Recent Buys, April 2019

Travel Gremlin here to discuss two recent buys. The month is very young, and yet I am already making moves and adding to my accounts.  On top of that work seems to be getting busier, and this includes a brief trip out of town.  Sadly the trip is only for 1 night and I will not get a chance to see much of where I am going (womp, womp).  Also, having a 1 year old can be a challenge, so I do feel bad for my wife having to deal with our little ball of energy on her own.   All of this is a reminder to stay focused on my push to eliminate debt and move towards financial independence. That being said, both purchases are in retirement accounts, but the focus will be back on taxable accounts for most of the remainder of the year.  So, what did I buy?

1st: Yesterday, I added shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) in my Roth account.  I bought 17 shares, with a total cost of $1,093.36 ($63.91 / share, plus commission).  Once again, had I waited a single day my yield would be much higher.  The current yield was 2.77% at the time of purchase. For a detailed summary of their history, etc. please visit: WBA's Seeking Alpha Profile.

WBA joins CVS as the pharmacies in my portfolio.  There is a lot of discussion right now as to how they can both manage to survive with Amazon (AMZN), Walmart (WMT), Costco (COST), and other players competing in the space.  This coupled with the Opioid Crisis in the USA, and there is definite reason to doubt whether there is space for so many players.  Maybe to an extent this is true, and but at its core business mail delivery of medications has some substantial safety concerns that will need to be addressed.

Not just privacy, but the fact is online companies will be held to a much higher burden of proof when checking that no mistakes are made.  This would make integrated companies like CVS, with their purchase of Aetna, have an advantage.  WBA has the ability to match CVS in terms of tracking their patients, and this will be critical as the amount of drugs and their uses continues to rise.  For this reason, I do not fear the AMZNs of the world.  All it takes is 1 mistake by 1 company, and without human interaction the chances of this will likely increase.  Also, WBA is a dividend aristocrat, with 42 years in the bank!

2nd: Today, I added shares of Matthews International Corp (MATW) in my IRA account.  I bought 29 shares, with a total cost of $1,069.77 ($36.65 / share, plus commission).  The current yield is 2.15%. For a detailed summary of their history, etc. please visit: MATW's Seeking Alpha Profile.

MATW is an industrial company company that makes memorialization products.  What are those?  They are mainly gravestones, urns, etc.  This is a bet that current and future generations will not live forever.  The main risks here are 1 - people get buried less, which is fine as MATW has other products; and 2 - people learning to live forever (so far Keith Richards makes me question my original statement about people not living forever).

So far, MATW is a neat purchase with a good growth and dividend histories.  They play in a niche market with the other major player being Service Corporation International (SCI).  It may be a bit morbid to like the stock, but I see that their growth (I say that not in the sense of 'yay more dead people', you know what I mean!) will continue and both will be steady eddies for a while.  MATW has 24 years of growth, rubbing up against aristocrat territory.  MATW also has other smaller lines of business - which are far less interesting!

These purchases will add $53.12 to my forward 12 month dividend income.

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

What do you think of WBA and MATW?

- Gremlin
- Long WBA, CVS, WMT, and MATW

April Review / May Preview, 2018

Busy Gremlin here to talk about how my investments performed in April, and what is expected of May.  April was a very solid month for my investments; while many of my coworkers and friends lamented the roll coaster in the stock market, I just smiled and kept collecting cash. I also smile when any jest is made about how inexpensive my lunches are (never really break $1.50 cost except for rare occasion) and that through my bike and the train my commute is free.  Small savings and side cash, are a formula for success.

April also had some work travel for me.  I am not the biggest fan of work travel, as I have done a lot of it over the years and it can be a drag, however I do try to take advantage to save extra cash and see something new.  Last month as part of my travel I wedged in a brewery visit.

April:

This month I made one purchase, buying shares in the Royal Bank of Canada (RY), while selling legacy holdings Pengrowth Energy (PGH) and Willamette Valley Vineyards (WVVI).

Last month I brought in a total of $74.85 in dividends ($65.85 taxable, $9 Roth, and $0 IRA).  This is an increase from last year ($70.94 total) by 5.5%.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized* 5 raises from the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Coca-Cola (KO), Realty Income, and Walmart.  The increases ranged from 0.2% to about 5.5%.  I have now realized 23 raises thus far this year.

Next month I will realize four raises from the Gap (GPS), Ameriprise Financial (AMP), Kinder Morgan (KMI), and General Dynamics (KMI).  The increases range from 5% to about 60%. For the record KMI raised their dividend 60%, which is clawing back from the 75% cut they had in early 2016.

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

May:

The mortgage continues, so at least part of our 'rent' counts towards our house. 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).  Both my car and house are receiving slightly out-sized payments monthly.  We are effectively eliminating debt, while still building and assets.  Even on just one income

Hopefully May is a quiet month, but I would not hold my breath.  Nothing gets quiet, slows down, or goes exactly according to plan when you have a baby.  That being said, none of those concerns are a bad thing!

I should have a buy in my IRA, but I might old off until June depending on the market prices and closure of the Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS ) - Keurig / Green Mountain merger.  In addition, I will likely write a quick historical analysis relating the stock market, business cycles, and historical revolutions.  If that sounds weird to read, it felt weirder to type, but it will all wind itself together in a rational sense.

Next month should produce around $270 in dividends, which is a 9.5% YOY increase.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great March.
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned (except PGH and WVVI)

Brewery Review, April 2018

Beer Gremlin here to conduct a brief brewery review.  Recently I had to travel for work, which is not the most desirable thing in my opinion.  The trips are short, the free time is minimal, and I am away from my family.  However, while I am out I might as well make the most of the situation.  After all, it is a slight break from the norm and my expenses are essentially covered, so the little extra freedom is I use to my advantage.

For this trip I was in Kansas City.  While there I popped into the new (2-3 month old) brewery called Casual Animal, close to the heart of the town.  I tried a total of six (out of nine) different drinks before heading straight to bed.  The six were their lager, honey ale, wit style, Belgian spiced ale, the double IPA, and the brown ale, which I will discuss briefly.

Cutting to the chase with the three light beers; they were alright.  A little light on flavor for my taste, but I think they would make excellent choices in the summertime.  Of them the wit was my favorite, and the honey ale was the one I thought could use more kick.

The darker drinks I found more to my liking.  The brown was nice, but needed some extra malt to really pull the flavor through.  The two winners, hands down, were the double IPA and the Belgian spiced ale.  The IPA was not too bitter, still had a solid hop crispness to it, and packed a ton of juicy flavor.  If you like IPAs that are not just a cyclone of bitterness and you live in Kansas City - that is your move right there.  The Belgian was strongly spiced, now I know that can rub some the wrong way, but its something I like.  It reminds me of the darker Belgian styles, something to really get you ready for the fall.

Casual Animal is new on the scene; having worked in a brewery I realize there are kinks to sort out, but they are starting out with strong promise.  They had a lot of variety, and its clear they have done well on a wide variety of styles.

Have you been there, had any favorites lately?

