Another TWO Years since the last post!

As it seems to be customary for most people - as we get older - real life continues to fly past at an ever alarming rate. Another two years have just about passed by since my last post and again, the challenges and changes have been considerable. 

Most notably of all the big changes - my wife and I had a baby! After 6.5 years of trying diligently, something finally clicked and we were able to have a child of our own, a baby girl, in 2021. Now over a year old, we are expecting another child due early 2023!

Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we would get pregnant, let alone twice. When we were first dating, we dreamed about having 5 kids and after our challenges with infertility, we thought those days were over. But, here we are - and we couldn't be more excited!

Secondly, we bought our first rental right after that last post two years ago. My grandfather was a big real estate investor buying homes for $2000 and selling them for $4000. Unfortunately, life got in the way for him as well and he sold out of his real estate holdings before the first big real estate market explosion in the 90s. He continued to work and live a modest life, never really amassing much wealth. But, I asked him one time while visiting him in the nursing home - "Do you have any regrets?"  

As someone who sold his investment properties for $4000 and within 3 years watched them sell for $50K I surely thought he would have said yes. But his answer surprised me. Without hesitation, he said "No."  Ever since that time, I started to think of money and life a little differently. I suppose money just makes life a little easier but you shouldn't wait to have money to be happy. Most people will never achieve happiness if that is the case. So, my wife and I have spent more money, went on more trips and tried to enjoy life a little bit more. Now we get to do those things with soon to be FOUR kids!

Unfortunately, it wasn't long after this conversation that my grandfather passed away. My dream was always to buy his house as my first rental, and that's what I did. 

But since this is still a money blog - the numbers work out roughly as follows:

Mortgage: $1000

Rent: $2000

Profit: $750/month (taking out repairs and vacancies)

So there you have it - our "dividends" have jumped by roughly $9000/year because of this purchase.

However, in order to buy this house, we sold some shares of companies and for our last big change....

We bought another house!

However, we sold more shares to pay for this house. 

Good news though - we are going to rent our old house which should (fingers crossed) cover the mortgage and then some of our new house! Bought the house for sale by owner for relatively cheap (in our area) with 10 acres of land! Might start a small farmette to raise our own food and teach our kids good moral values. Should be fun! We were gifted a ford 2000 tractor and purchased a small four wheeler for the boys for their birthday. What a blast they are having on that!            

We still own over 1000s of CVS and now over 1600s of MO (strictly through reinvesting dividends over two years)

Our dividend totals now stand currently at:

$8,500/year for just those two companies

$9000/year for grandfathers rental

$25,000/year for new rental (old house)

$42,500/year in total income! - strictly taxable income though. There are still dividends from our 401Ks but I won't include them here. 

Big challenge now is if we could pay off our new house in 5 years or so, you are talking about no expenses and $42,500 coming in before any manual labor. 

It's honestly odd watching the dividend community progress over the past 4 years since I stopped actively reading and writing about it. Checking in on the more well known bloggers going up over $25 or $40K per year in dividends while I have simultaneously done the same thing with arguably less money (more risk I suppose when adding in mortgages) and have come out at the same general income levels. I was worried I was falling behind but instead it appears I'm just going about things differently now and that's okay!

Looking forward to enjoying our new home, getting it paid off and just maybe slowing down on the manual labor dollars in the next 5-10 years.

Most likely I'll check back in another 2 years and see just how far I've progressed at that point! 

Keep Investing everyone! And for the younger kids out there - stocks are looking better and better everyday as they keep going down! Those growth stocks have really come down a lot! I like AMD, TROW, O, BMY (still), and many more!

I'm Sorry! Two Years have passed! What the heck

 Hi Everyone,

Oh my oh my, where to begin...

First things first I suppose - I'm sorry for such a long hiatus.  Life has been insane. But, for some reason after the year we have all experienced, I decided to dust off the old blog, and write to you all again.  After the arduous process of trying to remember my log in credentials (they were tied to an old college email that I haven't used in years) I started to read back through the old posts.  To my delight, it was a joy to read them.  It brought back both fond and not so fond memories of decisions and challenges as the months and years rolled on.  It made me realize that this blog is not so much about making an impact on the world but more so an outlet for my thoughts and feelings at the time.  A public journal if you will.

When I started this blog, I'll be honest, I was in it for the money.  Posting dividend income for the public to read was a huge hit at the time and I was trying to capitalize on that trend.  As all bloggers point out, making money is hard in this online world with just simple words on a page.  It takes time and commitment, both of which are ever so challenging with the life I live.

