September Review / October Preview, 2019

Happy Fall Gremlin here to talk about this past month and look forward into the next.  Where did September go?  Between a blistering pace at work, family visits on weekends, and the day to day it all seems to go by so fast.  The market has rocketed up (mostly), and at times pushed some stocks off a cliff.  A lot of great companies are sitting out there ready to be purchased at good valuations.  Some are stretching so hard they are about to throw their backs out.  And yet here we sit with more dividends rolling in each month.  So with that said, how did I do?

September:

This month I made no stock purchases this month.

I brought in a total of $436.50 in dividends ($187.16 taxable, $90.58 Roth, and $158.76 IRA).  This is an increase from last year (397.59 total) by 9.8%.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized* nine raises from the Hershey's (HSY), Kellogg's (K), Target (TGT), Union Pacific (UNP), Discover Financial Services (DFS), JM Smucker (SJM), Walgreen's Boots Alliance (WBA), Westlake Chemical (WLK), and Aqua America (WTR).  The increases ranged from 2% to greater than 10%.  I have now realized 48 raises thus far this year.  I also realized one cut of approximately 33% by KHC. In addition, Kontoor Brands (KTB) initiated a dividend and VF Corp (VFC) decreased their's, however these add up to the same respective amount so this stat will not be added in as this is due to the KTB spin off by VFC.

Next month I will realize three raises from the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM), and Realty Income (O).  The increases range from just about 0.2% to 3%.

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

October:

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 November.  Our focus is on eliminating the auto debt before next year.

Next month should produce around $128 in dividends, which is a 34% YOY increase.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

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