In more fun and less serious news, I finally saw the new Star Wars movie. It was much better than the new trilogy, not better than the original trilogy, but was entertaining nonetheless. I've also kicked off the year by listening to a new Podcast. This year will be a great year for entertainment as a whole. I will take a (cost reduced) trip to Europe this summer, the Olympics will happen, and my favorite sporting event, the European Football (Soccer) Championships, will take place. All of this will keep my eyes and mind busy, but my portfolio and pursuit of FI will continue. The march towards FI is a long one that must be consistent, persistent, and irresistible despite being surrounded by heavily consumer culture that wants you to buy everything and is always looking to waste your cash. Outside of trying new beer and wine, they have a tough sell with this guy right here.
January:
I was able to put $556 to work in Loyal3 over the course of last month, so that was a good start. I also initiated two new positions in Ameriprise Financial (AMP) and Discover Financial Services (DFS) both in my Roth IRA account.
Last month I brought in a total of $75.76 in dividends ($49.41 taxable , $26.35 Roth). This is an increase from last year ($70.04 total) by 8.17%. This is a little more than I had expected, which is pretty cool. 2016 should build upon the improvements to quality positions that I started last year.
In terms of dividend increases, I realized one this month from Realty Income (O) of approximately 0.26%. I find this growth to be the best kind, as it happens with no extra effort or investment on my part.
Next month I will realize 2 dividend increases: O and AT&T (T). The increase from O is almost 5%, which is simply fantastic. I had not expected anything beyond O's normal quarterly increases, and here they go again blowing up the spot. Got to love that. T's increase is in the 2% range, not a lot to get excited over, but the fact is they are steady and can be counted on to add one penny per share each quarter every year. I can live with and appreciated that approach.
Sadly, I will also live with Kinder Moragn's (KMI) 75% dividend cut. I will be selling KMI at some point, just when though is undetermined.
February:
Our only long term debts are our cars and my wife's student loans, and her loan won't last the year. I continued this month to throw some extra money at her student loans. If we paid her student loans at the minimum rate it would take around 2.5 years 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 as early as May or as late as September.
Next month should produce around $67 in dividends, which is a 8% YOY increase. On the Loyal3 front I will probably invest $500 on existing and new 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.
My portfolio page is currently up to date.
Hope everyone has a great February!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stocks mentioned
Great job continuing to build up your portfolio and the 8% YoY increase in your January dividends is wonderful. I really want to look into AMP more because I like what I see just looking at some of the peripheral numbers.
ReplyDeleteThe cut from KMI hurt me as well and it was a shame. Especially since they kept reiterating plans to grow the dividend and then cut it. I think the company might actually be a decent value here and believe they'll do well over the long term but it depends on your own tolerance. I lost a lot of faith/confidence in management after the cut but I like the assets they have for the long term.
PIP,
DeleteI really enjoy your blog and don't read it often enough, so thanks for commenting on mine! AMP is a real bit of quality out there and has become even better priced. I agree, KMI sucked in what it did, though it may be a nice value right now I do not want it any more. That being said, I am waiting for a slight price improvement before I pull that trigger.
Thanks for the comment,
Gremlin
Good stuff on the Loyal3 buys. That commission free platform is a great way to build wealth.
ReplyDeleteAlso looking forward to the Euro's. Unfortunately being on the West Coast means I won't be able to watch a lot of the games live.
Gareth,
DeleteI agree, and they just added some excellent new stocks like AXP. I hear that, the West Coast is hard to view somethings that are live. Still its always the best soccer, and I am excited to watch a few teams that rarely make it to this level: Slovakia and Iceland. Slovakia is a heritage team for me, and it was nice to see that they would have qualified for the old format as well. Iceland is cool, well because its Iceland and only has around 400,000 people vs all of those nations with millions.
Thanks for the comment,
Gremlin
Nice increase in dividends , we must keep on building up the income.
ReplyDeleteAny increase is still progress. Things can get crazy sometimes at work but overtime everything settles back to a more manageable level, hang in there.
D. Force,
DeleteThanks for the comment and the thoughts. I agree, work and life can get hectic to be sure. Like you said it is still progress, and if anything I am the kind of person who uses disappointments or issues as a way to generate positive change.
- Gremlin
Nice year over year increase. Just think if that was a pay raise from a job. Don't stress too much over KMI's cut. It happens. It's part of being a dividend growth in investor and don't second guess yourself too much. You bought that name and believed in it at one point. Divvy cuts can happen to even the bluest of blue chips. I had a divvy cut from GE and WFC of all names back in 2009. I didn't sell either. Just kept them both and bought more over time. See, cuts can happen to even the "strongest" names. Just stay diversified, don't chase unicorn yields and you'll be fine. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteDH,
DeleteI agree cuts can happen, and I still think that long run KMI will be fine, just hate to see the dividend dips. The increase is truly what matters, it is keeping your nose to the grindstone in pursuit of FI. Thanks for the comment as always.
- Gremlin
8% YOY increase is awesome, way to add more money to your portfolio. Every dollar counts. I've been over the KMI cut myself, the latest ones being POT and HSE. :(
ReplyDeleteTawcan,
DeleteThanks for the comment, I agree every dollar counts. Cuts are never fun, we will find a way to survive and grow even from the rough lessons we sometimes have to learn.
-Gremlin
Nice! Why did you choose Loyal3 over Robinhood? I use Robinhood and love it. I've thought about Loyal3 but I hear you're limited to what stocks you can choose.
ReplyDeleteBut like everyone else, 8% YOY increase is awesome. Keep up the awesome work and PS. also watched the new Star Wars movie. Loved it!
WS,
DeleteThanks for the comment. I use Loyal3 over Robinhood for an odd reason related to flexibility. The main reason I prefer Loyal3 is that you can transfer the account. If you attempt to do that with a Robinhood account all of your stocks would be cashed out and you would retain none of the securities you purchased. With Loyal3 I will one day move those assets to my standard brokerage, though fractional shares will be liquidated just before this process would occur.
My goal is to create one powerhouse account upfront, and Loyal3 is allowing me to build a bunch of positions to slide in there when the time is right. I do not trust Loyal3 or Robinhood completely, they are both new players on the block - though they are insured. In addition, I like that I can put $10-2500 towards a stock in Loyal3, where I buy what I can as opposed to whole shares with Robinhood. Also I like that Loyal3 is available on more platforms than just my iPhone. Both are excellent platforms, and Robinhood is a good way to start building wealth.
Thanks again,
Gremlin