while was great.
The markets have climbed their way back to new highs over the past month. Will it continue? Who knows, but the dividends keep rolling in! Like last month, I continue to shuffle some holdings around and add to my CVS position. Furthermore, I have been able to deposit some funds from savings to juice up the holding. I start out each year front loading my 401K but my company only matches when you deposit on each paycheck. As such, if I put in 25% of my paycheck in the beginning of the year, I have to lower it down to 5% towards the end to continue to get the match.
I added heavily to CVS around the $65 range and was even able to snag some around $60. My last purchase this past week occurred at $75. Through gains in stock price and adds on the way up, my position is now over $50,000! I know I'm getting away from what a lot of others in the community do - buy multiple different companies at attractive valuations instead of just one - but I'm not backing down from this. There is no turning back, I'll either look like a hero or a failure but I'm committed. This company is now sporting just an 11 forward PE. Market PE is still around 25. This stock could conservatively double from here and only have an average S&P PE ratio - insane!
But, here is what you all came here for - Dividends
BTI - $24.22
SKT - $32.91
O - $41.23
CVS - $191.11
OHI - $343.18
M.M. - $0.19
TOTAL: $632.84
An outstanding month! I would have to go all the way back to June 2016 to see a similar total. 2017 August was only $385 so this is a massive improvement. In October, the total is expected to be around the same but you will see a lot more CVS and less OHI. One big portfolio move that I had this past month was selling half of my OHI position. OHI had a heck of a rally before and after earnings so I thought it was best to take some off the table. The huge dividend will be missed but like I stated above, I think there is more growth potential from CVS at this time.
As for the rest of 2018, I might continue to purchase CVS with any extra funds I come across. I think CVS is still a good purchase up until $80 per share. After that, things will need to be monitored.
Hope you all had a great August!
ADD
Sunday, August 5, 2018
Dividend Income - July 2018
Hi Everyone!
July was a busy month for us in the American Dividend Dream household. Our baby boy started crawling! So much fun to watch him explore and figure things out. Just yesterday he finally learned how to get down from a standing position. Before that it was either fall down or cry until someone put him down.
We drove to Maine for a wedding and our boy did great! As a heads up for anyone driving the east coast - DO NOT drive through CONNECTICUT. That state sucks for traffic! We stayed overnight in CT on the way up but on the way back we drove 12 hours straight home. A few stops but our boy only cried for the last ten minutes. I think he woke up from his third nap and was saying "holy crap this is a nightmare - I'm still stuck in the damn car!" The wedding was great and it was nice for my wife to see her side of the family which usually only happens once or twice a year.
In the financial world, stocks had a pretty nice comeback from the previous months. I continue to sell holdings and buy CVS stocks. Position size is over $20,000 now. One position I sold was BIIB after the huge jump for positive Alzheimer's results. It was only phase II so there is still a long way to go. Will I regret this in the future if phase III is positive and the stock doubles in no time - sure, but I'm happy with the gain and CVS provides me with good risk/reward plus dividends!
As for dividends, lets see how this month stacked up...
July was a busy month for us in the American Dividend Dream household. Our baby boy started crawling! So much fun to watch him explore and figure things out. Just yesterday he finally learned how to get down from a standing position. Before that it was either fall down or cry until someone put him down.
We drove to Maine for a wedding and our boy did great! As a heads up for anyone driving the east coast - DO NOT drive through CONNECTICUT. That state sucks for traffic! We stayed overnight in CT on the way up but on the way back we drove 12 hours straight home. A few stops but our boy only cried for the last ten minutes. I think he woke up from his third nap and was saying "holy crap this is a nightmare - I'm still stuck in the damn car!" The wedding was great and it was nice for my wife to see her side of the family which usually only happens once or twice a year.
In the financial world, stocks had a pretty nice comeback from the previous months. I continue to sell holdings and buy CVS stocks. Position size is over $20,000 now. One position I sold was BIIB after the huge jump for positive Alzheimer's results. It was only phase II so there is still a long way to go. Will I regret this in the future if phase III is positive and the stock doubles in no time - sure, but I'm happy with the gain and CVS provides me with good risk/reward plus dividends!
As for dividends, lets see how this month stacked up...
Friday, July 6, 2018
Dividend Income - June 2018
Hi Everyone,
What a month!!
