December 2016 Review / January 2017 Preview & End of Year Review

Happy New Year Gremlin here to talk about December and the end of this year.  December has meant presents and family, similar to what November holds plus the presents.  Personally it means winter is here to stay, and more importantly that January is here so I can wind down.  "The Season" always seems to come and go so fast.  Frantically acquiring gifts you hope people will like.  For me, I am simple - give me a nice backyard, some drinks, and anyone willing to play yard games.  But now that time is over, soon it will be back to the normal grind.  So let's enjoy 2016 while it lasts for the good it has brought and the silver linings we can find in the world everywhere else.

December:

I was able to put $660 to work in three existing positions across my taxable and Roth accounts.  As much as I want to keep up this pace, it will be hard knowing how I plan to be saving extra cash for unrelated reasons. 

Last month I brought in a total of $262.32 in dividends ($83.10 taxable, $60.29 Roth, and $118.93 in my IRA).  This is an increase from last year ($101.34 total) by 158.58%.  My SEP IRA continues to make this comparison silly, but it will just have to be that way until the end of next year. Its yet another month over $200.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized five this month from McDonald's (MCD), Microsoft (MSFT), Union Pacific (UNP), VF Corp (VFC), and Emerson Electric (EMR).  Raises ranged from less than 1% to  over 10%. 

Next month I will realize one dividend increase from Realty Income (O), the usual minor increase.  For 2016, I have realized 36 dividend increases!  I know of a few next year already, but I have been less than diligent in editing my spreadsheet, so some will just be happy surprises.

January:

The only debt that remains are extremely low interest auto loans.  Looking ahead, I will be saving a solid amount of cash.  This is related to the fact that my wife and I will look to get a house sometime in the next 2 years.  I want to go in with a decent down payment to make sure we get what we want.

I keep being lazy about putting up a beer review, perhaps I just have not had any that remarkable.  Side note, I will be starting a Trivia Night at my side job.  For me its fun, sure there is a little bit of cash out of it, but its more about the fun.

Next month should produce around $80 in dividends, which is a 5% YOY increase.  January has just never been a strong dividend month for me.  Also on an investing note, I am keeping a very diligent eye on commercial real estate markets.  Why?  Something seems off about it, similar in a way to 2007 with the residential market, though the bomb is probably a little smaller...

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

2016:

Wow, what a year.  A lot of good things occurred, as did of course many unfortunate things - but lets keep it positive.  On a personal note I upgraded my income, my wife has a less stressful job, we went on a great vacation, and I was still able to put a solid amount of cash into investments.  So let's look at how I did last year.

Last year I had hope I would achieve several goals.  So to reference them they are below.  With the results in RED.

• $1100 in total dividends in 2016 (taxable and Roth).  Success, beat that number by $60.
• $250 in Loyal3 dividends in 2016.  Success, more like $323, or 29% higher.
• End the year with a forward-12 month dividend estimate of over $1200 (between taxable and Roth).  Success, currently sitting a few bucks over that. Way more with IRA...
• Pay off my wife's student loan debt of $5,500 (ish).  Success, her loans are toast.
• Get a raise at my current or another job.  Success, got a new job with a raise!  Then I got a strong side job!
• Continue to exercise 5 times a week at a minimum, and ride my bike places when possible.  Failure.  Part of the failure was due to a bad ankle sprain in the fall.  Overall I am working out 4 to 5 times a week though.  Also biking has faded because my new employer pays me to commute with public transit, and they have no shower (I sweat a lot if I bike anywhere).

Overall that is a 5/6 success rate.  Next year, I plan to have fewer goals; so this section is easier to write and I can focus harder on those goals.

2017: 

Well, on a personal note my biggest goal is to rectify that bottom goal.  Otherwise, right now my life has been on a good track and I want to keep that momentum.  So here are my goals for next year.

• Break $2500 in total dividends.
• Achieve forward dividends for taxable accounts of $1000.
• Get back into shape, specifically workout 5 times a week.
• Bike to as many local places as possible, do less driving (already half way there as I do not drive to work).

There are so many ways I can improve my situation, but little changes can make a huge difference.  Time to test out lifestyle and money saving changes!

Hope everyone has a great January and a Happy New Year!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

Recent Buys, December 2016

Holiday Gremlin here to talk about some more recent buys.  I hope everyone is gearing up for a great holiday weekend, which will include family, fun, football of both varieties, and food of course.  It is no question that I am ready for it, and am anticipating a nice long weekend.  Christmas is the time for giving, and sometimes you need to give to yourself / family in the form of financial security.  Today I am pushing for more of that with a few buys that I was able to make fee free.  This year I have had a few extra free purchases, and these were set to expire if I did not use them, so I would be damned if I let freebies go to waste.  So anyway, lets get on with what I bought.

First, I added shares of Abbott Laboratories (ABT) in my Roth account, this is an addition to an existing position as are the other buys.  I bought 6.24 shares, with a total cost of $250.00 ($39.39 / share).  The current yield is 2.72%.    The P/E ratio for ABT sits today at approximately 17.  I really want to add more in the healthcare sector in general, and this will be a part of that.  This position is one I definitely plan to expand in the future, especially with its 48% payout ratio and 43 years of dividend growth.  This purchase will add $6.62 to my Roth totals next year.

Second, I added around three shares of VF Corp (VFC) to my Loyal3 account.  The current yield is 3.12% (on current cost).  The P/E ratio is much better than it has been around 20, but the payout ratio on the yield is a sweet 40-ish-%.  That leaves a lot of room for growth, and it is a company I really like so this just another brick in that wall.  This purchase will add $5.04 to my Loyal3 account totals next year.

Lastly, I added shares of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) to my taxable account.  I bought 3.1 shares, with a total cost of $260 ($83.72 / share).  The current yield is 4.48%.  The P/E ratio is around 10.25, which is great.  The payout ratio is approximately 44%, which still leaves room for growth.  In general the big Canadian Banks provide a lot to love.  I plan on adding to my other Canadian Bank, Scotiabank (BNS), next month.  Of the big 5 Canadian Banks, CM was my first purchase and remains my favorite.  Despite currency headwinds, they consistently improve their dividend in their local currency and I see results here in the USA.  Their are critics who believe they are too highly concentrated in certain markets, especially the Canadian housing market, but I do find that their system is designed to be safer than what the USA had.  If nothing else, they looked south at us and learned what not to do.  This purchase adds about $13 to my totals next year, pending foreign exchange valuations.  
 