- Gremlin
- Full disclosure, I like all styles of beer though my favorites in no particular order are pale ales, Belgian style spiced beers (dubbels, trippels), sour beers, IPAs, German style lagers, hefeweizens, and creamy stouts.  So really I do like them all, though some are much better seasonally.

Recent Sale / Buy April and Other Developments, 2018

Doing What I Have Done Gremlin here to talk about two recent sales and a buy.  Sales you say?  I rarely sell stuff, but recently I sold two of my positions, the only two that do not generate a dividend.  That was the entire reason for selling.  These two stocks, Pengrowth Energy (PGH) and Willamette Valley Vineyards (WVVI) have been in my portfolio since about 2010.  It was a tough move to sell both, however it was decided that all hands should be on deck working for me.

PGH was sold at a big loss, though proceeds + dividends received + tax harvesting makes up for some of that - but not enough.  It was a dead weight in my portfolio, and every dollar that cash can earn back is appreciated.  It is at a point where waiting and watching continual failure was just not worth it.  WVVI, on the other hand, was sold for a very handsome profit.  I liked owning them, it felt cool.  I would like to own a vineyard or a brewery in real life, and I am sure one day I will get there.  However, at this point I want that cash onboard driving this FI ship faster and faster. So enough of this sad selling news, what did the proceeds buy?

BUY:
Today, I added a new position by purchasing shares of the Royal Bank of Canada (RY) in my taxable account.  I bought 15 shares, with a total cost of $1,154.72 ($76.52 / share, plus commission).  The current yield is 3.90%.  The P/E ratio for RY sits today at approximately 12.99, trailing.  The yield is slightly below the 5 year average of about 4.01%, and P/E is slightly above the average of the past 5 years (12.18).  RY has a trailing payout ratio of approximately 51%.  RY is a member of the Canadian Dividend All-Star list, with 7 years of growth.  They, along with the other major Canadian banks froze payouts during the 2008 Financial Crisis, only to resume them with two years.  RY has been paying dividends since 1870, and has never once missed a payment.  I am comfortable with the current and historical ratios, this is a solid stock and will serve me well for a long time.

RY, along with my other Canadian bank holdings of Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), Bank of Montreal (BMO), and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) make up four out of the five big Canadian Banks.  I intend to add the other, Toronto Dominion (TD), too.  Their collective history and the regulations that bind them make them, as a whole, the juiciest banking group in the world to me.  Indeed, just look at their general Wiki entry if you don't believe me.  That history says it all - during the Great Depression no banks closed, during the 1980s only 2 closed.  By contrast, 9000+ banks failed during the Great Depression in the USA.  The USA has a banking industry that seems to waver between stable and made out of spaghetti; so for my investments in banking I favor the stability of the Great White North.

OTHER NEWS:
In other news I am aiming to start a secondary portfolio using M1 Finance.  M1 is a fee-free brokerage of sorts in the vein of old Loyal 3.  However, it allows access to the whole market and investments are triggered in a batch style when the necessary amount of funding is reached.  For a much better review of the site please read Retire Before Dad's take.

My goal with this account is to make a team of also-rans.  What I mean by this is choosing stocks that I routinely want to buy, but when the time comes I always pass over them for a better deal at the time.  So this will be a team of number 2s.  To that end I have titled the fund, The 2nd Bananas.  This is a tribute to an old article on the website Grantland, describing the best 'side kicks' of all time.

By the time this account is getting to where I want it to be it is likely fees will be introduced.  At that point I will close the account moving all the assets back into my standard brokerage.  So it goes, so it goes.

Finally, I will be doing some work travel in the next few weeks.  Hopefully I will be able to put up a brewery review, as its been a while since I have done that.

What do you think of RY and M1 finance?

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

- Gremlin
- Long all stocks mentioned minus TD, PGH, and WVVI

October Review / November Preview, 2017

Candied Out Gremlin here to talk about last month and this month.  Halloween came and went recently, Lil Gremlin got lucky to get dressed up and get smothered with all the attention.  Little dude stole the show of course.  Otherwise, this month has been crazy.  Got a new set of feet under the house, and a new series of challenges that comes with it.  My sleep cycle has certainly been altered, but its nothing I can't handle.  Everyone always warns new parents of the troubles, but so far its been exactly what I expected.  A great time, but far from perfect.  I am excited to make new memories and watch Lil Gremlin grow - which is for next month.

October:

This month I made one new purchase of Sonoco (SON) in my taxable account.

Last month I brought in a total of $68.22 in dividends ($68.22 taxable, $0 Roth, and $0 IRA).  This is an decrease from last year ($81.58 total) by 16%.  This change primarily reflects the changing payout month of Kraft-Heinz (KHC), a topic that is finally finished.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized* three this month from CIBC (CM), Scotiabank (BNS), and Realty Income (O).  The raises range from 0.3% to 4%.  Thus far for 2017, I have realized 41 dividend increases!

Next month I will realize three raises from American Express (AXP), Omega Healthcare (OHI), and Verizon (VZ).  The increases range from 1.6% to 9%.

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

November:

The mortgage continues, so at least part of our 'rent' counts towards our house. Our debts currently outstrip our assets.  Outside of our house, we still have very low interest auto debt.  Both my car and house are receiving slightly out-sized payments monthly.  We will be effective at eliminating debt, while still building and assets.  Even with a new Gremlin in the lair. This is a long game, and I am nothing if not patient.

My next buy will likely be in December.

Next month should produce around $236 in dividends, which is a 1% YOY increase.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

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

Big Changes

Real Talk Gremlin here to talk about some major changes.  In life most changes come slowly.  We get older, wiser, taller, slower, stronger, etc. over a long window of time.  However, there are specific times where things can change rapidly.  Going off to school, buying your first house or car (just like the house we bought...), and having a child come to mind.  Well that last one will be happening soon, which makes for several major changes in the past year: a new job, new house, and new person in our house. So that there is a huge change.

Naturally everyone points to the cost of raising a new child, which in some ways is undeniable.  Clothing, food, and medical needs are all requirements and will be present in someway for a baby.  However, many of the believed requirements are not requirements - especially as kids age.  For instance, if your child wants to learn an instrument, they don't need top of the line equipment to start.  Now to be honest, our child will have opportunities to do fun / stimulating stuff, but it will not be rammed down their throat.  Part of being a kid is about trying and learning new things, if there is too much emphasis on specific things that bigger picture of the world is missed - and from their perspective its likely not fun.  So the goal is to give them a chance to explore their world while not forcing on them nor breaking the bank.

"You don't have to buy your kid a Stradivarius if they want to learn to play the violin." - me

From a family perspective, I also see a relative cost savings up front on some items.  Food - we won't be trying as many new places outside of our kitchen.  Travel - probably not happening very much, outside of our family events.  I doubt there will be any splurges of any sort, outside of stocks and the occasionally required ice cream.

Regardless of these big changes, I still intend to pursue financial independence.  Debt is being knocked out faster, and investments are still being made.  I will continue working at two jobs to achieve this faster, and obtaining professional certifications to further my main money making abilities.  Not all is lost, in fact really nothing is lost - including my time.  Children demand time, regardless of the age, however that is no way time lost.  Its just a different journey, one that is much less predictable.

