November Review / December Preview, 2018

Cold Air Gremlin here to talk about last and next months.  In the DC area it has been fairly cold recently, skipping fall and heading straight into winter.  As I just got over a cold, this has made running and biking outside a lot more interesting - and disgusting according to my wife.  Still its good to stay in shape, and I enjoy leaving the parking lot at the train station on my bike, getting out of there long before those in the car lines even exit the parking deck.  Speaking of sports, having a 1 year old is a real lesson in not being able to keep up with the news and current events.  Ironically, it does not feel like I have missed anything - and it is always easy to get back into something if I choose to.  This appears to be a year for that, at least because my Eagles are trying real hard to take a year off and not make the playoffs.

In terms of investing, this has been another good month.  All of my accounts have already surpassed their dividend output of last year, so next month will be a real profit maker.  Looking even further down the line, next year will even bigger, I cannot wait to push harder for FI that I have before.

November:

This month I made one purchase, acquiring shares of Eastman Chemical (EMN) in my taxable portfolio.

Last month I brought in a total of $294.85 in dividends ($82.22 taxable, $63.75 Roth, and $148.88 IRA).  This is an increase from last year (240.04 total) by 22.8%.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized* three raises from American Express (AXP), Royal Bank Canada (RY), and Verizon (VZ).  The increases are from 2% to about 11%.  I have now realized 46 raises thus far this year.

Next month I will realize five raises from McDonald's (MCD), Microsoft (MSFT), VF Corp (VFC), YUM China (YUMC), and Emerson Electric (EMR).  The increases are from about 1.5% to about 16% (all but EMR are higher than 9%).

* I only count increases when realized, because until that money is delivered any statements or declarations are simply conjecture.

December:

The mortgage continues has started to see more cash flowing towards the principal - not a huge number, but every little bit counts. Our debts currently outstrip our assets (I choose not to count the house as an asset).  Outside of our house, we still have very low interest auto debt (1.9 and 1.5% for our cars).  My car is getting paid at doublish time, and I suspect I can finish it off within 9 months from now - which will be nice because I plan on keeping that car for 20 years.  Debt is being eliminated, and we are still building and assets.  A second income goes a long way.

My next purchase will be in December, which makes for 6 consecutive months of buys going back to July (sweet).

Next month should produce around $400 in dividends, which is a 14% YOY increase.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

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