2015 Review and 2016 Preview

Letchworth State Park and the Genessee River.

Travel Gremlin here to review the past year and talk hopes for new one. This past year, especially the second half, saw a lot of travel for work.  That I something I aim to improve upon (decrease) as the possibility of having a family gets more real.  Yes, I see some cool things like the image of above from Letchworth State Park in New York State, but often there is little time for anything beyond work.

The USA is huge, even without the non-continental states or territories...

In fact it is difficult to express how many places I have been this year without looking at graphic representation. As you can see on the map, I have been to a lot of states, with each pin representing a place I have spent a night.  It totals 16 states (Maryland and North Carolina are hard to pick out), and no less than 31 different locations.  I've easily traveled 10,000+ miles for work in a car and hopped on airplanes as well.  Don't get me wrong, I like traveling, but I do have a limit.

In spite of that, 2015 was a remarkable year in terms of pushing for financial independence (FI) and in my life in general.  I turned 30, and bought my first ever car from a dealership - instead of a family friend.  There have been several ups and downs, but I see a good path forward and have a plan to follow it.  So without further procrastinating lets take a look and see what happened and where I go from here.

Review of 2015:

In 2015 I received a total of $878.54 in dividends from my stock investments between my taxable and Roth accounts.  This represents a 10.67% increase YOY, with my taxable declining by 0.62% and my Roth growing by 31.18% YOY.  I had projected $930 in total dividends, and I missed that mark by less than $60.  I should be disappointed by this, but I am not.  My downturn in my taxable accounts is because my stock PGH has cut dividends (twice in fact).  This stock was from my early years, and provided a high yield, but I am no longer in that game and it still makes no sense to sell.  The lost income has now been made up and will grow faster with my current mix of stable stocks that are strong dividend growers.  Those stocks also represent more stable companies.  I see compounding interest as a reality going forward with my portfolio.

My dividend stocks gave me twenty-two raises in my taxable account and nine in my Roth account, as opposed to two cuts from the aforementioned PGH.  I will experience a cut from KMI in 2016, however despite that one cut I already know my income will increase due to multiple dividend raises.  I'm putting the 8th Wonder of the World to work.

In terms of account values; my accounts ended the year with the following totals: $19,235 in my taxable accounts and $11,150 in my Roth account.  These represent increases of 39% for my taxable accounts from $13,782 and 25% for my Roth account from $8905.  Fun fact for my taxable accounts is that at the end of 2014 my Loyal3 holdings represented just shy of 40% of my taxable assets; at the end of 2015 that number stands at over 50% and includes the majority of my taxable positions.  Loyal3 has gone from a minor position building tool, to the main weapon in my arsenal.  One day it will be merged into my regular account, but for now it will continue to grow independently.

In 2015 I also managed to grow my 401K by $4,400.  I remain below the maximum, but my goal is to first fund my Roth then the 401K.  However, I would be foolish not to take advantage of the extra money my company matches and use the 401K as a way to lower my immediate tax exposure.

Sometimes he sleeps with a toy in his mouth and he snores like a bear

2015 has seen a lot of change in my life beyond my investment accounts and turning 30.  We acquired a dog, who requires my time and is work, but I must admit he is an awesome pal.  My car engine decided to put in its 6 month retirement notice, so I got a new car.  Then my wife's car decided it was time to be pain, so that process was repeated.  I got a great deal on a new Honda Civic, trading in my old Accord.  My wife's old Nissan Xterra was exchanged for a Subaru Forester.  My car was just a deal I could not pass up, her car was a compromise of what we (she) wanted.  Both cars should last 15+ years and deliver us hundreds of thousands of miles, and both are wildly more efficient on gas.  I know we will deal with that debt now, but the goal is for those two cars to last a long long time.  Also we like the fact that no one else has owned them before; our metro area (DC) is known to have horrible drivers and any way to avoid them driving our cars would be great.

All of this equals a lot of debt, which when coupled with my wife's student loans means were are at a much smaller net positive.  However, 2016 will change that.  I achieved my Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) accreditation and my wife finished her masters and has started bringing in a good deal more cash.   These positive changes will overrule the past costs, coupled with smarter home life and more savings allow us to push together into FI.