Over in the Mid-Atlantic, it has been an absolute scorcher for the past week and other than some relief this weekend it looks like we are going to get back into the heat next week. Where I live, we missed all of the pop-up thunderstorms so it is wicked dry. Just 5 miles north received 4 inches of rain in two hours yesterday. Just the luck of the draw I suppose but the garden in our backyard is flourishing nonetheless! There is something so relaxing and awe inspiring about growing a garden.
I have suffered from high blood pressure for years now and between the pills I take and this garden, I swear my blood pressure has never been lower. If you do not grow a garden, you are missing out! I don't care if you live in the city with only one window - throw some mint in a pot by the window and make yourself some Mojitos!
For us, it is tomato, peppers (of all kinds), corn, squash, zucchini, watermelon, cantaloupe, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, potatoes, green beans & carrots! My wife was skeptical in the early spring starting from seed in our kitchen but she has changed her tune! Free food and all organic for the 8 month old baby - what could be better.
In other news, our second adoption is going well. We should find out the sex next week. I'm secretly hoping for a girl - I have always dreamed about walking my little girl down the isle and having a father daughter dance. Sure, its a long way away but its just something I have always wanted to do. Plus, one boy, one girl, we have both all set! No more adopting after that! I told my wife I want to try for a biological child again and after two years of inducing lactation, with no periods, there is little chance of conceiving right now.
It's still difficult to go to work everyday and receive pictures from my wife of our boy in the blow up pool out back or doing something funny. Again, if you are single/dating/engaged/recently married and want to have children, get your finances squared away immediately!!! I have worked for over 10 years now and at a 70% savings rate I could have been retired... No more receiving pictures - I'd be in the picture! So don't delay, save your money, invest in quality companies and you'll thank yourself when you are 30.
Our boy is crawling!!! Quick segway sure but oh man - people tell you that the first 6 months are difficult and its an ever changing life of difficulties after that - well they are right! The first 3 months were miserable. From 3-8 in our case was a breeze and now with the crawling, life if challenging again. No more leaving him on a play mat and doing the dishes - before you know it he's playing with the electrical cords or chewing on shoes. But it is a BLAST!! Best decision we ever made - adoption - love this kid to death.
So now that you are all caught up, here's the dividend total for the month of June:
V $22.38
XOM $48.05
TAP $11.95
O $40.81
PEP $39.82
DLR $11.11
M.M. $0.63
FTSE $275.69
Total: 450.44
A gain of $245 from last year! And the chart is starting to look up!
The biggest year over year gain came from FTSE in the 401K. Like I've mentioned in previous posts, I am still maxing out the 401K even with adoption expenses and a stay at home wife and it is paying off handsomely. A gain of $125 from last year.
By maxing out my wife's 401K while she was still working last year and continuing to max out mine, we have eclipsed our 2016 high of invested funds. However, with more money tied up in the 401K's that do not pay dividends, our dividend totals have not caught up to the 2016 highs. For reference in June 2016 we received $689 in dividends. Of which, only $78 came from the FTSE fund. We had 34 separate companies/funds pay us in 2016. We are down to just 8 in 2018. But, I could not max out my 401K right now if we had not paid off the mortgage - saving us $1300 a month. So we take what we can get!
PEP had a nice gain from March of $4. And this was the first time we saw DLR creep in there with an $11 payout. DLR has increased nicely from our purchase price as well.
In the upcoming months, you will see a drastic increase in dividends from a newcomer - CVS!!
In May, CVS paid us $14. I sold half or our BIIB stake today on the 20% pop and I added another $10,000 to CVS over the past month. Total, we are around $25,000 into CVS. Yes, it is a gamble but with a forward earnings of 9.5, it is honestly the cheapest, least risky investment (in my mind) in the market right now. Sure, you could make a case for WBA but they do not have a potential healthcare related disrupting merger in the works. If AET and CVS can weather the merger turmoil and get the synergies they are projecting, the purchase of pillpack by AMZN is just a blip on the radar. I am looking to add to my CVS position if it continues to stay depressed.
I can honestly see CVS falling to around $50 if the market was to stumble (my own technical analysis) but I would be looking at liquidating my Visa, UVE, PEP holdings (and perhaps more) and buying more at that price. Just think - to get back to a market S&P PE, of say 20 - CVS is a double. Another point - in 2015 when CVS was trading at over $100 per share, they had revenue of $150B. At $65 now, they have revenue of $185B and an additional 1.5B of net income. The market cap has dropped by $30B, they are making $30B more and their market cap now is around $65B - again - a double from here. AMZN is not going to put them out of business overnight. Management seems to be putting debt first on the AET deal by cancelling dividend raises and buybacks. In three years, I am hoping to look back on this investment and only hoping to have invested more money - which I just might do. Stay tuned!