Here's to new beginnings.
- Gremlin

June Review / July Preview, 2017

Sweaty Gremlin here to talk about last month and look forward to the next.  June was a busy month, I turned 32, my wife and I found and made an offer on a house, which was accepted, I was in a wedding, and on and on.  Now we face the prospect of our rent payments becoming mortgage payments, so we can build some equity.   Now I can literally talk about the situation on the 'home front' and mean it.

On the work front I got to travel a little bit, and it is likely I will be required to do so again soon.  The projects I support like to do visits and tests in the summer months.  Traveling for work is not always ideal, but looking on the bright side, I rack up points, and all my required expenses are covered for those days - so I save some of my money.  

June:

This past month I did not make any new investments.  I have the cash on hand, but I did not see any stocks I wanted to purchase, also there is my whole housing situation.

Last month I brought in a total of $294.87 in dividends ($101.16 taxable, $61.80 Roth, and $131.91 IRA).  This is an increase from last year ($116.44 total) by 153%. The IRA money does it again, destroying a prior month.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized four this month from Pepsico (PEP), Unilever (UL), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), and Exxon Mobile (XOM).  Raises were between 2% to more than 8%.  Thus far for 2017, I have realized 29 dividend increases!

Next month I will realize one raise, Realty Income (O).  The increase is approximately 0.2% - the 4th from O this year.

July:

At the moment we only have low interest auto loans, in terms of realized debt.  This past month I covered my net-worth, which be very much in flux in the coming months.  This month we anticipate closing on a house, which will set us back a little bit [about a metric ton], but allow for a longer term building of wealth.  Owning our house has been a long time coming, and it is the smarter long term financial move.  However, it did impact stock purchases as I have held back potential Roth IRA and taxable purchases in case the cash is needed in the short term.  I will likely make the Roth move in July, but sit on the other cash until at least August.

Next month should produce around $71 in dividends, which is a 8% YOY decrease, which is  attributable to Kraft-Heinz (KHC) switching its payout month.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great July, get some sun and some fireworks!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

April Review / May Preview 2017

Party Gremlin here to discuss the wonderful month that was April.  Before I get to finance I will just say I had a few nice weekends away, both in the state of Pennsylvania.  One trip was for sports, and the other was to celebrate the fact that a friend of mine is losing the ability to claim the 'single-not married' box on his taxes.  Congrats to him, but we all know that those parties really are for the other guys, especially the married ones, like me, in attendance.  No there were no clubs of the stripped down variety, but that is no impedance to fun!

Apart from the fun, Loyal 3 announced they were ceasing operations and changing their format.  I have already begun an account transfer to move the shares out into my existing brokerage.  Though many positions I had there were not yet completed, the fact remains is that they will continue to pay me and boost my output.  I intend on holding those positions, and adding to them when the valuations become justified in the future.  The 'loss' of Loyal 3 is not a loss so much as it is merely a transition that I anticipated making anyway.

April:

This past month I put $1600 dollars to work between Loyal 3 and my regular brokerage.  With the loss of Loyal 3, my regular large purchases should become much more common.

Last month I brought in a total of $70.94 in dividends ($70.94 taxable, $0 Roth, and $0 IRA).  This is a decrease from last year ($84.31 total) by 16%.  The reason for the decrease remains the change in payout structure from Kraft-Heinz (KHC), which has switched to paying on the 3rd month of each quarter.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized six this month 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).  Raises were between  0.2% to more than 9%.  Thus far for 2017, I have realized 21 dividend increases! (* = in local currency)

Next month I will realize three raises, from Ameriprise Financial (AMP), General Dynamics (GD), and Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI).  The increases range from around 1.5% to more than 9%.  I will also likely realize a dividend increase from Apple (AAPL), however it has not yet been announced.

May:

Our only remaining debt is extremely low interest auto loans.  So far I have stashed a significant amount of cash, with the impending doom of home shopping on the horizon...

Next month should produce around $242 in dividends, which is a 183% YOY increase, which is mainly attributable to my IRA and a few newer positions plus some growth in my other accounts.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great May (have fun)!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

December 2016 Review / January 2017 Preview & End of Year Review

Happy New Year Gremlin here to talk about December and the end of this year.  December has meant presents and family, similar to what November holds plus the presents.  Personally it means winter is here to stay, and more importantly that January is here so I can wind down.  "The Season" always seems to come and go so fast.  Frantically acquiring gifts you hope people will like.  For me, I am simple - give me a nice backyard, some drinks, and anyone willing to play yard games.  But now that time is over, soon it will be back to the normal grind.  So let's enjoy 2016 while it lasts for the good it has brought and the silver linings we can find in the world everywhere else.

December:

I was able to put $660 to work in three existing positions across my taxable and Roth accounts.  As much as I want to keep up this pace, it will be hard knowing how I plan to be saving extra cash for unrelated reasons. 

Last month I brought in a total of $262.32 in dividends ($83.10 taxable, $60.29 Roth, and $118.93 in my IRA).  This is an increase from last year ($101.34 total) by 158.58%.  My SEP IRA continues to make this comparison silly, but it will just have to be that way until the end of next year. Its yet another month over $200.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized five this month from McDonald's (MCD), Microsoft (MSFT), Union Pacific (UNP), VF Corp (VFC), and Emerson Electric (EMR).  Raises ranged from less than 1% to  over 10%. 

Next month I will realize one dividend increase from Realty Income (O), the usual minor increase.  For 2016, I have realized 36 dividend increases!  I know of a few next year already, but I have been less than diligent in editing my spreadsheet, so some will just be happy surprises.

January:

The only debt that remains are extremely low interest auto loans.  Looking ahead, I will be 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 2 years.  I want to go in with a decent down payment to make sure we get what we want.

I keep being lazy about putting up a beer review, perhaps I just have not had any that remarkable.  Side note, I will be starting a Trivia Night at my side job.  For me its fun, sure there is a little bit of cash out of it, but its more about the fun.

Next month should produce around $80 in dividends, which is a 5% YOY increase.  January has just never been a strong dividend month for me.  Also on an investing note, I am keeping a very diligent eye on commercial real estate markets.  Why?  Something seems off about it, similar in a way to 2007 with the residential market, though the bomb is probably a little smaller...

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

2016:

Wow, what a year.  A lot of good things occurred, as did of course many unfortunate things - but lets keep it positive.  On a personal note I upgraded my income, my wife has a less stressful job, we went on a great vacation, and I was still able to put a solid amount of cash into investments.  So let's look at how I did last year.

Last year I had hope I would achieve several goals.  So to reference them they are below.  With the results in RED.

• $1100 in total dividends in 2016 (taxable and Roth).  Success, beat that number by $60.
• $250 in Loyal3 dividends in 2016.  Success, more like $323, or 29% higher.
• End the year with a forward-12 month dividend estimate of over $1200 (between taxable and Roth).  Success, currently sitting a few bucks over that. Way more with IRA...
• Pay off my wife's student loan debt of $5,500 (ish).  Success, her loans are toast.
• Get a raise at my current or another job.  Success, got a new job with a raise!  Then I got a strong side job!
• Continue to exercise 5 times a week at a minimum, and ride my bike places when possible.  Failure.  Part of the failure was due to a bad ankle sprain in the fall.  Overall I am working out 4 to 5 times a week though.  Also biking has faded because my new employer pays me to commute with public transit, and they have no shower (I sweat a lot if I bike anywhere).

