Before I get into that, I would like to talk some sports; let me begin by expressing my supreme disappointment that the Dallas Cowboys will be in the playoffs. Hopefully they fail miserably, but in the meantime at least the Barclays Premier League will keep me entertained until next year and then the Winter Classic will take over! The Winter Classic should be awesome, always love those. Stupid football though...
Review of 2014:
This December I received $78.11 in dividends. That is the most I have ever received; not counting two months when I had a junk stock with high yield, which I sold at its annual high in May. A total of $378 of new capital, along with dividends, was invested in Loyal3 this month, buying between 1 to 3 shares of each of the following stocks: AAPL, KO, MCD, MSFT, PEP, and UL (3). This has been one of the slower months in terms of investing because of Christmas (I have a huge family) and since I am coming off a wedding. Still it was nice to round out some shares and increase other positions.
In 2014 I received a total of $793.95 in dividends from my stock investments between my taxable and Roth accounts. This represents the most I have ever received in a year, and it comes the year after I completely refocused my investing to a DGI focused strategy. In fact that total is more than the last three years of meager dividends I received combined. Switching to a DGI approach has already started a small snowball, and it shows that with just one year behind it how powerful it can be.
In 2014 I also managed to contribute a mediocre $4,800 to my 401K. That is well below the maximum, which I expect I will not hit for a while, if ever. I do not have plans to increase my contribution rate due to a variety of reasons. The plan is to proactively roll it into a Roth over time.
Preview of 2015:
At this time, I am projecting around $930 in dividends for next year. That number is based upon a few things: minor investment increases in Loyal3, no new dividend increases, no new major investments in Sharebuilder, and foreign currency exchange rates remaining the same (CM, PGH, and UL due depend on the value of the Canadian Loonie / $ and Pound Sterling). Two things I can influence, and that is the plan.
In Loyal3 the plan is to round out positions one or two at a time, depending on the best values. The first stock in my sights is UL. Currently it is very attractively valued, considering its yield and wide product reach in terms of geography and brand. The goal is to finish that position by early February. Once that is done the next target is KO, which should be finished by April or May. My next choice will be one of DIS, K, MCD, MSFT, and PEP. It is possible that a significant change in valuation will push one of those stocks to the front of the line. Loyal3 shall briefly become its own snowball, before it gets merged into Sharebuilder. Loyal3 positions yielded me $73.30 this year and next year is projected yield of $185 - a big increase to be sure.
My Sharebuilder taxable and Roth accounts will receive a boost at some point next year, despite the focus on my Loyal3 account. I plan to make a minimum of 3 purchases between both accounts, with my stretch goal being 6 major investments. I am already increasing my bi-weekly contribution rate for next year to push investments up faster. I will also likely see a small pay increase at my day job and that should aid my efforts.
Sectors I am currently focused on are energy, insurance, healthcare, transportation, and basic materials / industrials. Those sectors are all have excellent prospects for growth and or excellent valuations.
Big Goals:
The true big goal of 2015 is $1000 in dividends across all accounts. It is possible, it requires patience and dedication - bring on 2015!
Another big goal is to find a good side hustle. I can be a bit of a busy-body always doing stuff. No reason I cannot translate into something solid. Currently I ref sports, but that just breaks even for me to play sports. I want a real side hustle!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to everyone.
- Dividend Gremlin
Long: All stocks mentioned.
Keep that dividend snowball rolling. I think you'll be very happy towards the end of 2015 when dividend increases, compounding and fresh capital will propel you to higher dividend income. I'd love to see you hit $1k for the year in dividend income. Look forward to your progress.
ReplyDeleteKeith Park,
DeleteThanks for the comments and support. I hope to hit that number or better.
- Gremlin
For Loyal3 I'm slowly putting money in MAT. I also want K but hoping it will come down in price. I like Loyal3 but it's pretty tough to find undervalued stock in the limited selection.
ReplyDeleteR2D,
DeleteI have looked at MAT before and I've seen their name out on a lot of DGI blogs. I have not seriously considered them though, but they deserve a look - especially if they can sell Barbie to Asia. I mean I've already bought enough of them for my nieces.
K is probably #3 or 4 on my Loyal3 hit list. If they come down in price they could move up. All in all my L3 strategy is to be as methodical as possible - it can be fun to be boring.
- Gremlin