For further review my goals from last year were:
$1000 in dividends - goal failed, see above.
Get a side job - I continued reffing, but that has slowed down due to travel.  I have made extra cash from work travel, passed the CHMM, and do Inbox-Dollars emails, so that adds some change.  I feel less need for this with my growing list of professional certifications.
Loyal3 $185 dividends - goal failed, I hit $176.66, so darn close!

Preview of 2016:

For 2016 I have set up a list of goals I hope to achieve:

• $1100 in total dividends in 2016.  Currently I am projecting $1040 in dividends for next year, so there is work to be done.
• $250 in Loyal3 dividends in 2016.  Currently, I am projecting $235, so I need push.
• End the year with a forward-12 month dividend estimate of over $1200.
• Pay off my wife's student loan debt of $5,500 (ish).
• Continue to pay her car as scheduled.  My car will remain slightly ahead of schedule, with that picking up after her student debt is erased.
• Get a raise at my current or another job.
• Continue to exercise 5 times a week at a minimum, and ride my bike places when possible.

Whew, those are some much better and clearer goals for myself than last year.

Happy New Year to everyone!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stocks mentioned (KMI and PGH)

Loyal3 Buys December, 2015

#1 Gremlin here again to talk about how I've been improving my portfolio via Loyal3.  Over the past two years I have been using Loyal3 as a low cost way to start a bunch of positions in stocks I intend on keeping for a long time.  I am not always getting the best deal, but I usually am getting a decent one.  Using cost averaging and knowing I am on a long term time frame allows me to invest perhaps with more freedom than people who desire instant returns.  This month I put a solid amount of my "disposable income" into new income generating stocks, instead of doing something cool with it.  So, let's see how I did!

Company	Ticker	$ Invested	Shares Purchased	Annual Income Added
Disney	DIS	$115	1.006	$1.43
Dunkin Brands	DNKN	$100	2.3408	$2.48
Dr. Pepper Snapple	DPS	$95	1.0444	$2.01
The Gap, Inc.	GPS	$200	7.7327	$7.11
Wal-Mart	WMT	$75	1.245	$2.44
Totals		$585		$15.47

A total of $585 was put to work, a decrease of 0.025% from last month when I added $600.  It adds $15.47 of annual income to my 12-month forward outlook.  I like all of the companies, though I want to see a few better valuations.  I started one new position with DNKN, and the rest were enhancements of prior positions.  Last month I initiated a new position with GPS as well, so that is fairly new too.  Both new stocks, but especially GPS, are well valued.

Concerning DNKN, I find their growth of the dividend to be excellent, being a near-challenger with four years of excellent growth from zero to 2.5% (approximately).  Historically, the stock is undervalued considering its average P/E ratio of the last 5 years.  Qualitatively, I like the brand.  Strong on the East Coast (which is one of the best bases to call home) of the USA and other parts of the world, there are still lots of areas with out a Dunkin Donuts franchise.  This means there is a lot of room to grow, both domestically and internationally.  In fact there are only a handful in California, the biggest state economy in the USA.  DNKN has followed the other large coffee chains with intense merchandising and marketing, putting things such as coffee and K-Cups in other stores.  Also notable the fact that DNKN owns Baskin-Robbins, giving them a second market with ice cream and desserts.  Baskin-Robbins is also well merchandised outside of its establishments; I have seen numerous varieties in grocery stores.  What is your opinion of DNKN?

There are about four other stocks I like that Loyal3 offers.  I do plan on acquiring them if, and only if, they become fairly valued or better in the time I plan to use Loyal3 to build positions for my standard account.  I do see myself adding one or two next, but I will likely focus on filling out those I've started or not yet completed.

- Gremlin
- Long all stocks

Recent Buy, December 2015

Winter Gremlin here to talk about a recent buy.  It has been a crazy few months with lots of travel through which I have been diligently saving for a large purchase outside of the Loyal3 realm.  I've been looking to expand my holdings to new companies and widen my base in the market, as increased company diversity is one of my goals.  Recently, a lot of companies have regained value they had lost months ago, but not all of them.  In particular the industrial sector has been hammered pretty hard, and nice valuations abound.  The particular company I chose manufacturers products for use in the electrical industry, hydraulics, aerospace, and other industry.