Overall that is a 5/6 success rate.  Next year, I plan to have fewer goals; so this section is easier to write and I can focus harder on those goals.

2017: 

Well, on a personal note my biggest goal is to rectify that bottom goal.  Otherwise, right now my life has been on a good track and I want to keep that momentum.  So here are my goals for next year.

• Break $2500 in total dividends.
• Achieve forward dividends for taxable accounts of $1000.
• Get back into shape, specifically workout 5 times a week.
• Bike to as many local places as possible, do less driving (already half way there as I do not drive to work).

There are so many ways I can improve my situation, but little changes can make a huge difference.  Time to test out lifestyle and money saving changes!

Hope everyone has a great January and a Happy New Year!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

Summer Travel, 2016

The London Shard...

Travel Gremlin here.  Its been about a month since I went on vacation, and all I can say is that it stinks that all of us don't get more time for stuff like this.  Such is the world.  Anyways, I've been busy since I got home, with a job transition currently underway and all the usual stuff on top of that.  So for starters, my plan for upcoming months will be to have three (3) posts each month.  I used to aim for four (4), but with new responsibilities and the course of life it is clear that will not remain nominally feasible.  Still, this is a post that I am extremely excited to write because it is about the fun stuff in life.  Do not worry though, I will begin with a little financial recap.

Our Journey:

We (my wife, I, and a friend) ventured to sunny - sorta - England to visit some friends.  We stayed in the UK for a week seeing parts of England and Wales.  Afterwards, the three of us hopped a flight to Italy, then met back up with our friends in Pisa and scooted around that part of Italy.  Our total time in Italy was around 7 days, for a total journey of around two weeks, and now my wife is staying she wants to travel again.  Traveling once makes you want to go again (having perfect weather helps too).

My favorite part about this journey is that we were able to go at all.  Our flights cost (my wife and I) $360 round trip.  That included flying to the UK from the US, to Italy from the UK, and back.  This was done using points transferred from my Chase Sapphire credit card to my United Frequent Flyer number.  Had we just purchased tickets it would have been over $3k.

When we went to Wales, I used hotel points through Hilton to acquire us three rooms in a hotel for three nights, with the final cost being $20 - just taxes.  Plus we stayed with our friends in England.  In Italy, we used AirBnB and found some real steals in the heart of a bunch of cities.  I am not promoting those products, but merely stating if you look hard enough (not that hard), you can find these deals are rampant.  The point here is most people can travel, if they are willing to listen and learn from pros online or in person who do this all the time.  I am far, far from an expert - so don't just take my word for it.

The United Kingdom:

Well for now it is anyway.  We went to two parts, England and Wales.  Also we benefited from a deep monetary discount, thanks to the Brexit.  30 year low in the Pound to USD.  Simply stunning.

England:

Tower Bridge.

It is hard to describe any place, when you only see fractions of it.  Those parts we saw were really fun.  We spent most of our time in London and Cambridge, both gave a very unique cosmopolitan feel.  In some ways it reminded me of the USA (not just cause of the language), but the demeanor of the people.  They were hard working, but matched that with a hard play attitude.  That is right up my alley.  In addition, we saw some of the old towns in the Cotswolds  that sometimes show up in movies.  Among those was a town featuring the oldest 'inn' in England, and yes we got a beer there.  Favorite drink: Speckled Hen - cask. 












Wales:

The view from Pen-y-Fan, Southern Wales' highest peak.

If the UK has a West Virginia, I've been told its Wales.  Of all the places in the UK I saw, I liked Wales the most.  Why?  Mountains.  We only saw the southern range, but those views and the effort to get there are some of the things that I enjoy the most.  We also sampled Cardiff, which is a nice small urban contrast to the mountains nearby.  Of extreme note, amazing Indian food was had in Wales - by far the best I've ever had.  Honestly it might have been my favorite food from the whole trip.  Favorite drink: Brains Amber cask (I don't remember the full name).












Italy:

We arrived in Venice, made our way to Pisa, saw the Cinque Terre, and ended in Florence.  So many wows, oohs, and ahhs.  Places I likely will never see again.  My favorite drink was red wine: specifically any house wine and definitely those 'Supertuscan' wines.  Though there was a microbrewery in Pisa that was excellent, so look for that if you are ever there.

A view of Venice from the Tower of San Marco.

Venice: This city has intrigued me for a long time.  As a person who thinks a lot about engineering, science, and urban planning - this city is a model in so many ways.  It is south of mountains and on the sea (near to the Adriatic), which are my two favorite types of places.  The streets are small and old, but it is a feel that cannot be replicated.  Of all the places in Italy we visited, this is the one I feel I need more time to see (not to belittle other places).

The Dolomites

One tour we did in Venice that I would recommend heavily, is to see the Dolomites.  Or if you are in Slovenia their mountains count too.  The Alps in general are gorgeous, and the Dolomites and the towns among them have their own outstanding charm. 

The Tuscan Countryside.

Tuscany: After Venice we went to Tuscany, and some neighboring areas.  We started in Pisa, went to Cinque Terre, and ended in Florence.  Of those three places I thought Pisa had the best nightlife for hanging out and mingling with locals.  Cinque Terre is well and beyond the most scenic.  Florence reigns in architecture.  The best food went to a few small places in both bigger cities, a fried seafood place in Cinque Terre, and to the Tuscan countryside where we went on a wine tour.  If you could only see one of the three, the answer is Cinque Terre its so unique and despite the crowds it feels more open than Florence.  In Cinque Terre you must hike the trails, but they are not easy.  The second one to see is Florence, which despite its architectural works, is just so crowded during the day.  I have no desire to be surrounded by 100 person tour groups, fair warning.
  

Manarola, part of the Cinque Terre.

Overlooking Florence.

Wrap up: The biggest mistake of this trip is that we are no longer on it, am I right?  Truly, all of these places hold their own unique charm.  I would gladly venture to any of them, just to get a fuller experience. 

I hope everyone has had or is having a great summer!
- Gremlin
- Long all beers and wines drank
- Sadly Short Pasta Carbonara right now.
*All pictures taken by me or someone riding shotgun.

July Review / August Preview, 2016

Back from vacation Gremlin here to talk about July and the next few months.   So vacation was great, I went to the UK and Italy and saw a lot of cool stuff.  I will put together a post on that soon, just been lazy of late.  I watched the end of the Euros over there and was happy to see CR7 and Portugal win (why? because he is a good player, and its nice to see a new team win, especially from a smaller nation).  Though, Iceland winning would have been cooler.

Now the focus is on my new job, which starts in less than two weeks.  In the mean time I will be wrapping up my current position.  One thing I will note is that my pay schedule will change from once every two weeks to monthly, which sucks.  This will mean cash is tight for a brief period, however my salary increase will really start to fit in quickly, and debts will be punished.

