February, Review / March, 2016 Preview

Smooth Gremlin here to talk about February. What a month.  There has been a transition [an awakening] at my current job, the result is guaranteed billable hours (for those in consulting or contracting you will understand the value in that), a shorter commute without my car, and more time moving around on my feet.  These are good things, and are augmented by my pursuit of a better full time position and my approach to gaining a side hustle.  Both of which are rapidly becoming possibilities.

On top of that I have had a great month investing in general. My investing strategy, which required a period of flux from my old haphazard ways is finally starting to turn a page.  DGI is definitely beginning to show some teeth.  Even with setbacks like KMI, I am seeing remarkable growth from investments and dividends.  So far 2016 continues to be on the right track.

February:

I was able to put $460 to work in Loyal3 over the course of last month, so that was a good start.  In Loyal3 I also added three new positions: American Express (AXP), Kraft-Heinz (KHC), and YUM! Brands (YUM).  It will be unlikely that I will add a new position in Loyal3 unless a new stock I like is added or one of the overpriced ones takes a massive hit in price (cough Nike and Starbucks cough).  I also added one new taxable position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS).  My BNS stake is not a full starter position, rather it was built using any cash I could scrap up to utilize a free buy that was set to expire (plus I got a good price on it).

Last month I brought in a total of $66.59 in dividends ($14.05 taxable , $52.54 Roth).  This is an increase from last year ($62.47 total) by 6.6%.  This is about what I had expected. 

In terms of dividend increases, I realized two this month from Realty Income (O) of approximately 5% and from AT&T of approximately 2%.  Those are my favorite kind of raises, the ones that my money earns for me.

Next month I will realize 3 dividend increases: Dunkin Brands (DNKN), Eaton Corp. (ETN), and Waste Management (WM).  These are around 13%, 3.6%, and 4.1%, respectively.  That is a great end to the quarter.  Of those positions only WM has been in my portfolio for longer than four months.  Those other two, DNKN and ETN, are newcomers.  Already my patience, research, and planning is paying me rewards.

Thus far for 2016, I have realized 3 dividend increases.  Yet, I already know I have 6 more coming down the line, and should have around 25 for the whole year.  The snowball is starting to grow itself.

March:

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 2.2 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 around September, if everything else remains constant.

Next month should produce around $109 in dividends, which is a 49% YOY increase and the largest I have ever earned.  On the Loyal3 front I will probably invest $500 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.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great March!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stocks tickers mentioned, not long Nike or Starbucks

Loyal3 Buys, February 2016

More Snow Please Gremlin here to chat about my Loyal3 movements. I continue to be very proactive in establishing and increasing existing positions by using the fee-free service.  Already this month there have been some wild swings in the market, allowing for some nice purchases for growth.  In addition, I've gained several dividend increases both in Loyal3 and outside of it, allowing me to continue pushing for FI.  This month was extra special because I have added 3 new positions to Loyal3, of which 2 are new to me in general and one is a copy from my Roth account.

Company	Ticker	$ Invested	Shares Purchased	Annual Income Added
American Express	AXP	$80	1.4892	$1.73
Dunkin Brands	DNKN	$120	2.8819	$3.46
Kraft Heinz	KHC	$100	1.312	$3.02
VF Corp.	VFC	$70	1.1723	$1.74
YUM! Corp.	YUM	$90	1.2440	$2.29
Totals		$460		$12.23

A total of $460 was put to work, a decrease of 17% from last month when I added $556.  It adds $12.23 of annual income to my 12-month forward outlook.  I have intentionally decreased the amount invested, as extra capital heads toward eliminating some debt.  In terms of valuations, AXP is probably the best value.  Of the others all except KHC are a little richly valued, but I am confident that all of the positions will be long term generators.

My two new positions are AXP and YUM.  I like both businesses, though the valuation for YUM is not great, but it is much better than it was months ago.  Both add to my positions of Discover Financial Services (DFS) and McDonald's (MCD) in their sector spaces, respectfully.  Credit cards, despite the hurdles some have faced recently, have a long way to go in the world and markets are begging to be tapped.  YUM on the other hand has done well internationally, and I feel they are a stable, if younger, complement to my MCD position.  KHC is an existing stock position for me in my Roth account.  Consumer Staples are pretty neat in general, and they are always in need.  At this point, there are likely going to be no new positions added to my Loyal3 account.

From here on out the plan is to add to my existing locations, which can be found on the Portfolio page.

What do you think about my Loyal3 action?

- Gremlin
- Long all stocks

Recent Buy, February 2016

No More Snow Gremlin here to talk about a recent buy.  I was recently presented with an opportunity to use a free buy, but I had to do it quickly as it was expiring.  I received  the free purchase thanks to my wife's birthday, so that is pretty cool.  Cheers for joint accounts!

Anyways, my job has moved me to another location with a nicer commute, though the position itself is not one I intend to be doing long term.  I am sure this sounds somewhat confusing, but yes it is the same job working in a very different position, which is kind of annoying.  That is about all the news in my life, except for this recent purchase that I made.

Today I added shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), which is a new position.  I bought 14.4219 shares at $38.83 / share, using a free trade.  The current P/E ratio is approximately 10.06 and yield is 4.90% (on current cost).  Looking at past dividend payouts, BNS has managed a 5 year DGR of 4.7% (in Canadian Dollars) while keeping an approximate payout ratio of 51%.  BNS has raised their dividend 43 out of the last 45 years, and maintained it the other two.  They have been paying dividends since 1833, and did not cut them during the financial crisis of 2008 - though they were frozen.  This purchase adds approximately $24.50 to my forward 12-month dividend income, including the 15% tax imposed by Canada.

Canadian Banks such as BNS and CM are excellent financial institutions.  During the crisis of 2008 they stayed put, and have bubbled up with the Canadian economy.  Sure the Canadian economy is potentially walking around a few landmines, but the banking laws and traditions of Canada are aimed at prevent catastrophic failure the kind of problems the USA saw in 2008.  I am very confident in this stock, being my second Canadian bank that they will keep chugging right along.  Most of the big banks up North have histories that are almost 200 years old including dividends paid.  Those facts make me excited with this purchase, and I am fully confident that I have received a splendid deal.

My major concerns do revolve around the strength of the US dollar, considering BNS pays in Canadian Loonies.  In addition, a housing market crisis and the continued oil price decline present some issues for BNS, which does have its tendrils in these items.  Will they break BNS' back?  Likely not, but could they give it a rough time?  Yes.  Still, looking back to 2008, I have full confidence in their ability to weather this storm. 

What do you think of BNS?

I will update my portfolio page at the end of the month, keep enjoying winter everyone!

- Gremlin
- Long BNS and CM