So what about this life I live?  Where have I been the past 2 years and what is going on now?

My last post was February 2019.  Almost 2 full years have passed. Some of my last posts talked about the joys of being a father, of course the market and adoption costs/challenges.

Well, the joys of being a father are still alive and well.  The one big change since last post - we adopted again! During one of the last posts, I wrote that the birth parents had wanted to parent their child the second time around - but that never happened.  We adopted our first sons full biological brother! The boys just turned 3 & 2 this past year and they are best buddies! We still have an open relationship with the birth family and things are going well. I love being a father.

Since January 2019, we went to Hawaii for 15 days, had two; week long beach vacations, remodeled our kitchen, our master bathroom, re-plumbed the whole house, installed a new HVAC system and generally lived our best lives.  With all the adoption expenses, vacations (Hawaii all expenses paid was only $2,500 for a family of 4 - only 2 plane tickets though - but I was pumped with that!), remodeling, and no real general concern for money the past 2 years, our savings rate has taken a drastic hit with only one income.  As such, our accounts have not really moved much.  I'm certainly frustrated in that regard and frustrated with some market moves I made but generally I am very happy.  Life is a journey and the past 2 years have certainly shown that you can do all the planning in the world but sometimes its just not enough.  Things happen.

My CVS position is now over 1000 shares through dividend reinvesting

My MO position is now over 1300 shares - through big purchases and dividend reinvesting

My BMY and V positions round out the 4 biggest positions I have.

I sold all of my FB - poor market move on my part.

I sold out part of my 401K stock mutual fund and moved into bonds - real poor market move

I bought at the very low during March 2020 with extra money from my HSA - really good market move, however with much less money than the 401K move so its still at a general loss.

I am overall just so confused with the market right now.  I can understand that interest rates are so low that people need to invest in the market for growth but my god - tech stocks up over 40 PEs, airlines should be bankrupt, restaurants and REITS are still overpriced, 2022 growth has been pulled forward to 2020, its just unreal the market is as high as it is.  But, I suppose when you shut down all the mom and pop shops, the only companies making good money are those that are listed on the markets.  Furthermore, with all of the governments in the world doling out huge sums of money, its inevitable that it works its way back into stock prices. Its just such a conundrum right now.  So, that's why I'm invested heavily in what I believe some of the cheapest stocks in the market right now.  CVS is still raking in the money but the stock price has not moved in basically 4 years.  MO is dirt cheap on a PE basis, still raking in the money, JUUL has basically been written down to $0, and the dividend pays handsomely.  BMY is still digesting the CELG merger but is making huge non-GAAP profit (I know not the best) has a massive pipeline and pays a solid dividend.

I'm basically just looking for a market rotation at this point into value stocks.  If/when that happens and these 3 stocks revert back to the mean, my accounts should explode upwards.  But until then, over $6,000 in dividends are hitting the account every year. Its crazy to think but all of these stocks could realistically double or even triple over the course of the next year or two and still be cheap when compared to the S&P PE ratio (37) right now.

I am certainly kicking myself however for not just investing in tech stocks, then buying all of these value stocks right now.  Ugh, so is life of a stock investor I suppose.  Hindsight is always 20/20.  Maybe one day I'll finally figure it out!

Dividend Income - January 2019

Hi Everyone,

Another year in the books and 2019 is off to a fast start!  Overall a pretty crappy year so far with the weather.  A few little snow storms but nothing to write home about.  My wife and I were able to get out and take our 15 month old sledding for the first time.  So much fun!  Yesterday it got to 70 degrees so I took a half day of work and went to the park with my boy and played basketball with my brother.  It was a great day! And just goes to show how crazy the weather can be in the mid-atlantic states.  Wind chills of -10 last week, 70 this week...

As for the market, it seems like things have leveled off a bit right now which is fine with me!  Although the significant dip was short lived, I did managed to move some capital around and beef up some of my positions that I had been wanting to add to for a while. 

I sold half of OHI at $39 and change right after it paid the dividend.  So, I'll still get the full dividend this time around and then I'll see a reduced rate 4 months from now. OHI has really risen from the depths of this past summer and at 60%+ gain, I thought it was prudent to take some off the table.  Even crazier than the gain in OHI is perhaps the epic fall of MO.  And this was the trade I made.  Sold half of OHI and used the proceeds to by MO around $45 the day before earnings.  To think that I sold OHI at roughly at 6.70 percent yield and bought MO around a 7% yield is crazy.  On the trade, I believe I will actually make $8 more per year in dividends now with MO and its at a much cheaper valuation to boot.