These purchases are the last ones for 2016.  Overall, a good way to round out a year that has been good to me.
What do you think of ABT, CM, and VFC?

I will update my portfolio page at the end of the month.

I hope everyone has their shopping done and is prepared to sit inside and drink hot chocolate for a day.  Oh wait you're not, me neither, DAMN!
- Gremlin
- Long ABT, BNS, CM, VFC

November Review / December Preview, 2016

Mountain Climbing Gremlin here to talk about this past month and the future.  My ankle is doing well, well enough to climb a mountain?  Probably, but this mountain I am referring to is Financial Independence, or FI.  Today that mountain has gotten a little smaller, as I (we) have extinguished the last remnants of student loan debt.  Bye bye, no one will miss you.  In addition, I made three buys of which two were sizeable.  Then to top it off, November had Thanksgiving, which is a great time to see family.  Sure there are always negatives, and shocks (like that crazy relative of yours).  However, nothing is crippling me from earning that FI a little faster.  In fact, even negative situations provide opportunity.  So lets see how I did. 

November:

I bought three stocks this past month across my Loyal3, regular taxable, and Roth accounts.  In all, a total of $762.01 was invested, and that money should generate around $27 next year.  It is pretty nice to acquire securities like that.  In addition, YUM split off its China division, giving me a new position in YUMC.  YUMC will likely be sold at some point, but when is the real question.

Last month I brought in a total of $235.86 in dividends ($39.34 taxable, $58.71 Roth, and $137.81 in my IRA).  This is an increase from last year ($82.13 total) by 187.2%.  My SEP IRA really adds a new dimension, and its almost making this month apples to oranges in terms of a comparison.  I plan on keeping my method the same and recognizing that the SEP IRA has a big impact on total numbers in the short term.  Overall, not including my SEP IRA I am still up over last year.  Either way, over $200, sweet.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized two this month from YUM and American Express (AXP).  Both raises were around 11%, which is solid. 

Next month I will realize five raises, from McDonald's (MCD), Microsoft (MSFT), Union Pacific (UNP), VF Corp (VFC), and Emerson Electric (EMR).  The increases range from less than 1% for EMR to 10+% for MSFT and UNP. Thus far for 2016, I have realized 29 dividend increases!

December:

Things are getting exciting.  As I stated, student loans are trashed, all that remains are extremely low interest auto loans.  Looking ahead, I will be to saving a solid amount of cash.  This is related to the fact that my wife and I will look to get a house sometime in the next 2 years.  I want to go in with a decent down payment to make sure we get what we want.

Since I did not post a beers of Thanksgiving, just a simple review, perhaps I will do a beers of Christmas.  Wintertime has the best seasonal stuff in my mind.

Next month should produce around $240 in dividends, which is a 136% YOY increase, most of which is attributable to my new IRA. I am now ahead of last year, and I need to remain focused.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great December!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

Recent Buys, November 2016

Thanksgiving Come Early Gremlin here to talk about some more recent buys.  I hope you all, at least those of you in the USA, are ready for a day of cooking, turkey, and fun.  I sure am, and the plan is to get into pure relaxation mode for that whole weekend.  To be fair, Thanksgiving is probably my 4th or 5th favorite holiday (blasphemy, I know), but I can still crush stuffing, mashed potatoes, and all the fixings at will.  I hope all of you are as hungry for turkey as I am and for pushing forward with FI!  This month, I made three purchases in three different accounts.  They were all small, but also fee free, which is super cool.

First, I added shares of Ameriprise Financial (AMP) in my Roth account, this is an addition to an existing position.  I bought 5 shares, with a total cost of $437.07 ($87.41 / share).  The current yield is 2.63%, but when I purchased it the yield was closer to 3% (on current cost).  That difference between the yield now and then is due to a massive, almost $20 / share, run up in cost immediately following our recent election cycle.  Needless to say, its cool and mind boggling.  The P/E ratio for AMP sits today at 15.53, but it was closer to 12 when I made the purchase.  I am generally interested in asset managers and other financials, and this seemed like a nice opportunity to increase an existing position.  This purchase will add $15 to my Roth totals next year.

Second, I added a share of VF Corp (VFC) to my Loyal3 account.  The current yield is 3% (on current cost).  The P/E ratio is much better than it has been around 21, but the payout ratio on the yield is a sweet 35-ish-%.  That leaves a lot of room for growth, and it is a company I really like so this just another brick in that wall.  This purchase will add $1.68 to my Loyal3 account totals next year.

Lastly, I added shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) to my taxable account.  I bought 5 shares, with a total cost of $264.94 ($52.99 / share).  The current yield is 4.22%.  The P/E ratio is around 12.69, which is very good.  The payout ratio is approximately 47-50%, which still leaves room for growth.  In general the big Canadian Banks provide a lot to love.  I plan on adding to my other Canadian Bank, CIBC (CM), next month.  This purchase adds about $11 to my totals next year, pending foreign exchange valuations.  

I have two more free purchases to use before the year is up, and I plan on putting those to work next month.  These investments are made with an eye on 2017 and beyond.  All of them are in great companies that have excellent histories.

What do you think of AMP, BNS, and VFC?

I will update my portfolio page at the end of the month.

- Gremlin
- Long AMP, BNS, CM, VFC

November, 2016 Brewery Review

Patriot Gremlin here on Election Day!  Now I know, and hopefully you do too that all of the USA's founding fathers were either brewers (well Sam Adams and T. Jefferson were) or enjoyers of the craft (Now that is definitely true - though wine, applejack, and cider were the top drinks).  So in honor of the national history I will do a quick review of a local brewery to honor their legacy.  The brewery in question is located in the DC area and is named Denizens.  Their layout is nice, with an upper and lower area plus they do have bottling services so you can find their creations outside of their main location (which is important).  However, it will be hard to find anything they make outside of the general DC area.