July:

I was able to put $90 and purchased a new share of YUM stock.  It was a small purchase, and I did not feel like it warranted any posting.

Last month I brought in a total of $84.98 in dividends ($65.47 taxable, $19.51 Roth).  This is an increase from last year ($77.69 total) by 9.4%.  Not a bad increase, but it could have been higher had I held onto Chubb stock, but I am happy with my decisions concerning that situation earlier this year.  Those transactions have given my DFS and AMP stock.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized two this month from from Realty Income (O) and CIBC (CM).  The raises ranged from 0.5% to 2.5% (local currency). 

Next month I will realize no dividend increases. Thus far for 2016, I have realized 20 dividend increases.  Boom.

August:

Our only long term debts are our cars and my wife's student loans, and her loan won't last the year.  With my new job rapidly approaching there will be a brief hiatus on putting extra cash towards debts, until I start getting paid.  Once that happens, all bets are off and I will be crushing debts with this extra cash.

Next month should produce around $91 in dividends, which is a 35% YOY increase.  Investing wise this will be a bare bones month or two.  Once my pay period becomes more regular, watch out debt, watch out.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Hope everyone has a great August!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stock tickers mentioned

June Review / July Preview, 2016

Summer Gremlin here to talk about June and July.   In less than a week I will be traveling to Europe, and I am very excited.  I have also accepted a new job offer.  Things are really starting to pick up steam in my day to day life.  The goal for the second half of the year is to really annihilate some debt and begin grooming my financial situation towards a house or kids or both.  Such is life.

June:

I was able to put $275 to work in Loyal3 over the course of last month.  I added no new Loyal3 positions this month. I did add a new position in Abbott Labs (ABT) in my Roth account using a free buy to seize the day as much as possible on the Brexit news.

Last month I brought in a total of $116.44 in dividends ($77.13 taxable, $39.31 Roth).  This is an increase from last year ($67.80 total) by 71.7%.  These amounts and the increase is as expected.  This is officially now my biggest month ever, which is really cool.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized four this month from Pepsi Co (PEP), Unilever (UL), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), and Exxon Mobile (XOM).  The raises ranged from 2.4% to 15%.  Overall this is fairly successful growth.  Those are my favorite kind of raises.

Next month I will realize two dividend increases: CIBC (CM) and Realty Income (O).  The increases range from 0.5% 2.3%.

Thus far for 2016, I have realized 18 dividend increases, and after July it will be 20 total.  Boom.

July:

Our only long term debts are our cars and my wife's student loans, and her loan won't last the year.  I will continue next month to throw some extra money at her student loans and my car.  If we paid her student loans at the minimum rate it would take around 1 year to finish otherwise.  I have already gotten ahead on my monthly payments on my car and that will not stop as well.  Her student loan should be finished around September or October, if everything else remains constant.

Next month should produce around $85 in dividends, which is a 10% YOY increase.  On the Loyal3 front I will probably invest $200 on existing positions.  I am trying to pump up our safety net savings a little bit on the side as well, which is the reason for the slight edging down of Loyal3 investing, especially as we head into summer.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

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

Recent Buy, June 2016

I <3 Travel Gremlin here to talk about a recent buy.  In about a week from now I leave for Europe, which will be great.  In between now and then a month will end and another will start; I will update my holdings and income in that time frame.  In the meantime things are really busy both at work and elsewhere in preparation for July 4th.  Plus I accepted a new job, which will start in August.  Needless to say, there are loads and loads of things going on so I'm going to make this one short.

Recently the "Brexit" gave a lot investors and banks some serious headaches, and people withdrew their money in a fury.  A bunch of people probably lost money and some folks are probably still running around like the proverbial headless chickens.  Long term investors, I hope you all got the memo and a little more of that pie.

Yesterday I added shares of Abbott Laboratories (ABT), which is a new position in my Roth account.  I bought 13.9 shares at $37.41 / share, with no commission.  The current yield is 2.74% (on current cost).

I am not going to dive to heavily into ABT's history, but suffice to know if you had held them and their spinoffs (like ABBV) since the 1980s, you'd be doing great.  I like their current valuation, which momentarily was made sweeter thanks to the voters in the UK, cheers on that.  ABT also is a healthcare stock, and I am really looking to increase my holdings in that sector

This was a rather small purchase, most of my money is currently busy wiping out debt, planning for Europe, or in my taxable investment account.  That account is going through a name transition due to my marriage stuff, so I decided to do what I could in my Roth at the time being.  So, expect at some point this position to be expanded upon.

What do you think of ABT?

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

- Gremlin
- Long ABT

2016 Euro Call

Sports Gremlin here (I agree, poker is not really a sport, but its the closest thing there is next to Streaker Gremlin...).  Anyways, today begins my favorite sports tournament, the UEFA's European Football (Soccer) Championship.  Yes, despite the fact that the USA is hosting and in the Copa America right now, this is my preferred tournament.  Two reasons for that; one the Copa America will have no future impact on other tournaments, and two there is a special amount of history and drama in the Euros.  It is a tournament that can elicit rivalries that are centuries old, played out by guys who might even be paid by the same clubs all of a sudden against each other.  So below I have included a graphic showing the groups.


France in green represent the host nation, and the others in yellow are picks to move on to the next round (that does include France). 

I'd be lying if I did not think France has a huge advantage in this tournament, they do.  They are home, and they are really good.  The other usual suspects that have a chance at a deep run are England, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and Portugal.  All of those teams have strong talent pools.  The question is will teams like England, Belgium, Italy, and Portugal be able to turn their players' abilities and successes at the club level into something at the national level?  Germany has done it recently, and their progression should be noted for turning a team of individuals into cogs in the machine.  In fact Germany is probably the scariest team on this list; they lose any player and just call up their proverbial clone.  That's a nightmare to play against.

Also there a bunch of teams that are not at the same levels of the big fish, but are very dangerous squads in their own right.  In no particular order I would state these are Switzerland, Wales, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Austria, and Iceland.  To be fair, all of the teams in this tournament are good, which makes it a much higher quality field than the World Cup.  There are no slouches here.

So what is my prediction?  Well here it is:
1st / Winner - England.  This is a huge limb I am going out on, because they as a team are always a ticking time bomb of implosion. However, I do believe their early pool play versus Wales will put them in the right might set to conquer Europe once and for all. There qualifying campaign was also a gem.
2nd - France.  Home field advantage is huge, but I don't think it will be enough.
3rd - Poland. I think this is their year for a deep run, with a good team.
4th - Germany. Consistency is their thing, though I don't see a repeat this year of the World Cup.

Teams that will surprise with deep runs (dark horses):
Austria - This is a squad that can easily destroy the ambitions of a more seasoned squad.
Iceland - Its their first major tournament ever, they have nothing to lose.
Czech Republic - A quick look at their qualifying campaign and you will see this is not a fun team to play against.
Slovakia - Ditto of the Czechs.  If I were Russia and Wales, I would be really concerned in this field, the experts at ESPN and other places be damned.
Belgium - If they win their pool, I feel really bad for whoever gets the unhappy privilege of playing them.