I sold $4000 of O.  Similar to the OHI situation, O has rallied hard as well and thought it was prudent to take some off the table to deploy in cheaper valued companies.  The dividend loss wont sting at all because I bought two stocks - UVE - that pays around 2% if you include the extra dividend in December and more MO at <$45.  Combined, the dividends are a net increase of about .5% or $20 a year.

Other trades: 

I bought more BTI.  Half the amount of capital as the first purchase but added the same amount of shares - scary to think I'm down 50% on the original purchase.  But, we shall see how things play out.

I bought more FB around $150 thinking that all the fears around the company are overblown.  After purchasing 28 shares at $180, I have bought 27 more shares at all progressive lower prices (9 shares per each trade) and now the position is net positive which is pretty cool.  They have a great balance sheet and I might keep this as a potential dividend stock in the future and just see where things go.  Not sure yet.

I bought more V - first time is years!  Pretty pumped about it.  I have been wanting to add to V for such a long time but things have just never worked out.  I bought more around $130.  It won't add much in current dividend yield to the portfolio but hopefully the growth continues like it has since the IPO!

I bought more CVS - I just cant get past the cheap valuation, and the transformation of healthcare as we know it right in front of our eyes.  I'm willing to go all in heavily now to see this one through.  I continue to think the fears are heavily overblown and this continues to create a buying opportunity.  I have made 2 or 3 ill timed purchases but my cost basis is now down to $68.  Any dividend reinvestment under $70 a share and I pick up 6 more shares of this company each quarter!

Per above, I bought more UVE around $38 per share.  The stock has fallen 25% from its all time high, interest rates are (well maybe) on the rise, they continue to diversify away from Florida, increased their dividend, announced a new buyback and seem to be doing everything right.  As long as hurricanes continue to stay away from Florida, this stock appears to be undervalued and I've been wanting to add more for a while now.

Also per above, I now have a significant stake in MO.  We are over 250 shares now.  I was reading something the other day that said even if JUUL stake is a complete loss and they lose all menthol revenue, the stock is still potentially undervalued by $5 a share.  This is one of those times I think the market is being irrational.  It's crazy to think that the government would legalize marijuana and ban flavored cigs and flavored ecigs.  Honestly it just sounds like political posturing at this point. 

So, lets finally get down to the reason we are here, dividends:

Dividend Income - December 2018

Hi Everyone!

The last month of the year.  A month filled with parties, holidays, joy, reminiscing and hope for things to come in the new year.  Its always nice to take a look back over the year and see what you had accomplished and its also a great month for dividends!

 This past year was an emotional roller coaster for our family but things are starting to go in the right direction.  2019 could be shaping up to be a phenomenal year for us and I cannot wait for things to come.

As for the dividends in December - they did not disappoint! So lets see where things landed...

UVE	$30.58
V	$26.73
XOM	$49.00
O	$41.95
TAP	$12.10
FTSE	$215.60
VWILX	$577.41
M.M.	$3.04

TOTAL:   $956.41

Unreal guys!  At the start of 2018 I would have never thought I'd get back to almost 4 figures in dividend income in one month!  Obviously the big payouts were from the 401K mutual funds but that's what happens when you max it out every year.  The payouts start getting huge!

This years total was up from $303.59 last year.  A huge $650 gain from last year!!!

The total for the entire year was $4,620 - up from $2,750 last year or roughly a $2000 gain!

These numbers are staggering considering my wife is a stay at home mom and we are living on one income.  It truly shows that if your level of spending is significantly lower than your income (a high savings rate) you can do amazing things financially.  

My wife was truly something special with regards to spending this year.  This year we hit the least amount of spending in our lives with right around $30,000 for the whole year.  If you have been a long time reader, you know that we no longer have a mortgage so our expenses are truly just $30,000 for the whole year.  That includes taxes, insurance, vacations, everything.  

If we could add just 2,000 more per year in dividends each year, we are looking at 12 years to retirement free and clear.  That is without yearly dividend increases or reinvestment as most of this years increase was due to purchases.  Once the snowball gets rolling again it will become a formidable force.

Hope you all had a great 2018 and wish you all the best for 2019!

ADD

Dividend Income - November 2018

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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:

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

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

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!