So in running through their beers, there were four main candidates.  Each was very different from the other and I would argue that these are the best four they had out of the 9 or 10 they had on tap.  So here they are below on a scale of sip, sample, half pint, and full glass (not displaying their branded names).

Sip - Porter: Not my favorite breed in general, but among those who do prefer the more coffee or chocolate-centric flavors, this is the one for them.  Having tried it I would say that it is not too heavy on either flavor and is fairly light as it goes down.  This is what I would recommend for staying in near a fire during a snowstorm.  3.2/5

Sample - Rye IPA: In general I drink a fair amount of IPAs, but I prefer those more with a floral flavor versus the very bitter.  This was not too bitter, which can be common with rye types, but it did have a nice floral finish.  This is a summer and early fall drink right here for me.  3.5/5

Half Pint - Belgian Triple: Do you like sledgehammers?  Because this is a sledgehammer.  Most people will only need one glass of this before they have to hail a taxi to get home.  Still, it had a great taste with a great spice mix, and it was light going down.  I have to say I would have drank more of this, had I not known it was a trap with its 10% alcohol (A. By Volume) content.  4.2/5

Full Glass - Kvass: This is a sour beer, so if you don't like sour beers then quit right now.  I love sour beers, even though they are hard to find.  Kvass is an Eastern European style drink, which has morphed here into a beer.  Typically low in ABV (normally kvass is 0.5-1% ABV, this one is 3.5%), this sour is loaded with flavor.  This is my top by far and the one I would most consistently return to.  4.8/5

Happy / Hoppy Voting!

Gremlin 4 Pres:

October Review / November Preview, 2016

Almost Healthy Gremlin here to talk about this past month and the future.  So far my ankle's recovery has gone well, though its still not at the point where I can run at a meaningful pace or distance, and I look as graceful as a baby deer.  Still, its better and continues to get better so hopefully that is finished soon.  On the home front the household student loans stand at less than $1k, which means they are almost over.  In addition, my new employee stock program and 401k have started accumulating.  Looking around at everything else I can say I am excited for winter, hockey, and for fantasy football to end.  I have got to learn to do a split football team in the future, and by split I mean just show up for the draft party but not draft... 

October:

I bought two new stocks in my new SEP IRA, however due to my lack of paying attention I neglected to post those buys so here I go.  I bought 30 shares of HCN for a total cost of $2,101.13 and 75 shares of OHI for $2,497.95.  Those are two huge purchases and round out the SEP IRA investments for a long time.  Only a negligible amount of cash remains in that account, and I will probably not be deploying that plus new dividends until next fall.  In the meantime I will soak up those dividends!

I also rounded out my position in YUM on Loyal3.  This is the final purchase I will make into YUM for a while, and I am deciding what action I will take on the YUM China (YUMC) stock, which  I will receive in November.  Exciting times over there at Loyal3 to be sure.

Last month I brought in a total of $81.58 in dividends ($61.22 taxable, $20.36 Roth).  This is an increase from last year ($53.45 total) by 52.6%.  Next month my SEP IRA will start to kick in distributions, and it will probably annihilate prior totals I have posted before.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized two this month from Realty Income (O) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS).  The raises ranged from 0.2% to 3% (approximate in $USD from $CAD). 

Next month I will realize two raises, from YUM and American Express (AXP).  The increases are around 11% each. Thus far for 2016, I have realized 27 dividend increases!

November:

Things are getting exciting.  As I noted above, one of my wife's student loans is gone.  Looking ahead two months, I will start to save a solid amount of cash.  This is related to the fact that my wife and I will look to get a house sometime in the next 2-3 years.  I want to go in with a decent down payment to make sure we get what we want.

I will post a Beers of Thanksgiving article, which will highlight my favorites for this time of year.

Next month should produce around $200 in dividends, which is a 426% YOY increase, most of which is attributable to my new IRA. I am now ahead of last year, and I need to remain focused.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great November!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

Loyal3 Buys, Oct. 2016

Fall Gremlin here to talk about how I've been improving my portfolio via Loyal3.  Things have been coming along pretty well for the past few months, and I added a few shares to in Loyal3 as noted on my monthly updates.  Finally, I got my position in YUM up to a point I am satisfied with.  YUM is about to spin off YUM China (YUMC) at the beginning of November so it is easy to understand why I pursued YUM.  Once the deal is completed I will own shares in both, but YUMC will clearly be its own animal.  Part of me would still like to have seen YUM carry on as is.  There is a strength in companies like Johnson and Johnson (JNJ),  where width of their brands and innovation complements their depth.  Hopefully, after the spin off the two YUMs both do their thing and do it will.

I bought 3.2654 shares of YUM for $290.  This will add $6.66 to my forward annual income, considering the recent dividend raise.  More importantly, my total number of YUM shares now stands at just above 12, and I am happy with the size of the position currently ~ enough to start buying other things.

YUM has been the focus of this account for much of the past few months.  With other finances back in order and a slightly larger free hand, I will be able to tackle other Loyal3 stocks moving forward.  It is still my plan to fill up positions to a specific point, then merge them with my regular account.  This will create a lot more buying power concentrated in one place, which is the ultimate goal. 

Either way, have a great rest of October and enjoy the start to fall!
- Gremlin
- Long YUM and JNJ

September Review / October Preview, 2016

Hobbling Gremlin here to talk about this past month and the road ahead.  The road ahead starts with a twisted ankle, which will slow up my personal progress, but not my FI progress.  As I write this I know that one of my wife's student loans is gone (the highest interest loan which was at 6.8%).  There is still a 2.8% loan out there for her education, and that one is looking like it will be done next month.  Otherwise the normalcy of life has started again with the school year restarting.  This also means two paychecks back in the house, time to make these next few months count.  Though that normalcy is also to be short-lived, when you live in the DC area, election time should fill you with dread.  Not the dread of whoever wins, rather the dread of road closures and stupid rules for traffic. 

September:

I bought a bunch of new stock in my new Pre-Tax IRA account, which was funded with rollover money from my old 401k.  This was done in two phases; phase 1 and phase 2.  I will begin count these dividends along with others, but they will not be counted towards my year end goals. In addition, I added one share of YUM in my Loyal3 account, but only one so it was not worth an article. 

