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

April Review / May Preview, 2016

Second Job Gremlin here to talk about April, and the prospects of May.  As I've stated before I have started a second job, working at a nearby brewery dispensing beer to the masses, and hopefully in the future becoming part of the team responsible for making it. It is still work, and can be exhausting; but it is probably the most fun I've had at a job since high school or summer college work.  I truly enjoy showing up, being useful, and dealing with both other employees and customers.  Its hard to relate this job to my Monday - Friday gig, where I cannot fully support that claim.  Having a second job definitely has pushed my consciousness of saving further, as I have to plan more meals in advance.  It also is helping me save money, because it will prevent me from doing something else those nights where I might instead be going out with friends for a good time.  All in all it has been a wonderful experience, and one that certainly keeps me extra busy.

April:

I was able to put $425 to work in Loyal3 over the course of last month.  I added no new Loyal3 positions this month. I did add one new position this past month.  I added 15 shares of Prudential Financial (PRU) in my Roth account.  This is the 3rd addition to my Roth account this year, with one sale also being a factor.

Last month I brought in a total of $84.31 in dividends ($64.80 taxable, $19.51 Roth).  This is an increase from last year ($75.32 total) by 11.94%.  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 six this month from Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM), Dr Pepper Snapple (DNPS), Coke Cola (KO), Realty Income (O), and WalMart (WMt).  The range of raises is from 0.3% of O to 10.4% from DPS.  Also note that BNS and CM raised their payout in terms of their local currency, the Canadian Dollar aka the Loonie, so raise must still suffer Forex conversion.  Those are my favorite kind of raises, the ones my money earns for me.

Next month I will realize one dividend increase: Amerprise Financial (AMP) who have rewarded shareholders with an 11.9% increase.  (Post publish edit: Apple (AAPL) is also giving me a raise of 9.15%, sweet.  Don't know how I missed that one.)

Thus far for 2016, I have realized 12 dividend increases, and after May it will be 13 total.  Boom.

May:

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 1.5 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 around September or October, if everything else remains constant.

Next month should produce around $85 in dividends, which is a 25% YOY increase.  On the Loyal3 front I will probably invest $400 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 May!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stocks tickers mentioned