So, how was your June?
Head over to Dividend Diplomats to get the rundown on a ton of financial bloggers dividend income!
Thanks for reading - I know it was a lot - I was drinking rum and coke haha
ADD
What a month!!
Over in the Mid-Atlantic, it has been an absolute scorcher for the past week and other than some relief this weekend it looks like we are going to get back into the heat next week. Where I live, we missed all of the pop-up thunderstorms so it is wicked dry. Just 5 miles north received 4 inches of rain in two hours yesterday. Just the luck of the draw I suppose but the garden in our backyard is flourishing nonetheless! There is something so relaxing and awe inspiring about growing a garden.
I have suffered from high blood pressure for years now and between the pills I take and this garden, I swear my blood pressure has never been lower. If you do not grow a garden, you are missing out! I don't care if you live in the city with only one window - throw some mint in a pot by the window and make yourself some Mojitos!
For us, it is tomato, peppers (of all kinds), corn, squash, zucchini, watermelon, cantaloupe, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, potatoes, green beans & carrots! My wife was skeptical in the early spring starting from seed in our kitchen but she has changed her tune! Free food and all organic for the 8 month old baby - what could be better.
In other news, our second adoption is going well. We should find out the sex next week. I'm secretly hoping for a girl - I have always dreamed about walking my little girl down the isle and having a father daughter dance. Sure, its a long way away but its just something I have always wanted to do. Plus, one boy, one girl, we have both all set! No more adopting after that! I told my wife I want to try for a biological child again and after two years of inducing lactation, with no periods, there is little chance of conceiving right now.
It's still difficult to go to work everyday and receive pictures from my wife of our boy in the blow up pool out back or doing something funny. Again, if you are single/dating/engaged/recently married and want to have children, get your finances squared away immediately!!! I have worked for over 10 years now and at a 70% savings rate I could have been retired... No more receiving pictures - I'd be in the picture! So don't delay, save your money, invest in quality companies and you'll thank yourself when you are 30.
Our boy is crawling!!! Quick segway sure but oh man - people tell you that the first 6 months are difficult and its an ever changing life of difficulties after that - well they are right! The first 3 months were miserable. From 3-8 in our case was a breeze and now with the crawling, life if challenging again. No more leaving him on a play mat and doing the dishes - before you know it he's playing with the electrical cords or chewing on shoes. But it is a BLAST!! Best decision we ever made - adoption - love this kid to death.
So now that you are all caught up, here's the dividend total for the month of June:
V $22.38
XOM $48.05
TAP $11.95
O $40.81
PEP $39.82
DLR $11.11
M.M. $0.63
FTSE $275.69
Total: 450.44
A gain of $245 from last year! And the chart is starting to look up!
The biggest year over year gain came from FTSE in the 401K. Like I've mentioned in previous posts, I am still maxing out the 401K even with adoption expenses and a stay at home wife and it is paying off handsomely. A gain of $125 from last year.
By maxing out my wife's 401K while she was still working last year and continuing to max out mine, we have eclipsed our 2016 high of invested funds. However, with more money tied up in the 401K's that do not pay dividends, our dividend totals have not caught up to the 2016 highs. For reference in June 2016 we received $689 in dividends. Of which, only $78 came from the FTSE fund. We had 34 separate companies/funds pay us in 2016. We are down to just 8 in 2018. But, I could not max out my 401K right now if we had not paid off the mortgage - saving us $1300 a month. So we take what we can get!
PEP had a nice gain from March of $4. And this was the first time we saw DLR creep in there with an $11 payout. DLR has increased nicely from our purchase price as well.
In the upcoming months, you will see a drastic increase in dividends from a newcomer - CVS!!
In May, CVS paid us $14. I sold half or our BIIB stake today on the 20% pop and I added another $10,000 to CVS over the past month. Total, we are around $25,000 into CVS. Yes, it is a gamble but with a forward earnings of 9.5, it is honestly the cheapest, least risky investment (in my mind) in the market right now. Sure, you could make a case for WBA but they do not have a potential healthcare related disrupting merger in the works. If AET and CVS can weather the merger turmoil and get the synergies they are projecting, the purchase of pillpack by AMZN is just a blip on the radar. I am looking to add to my CVS position if it continues to stay depressed.