Last month I brought in a total of $115.43 in dividends ($75.50 taxable, $39.93 Roth).  This is an increase from last year ($79.91 total) by 44.5%.  Growth surely cannot maintain such high percentages, but with the new pre-tax IRA counting in the future surely the numbers will begin to balloon.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized four this month from Hershey's (HSY), Kellogg's (K), Realty Income (O), and Target (TGT).  The raises ranged from 1% to 7%. 

Next month I will realize two dividend increases.  They will be from O and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS).  The increases range from around 0.2% to above 2.8%. Thus far for 2016, I have realized 25 dividend increases!

October:

Things are getting exciting.  As I noted above, one of my wife's student loans is gone.  Since last December (when I first looked into this) we have plowed $7.6k into her debt and now just about $850 remains.  It may seem like a small drop in the bucket, but it is a huge stride forward.  Within a few months our savings will be bouncing along with more investments.  This is the start of something big, I can feel it.

Next month should produce around $80 in dividends, which is a 51% YOY increase. At this point I will already eclipse last year's totals, which is just great.  .

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great October!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

Recent Buys Part 2, Sept. 2016

Relaxed Gremlin here to talk about some more recent buys.  Before I get started, let it be known that the reason I am relaxed is because I did a good number on one of my ankles recently, I won't be moving at a pace faster than a hop for a little while.  So, after much deliberation and thinking I have decided to keep all of my old 401K as pre-tax money.  I view my future retirement as something best dealt with by attacking from multiple angles, akin to a Hydra.  The cool thing is that one day my other retirement accounts will need to be dumped, and they will have a home waiting for them.  So let's get to it, what did I buy and why?  For starters these are definitely different companies than I bought in my last round a little over a week ago.  They are strong, but as I said different.

First I added shares of Westlake Chemical Corp. (WLK), which is a new position in my IRA account, and it is my first Basic Materials sector stock.  I bought 25 shares, with commission.  The current yield is 1.50% (on current cost).  I like WLK a lot, they have been aggressive in expansion and done a nice job at growing the dividend over the past few years with a growth streak of 13 years.  They have low P/E and payout ratios compared to the rest of the industry, 12.3 and 18% respectively.  These are excellent numbers.  To build on that they just acquired rival Axiall.  From what I read about them I see they have good leadership, an eye on growth and they exist in a boring - but needed - industry.  Here is a brief description from them:

"Westlake Chemical Corp was founded in 1986. It is a manufacturer and marketer of basic chemicals, vinyls, polymers and fabricated products. The Company's products include some of the chemicals, which are fundamental to many diverse consumer and industrial markets, including flexible and rigid packaging, automotive products, coatings, residential and commercial construction as well as other durable and non-durable goods. The Company operates in two principal business segments, Olefins and Vinyls, and it is one of the few North American integrated producers of vinyls with downstream integration into polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, fabricated products."

Second I added shares of CVS Health Corp (CVS), which is a new position in my IRA account (note they will be classified as Healthcare in terms of sector, because that is their largest segment).  I bought 25 shares, with commission.  The current yield is 1.90% (on current cost).  The P/E ratio is just around fair to slightly high at 20, but the payout ratio on the yield is a sweet 35%.  CVS needs a lot less of an introduction, though it should be said it has paid dividends at an increasing rate for 13 years too.  CVS is almost on as many street corners as Starbucks these days.  They also just inked a huge deal to manage and run Target's (TGT) in store pharmacy.

What I like most about CVS is just that, their pharmacy department.  The amount, type, and reliance on certain types of medicine seems to only be trending in one direction, and that is higher.  Few others are poised to do this at the capacity of CVS (though RiteAid and Walgreens certainly can).  In addition, that income is augmented by strong retail and consumer staples sales.  What is even crazier is how much room they have to grow and it does not even touch the amount of sales growth that their division of TGT pharmacies can bring to the table.



All in all, both buys are not going to be golden eggs layers today, but they may be tomorrow.  They also represent growth in the face of economic downturn.  After all both increased their payouts during the recent recession.

What do you think of WLK and CVS?

I will update my portfolio page at the end of the month.

- Gremlin
- Long WLK, CVS, and TGT
- Fuller disclosure, my first part time job was at a CVS many years ago.

Recent Buys, Sept. 2016

Retirement Gremlin here to talk about some recent buys.  In the last few months I switched jobs, which freed up my old 401k money, which was promptly deposited into a new IRA with my broker.  I am contemplating moving some of the money to my Roth IRA via the backdoor conversion process, but a big slice of the money was going to be invested right away.  So last week I watched the market like a hawk, especially since it seems to be in a weird mood where it goes up on one day and down on the next.  No point in timing the market, but if a few dollars can be saved up front that will work.  If every dollar can be stretched out to provide a few more pennies, well then that could add up to a significant long term amount of money.  So just be aware these purchases were all made when stocks were generally trending downward for that day.

Anyways, there will be no individual listing about these stocks that now comprise the core of my new IRA.  These are all stalwarts; of the six stock purchases I made five are Dividend Champions and the other one is a Contender.  Some of them do share sectors, but none of them entirely share industries (though their is crossover).  Of the six, three are generally viewed as industrial.  The others are one in each of these spaces - consumer staples, healthcare, and telecommunications.  Enough blabbering here are the stocks purchased.

Thanks to My Dividend Pipeline for the idea of using screenshots for posting buys; I like it for big moves.

As you can see these are all big players in their respective industries.  My goal is to make this a very strong defensive account that will be ready and waiting for future 401k capture.  As noted above a decent amount of money is still available in this account.  The question becomes do I move it to my Roth after a time or invest it right away.  For now what is most important is knowing that my retirement is in my hands exclusively - and that is a freedom that is totally worth it.

Thanks for reading,
Gremlin
Long all stocks above.

August Review / September Preview, 2016

Getting back to business Gremlin here.  So this past month I started a new job.  One that I already know will have a measure of interest significantly greater than my last job.  It will involve some travel, in fact I've already been out on one trip to Kansas City, but not the life robbing travel I had before.  Also the money is way better, which is the key thing.  This month somewhat normal investing and debt squashing activities will resume.  Next month those will be ratcheted up in intensity.  No I did not build a gaggle of wealth in my 20s, but I am going to make up for that right now.