Today I seized the initiative and acquired Eaton Corp. PLC (ETN).  I received 24 shares at $50.32 / share, without a commission.  The current P/E ratio is approximately 11.65 and yield is 4.32% (on current cost).  Looking at past dividend payouts, ETN has managed to a 5 year DGR of 17.1% while keeping an approximate payout ratio of 52%.  Holy crap, I like this stock and considering its recent decline in price it was hard to resist.  This purchase adds $52.80 to my forward 12-month dividend income. 

This purchase was not a hard choice to make.  I like the industries they feed, their wide foot print and how they are generous with shareholders.  On top of the growth rate of the dividend, the price of the stock has been nominally positive over the past decade.  The board also frequently buys shares back, increasing my value.  Lastly they inverted their structure and are headquartered in Ireland, this allows for dividends to count against cost basis (I think I am reading that right, correct me if I am wrong).  I just see positive trends on their side, and I am excited to earn some of it.

What do you think of ETN?

I will update my portfolio page at the end of the month, keep enjoying December everyone.
- Gremlin
- Newly long ETN!

November Review / December Preview 2015

Wacky Gremlin here to talk about November.  I continue to be on the road traveling for work; I've been in the Northeast and part of the South this time.  In the long run my goal is the leave this line of work for something that keeps me at home more.  Travel is not conducive to having a family and can really wreck plans no matter how mundane they may seem.  So I'm keeping my eyes open for what I can find, but I am being very selective.  In the meantime, I will use the extra income to continue pushing for our financial independence.  So let's take a look and see how things went.

November:

First off, I was able to put $600 to work in Loyal3 over the course of last month, so that was a good start.  That included starting a position with the Gap (GPS), which I think will be a nice long time addition to my account.

Last month I brought in a total of $82.13 in dividends ($12.69 taxable , $69.44 Roth), way more than expected.  This is an increase from last year ($91.99 total) by 32.5%.  The main reason this occurred is Kraft Heinz (KHC) switched its payout month to last month.  Naturally, this hurts last month and makes this one look better, but in the long run its all entering the same pot so little momentum if any is lost. 

In terms of dividend increases, I realized two this month; KHC and Kinder Morgan (KMI) both with around +4% increases.  KHC has been decent with its raises (considering its raise last year as KRFT), and KMI has given me a raise every quarter I have owned it.  These two are killing it for my Roth!

Next month I will realize 3 dividend increases: MCD, MSFT and VFC.  All were above 4%, though MCD was just barely at 4.7%!

December:

Our only long term debts are our cars and my wife's student loans (now I include hers with mine since we merged bank accounts), which will be paid off as fast as possible.  I have already gotten ahead on my monthly payments on my car and that will not stop.  The first priority though is my wife's student loans.  It is a lower payment with higher interest, making it the lowest hanging fruit.  I expect to have it fully paid off by May/June of 2016.

Next month should produce around $91 in dividends, which is a 17% year-over-year increase.  I expect to realize three raises next month from MCD, MSFT, and VFC.  On the Loyal3 front I will probably invest $400-500 on existing locations, with the goal being to push up next year's forward income.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Have a good December!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stocks mentioned

Loyal3 Buys, November 2015

Travel Gremlin here again to talk about how I've been improving my portfolio.  I'm on the road again this week, this time in upstate New York.  Though I am writing this while trying out a new six pack of beers, I am not going to be writing a review of them because there are better things to talk about.  Getting to it, I've put a solid amount of capital to work this month buying more shares to push my passive income higher.  This time I added to 4 existing positions and started one new position.  Two of my positions were Consumer Discretionary and the rest were Consumer Staples. Lets see what I bought.