What do you watch in the summertime?  Personally, I will be outside doing stuff for most of the games, but recording games using a DVR so I can enjoy them at night.

- Soccer Gremlin Out

Brewery Reviews for May 2016

Party Gremlin here to talk about some breweries.  This past May I was fortunate enough to make a trek out to Colorado, as part of that trek I got to sample some of work the locals are putting into their product.  Those in the know may appreciate this because Colorado is one of the best areas for micro / nano / whatever kind you want of brewing in the country - possibly only outstripped only by the Portland, Oregon in the USA.  In this post I will be reviewing two beer-hubs for the record.  That being said I am going to focus on the quality of the tour and the drinks, but I will attempt to stray too much into detail over specific beers.  The reason for that is twofold; first I cannot remember all of the names of the beers themselves and two because I want to try to discuss the breathe as well as depth (and there is only so much time).

Wynkoop, Denver, Colorado:

This was our first stop and coincidentally it was the first micro-brewery in the Denver area.  They do their work in the basement of their restaurant / pub, and do can and bottle their products for sale in the local area.  In my time sampling suds, I've been on a few tours of facilities.  This tour was one of the better tours as it gave a lot of history to the local area and ingredients that they use.  The importance here is everywhere you go the essential process is the same, but discussion of the history and ingredient list should and will be different.  On top of that a good tour should always provide samples, and guess what it does!

Now to the real business, now was their product?  I sampled approximately 6 different types.  Three beers really stuck out to me as being excellent.  The first is their imperial red ale; very strong in terms of taste and percentage.  Second is the milk stout; very smooth like a chocolate milk shake that would go down very well even on a hot summer day.  The third and final is their flagship IPA; it was not over hopped and the bitterness did jive very well with the other flavors of the beer.  These three represent the best of what I tried there.  I like a lot of different styles of beer, and its hard to find a place that does several well even if its a small sized operation.  I would recommend visiting here and give them a 4 out of 5 ranking.

http://www.wynkoop.com/

New Belgium, Fort Collins, Colorado:

From time to time, people come across gems, they take them out of the ground polish them and they become either very valuable or priceless.  I can honestly say that the city of Fort Collins and their New Belgium Brewery (NBB) are one of those rare gems.  To start, the tour was excellent.  Their equipment is also not entirely regular equipment.  NBB has a very strongly automated process, allowing them to effectively make a lot of different types of beer and then age them for long periods of time.  The backbone of this clearly comes from ownership that is very science oriented, which as a person with a science and engineering background is great to see.

I've never been to a major macro-brewing facility, in fact this and Sam Adams in Boston years ago are the closest I've ever been.  However, the process at NBB is such that it will allow for them to create a whole lot of different though in smaller batches. This is because the initial stages of brewing for almost all beers is very similar.  As we speak they are aging and conditioning dozens of different types of beer in all sorts of containers.

Now onto the important parts.  The tour does have beer on it, making it good - but the tour itself is great.  I've never said that before, I usually just listen for histories, ingredients, and then wait for samples.  This was not that tour.  The beer here is also great.  I've had plenty of NBB before, and some of the bigger ones are just good (even the best place may make something that does not click with me, it happens), but their special seasonal, limited release, and aged beers are phenomenal.  My two favorites I tried were one of their sour beers and a blackberry barley-wine.  All of what they had was good, and I also must add this is one of the first places I've been where I noticed a difference in how the beer tastes due to its freshness when being served.

All in all, 5/5.  If you're in the area, it'd be a mistake to not head here.

http://www.newbelgium.com/Beer/home

Have you tried any new flavors recently?
- Gremlin

Getting a Second Job

Worker-Bee Gremlin here. I've floated the idea of getting a second job in the past, both here and in various comments.  Nominally I kind of had one acting as a sports referee, but that really only paid me enough to cover my league fees so I could play for free.  Nothing wrong with that, but the gig ended for reasons outside of my control.  In my regular work life I no longer have to travel, allowing me to open up to the idea of finding a second job. So it was kind of great when a nice opportunity just happened to fall into my lap.  I got a second job working at a local brewery that started up in January.

It really was a lucky break too.  I had heard about the place from a friend so I stopped to check it out to try some of the products, you know for quality assurance purposes.  And lo and behold, another friend of mine was working there.  Naturally, one thing leads to another and soon enough I am getting an email to stop by talk to the owners and see if I am able to work there, and then bam I have a side job.  As of writing this I have put in one full day and am expecting many more over the next few months.  The working time is mainly on weekends* not more than 4 or 5 days in a month, and I am working for tips.

Could I be doing something else to make more money?  Yes, but I don't know if I would enjoy that.  I do not want my 9-5 job becoming my side job too.  I really enjoyed working at this side job, to the point where it honestly does not feel like work.  There is a lot of things I learned, a lot of cool people I met, and there are so many things to learn about the industry.  It is definitely a place that I want to be working.  After all, I would volunteer there, but it is definitely cooler to get a little compensation for your time.

Some of my friends did throw me a curve ball of a question, why would I do that with my free time?  Well first off, as I said I would do it for free - so already it is how I would spend that free-time.  Secondly, its a job that one day maybe I want to look into making it a full time situtation in some aspect (in terms of my association with the industry itself and the various positions therein).  Lastly, there is some compensation, which will be used for a few important things.

Any cash I generate will be subject to taxes and withholding.  That being said the remainder will be divided in three ways.  The two biggest chunks will be equally sized and sent to augment investments or pay off debt.  Any remainder will simply be pocket change that will get rounded into savings or checking accounts.  Cash will be put to extraordinary use buying securities, crushing my wife's student loans, and maybe even buy us a few meals on our summer vacation I have started planning for us in Europe**.  Yes, it will not be a ton of money, but every little bit counts when working towards Financial Independence.  Why not have some fun while doing it too?

* = The hours of operation are currently limited to weekends (Friday - Saturday anyways)
** = I already booked the flights, more on that as it was a points bonanza.

Have you found a second job or do you plan on keeping your free time free?
- Gremlin

2015 Review and 2016 Preview

Letchworth State Park and the Genessee River.

Travel Gremlin here to review the past year and talk hopes for new one. This past year, especially the second half, saw a lot of travel for work.  That I something I aim to improve upon (decrease) as the possibility of having a family gets more real.  Yes, I see some cool things like the image of above from Letchworth State Park in New York State, but often there is little time for anything beyond work.

The USA is huge, even without the non-continental states or territories...

In fact it is difficult to express how many places I have been this year without looking at graphic representation. As you can see on the map, I have been to a lot of states, with each pin representing a place I have spent a night.  It totals 16 states (Maryland and North Carolina are hard to pick out), and no less than 31 different locations.  I've easily traveled 10,000+ miles for work in a car and hopped on airplanes as well.  Don't get me wrong, I like traveling, but I do have a limit.