August:

I bought no new stock of any sort, but much financial reading was done.

Last month I brought in a total of $95.21 in dividends ($36.50 taxable, $58.71 Roth).  This is an increase from last year ($67.45 total) by 41.6%.  The march forward is truly accelerating.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized one this month from from Discover Financial (DFS), which was really cool because I expected to have none.  The raise was around 7%. 

Next month I will realize four dividend increases.  They will be from Hershey's (HSY), Kellogg's (K), Realty Income (O), and Target (TGT).  The increases range from around 1% to above 7%. Thus far for 2016, I have realized 21 dividend increases.  Boom.

September:

Things are about to get exciting.  To start, sometime between October and November I will clear out my wife's student loans.  Since last December (when I first looked into this) we have plowed $7.2k into her debt and now just $1.25k remains.  Its a drop in the damn bucket.  This reinforces my belief, along with my extra salary that my car can be paid off by the end of next year.  On top of that more money coming in means more investing.  Its exciting times to be sure.

Next month should produce around $114 in dividends, which is a 43% YOY increase.  I will almost have made as much already as I did last year.  On top of that due to my work change I have some extra retirement money to play with; my 401k is being migrated as we speak to a new Sep IRA with my broker.  That is about $31k, and once that comes online my dividends overall will rocket up (though I will not count them towards my goals until next year).  .

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great September!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

Summer Travel, 2016

The London Shard...

Travel Gremlin here.  Its been about a month since I went on vacation, and all I can say is that it stinks that all of us don't get more time for stuff like this.  Such is the world.  Anyways, I've been busy since I got home, with a job transition currently underway and all the usual stuff on top of that.  So for starters, my plan for upcoming months will be to have three (3) posts each month.  I used to aim for four (4), but with new responsibilities and the course of life it is clear that will not remain nominally feasible.  Still, this is a post that I am extremely excited to write because it is about the fun stuff in life.  Do not worry though, I will begin with a little financial recap.

Our Journey:

We (my wife, I, and a friend) ventured to sunny - sorta - England to visit some friends.  We stayed in the UK for a week seeing parts of England and Wales.  Afterwards, the three of us hopped a flight to Italy, then met back up with our friends in Pisa and scooted around that part of Italy.  Our total time in Italy was around 7 days, for a total journey of around two weeks, and now my wife is staying she wants to travel again.  Traveling once makes you want to go again (having perfect weather helps too).

My favorite part about this journey is that we were able to go at all.  Our flights cost (my wife and I) $360 round trip.  That included flying to the UK from the US, to Italy from the UK, and back.  This was done using points transferred from my Chase Sapphire credit card to my United Frequent Flyer number.  Had we just purchased tickets it would have been over $3k.

When we went to Wales, I used hotel points through Hilton to acquire us three rooms in a hotel for three nights, with the final cost being $20 - just taxes.  Plus we stayed with our friends in England.  In Italy, we used AirBnB and found some real steals in the heart of a bunch of cities.  I am not promoting those products, but merely stating if you look hard enough (not that hard), you can find these deals are rampant.  The point here is most people can travel, if they are willing to listen and learn from pros online or in person who do this all the time.  I am far, far from an expert - so don't just take my word for it.

The United Kingdom:

Well for now it is anyway.  We went to two parts, England and Wales.  Also we benefited from a deep monetary discount, thanks to the Brexit.  30 year low in the Pound to USD.  Simply stunning.

England:

Tower Bridge.

It is hard to describe any place, when you only see fractions of it.  Those parts we saw were really fun.  We spent most of our time in London and Cambridge, both gave a very unique cosmopolitan feel.  In some ways it reminded me of the USA (not just cause of the language), but the demeanor of the people.  They were hard working, but matched that with a hard play attitude.  That is right up my alley.  In addition, we saw some of the old towns in the Cotswolds  that sometimes show up in movies.  Among those was a town featuring the oldest 'inn' in England, and yes we got a beer there.  Favorite drink: Speckled Hen - cask. 












Wales:

The view from Pen-y-Fan, Southern Wales' highest peak.

If the UK has a West Virginia, I've been told its Wales.  Of all the places in the UK I saw, I liked Wales the most.  Why?  Mountains.  We only saw the southern range, but those views and the effort to get there are some of the things that I enjoy the most.  We also sampled Cardiff, which is a nice small urban contrast to the mountains nearby.  Of extreme note, amazing Indian food was had in Wales - by far the best I've ever had.  Honestly it might have been my favorite food from the whole trip.  Favorite drink: Brains Amber cask (I don't remember the full name).












Italy:

We arrived in Venice, made our way to Pisa, saw the Cinque Terre, and ended in Florence.  So many wows, oohs, and ahhs.  Places I likely will never see again.  My favorite drink was red wine: specifically any house wine and definitely those 'Supertuscan' wines.  Though there was a microbrewery in Pisa that was excellent, so look for that if you are ever there.

A view of Venice from the Tower of San Marco.

Venice: This city has intrigued me for a long time.  As a person who thinks a lot about engineering, science, and urban planning - this city is a model in so many ways.  It is south of mountains and on the sea (near to the Adriatic), which are my two favorite types of places.  The streets are small and old, but it is a feel that cannot be replicated.  Of all the places in Italy we visited, this is the one I feel I need more time to see (not to belittle other places).

The Dolomites

One tour we did in Venice that I would recommend heavily, is to see the Dolomites.  Or if you are in Slovenia their mountains count too.  The Alps in general are gorgeous, and the Dolomites and the towns among them have their own outstanding charm. 

The Tuscan Countryside.

Tuscany: After Venice we went to Tuscany, and some neighboring areas.  We started in Pisa, went to Cinque Terre, and ended in Florence.  Of those three places I thought Pisa had the best nightlife for hanging out and mingling with locals.  Cinque Terre is well and beyond the most scenic.  Florence reigns in architecture.  The best food went to a few small places in both bigger cities, a fried seafood place in Cinque Terre, and to the Tuscan countryside where we went on a wine tour.  If you could only see one of the three, the answer is Cinque Terre its so unique and despite the crowds it feels more open than Florence.  In Cinque Terre you must hike the trails, but they are not easy.  The second one to see is Florence, which despite its architectural works, is just so crowded during the day.  I have no desire to be surrounded by 100 person tour groups, fair warning.
  

