June Review / July Preview, 2019

Soccer Gremlin here to discuss last month and next.  The USA won is game today over France in the Women's World Cup, which is great - but that was a close game.  Hopefully they can keep the momentum, but at this point every step and play will matter, so good luck to them.  Outside of sports its been a hot few days in the DC area.  I am still biking as a part of my commute (to the train station), and I am forever thankful that the train has its air conditioning blasting, since it only takes me about 2 minutes of activity until I am sweltering.  Anyways, how did we do financially?

June:

This month I made one purchase acquiring shares of Leggett and Platt (LEG) in my taxable account.

Last month I brought in a total of $438.70 in dividends ($192.38 taxable, $88.61 Roth, and $157.71 IRA).  This is an increase from last year (384.79 total) by 14%, this total would have been higher, but Broadcom (AVGO) decided to move its pay out back a couple of days into August.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized* five (5) raises from the Pepsi Co (PEP), Sonoco (SON), Unilever (UL), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), and Exxon Mobil (XOM).  The increases are from about 4% to about 6%.  I have now realized 35 raises thus far this year.  I also realized one cut of approximately 33% by KHC.

Next month I will realize three (3) raises from LEG, Realty Income (O), and Cardinal Health (CAH).  The increases are from about 1% to about 5% (0.2% bump from O, their 4th of the year).

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

July:

The mortgage continues and I am putting extra cash towards the principal monthly - not a huge number, but every little bit counts. Our debts currently outstrip our assets (I choose not to count the house or cars as assets).  Outside of our house, we still have very low interest auto debt (1.5% for our car), which I am aiming to pay off by the end of the year.  Debt is being eliminated, and we are aggressively building and assets.

My next purchase will be in August, bringing 11 months of consecutive purchases to an end.  My wife is a teacher, so we need to take 1 month off without the extra cash.

Next month should produce around $129.76 in dividends, which is a 58% YOY increase.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

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

Recent Buy, June 2019

Tired Gremlin here to discuss a recent buy.  Little Gremlin has recently gotten sick, so I have gotten less sleep this past week.  Luckily, it looks like the illness is just about over.  Oh well what can you do?  Today the Woman's World Cup starts, and as much as I would like to see the USA win, I don't think it will be as likely as the last go around of the tournament.  There are several teams that could win, and the favorites are also the host - France.  Still good luck to the USA and all the other teams!  Anyways... what did I buy?

Earlier this week, I added shares of Leggett and Platt (LEG) in my taxable account.  I bought 30 shares, with a total cost of $1,113.95 ($36.90 / share, plus commission).  The current yield is 4.81%. For a detailed summary of their history, etc. please visit: LEG's Seeking Alpha Profile.

I already have LEG in my Roth account, so this is not a new position overall.  I liked LEG when I first bought it, and I really like it now.  This is a dividend aristocrat with nearly 50 years of raises under its belt.  The company's leadership has been very prudent to get to this point, and I see it continuing at around 3-5% average annual increases - always ahead of inflation.

This purchase will add $48 to my forward 12 month dividend income.

I will update my portfolio page at the end of the month.

What do you think of LEG?

- Gremlin
- Long LEG

Gremlin's Asset Review - 2019

Bookkeeping Gremlin here to discuss my net-worth.  I first made this type of post two years ago, because its my birth month so I might as well see how current me compares to newborn me (financially).  This is something I like to do on annual basis to help me gauge what kind of progress we are making towards financial independence.  This report is a substantial improvement over last year's.  A big part of the reason is my wife returned to work at the end of last year, which is amazing as my kid is now heading towards being 2 years old this fall.

Debts:

Debt sucks, period.  Most people accept debt as normal and expected, but that is crap.  Still, I have debt though, and am working on crushing it.  So here goes:

Car #1* (my car): $7,198 (maturity: 6/2021, $250 / mo.) interest = 1.9% ($2831 reduction from last year) - Eliminated this year.
Car #2 (her car): $7,054 (maturity: 10/2020, $475 / mo.) interest = 1.5% ($5900 reduction from last year)
Mortgage: $323,387 ($2150 / month, 30 year, 4% interest)
Family Cash: $30,000 - a family obligation 0%, no timetable (help received purchasing our house)
Revolving debt / credit cards: No balances carried or maintained, used as debit cards with credit points.
Total debt: $360,440 (a reduction of $19,198)

Currently, we are paying extra on the remaining car, and I pay a little extra on my car and our house.  I count our house and cars exclusively as debts.

Income:

Last year our total income was approximately around $95k before taxes...

Expected income (2019):
My main job: $85,000 (6% increase over 2019)
Wife: $43,000
My side gigs: $1000
Total: $129,000

This his the biggest improvement found in the report.  The extra income over last year has allowed me to snuff out debt and aggressively add assets.

Assets:

This is the fun part.  Current assets that are to be considered are my taxable investments, Roth IRA, IRA, 401K, and other retirement savings.  Cash, Health Savings Accounts, and college savings plans are not counted.  This allows me to shield some liquidity and immediately useful assets.  Assets including cash in investment accounts:

Taxable Invested Assets: $52,794
Roth IRA: $21,274
Traditional IRA: $37,292
401K: $31,208
Wife's Retirement / Pension: $18,679
Total = $163,031 ($29,989 total growth)

2015 = $47,000
2016 = $87,000
2017 = $126,206
2018 = $135,319
2019 = $163,031

Total Net Worth = (-$197,409) [$49,187 improvement]

Goals:

2018 Past Goals:
1 - Begin retiring some of my family debt. - Plan in motion to begin this later 2019, met.
2 - Eliminate a car payment.  Met.
3 - Networth approaching or above $-230k.  Met.

2019 New Goals:
1 - Eliminate 2nd car payment.
2 - Increase mortgage payment.

Conclusion:

My primary goal is to achieve financial independence.  It might not seem obvious, but in 5 years I believe these numbers will be drastically different in a great way.  Here is to another year of crushing it (and any past financial mistakes).

- How is your net-worth coming along?
- Gremlin