In spite of that, 2015 was a remarkable year in terms of pushing for financial independence (FI) and in my life in general.  I turned 30, and bought my first ever car from a dealership - instead of a family friend.  There have been several ups and downs, but I see a good path forward and have a plan to follow it.  So without further procrastinating lets take a look and see what happened and where I go from here.

Review of 2015:

In 2015 I received a total of $878.54 in dividends from my stock investments between my taxable and Roth accounts.  This represents a 10.67% increase YOY, with my taxable declining by 0.62% and my Roth growing by 31.18% YOY.  I had projected $930 in total dividends, and I missed that mark by less than $60.  I should be disappointed by this, but I am not.  My downturn in my taxable accounts is because my stock PGH has cut dividends (twice in fact).  This stock was from my early years, and provided a high yield, but I am no longer in that game and it still makes no sense to sell.  The lost income has now been made up and will grow faster with my current mix of stable stocks that are strong dividend growers.  Those stocks also represent more stable companies.  I see compounding interest as a reality going forward with my portfolio.

My dividend stocks gave me twenty-two raises in my taxable account and nine in my Roth account, as opposed to two cuts from the aforementioned PGH.  I will experience a cut from KMI in 2016, however despite that one cut I already know my income will increase due to multiple dividend raises.  I'm putting the 8th Wonder of the World to work.

In terms of account values; my accounts ended the year with the following totals: $19,235 in my taxable accounts and $11,150 in my Roth account.  These represent increases of 39% for my taxable accounts from $13,782 and 25% for my Roth account from $8905.  Fun fact for my taxable accounts is that at the end of 2014 my Loyal3 holdings represented just shy of 40% of my taxable assets; at the end of 2015 that number stands at over 50% and includes the majority of my taxable positions.  Loyal3 has gone from a minor position building tool, to the main weapon in my arsenal.  One day it will be merged into my regular account, but for now it will continue to grow independently.

In 2015 I also managed to grow my 401K by $4,400.  I remain below the maximum, but my goal is to first fund my Roth then the 401K.  However, I would be foolish not to take advantage of the extra money my company matches and use the 401K as a way to lower my immediate tax exposure.

Sometimes he sleeps with a toy in his mouth and he snores like a bear

2015 has seen a lot of change in my life beyond my investment accounts and turning 30.  We acquired a dog, who requires my time and is work, but I must admit he is an awesome pal.  My car engine decided to put in its 6 month retirement notice, so I got a new car.  Then my wife's car decided it was time to be pain, so that process was repeated.  I got a great deal on a new Honda Civic, trading in my old Accord.  My wife's old Nissan Xterra was exchanged for a Subaru Forester.  My car was just a deal I could not pass up, her car was a compromise of what we (she) wanted.  Both cars should last 15+ years and deliver us hundreds of thousands of miles, and both are wildly more efficient on gas.  I know we will deal with that debt now, but the goal is for those two cars to last a long long time.  Also we like the fact that no one else has owned them before; our metro area (DC) is known to have horrible drivers and any way to avoid them driving our cars would be great.

All of this equals a lot of debt, which when coupled with my wife's student loans means were are at a much smaller net positive.  However, 2016 will change that.  I achieved my Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) accreditation and my wife finished her masters and has started bringing in a good deal more cash.   These positive changes will overrule the past costs, coupled with smarter home life and more savings allow us to push together into FI.

For further review my goals from last year were:
$1000 in dividends - goal failed, see above.
Get a side job - I continued reffing, but that has slowed down due to travel.  I have made extra cash from work travel, passed the CHMM, and do Inbox-Dollars emails, so that adds some change.  I feel less need for this with my growing list of professional certifications.
Loyal3 $185 dividends - goal failed, I hit $176.66, so darn close!

Preview of 2016:

For 2016 I have set up a list of goals I hope to achieve:

• $1100 in total dividends in 2016.  Currently I am projecting $1040 in dividends for next year, so there is work to be done.
• $250 in Loyal3 dividends in 2016.  Currently, I am projecting $235, so I need push.
• End the year with a forward-12 month dividend estimate of over $1200.
• Pay off my wife's student loan debt of $5,500 (ish).
• Continue to pay her car as scheduled.  My car will remain slightly ahead of schedule, with that picking up after her student debt is erased.
• Get a raise at my current or another job.
• Continue to exercise 5 times a week at a minimum, and ride my bike places when possible.

Whew, those are some much better and clearer goals for myself than last year.

Happy New Year to everyone!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stocks mentioned (KMI and PGH)

NY State 6 IPA Chase

Drinking Gremlin here to chat about the 'work' and experiences I had last week.  As some of you know I have been working on the road a lot more this year, and this current assignment requires a lot of time in upstate New York.  So I've decided to do some taste testing as a way to enjoy my time here a little bit without busting the bank.  This past week I decided to study India Pale Ales available at the grocery store.  The one caveat is that they must be from the state of New York.  So I acquired a mixed six pack; with one beer each.  This means everyone has one shot to impress me.  So here are the contenders, they are ranked in order of consumption, mind you they were enjoyed over the course of the week.  My scoring is on a 1 to 10 scale (10 being the best).  So here are the scores and reviews.  Brewery is in bold, beer in italics.


Ithaca Beer Co. - Cascazilla, Red IPA [7%].  A smooth beer that goes down quickly and has most of its hops and bitterness hitting your tongue in the after taste.  Not the most bitter beer out there, but it seems to be lacking a punch of flavor that an IPA usually has.  Might be a good day time beer.  Overall I usually am a big fan of Red IPAs so, this might need to get a bunch more tries.  5/10

Saranac - Legacy IPA [6.5%].  Wow, a beer that hits you tongue like a hammer made out of citrus.  The hoppy flavors follows, but its hard to not get past the strong and delicious citrus flavor.  I believe this beer is the kind you would love to drink on a hot day.  Soak up the sunshine and crack one open, then relax on the porch.  6.5/10

CB - Caged Alpha Monkey IPA [6.5%].  Having been to this brewery before I was interested in trying one I had not tried there, and it is their flagship brand.  It is easy to describe this beer; big hops and big taste.  However, it lacks some of the crispness that some IPAs really throw at me.  5/10

Brooklyn - East IPA [6.9%].  This is an IPA drinkers IPA.  It has the crispness, the citrus flavor, and the bitterness that follows.  However, it is not too much of any of the above.  The key is the balance between those qualities, these guys nailed it.  8/10

Southern Tier - IPA [7.3%].  Smooth is the best adjective here.  Overall I wish it had a little more citrus or exotic flavor that my favorite IPAs carry.  It feels like a good late night beer, pair it with some chips / dip and a good game on TV.  To be honest though, feels like so much was put into it, but the extra effort diminishes the finesse sometimes required.  6/10

Southern Tier - 2X IPA [8.2%].  I only had so many options in getting single regular sized bottles, so I ended up with two from Southern Tier.  Still this IPA attempt is excellent.  It has a ton of punch in its percentage, but it is smooth to a drop.  Its crispness goes along with a citrus set of notes that sits on the tongue the way I like.  I would recommend this beer with a steak, fish, pizza, or a hangout session anytime!  9/10

As I am editing this I am beginning another set, my individual write up was done last week.  My current 'work' is a new theme and its harder to keep with the theme due to the amount of variety that is available.  Note these, as with all other reviews, are my opinions.  I recommend you try these or as many types as possible to find out what you like.  Or if you are really awesome, make your own! 