Manarola, part of the Cinque Terre.

Overlooking Florence.

Wrap up: The biggest mistake of this trip is that we are no longer on it, am I right?  Truly, all of these places hold their own unique charm.  I would gladly venture to any of them, just to get a fuller experience. 

I hope everyone has had or is having a great summer!
- Gremlin
- Long all beers and wines drank
- Sadly Short Pasta Carbonara right now.
*All pictures taken by me or someone riding shotgun.

July Review / August Preview, 2016

Back from vacation Gremlin here to talk about July and the next few months.   So vacation was great, I went to the UK and Italy and saw a lot of cool stuff.  I will put together a post on that soon, just been lazy of late.  I watched the end of the Euros over there and was happy to see CR7 and Portugal win (why? because he is a good player, and its nice to see a new team win, especially from a smaller nation).  Though, Iceland winning would have been cooler.

Now the focus is on my new job, which starts in less than two weeks.  In the mean time I will be wrapping up my current position.  One thing I will note is that my pay schedule will change from once every two weeks to monthly, which sucks.  This will mean cash is tight for a brief period, however my salary increase will really start to fit in quickly, and debts will be punished.

July:

I was able to put $90 and purchased a new share of YUM stock.  It was a small purchase, and I did not feel like it warranted any posting.

Last month I brought in a total of $84.98 in dividends ($65.47 taxable, $19.51 Roth).  This is an increase from last year ($77.69 total) by 9.4%.  Not a bad increase, but it could have been higher had I held onto Chubb stock, but I am happy with my decisions concerning that situation earlier this year.  Those transactions have given my DFS and AMP stock.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized two this month from from Realty Income (O) and CIBC (CM).  The raises ranged from 0.5% to 2.5% (local currency). 

Next month I will realize no dividend increases. Thus far for 2016, I have realized 20 dividend increases.  Boom.

August:

Our only long term debts are our cars and my wife's student loans, and her loan won't last the year.  With my new job rapidly approaching there will be a brief hiatus on putting extra cash towards debts, until I start getting paid.  Once that happens, all bets are off and I will be crushing debts with this extra cash.

Next month should produce around $91 in dividends, which is a 35% YOY increase.  Investing wise this will be a bare bones month or two.  Once my pay period becomes more regular, watch out debt, watch out.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great August!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

June Review / July Preview, 2016

Summer Gremlin here to talk about June and July.   In less than a week I will be traveling to Europe, and I am very excited.  I have also accepted a new job offer.  Things are really starting to pick up steam in my day to day life.  The goal for the second half of the year is to really annihilate some debt and begin grooming my financial situation towards a house or kids or both.  Such is life.

June:

I was able to put $275 to work in Loyal3 over the course of last month.  I added no new Loyal3 positions this month. I did add a new position in Abbott Labs (ABT) in my Roth account using a free buy to seize the day as much as possible on the Brexit news.

Last month I brought in a total of $116.44 in dividends ($77.13 taxable, $39.31 Roth).  This is an increase from last year ($67.80 total) by 71.7%.  These amounts and the increase is as expected.  This is officially now my biggest month ever, which is really cool.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized four this month from Pepsi Co (PEP), Unilever (UL), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), and Exxon Mobile (XOM).  The raises ranged from 2.4% to 15%.  Overall this is fairly successful growth.  Those are my favorite kind of raises.

Next month I will realize two dividend increases: CIBC (CM) and Realty Income (O).  The increases range from 0.5% 2.3%.

Thus far for 2016, I have realized 18 dividend increases, and after July it will be 20 total.  Boom.

July:

Our only long term debts are our cars and my wife's student loans, and her loan won't last the year.  I will continue next month to throw some extra money at her student loans and my car.  If we paid her student loans at the minimum rate it would take around 1 year to finish otherwise.  I have already gotten ahead on my monthly payments on my car and that will not stop as well.  Her student loan should be finished around September or October, if everything else remains constant.

Next month should produce around $85 in dividends, which is a 10% YOY increase.  On the Loyal3 front I will probably invest $200 on existing positions.  I am trying to pump up our safety net savings a little bit on the side as well, which is the reason for the slight edging down of Loyal3 investing, especially as we head into summer.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great July!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

Recent Buy, June 2016

I <3 Travel Gremlin here to talk about a recent buy.  In about a week from now I leave for Europe, which will be great.  In between now and then a month will end and another will start; I will update my holdings and income in that time frame.  In the meantime things are really busy both at work and elsewhere in preparation for July 4th.  Plus I accepted a new job, which will start in August.  Needless to say, there are loads and loads of things going on so I'm going to make this one short.

Recently the "Brexit" gave a lot investors and banks some serious headaches, and people withdrew their money in a fury.  A bunch of people probably lost money and some folks are probably still running around like the proverbial headless chickens.  Long term investors, I hope you all got the memo and a little more of that pie.

Yesterday I added shares of Abbott Laboratories (ABT), which is a new position in my Roth account.  I bought 13.9 shares at $37.41 / share, with no commission.  The current yield is 2.74% (on current cost).

I am not going to dive to heavily into ABT's history, but suffice to know if you had held them and their spinoffs (like ABBV) since the 1980s, you'd be doing great.  I like their current valuation, which momentarily was made sweeter thanks to the voters in the UK, cheers on that.  ABT also is a healthcare stock, and I am really looking to increase my holdings in that sector

This was a rather small purchase, most of my money is currently busy wiping out debt, planning for Europe, or in my taxable investment account.  That account is going through a name transition due to my marriage stuff, so I decided to do what I could in my Roth at the time being.  So, expect at some point this position to be expanded upon.

What do you think of ABT?

I will update my portfolio page at the end of the month.