Company	Ticker	$ Invested	Shares Purchased	Annual Income Added
Dr. Pepper Snapple	DPS	$100	1.1579	$2.22
The Gap, Inc.	GPS	$110	4.3376	$3.99
Hershey's	HSY	$190	2.1668	$5.05
VF Corp	VFC	$140	2.0977	$3.10
Wal-Mart	WMT	$60	1.0295	$2.02
Totals		$600		$16.38

A total of $600 was put to work, an increase of 0.3% from last month when I added $598.  It adds $16.39 of annual income to my 12-month forward outlook.  I like all of the companies, though I want to see a few better valuations.  Still DPS and VFC are not always available at good prices, but I like their long term outlook.  This is a marathon, not a sprint.

GPS is a new position for me, and they have garnered some nice attention at other DGI blogs, and I will let you look there for hard number valuations.  Looking at their numbers you will see a low P/E and a nice recent history, especially in the dividend raises column.  However, my perspective is a little different.  When we get a package with clothes in the mail, its likely from the Gap.  My wife claims their jeans are the only ones that fit her ass right, no joke.  I like their shirts, and 100% of my jeans are from Old Navy.  Sure their clothes are not made of indestructible burlap, but they at least don't need ironing (non-iron shirts are awesome), they don't break the bank, and they look alright.  I see this position being a small one, but even the small ones have their usefulness and niche.

Next month I plan to continue pursuing my goals with my Loyal3 account.  I will likely have a smaller selection next round, targeting very well priced stocks.  I also plan on adding a position in YUM at some point, but I am still eyeing it and waiting.

- Gremlin
- Long all stocks, except YUM.
- Portfolio values and shares will be updated at the end of the month.

Anniversary!

Celebration Gremlin here!  Today I will be discussion Anniversaries.  Technically this site (blog, rant section, etc.) has been around for well over one year so 'woohoo' that's cool, but what I am really celebrating is my marriage.  It hit one year this last weekend.  It feels like time has flown past.  Naturally work seems to accelerate the passage time, with less freedom and of course travel (mostly for work).  Do I want time to slow down?  A little, but I would also like more of it.  Seeing that neither of those things will happen, it is time to focus on making the present and the future the best they can be!

So this weekend my wife and I had a very nice dinner out at a somewhat fancy restaurant.  Normally we do something reasonable / affordable for our meals.  That was not this moment, and so we splurged a little bit on a good meal so we could celebrate our first year of marriage.  I was told by friends that our bill was 'not that bad,' however my impression of it was that it was very high - but that is not an issue for a one off type event.  If we ate out like this frequently, we would have virtually no money to put towards retirement, investments, and paying off debt.

Sure, our first year had its ups and downs; we got a dog, and had to replace cars (one was not voluntary; the other had been explained to me as being mandatory - yes there is a difference).  Those were the big financial events that might impact our march towards FI, but we compromised as best as we could.  The dog might cost us some, but he is a great addition to our household (one day he'll get a picture on here).  The cars are really nice, however I wish we could have held off on at least one for awhile.  Still these are just temporary obstacles, but we've had a lot of ups as well.

We have collaborated to save more money by eating more at home and making smart decisions with how we spend our time outside of work.  In particular I have focused a lot of saving money in terms of how I spend my time when at home and when it comes to meals.  I used to eat out very often for lunch, now I do it about once a week tops.  The only reason I do it is to get out of my office for my sanity, and I keep my selections reasonable.  I also actively shop around for deals on everything; a dollar saved is so much more than one dollar, it is that plus interest and growth over time.

My wife has a much improved job situation and our finances are turning a corner.  Her job takes long hours and is stressful, but it provides a lot more income than before that is being funneled into savings, debt, and investments.  It will also allow an avenue of change we want in the future and should become much better in time.  Those changes have given me extra motivation to improve my job situation and our incoming cash flow.  I want to really take huge strides the next few years in growing passive income from my investments.

I sincerely believe that one can have the things they want if they work for it, of course a little luck does not hurt.  We could be aggressively chasing down our debt or adding to our investments, but I advocate for going after both.  It is spreading the wealth around a little bit, but it does not mean that my efforts cannot have extra focus in specific areas when the issue merits it.