I can honestly see CVS falling to around $50 if the market was to stumble (my own technical analysis) but I would be looking at liquidating my Visa, UVE, PEP holdings (and perhaps more) and buying more at that price. Just think - to get back to a market S&P PE, of say 20 - CVS is a double. Another point - in 2015 when CVS was trading at over $100 per share, they had revenue of $150B. At $65 now, they have revenue of $185B and an additional 1.5B of net income. The market cap has dropped by $30B, they are making $30B more and their market cap now is around $65B - again - a double from here. AMZN is not going to put them out of business overnight. Management seems to be putting debt first on the AET deal by cancelling dividend raises and buybacks. In three years, I am hoping to look back on this investment and only hoping to have invested more money - which I just might do. Stay tuned!
So, how was your June?
Head over to Dividend Diplomats to get the rundown on a ton of financial bloggers dividend income!
Thanks for reading - I know it was a lot - I was drinking rum and coke haha
ADD
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Dividend Income - May 2018
Hi Everyone!
The months keep rolling by and here we are half way through June and I'm just getting to Mays report!
Sorry for the delay as its been a busy few weeks. Our boy is changing so fast and all the milestones you hear about are here one day and on to the next one the following day. His new thing - crawling!! He is not going very far yet - say 2 feet - but he has just started to figure out that he has to move his hands forward when he moves his knees forward. For a week he would scoot his knees forward and then face plant LOL.
He has had Dada down for about a month but just recently started saying Mama! You have never seen a happier woman then when their child starts saying Mama for the first time. It is amazing to see my wife's face light up with happiness when a Mama comes out!
He is truly the joy in our life right now and yes it was a long journey of infertility and making the decision to adopt but it was worth it!
I cannot wait to see what the future holds when we add Baby #2 - wait WHAT - Yes, thats correct!
Our sons birth parents are pregnant again with a full biological sibling and have asked us to adopt this child as well. Of course we said yes!
Money is extremely tight right now - we even started a fundraiser to help with expenses - so naturally stock purchases are very few and far between.
I have moved around some money - selling some stocks and buying mainly just CVS so those purchases will be reflected in some added dividend income but otherwise, no big buying sprees recently or for the foreseeable future.
The 401K continues to be maxed out - my wife knows how important it is to me to solidify a solid retirement - even if we are not able to retire early any longer. However, the 401K does not pay dividends except for the FTSE fund or a surprise distribution from one of the others.
A big decision last January was to pay off our mortgage. Financially, with the large stock market gains from late 2016 to now, it was not the best decision but, without paying off the mortgage, we could not afford to continue to max out the 401K. Our mortgage ran about 1300 a month. I just recently determined that we are behind by around $30,000 if we were to sell all of those original holdings right now to pay off the mortgage.
This was an eye opening experience to see just how powerful compounding returns are. Granted, if the stock market had fallen by the same amount over the past year, we wouldn't have been able to pay off the mortgage at all but hindsight is 20/20. I am warming up to the idea that it was not a terrible decision - less stress and sleeping better at night because I do not have that lingering bill each month is a blessing. Next time, I'll be sure to make a more prudent decision on paying off big ticket items.
That enough rambling for now - here is May's report:
UVE $14.64 - And they just raised the dividend!!!
CVS $14.00 - This will increase substantially next report!
BTI $25.18
SKT $32.35
OHI $335.43 - And what a rally since the lows - Might trim position if it hits $35 this time
O $40.64
ABT $4.32 - Sold to buy CVS after a 60% gain
MM $0.82
Total: $467.38
A stellar month! $94 more than this time last year, $42 more than last quarter!
Hope you all had a great May!
ADD
The months keep rolling by and here we are half way through June and I'm just getting to Mays report!
Sorry for the delay as its been a busy few weeks. Our boy is changing so fast and all the milestones you hear about are here one day and on to the next one the following day. His new thing - crawling!! He is not going very far yet - say 2 feet - but he has just started to figure out that he has to move his hands forward when he moves his knees forward. For a week he would scoot his knees forward and then face plant LOL.