- Gremlin
- Long ABT

Loyal3 Buys, June 2016

Summer Heat Wave Gremlin here to talk about how I've been improving my portfolio via Loyal3.  It's an interesting time in the world right now, with all of the turmoil and the Brexit among other things.  One thing that I am fairly confident of, regardless of political situations, is that people and markets will continue to grow and expand in the long run.  For that reason I am not in a state of fear like the market was this Friday.  Rather I see it as an opportunity to invest - sadly my Loyal3 investments were done prior to this market upheaval.  Still I plan on putting some capital into the market as soon as possible to take advantage, but that is not what we are talking about here is it?  So let's get to it, what did I do?

I bought 3.2803 shares of YUM for $275, down from $360 or a 23% decrease.  This will add $6.04 to my forward annual income.  Definitely not my biggest investment month recently, but there is a lot going on right now in my life.  Summer is here, things are happening, life is being lived, and so it goes.  I am at moment less than 3 weeks out from a killer vacation and my wife has finished her school year.  On top of that I am looking at switching jobs, which should increase my (our) annual income significantly.  It will be great; debt will be crushed, money will be saved, and investments will be grown.  You heard it here first, really you read it and no one cares, except me.

Now a quick note on the Brexit.  This will effect the economy of the world - in some ways powerfully and others through just tiny ripples, though my advisement is to not trust the 'experts' on this.  Specifically experts advertising gloom and doom on either side of the issue.  Why?  Simple, we are in completely uncharted territory.  As a student of history, all I can say is that an event of this magnitude has not happened in recent history, at least a peacefully.  Truly it is so much more than that.  Sure plenty of times mirror this even in recent memory (S. Sudan, the break up of Yugoslavia, and even the dissolution of the League of Nations).  If you went back further than that to the dissolution of old empires after WWI, the fracturing of empires through the world in India, China, etc.  However, none of those were as all encompassing as the member states' relationship with the EU.

That being said, I would be remiss if I did not mention I still understand the move.  While I think it is shortsighted in terms of economics, it should remind USA folks that it was what we did.  As the phrase goes "don't tell me how to live."  That being said, economics may heal, but I do doubt they will ever be as strong as they were.

Either way, have a great weekend and regardless of wear you stand on that issue do get outside and enjoy the summer!

- Gremlin
- Long YUM

2016 Euro Call

Sports Gremlin here (I agree, poker is not really a sport, but its the closest thing there is next to Streaker Gremlin...).  Anyways, today begins my favorite sports tournament, the UEFA's European Football (Soccer) Championship.  Yes, despite the fact that the USA is hosting and in the Copa America right now, this is my preferred tournament.  Two reasons for that; one the Copa America will have no future impact on other tournaments, and two there is a special amount of history and drama in the Euros.  It is a tournament that can elicit rivalries that are centuries old, played out by guys who might even be paid by the same clubs all of a sudden against each other.  So below I have included a graphic showing the groups.


France in green represent the host nation, and the others in yellow are picks to move on to the next round (that does include France). 

I'd be lying if I did not think France has a huge advantage in this tournament, they do.  They are home, and they are really good.  The other usual suspects that have a chance at a deep run are England, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and Portugal.  All of those teams have strong talent pools.  The question is will teams like England, Belgium, Italy, and Portugal be able to turn their players' abilities and successes at the club level into something at the national level?  Germany has done it recently, and their progression should be noted for turning a team of individuals into cogs in the machine.  In fact Germany is probably the scariest team on this list; they lose any player and just call up their proverbial clone.  That's a nightmare to play against.

Also there a bunch of teams that are not at the same levels of the big fish, but are very dangerous squads in their own right.  In no particular order I would state these are Switzerland, Wales, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Austria, and Iceland.  To be fair, all of the teams in this tournament are good, which makes it a much higher quality field than the World Cup.  There are no slouches here.

So what is my prediction?  Well here it is:
1st / Winner - England.  This is a huge limb I am going out on, because they as a team are always a ticking time bomb of implosion. However, I do believe their early pool play versus Wales will put them in the right might set to conquer Europe once and for all. There qualifying campaign was also a gem.
2nd - France.  Home field advantage is huge, but I don't think it will be enough.
3rd - Poland. I think this is their year for a deep run, with a good team.
4th - Germany. Consistency is their thing, though I don't see a repeat this year of the World Cup.

Teams that will surprise with deep runs (dark horses):
Austria - This is a squad that can easily destroy the ambitions of a more seasoned squad.
Iceland - Its their first major tournament ever, they have nothing to lose.
Czech Republic - A quick look at their qualifying campaign and you will see this is not a fun team to play against.
Slovakia - Ditto of the Czechs.  If I were Russia and Wales, I would be really concerned in this field, the experts at ESPN and other places be damned.
Belgium - If they win their pool, I feel really bad for whoever gets the unhappy privilege of playing them.

What do you watch in the summertime?  Personally, I will be outside doing stuff for most of the games, but recording games using a DVR so I can enjoy them at night.

- Soccer Gremlin Out

Brewery Reviews for May 2016

Party Gremlin here to talk about some breweries.  This past May I was fortunate enough to make a trek out to Colorado, as part of that trek I got to sample some of work the locals are putting into their product.  Those in the know may appreciate this because Colorado is one of the best areas for micro / nano / whatever kind you want of brewing in the country - possibly only outstripped only by the Portland, Oregon in the USA.  In this post I will be reviewing two beer-hubs for the record.  That being said I am going to focus on the quality of the tour and the drinks, but I will attempt to stray too much into detail over specific beers.  The reason for that is twofold; first I cannot remember all of the names of the beers themselves and two because I want to try to discuss the breathe as well as depth (and there is only so much time).

Wynkoop, Denver, Colorado:

This was our first stop and coincidentally it was the first micro-brewery in the Denver area.  They do their work in the basement of their restaurant / pub, and do can and bottle their products for sale in the local area.  In my time sampling suds, I've been on a few tours of facilities.  This tour was one of the better tours as it gave a lot of history to the local area and ingredients that they use.  The importance here is everywhere you go the essential process is the same, but discussion of the history and ingredient list should and will be different.  On top of that a good tour should always provide samples, and guess what it does!

