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!


Dividends for February 2018:

OHI  --  $327.16
O      --  $40.02
SKT --  $31.17
ABT --  $4.29
BTI  --  $22.87
MM  --  $0.40

Total:  $425.91

I am really enjoying that big dividend from Realty Income (O) every month!  With the stock price depressed, that $40 is almost buying an entire share each month!

The OHI dividend has been frozen but through reinvestment, that should continue to grow.  I like what the company is doing, focusing on the financials and managing delinquent rent payments from operators.  With roughly a 10% dividend, that is more than enough and the payout ratio is still relatively low for a REIT.  There is definitely more risk involved with this investment right now and I might stop reinvesting the dividends into the company in the near future.  I am going to wait for one more earnings report before making any moves.  At $1300 per year in dividends, that could be a new position in another company each year to further diversify my holdings.

BTI got hammered over the past month but thankfully that dividend reinvested at a lower price point!  I still like the future of BTI, especially now that they are doing quarterly dividends.

Hope you all had a great February!  Summer and warmer weather is right around the corner!

ADD