So without further ado, here is what has really been on my mind.  Goals for our 2nd year of marriage:

1 - Paying off my wife's student loans.
2 - Taking a trip to a foreign country (traveling mainly on credit card points).
3 - Moving closer to our jobs.
4 - Not take our time for granted.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful November!
- Gremlin

October Review / November Preview 2015

Reviewer Gremlin here to talk about October.  The theme of the last few months seem to be be traveling for work.  This past month I did a long circuit trip through New England, spending some time in each state and I am glad to be back for Halloween.  In the last 2 months my finances have vastly improved, but it seems like my free time has decreased.  This is not all my fault, part of it is my wife's work; that is exactly the point of our financial independence.  To get time back on our side.  So let's take a look and see how things went.


October:
First off, I was able to put $598 to work in Loyal3 over the course of last month, so that was a good start.

Last month I brought in a total of $53.45 in dividends ($46.61 taxable , $6.84 Roth), way less than expected.  This is a decrease from last year ($70.52 total) by 24.2%.  The main reason this occurred is Kraft Heinz (KHC), who have not continued the Kraft dividend.  That should change, however I plan on monitoring this position closely for the rest of the year.  It is my personal belief they are setting up to pay in a different month.  Also my position in PGH reduced its payout, it hurts, but as stated before this is a legacy stock - one that I am happy to no longer depend upon.  

In terms of dividend increases, I realized two this month; Realty Income's (O) with a small percentage increase and CIBC (CM) with a small increase as well.  Unfortunately with CM, the ForEx ratio meant that very little was realized by me in the USA.  Two new raises were reported, Kinder Morgan (KMI) adding another 4% and VF Corp pumping up their dividend by15%!  KMI has now given me a raise ever quarter since the first I've owned them.

November:

Our only long term debts are our cars, which will continue though I plan to pay mine off as fast as possible.  I have already gotten ahead on my monthly payments and that will not stop.  My wife's car will receive this attention after mine is finished.  Hopefully I can travel for work less so I can enjoy stuff around me more, that is starting to become too common in my life.

Next month should produce around $62 in dividends, which is a 1% year-over-year increase.  I expect to realize one raise next month from KMI.  On the Loyal3 side, I plan pursue increasing positions in VFC, Walmart (WMT), and Hershey's (HSY) - all stocks that have seen price declines making them more attractive.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Happy Halloween!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stocks mentioned

Loyal3 Buys, October 2015

Travel Gremlin here to talk about how I've been improving my portfolio.  I have been on the road a lot this month again; this time I am traveling to a bunch of different places in the Northeast, and travel brings in a little extra capital of course.  That combined with some extra work in saving money has allowed me to put even more money into the market.  Also helping is my wife's return to employment from the summer and her improved job situation.  We are now seeing more money coming in and I am putting it to work.

Company	Ticker	$ Invested	Shares Purchased	Annual Income Added
Disney	DIS	$205	1.9668	$2.60
Hershey's	HSY	$92	0.9646	$2.25
Microsoft	MSFT	$81	1.8413	$2.65
VF Corp	VFC	$70	1.0145	$1.30
Wal-Mart	WMT	$150	2.3916	$4.69
Totals		$598		$13.48

A total of $598 was put to work, an increase of 39% from last month when I added $429.  It adds $13.48 of annual income to my forward outlook.  The money was mainly split between Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary, with some going to Information Technology.  Not all of my moves were made at the best valuation (in particular VFC), but time in the market matters more than timing the market.

Next month I plan to continue pursuing my goals with my Loyal3 account.  Several stocks have been beaten down, and I plan to act on recent weakness and invest as effectively as possible.  My existing positions that I am aiming to improve upon are DIS, HSY, VFC, and WMT.  Of those VFC has recently seen a huge price drop off, so I will be excited to increase my stake there.  I see VFC as a solid long term holding, and one that has been particularly adept at keeping up with trends between its many brands.  In addition, a position in YUM might be added to my account.


Along with Loyal3, I've toyed with the idea of adding a Robinhood account.  However, the issue is that a Robinhood account cannot be transferred into a standard brokerage, and I want that flexibility in case the brokerage experiences future issues.  Otherwise, Robinhood does seem like the better option.  Do you use one, or perhaps both and have preference?

- Gremlin
- Long all stocks, except YUM.
- Portfolio values and shares will be updated at the end of the month.