He has had Dada down for about a month but just recently started saying Mama! You have never seen a happier woman then when their child starts saying Mama for the first time. It is amazing to see my wife's face light up with happiness when a Mama comes out!
He is truly the joy in our life right now and yes it was a long journey of infertility and making the decision to adopt but it was worth it!
I cannot wait to see what the future holds when we add Baby #2 - wait WHAT - Yes, thats correct!
Our sons birth parents are pregnant again with a full biological sibling and have asked us to adopt this child as well. Of course we said yes!
Money is extremely tight right now - we even started a fundraiser to help with expenses - so naturally stock purchases are very few and far between.
I have moved around some money - selling some stocks and buying mainly just CVS so those purchases will be reflected in some added dividend income but otherwise, no big buying sprees recently or for the foreseeable future.
The 401K continues to be maxed out - my wife knows how important it is to me to solidify a solid retirement - even if we are not able to retire early any longer. However, the 401K does not pay dividends except for the FTSE fund or a surprise distribution from one of the others.
A big decision last January was to pay off our mortgage. Financially, with the large stock market gains from late 2016 to now, it was not the best decision but, without paying off the mortgage, we could not afford to continue to max out the 401K. Our mortgage ran about 1300 a month. I just recently determined that we are behind by around $30,000 if we were to sell all of those original holdings right now to pay off the mortgage.
This was an eye opening experience to see just how powerful compounding returns are. Granted, if the stock market had fallen by the same amount over the past year, we wouldn't have been able to pay off the mortgage at all but hindsight is 20/20. I am warming up to the idea that it was not a terrible decision - less stress and sleeping better at night because I do not have that lingering bill each month is a blessing. Next time, I'll be sure to make a more prudent decision on paying off big ticket items.
That enough rambling for now - here is May's report:
UVE $14.64 - And they just raised the dividend!!!
CVS $14.00 - This will increase substantially next report!
BTI $25.18
SKT $32.35
OHI $335.43 - And what a rally since the lows - Might trim position if it hits $35 this time
O $40.64
ABT $4.32 - Sold to buy CVS after a 60% gain
MM $0.82
Total: $467.38
A stellar month! $94 more than this time last year, $42 more than last quarter!
Hope you all had a great May!
ADD
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
WE ADOPTED A CHILD!!!! - Part Three - Expenses...
Hi Everyone,
This is a post that some of you might have been wanting now for a few months. The reason it has taken so long is that the Adoption Agency finally got us the expense report.
Fair warning, this is going to be rough for the frugal crowd who reads this blog. It was rough for me to comprehend that our hard earned dollars were going to uber rides and poor budgeting and I like to think I'm not that frugal compared to most readers. So lets get right into the numbers:
This is a post that some of you might have been wanting now for a few months. The reason it has taken so long is that the Adoption Agency finally got us the expense report.
Fair warning, this is going to be rough for the frugal crowd who reads this blog. It was rough for me to comprehend that our hard earned dollars were going to uber rides and poor budgeting and I like to think I'm not that frugal compared to most readers. So lets get right into the numbers:
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Dividend Income - April 2018
Hi Everyone,
Four months in the books and its time for the Dividend Update! These posts serve as a reminder that even though we may not have much in the market right now, every little bit of income counts!
Short month in regards to companies paying us but that is okay! We still managed to have a $10 increase from last years April even after selling off a portion of our CSCO position to fund other things.
The big increases we are seeing right now are all related to the 401K. I am putting in over $900 per paycheck to maximize that faster in order to receive full paychecks at the end of the year when we will need it the most. More on that in a future post!
Furthermore, when my wife worked for Amedisys their company match was all in company stock. Well, their stock is hitting new highs day after day it seems like - even today on a 200 point down day for the DOW - the stock was positive. So, the position is pushing her 401K to new highs day after day which is fun to see. I have most of her 401K in S&P 500 but 20% now in AMED. This is an account that I don't look at but maybe once a month so its fun to see it continue to grow with no additional input from her.
With that said, lets get to the report...
O $40.46
CSCO $56.21
M.M. $1.08
TOTAL: $97.75
Its fun to watch O grow month after month through reinvestment - .26 cents more that just last month.
May should be a banner month with OHI paying as well as new positions opened since last year. OHI had a decent earnings and the stock has performed well so I'll be reinvesting the dividend again. This position is growing quite large but I'm monitoring it constantly and if it can get up over $30 I will feel much more confident about it. More to come next month on that!
