June Review / July Preview 2020

Not Ready Gremlin here to discuss June and July.  So I am not ready to do this, but we will be traveling with our 8 month old across the country for some major heart surgery.  To answer the question upfront, we are traveling because this is a highly specialized procedure of which only a few places in the world have extensive experience. Thankfully one such place is in the USA, although it is not at all conveniently located for us. Considering that, we are taking a lot of precautions considering the state of the world; indeed we have been much more cautious now since she was born and at the start of this outbreak relative to most people we know. Sometimes I wish people would see the risks we are seeing from our perspective, or our 8 month old's (minus all the baby babel and literal pants pooping).

Anyways, that is the doom and gloom of our lives.  Not to be confused with the doom and gloom that the market seems to be staring right past.  The economic ripples of this whole experience may eventually rise to become a tsunami, but in the meantime I will proverbially continue to invest in the best boats out there I can find. So how did we do?

June:

This month I added shares to 9 positions and sold off three positions in my accounts. Selling should minimal for the remainder of the year, with our current stock mix having much stronger balance sheets across the board.

Last month I brought in a total of $515.86 in dividends ($232.21 taxable, $124.10 Roth, and $159.55 in my IRA).  This is an increase from last year ($438.81 total) by 17.5%.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized 2 dividend increases from Pepsico (PEP) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).  The increases were 7 and 6.5%, respectively. This brings my total raises to 30 for 2020.

Next month I will realize 3 dividend increases from Cardinal Health (CAH), Medtronic PLC (MDT), and Realty Income (O).  The increases range from 0.2% to 7% (for MDT).

My fund has absorbed the following cuts or suspensions this year: Disney (DIS) [sold], Dunkin Brands (DNKN) [sold], the Gap (GPS) [sold], YUM China (YUMC) [sold], Kontoor Brands (KTB) [sold], WestRock (WRK) [hold], and Welltower (WELL) [hold].

NOTE: 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, because I consider our house a liability and NOT an asset.

I will continue to make rolling purchases going forward.

Next month should produce around $146 in dividends, which is a 10% YOY increase.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a sunny July.
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers, minus those sold