March Review / April Preview 2017

Warm Weather Gremlin here to talk about this past month and the next month.  At this point in the year snow is gone, the sun is shining, and shorts are (almost) becoming the norm for weekend wear.  It also means allergies, but lets not think about that.  March was a successful month, though a busy one.  My side job continues to provide a lot of extra revenue.  Our cash reserve has hit an all time high, thanks to tax refunds, which is great as we attempt to pursue a house at some point soon.  All in all, March has been a window unto the future.  Sadly I have not visited any new breweries or done a lot of fun things, but I think I can knock that in April along with some larger buys.

March:

This past month I put $285 dollars to work on Loyal3, and as if that was not enough I added an extra share of Target for the month (for a total $335 invested).  I aim to keep this pace up for a long time.

Last month I brought in a total of $281.48 in dividends ($98.48 taxable, $61.04 Roth, and $121.96 IRA).  This is an increase from last year ($111.86 total) by 151%.  The IRA being added into the equation really blows this month out of the water

In terms of dividend increases, I realized six this month from Dunkin Donuts (DNKN), Eaton Corp. (ETN), Waste Management (WM), Prudential (PRU), Archer-Daniels Midland (ADM), and 3M (MMM).  Raises were between 2% to more than 9%.  Thus far for 2017, I have realized 15 dividend increases!

Next month I will realize six raises, from Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM), Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS), Coca Cola (KO), Realty Income (O), and Walmart (WMT).  The increases range from around 0.2% to more than 9%.

Thus far, I have achieved $645.38 in total dividends, which is more than I had in 2011 through 2013, and almost matches my total of 2014.  Being now a little over three years into this, I am starting to see how investing over time really can be supercharged by targeting companies that grow their dividend consistently.

April:

Our only remaining debt is 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 (few) year(s).  I want to go in with a decent down payment to make sure we get what we want.

I hope to post more than one time next month... But we will see, April is already slated to be busy.

Next month should produce around $71 in dividends, which is a 15% YOY decrease, which is attributable to KHC switching its month of payment.  Things are otherwise coming together nicely.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great April (stay dry)!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

Loyal3 Buys, March 2017

Post Saint Patrick's Gremlin here to discuss some recent buys.  Hope everyone celebrated the recent frivolities with exceptional vigor.  I did not, I had some Guinness and played some bored games, because that is how I roll.  Its kind of nice to be away from crowded bars overcharging for the same thing; though it must be admitted the draught / draft Guinness is almost always better.  That being said, I prefer Murphy's over the Guinness and Rum to whisk(e)y any day of the week...  Whatever, what did I buy?

I bought 2 shares of YUM for $125.  This will add $2.40 to my forward annual income, considering the division of YUM China (YUMC).  YUM will be a pleasant long term holding, however they will sputter short term due to the split with YUMC.  This is part of building the position back, post split, so it can become a proper sized cog in my machine.

I bought 1+ shares of Doctor Pepper Snapple (DPS) for $100.  This will add $2.32 to my forward annual income.  DPS is another position I want to fill out as soon as possible.  I am hoping to fill out several positions this year, as I push to merge it with my standard brokerage.

I bought 1+ shares of Target (TGT) for $55.  This will add $2.40 to my forward annual income.  TGT has been sorely beaten down of late, and this is me increasing my position.  TGT will acquire other JET.com style sites as Walmart (WMT) has.  Sure, in 20 years I might sell out of both for reasons other long term retailers have failed, but for the time being they are in a position of strength with their resources on hand.

With these purchases I have invested a total of $280 and increased my annual income by $7.12+.  I expect to keep rolling through months at this clip in Loyal3.  In my regular brokerage account, several larger buys are on the menu for next few months.  Looking forward to those.

Do you use Loyal3?
- Gremlin
- Long YUM, YUMC, DPS, TGT, and WMT