Hope everyone had a great April!
ADD
Four months in the books and its time for the Dividend Update! These posts serve as a reminder that even though we may not have much in the market right now, every little bit of income counts!
Short month in regards to companies paying us but that is okay! We still managed to have a $10 increase from last years April even after selling off a portion of our CSCO position to fund other things.
The big increases we are seeing right now are all related to the 401K. I am putting in over $900 per paycheck to maximize that faster in order to receive full paychecks at the end of the year when we will need it the most. More on that in a future post!
Furthermore, when my wife worked for Amedisys their company match was all in company stock. Well, their stock is hitting new highs day after day it seems like - even today on a 200 point down day for the DOW - the stock was positive. So, the position is pushing her 401K to new highs day after day which is fun to see. I have most of her 401K in S&P 500 but 20% now in AMED. This is an account that I don't look at but maybe once a month so its fun to see it continue to grow with no additional input from her.
With that said, lets get to the report...
O $40.46
CSCO $56.21
M.M. $1.08
TOTAL: $97.75
Its fun to watch O grow month after month through reinvestment - .26 cents more that just last month.
May should be a banner month with OHI paying as well as new positions opened since last year. OHI had a decent earnings and the stock has performed well so I'll be reinvesting the dividend again. This position is growing quite large but I'm monitoring it constantly and if it can get up over $30 I will feel much more confident about it. More to come next month on that!
Hope everyone had a great April!
ADD
Friday, April 13, 2018
Dividend Income - March 2018
Hi Everyone,
The months are rolling by in 2018! Having a child sure does seem to speed things up. I'm not sure if it is the constant state of busyness that you are in or the fact that you keep such close track of time (1 month old, 2 months, 3 months, etc) that makes things move fast but let me tell you - time flies!
All the more reason to stay frugal, save, and invest those extra savings each month into quality dividend paying stocks. Then, all of a sudden you start receiving checks and life is good!!
So without further adieu the March 2018 dividend income report:
V $22.35
XOM $44.66
UVE $14.57
TAP $11.89
O $40.20
VHT $13.73
FTSE $61.93
PEP $34.56
TOTAL: $243.89
Solid month in March! This was a gain of $139 from last March. The gains came from new positions in XOM, TAP, O and VHT. Increases in dividends/payouts from UVE, V, FTSE and PEP.
V had a phenomenal growth rate of 28.5% due to reinvesting a dividend increases!
FTSE is a 401K position that increased $20 or 50% from last year. Just goes to show that maxing out the 401K is really paying off! Like I have mentioned numerous times before, this is one of 6 401K holdings I have and I would surmise that all of them had at least $20 gains in payouts but the funds automatically reinvest them without giving out dividends/capital gains.
It will be a quiet April with regards to income as I have just 3 companies that payout. However, O is a true power house in the portfolio now and $40 of income each month really goes a long way in increasing each monthly total! I wish all stocks paid monthly...
Hope everyone had a great March!
Maybe the weather will finally break here in the mid - atlantic and we will get some nice weather in April! Winter has held on long enough, I'm ready for the sunshine, warm weather and being outdoors more!
ADD
The months are rolling by in 2018! Having a child sure does seem to speed things up. I'm not sure if it is the constant state of busyness that you are in or the fact that you keep such close track of time (1 month old, 2 months, 3 months, etc) that makes things move fast but let me tell you - time flies!
All the more reason to stay frugal, save, and invest those extra savings each month into quality dividend paying stocks. Then, all of a sudden you start receiving checks and life is good!!
So without further adieu the March 2018 dividend income report:
V $22.35
XOM $44.66
UVE $14.57
TAP $11.89
O $40.20
VHT $13.73
FTSE $61.93
PEP $34.56
TOTAL: $243.89
Solid month in March! This was a gain of $139 from last March. The gains came from new positions in XOM, TAP, O and VHT. Increases in dividends/payouts from UVE, V, FTSE and PEP.
V had a phenomenal growth rate of 28.5% due to reinvesting a dividend increases!
FTSE is a 401K position that increased $20 or 50% from last year. Just goes to show that maxing out the 401K is really paying off! Like I have mentioned numerous times before, this is one of 6 401K holdings I have and I would surmise that all of them had at least $20 gains in payouts but the funds automatically reinvest them without giving out dividends/capital gains.