Now to the real business, now was their product?  I sampled approximately 6 different types.  Three beers really stuck out to me as being excellent.  The first is their imperial red ale; very strong in terms of taste and percentage.  Second is the milk stout; very smooth like a chocolate milk shake that would go down very well even on a hot summer day.  The third and final is their flagship IPA; it was not over hopped and the bitterness did jive very well with the other flavors of the beer.  These three represent the best of what I tried there.  I like a lot of different styles of beer, and its hard to find a place that does several well even if its a small sized operation.  I would recommend visiting here and give them a 4 out of 5 ranking.

http://www.wynkoop.com/

New Belgium, Fort Collins, Colorado:

From time to time, people come across gems, they take them out of the ground polish them and they become either very valuable or priceless.  I can honestly say that the city of Fort Collins and their New Belgium Brewery (NBB) are one of those rare gems.  To start, the tour was excellent.  Their equipment is also not entirely regular equipment.  NBB has a very strongly automated process, allowing them to effectively make a lot of different types of beer and then age them for long periods of time.  The backbone of this clearly comes from ownership that is very science oriented, which as a person with a science and engineering background is great to see.

I've never been to a major macro-brewing facility, in fact this and Sam Adams in Boston years ago are the closest I've ever been.  However, the process at NBB is such that it will allow for them to create a whole lot of different though in smaller batches. This is because the initial stages of brewing for almost all beers is very similar.  As we speak they are aging and conditioning dozens of different types of beer in all sorts of containers.

Now onto the important parts.  The tour does have beer on it, making it good - but the tour itself is great.  I've never said that before, I usually just listen for histories, ingredients, and then wait for samples.  This was not that tour.  The beer here is also great.  I've had plenty of NBB before, and some of the bigger ones are just good (even the best place may make something that does not click with me, it happens), but their special seasonal, limited release, and aged beers are phenomenal.  My two favorites I tried were one of their sour beers and a blackberry barley-wine.  All of what they had was good, and I also must add this is one of the first places I've been where I noticed a difference in how the beer tastes due to its freshness when being served.

All in all, 5/5.  If you're in the area, it'd be a mistake to not head here.

http://www.newbelgium.com/Beer/home

Have you tried any new flavors recently?
- Gremlin

May Review / June Preview, 2016

Gettin' Old Gremlin here to talk about May, and the prospects of June - where I will turn a sad sad 31.  Next month I get a little more older by the standards of our calendar, but I don't feel it.  I've been biking a lot to work, putting in time at my second job, and being all around busy.  It has been a great period of time working hard for some financial independence with a smattering of life included.  Last month I attended a bachelor party and next month starts the annual 'wedding season.'  So much to do, so much going on and I almost neglected to mention that at some point soon I will be paying a lot of attention to the UEFA Championships, aka The Euros or European soccer championship.

May:

I was able to put $360 to work in Loyal3 over the course of last month.  I added no new Loyal3 positions this month. No new positions were added this past month.

Last month I brought in a total of $85.54 in dividends ($30.96 taxable, $54.58 Roth).  This is an increase from last year ($67.57 total) by 26.59%.  These amounts and the increase is as expected.  My accounts have been pretty consistent in their upward dividend trending; this is exactly what I am aiming for.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized two this month from Apple (AAPL) and Ameriprise Financial (AMP).  The raises ranged from 9.5% to 11.9%.  Overall this is fairly successful growth.  Those are my favorite kind of raises.

Next month I will realize four dividend increases: Pepsi Co (PEP), Unilever (UL), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), and Exxon Mobile (XOM).  The increases range from 6% on up to the mid-teens.

Thus far for 2016, I have realized 14 dividend increases, and after June it will be 18 total.  Boom.

June:

Our only long term debts are our cars and my wife's student loans, and her loan won't last the year.  I will continue next month to throw some extra money at her student loans and my car.  If we paid her student loans at the minimum rate it would take around 1 year to finish otherwise.  I have already gotten ahead on my monthly payments on my car and that will not stop as well.  Her student loan should be finished around September or October, if everything else remains constant.

Next month should produce around $116 in dividends, which is a 71% YOY increase.  On the Loyal3 front I will probably invest $300 on existing positions.  I am trying to pump up our safety net savings a little bit on the side as well, which is the reason for the slight edging down of Loyal3 investing, especially as we head into summer.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great June!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

Loyal3 Buys, May 2016

Back-in-town Gremlin I've been improving my portfolio via Loyal3.  This portfolio keeps surprising, not only in how fast the dividends are growing, but also in how fast the account value is growing.  Loyal3 has allowed me to build several positions from the ground up a few dollars at a time, not a thousand at a time that I would otherwise with a traditional brokerage.  I am not always getting the best deal, but I usually am getting a decent one.  Using cost averaging and knowing I have a long time frame allows me to invest perhaps with more freedom than people who desire instant returns.  The account also features those with higher growth potential (often), but lower upfront yield.

Company	Ticker	$ Invested	Shares Purchased	Annual Income Added
Dunkin Brands	DNKN	$50	1.0551	$1.27
Hershey's	HSY	$50	1.0254	$2.39
Kraft-Heinz	KHC	$80	1.0179	$2.34
VF Corp.	VFC	$65	1.0123	$1.50
Walmart	WMT	$70	1.0687	$2.14
Totals		$360		$9.63

A total of $360 was put to work, a decrease of 15.2% from last month when I added $425.  It adds $9.63 of annual income to my 12-month forward outlook.  A solid bang for my buck in terms of annual forward dividends.  In terms of valuations, WMT or KHC are the best value, pending on metrics and viewpoints.


Over the next few months the plan is to ramp down the investments in Loyal3, or at least it was.  News has recently come out that YUM! will spin off its China segment into a separate company.  My goal at this moment is to rapidly build my YUM position to maximize the value of this.  If something does come up with another company I may also try to leverage a position there.  However, for the time being this is the goal.  Yes, I will be curbing my Loyal3 stuff over the summer, but what does go in will be all towards YUM.

Also I expect as the summer slow down happens, I will be able to post a few brewery reviews.  Of note, I will be adding a new one soon: New Belgium located in Ft. Collins, Colorado.  I recently had the pleasure of being out that way, and I really want to discuss that place.

- Gremlin
- Long DNKN, HSY, KHC, VFC, WMT, YUM