It will be a quiet April with regards to income as I have just 3 companies that payout. However, O is a true power house in the portfolio now and $40 of income each month really goes a long way in increasing each monthly total! I wish all stocks paid monthly...
Hope everyone had a great March!
Maybe the weather will finally break here in the mid - atlantic and we will get some nice weather in April! Winter has held on long enough, I'm ready for the sunshine, warm weather and being outdoors more!
ADD
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Dividend Income - February 2018
Hi Everyone,
The month of February seemed to fly by for me. I suppose only 28 days in the month and having a 4 month old child will do that to you. It is amazing to see him grow and change and he is now turning over, smiling and almost laughing when you tickle his belly.
He is going through quite the sleep regression right now and is up 3 - 4 times per night. Before having a child, other parents would talk to me about not sleeping and just how angry and upset you can get over stupid things with your spouse and gosh... its true! Sleep is a much needed thing and for all you out there without kids, enjoy it!!! At the same time, it is amazing how productive you can be without sleep. Now, as long as I can get a good 5 hour stretch, I am usually fine throughout the day. Before, I had to get at least 7 hours or I felt tired.
That long paragraph all to say this... If you are just graduating college or younger, save and invest!! Mr. Money Mustache had it right when he retired before having a child.
If I could go back to when I first started working in high school and saved 50% of my income and invested it, financial independence might just have been possible.
Kids are exhausting and more importantly - I hate being at work and missing things that he does throughout the day. Most likely this feeling will only get worse as he gets older and I can take walks/hikes, ride bikes, play catch, etc throughout the day.
In other news, the bathroom is still a work in progress. The spackle is a daunting task and I just finished the first coat last night. Sanding today, second coat tomorrow...
Investment wise, as it stands now, we are maxing out my 401K & HSA but unfortunately, we are not able to contribute any money to taxable investments. So, the dividends you see each month will not increase other than dividend growth and reinvesting those dividends. My 401K only pays out dividends in one of the funds, and all others just reinvests them into the fund. Therefore, my dividend total will not increase due to the 401K.
With that being said, lets get to the dividend income!
The month of February seemed to fly by for me. I suppose only 28 days in the month and having a 4 month old child will do that to you. It is amazing to see him grow and change and he is now turning over, smiling and almost laughing when you tickle his belly.
He is going through quite the sleep regression right now and is up 3 - 4 times per night. Before having a child, other parents would talk to me about not sleeping and just how angry and upset you can get over stupid things with your spouse and gosh... its true! Sleep is a much needed thing and for all you out there without kids, enjoy it!!! At the same time, it is amazing how productive you can be without sleep. Now, as long as I can get a good 5 hour stretch, I am usually fine throughout the day. Before, I had to get at least 7 hours or I felt tired.
That long paragraph all to say this... If you are just graduating college or younger, save and invest!! Mr. Money Mustache had it right when he retired before having a child.
If I could go back to when I first started working in high school and saved 50% of my income and invested it, financial independence might just have been possible.
Kids are exhausting and more importantly - I hate being at work and missing things that he does throughout the day. Most likely this feeling will only get worse as he gets older and I can take walks/hikes, ride bikes, play catch, etc throughout the day.
In other news, the bathroom is still a work in progress. The spackle is a daunting task and I just finished the first coat last night. Sanding today, second coat tomorrow...
Investment wise, as it stands now, we are maxing out my 401K & HSA but unfortunately, we are not able to contribute any money to taxable investments. So, the dividends you see each month will not increase other than dividend growth and reinvesting those dividends. My 401K only pays out dividends in one of the funds, and all others just reinvests them into the fund. Therefore, my dividend total will not increase due to the 401K.
With that being said, lets get to the dividend income!
Monday, February 12, 2018
Dividend Income - January 2018
Hi Everyone,
Quick post as being a new dad is tough and we are remodeling our bathroom right now. We only had a shower pan in the bathroom because the previous owner was an old lady and could not lift her leg over the bathtub wall. Anyways, this past weekend I ripped that shower out put the new tub in. New plumbing, water lines, sheetrock all around, it was exhausting and rewarding all at the same time. Just need to tile the floor this coming weekend and put back the toilet and vanity and then things are looking up! The mundane and difficult task of spackle awaits me the following weekend. But now, on to the reason why you clicked...
PEP -- $34.56
O -- $38.68
CSCO -- $88.52
M.M. -- .53
Total: $162.29
A relatively weak month but O's monthly check will be much needed in the months to come. The portfolio has been hammered much harder than the market recently. OHI & O are really hurting the portfolio but the dividends will roll in the month and hopefully by stock at these cheaper prices. One can only hope!
Hope everyone had a nice January!
ADD
Quick post as being a new dad is tough and we are remodeling our bathroom right now. We only had a shower pan in the bathroom because the previous owner was an old lady and could not lift her leg over the bathtub wall. Anyways, this past weekend I ripped that shower out put the new tub in. New plumbing, water lines, sheetrock all around, it was exhausting and rewarding all at the same time. Just need to tile the floor this coming weekend and put back the toilet and vanity and then things are looking up! The mundane and difficult task of spackle awaits me the following weekend. But now, on to the reason why you clicked...
PEP -- $34.56
O -- $38.68
CSCO -- $88.52
M.M. -- .53
Total: $162.29
A relatively weak month but O's monthly check will be much needed in the months to come. The portfolio has been hammered much harder than the market recently. OHI & O are really hurting the portfolio but the dividends will roll in the month and hopefully by stock at these cheaper prices. One can only hope!
Hope everyone had a nice January!
ADD
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Dividend Income - December 2017
Hi Everyone,
So here we are, 2017 has come to a close. What a year it was! Paid off the house, adopted a child, lived in Florida for a month, and still received a nice some of money from dividends!
I am still working up the cost of adoption post so I figured I would throw this one in here first.
In total, we received income from 6 different funds in December and here is what it looked like:
UVE - $27.83
V - $20.71
VWILX - 72.78
VHT - $19.97
FTSE - $156.86
MM - $5.44
Total - $303.59
So, we cleared the $300 mark and best of all, the totals were not so lopsided like they are for my OHI holding. With FTSE being a mutual fund with a basket full of stocks, there is less risk than just one primary holding. Like I posted last year, my company/Vanguard changed up the investment mix for my 401K and 3 of my other funds do not pay dividends or capital gain distributions anymore. We investors are told that they are automatically reinvested into the fund...
In 2017, we received a total of $2,750 in dividends! Our expenses for the last 6 months of the year, not including adoption expenses were averaging $2,500 a month. With recent investments, including TAP, O, SKT and BTI, we are projecting over $3,000 already for next year. Slowly but surely we are climbing our way back to where we were before all the big life changes.
2018 is already shaping up to be one of the best years yet. Having a child is truly life changing and incredible. If we can keep expenses running low and add around $1000 a month to the taxable account throughout the year, we should gather around $500 more per year in dividend income.
If you do the math, obviously you can see that retiring early is essentially out of the question. Like I said in the previous post, having a child and one income changes things. I wouldn't change anything though. We are enjoying every minute of our growing family!
Hope you had a great 2017!
ADD
So here we are, 2017 has come to a close. What a year it was! Paid off the house, adopted a child, lived in Florida for a month, and still received a nice some of money from dividends!
I am still working up the cost of adoption post so I figured I would throw this one in here first.
In total, we received income from 6 different funds in December and here is what it looked like:
UVE - $27.83
V - $20.71
VWILX - 72.78
VHT - $19.97
FTSE - $156.86
MM - $5.44
Total - $303.59
So, we cleared the $300 mark and best of all, the totals were not so lopsided like they are for my OHI holding. With FTSE being a mutual fund with a basket full of stocks, there is less risk than just one primary holding. Like I posted last year, my company/Vanguard changed up the investment mix for my 401K and 3 of my other funds do not pay dividends or capital gain distributions anymore. We investors are told that they are automatically reinvested into the fund...
In 2017, we received a total of $2,750 in dividends! Our expenses for the last 6 months of the year, not including adoption expenses were averaging $2,500 a month. With recent investments, including TAP, O, SKT and BTI, we are projecting over $3,000 already for next year. Slowly but surely we are climbing our way back to where we were before all the big life changes.
2018 is already shaping up to be one of the best years yet. Having a child is truly life changing and incredible. If we can keep expenses running low and add around $1000 a month to the taxable account throughout the year, we should gather around $500 more per year in dividend income.
If you do the math, obviously you can see that retiring early is essentially out of the question. Like I said in the previous post, having a child and one income changes things. I wouldn't change anything though. We are enjoying every minute of our growing family!
Hope you had a great 2017!
ADD
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