- Gremlin
PS: many of these in various reviews will be hard to get outside of regional areas.  In this case Saranac, Brooklyn and Southern Tier are widely available in the Mid-Atlantic of the USA.

Beer Review, August 2015 - Geneseo New York and Some Life Lessons

Keg-Gremlin here to discuss some more fun topics.  Currently, I am on work travel in upstate New York, specifically in the Geneseo area and I took the time to sample some local beers.  If I had more time I would have also sampled a lot of wine, which the Finger Lakes area of New York is famous for.  Plus the countryside is gorgeous up here, in more ways than one.  My work in this part of the country has also linked me up with an interesting cast of co-workers, which I will talk about later in this post.

In my travels I got to visit two breweries, and though sadly I could not try every beer, I got to try a good bunch.  Also fair warning, most of these are probably hard to get in general, and I have never seen them 3 states away, so this is more of a 'if you get the chance to visit' sort of post.  So without beating around the bush, here are the reviews.

Brewers:

CB Craft Brewers (http://www.cbcraftbrewers.com/):
These guys started out as a contract brewery and branched out after.  While I was there, I tried both their beers and some of the ones they made on contract.  In general CB offered a lot of high percentage beers, especially on the IPA front.  IPAs are their flagship in general.  My two favorites IPAs were their Silverback Double IPA and their contract GC "Fat 20" brand IPA.  Their current list is found at here, but sadly I do not remember the name of the GC brand IPA.  Of the ones listed it was my preferred.  My other favorites were their Scotch style ales including CB's MacBubba and the contract Roger's Hound Dog.  The last one was by far my favorite drink on tap.  One of my coworkers was along for this ride as well and recommended the Three Head "The Kind", another IPA.  He is primarily an IPA drinker, so I would take that as a good recommendation.  Overall a good spot with a nice bar and reasonably priced tasting.  I would heavily recommend it.

VB Brewery (http://thevbbrewery.com/):
I know, what are the odds we would go to CB and VB?  Well anyway, this was our second stop and the tasting was little less comprehensive than the first.  Sadly they were out of my first choice, which was a Belgian style ale.  This brewery was also very heavily bent towards IPAs, with a full 1/2 of their choices being IPAs.  Here is their current beer selections.  My coworker concentrated on the IPAs, and found them not to be up to the level of the prior brewery, but this may be due to drinking too many bitter pours.  We both agreed that their #6 Petite IPA was one of the better IPAs we've had.  However, I found that #7 their Black Magic IPA was probably a head better.  I also tried their number's 8 and 10.  8 was decent, but 10 was disappointing.  At both breweries I tried a brown ale, and was not very impressed.  Typically I find that type excellent, but not these.

Both are in nice spots, in or near very nice small towns.  IPAs and Scotch ales seem the way to go.  If I had more samples I would have added the Altbier at the first place and the #11 at the second place (which was the not available of course when I was there!).  However, I feel there is a little too much focus on IPAs in general between the two.

Life Lessons:

My coworkers on this job are a true cast of characters.  One of them was discussing money with me, specifically how much he had made on some past jobs.  It was mind boggling, he was throwing out that as his bonus on some jobs he was making as much as some people make in a year.  Don't get me wrong, he is good at his job.  However, it appears he is very strongly fitted to that work hard - spend hard hedonistic treadmill.  Yet, he still complained about work and travel a lot. 

He has been working for a long time, I get the complaining, but he also makes a pretty great paycheck.  Perhaps he loves his job, but then why is he complaining?  Truth is he probably could solve a lot of his problems through DG-investing (or similar) and living a more frugal existence.  Frugality does not make life any less enjoyable.  No more dragging your progressively aging and aching body to a job that you may not care to do.  Considering his salary, he could have quit years ago with cash and time to spare and spend as he deemed fit.  Instead he is worried about the things at home he is missing and the fish he sadly is not catching.

For these reasons, I pushed myself even harder being here to save a few bucks and make some new investments.  This gladly brings me to the conclusion that I have opened a position in Hershey (HSY).  It is a small Loyal3 slot, but I hope to really expand it over the next few months and I plan to add Walmart (WMT) soon too!

I hope everyone is safe and having a great August.
- Gremlin
- Long HSY

Career Growth!

Been busy Gremlin here.  Over the last few weeks I have been working on both career growth and was on the road a lot.  The career growth I am going through was preparation for a professional licensing test, and I figured it was important to take my time and study, which made my weeks a little more boring for a bit.  In that time I also decided in addition to foregoing video games and other entertainment, I would not write here.  Now that its over, we shall return to the regularly scheduled program.

For this post I will be talking about a little bit of everything: my career growth, minor investment activity / market trends, some travel, sports, and frothy beverages.  There is no reason I cannot enjoy all those things at the same time!  So let's get to it, shall we?

Career Growth:

One of the best ways to save faster for financial independence (FI) is to earn more from your day job.  Overall, that is a no-brainer.  A way to accomplish that can be through professional certifications.  In my industry typical professional certifications include Professional Engineer (PE), Professional Geologist (PG), Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), and many others.  Yes, mine is one of those, but I am waiting for the certificate to come in the mail before I post which one I got on my about me page.  The one I got was years in the making, literally with multiple years in the industry required on top of my degree and specific experience.  Once that was achieved, I applied to be able to take the exam.  Then last Friday I took and passed the exam.


Naturally, I won't get a salary bump right away, however I will now be able to demand a better salary no matter where I work.  It is not my intent to leave my current job, but it would be nice to receive some extra benefits for upping my skill set to improve the company's marketability.  Regardless of what the future holds, I know at this point I have taken a strong step up the proverbial ladder and it should help build FI!

Investment Activity / The Market:

The market has been awesomely volatile of late.  Naturally people point to the larger situations that have come and gone, domestically and overseas.  It is always interesting hearing the distress from coworkers, friends, the talking heads on TV + radio, and the experts forecasting what will happen.  The answer to all of them is, no one knows; and all we can expect is this to be long term noise, which will open the door for people like me and other long term investors.

This is excellent timing as I've just received a generous special dividend from Kraft Heinz (was KRFT, now KHC).  That money was received in my Roth and will spur another large buy shortly.  Right now I am debating between several stocks I really like - UNP, NSC, CSX, TROW, BEN, ETN, and NOC mainly.  None of those are 5% yielders, but the plan is to get (oddly) lower yields first with high growth in my Roth, so in 5 to 10 years time I can turn around and add high yielders and sit on a retirement monster. 

In addition, Chubb Corp (CB) recently announced that ACE Insurance (ACE) was buying them for approximately $120+ per share; I will receive $62+ and 0.6015 shares of ACE per share of CB.  In a way this is sad, because I liked CB's future prospects.  On the other hand I will gain likely 2 positions for 1 - the new cash will spur another buy when the deal completes and I will have approximately 7 shares of ACE.  Currently, the plan is to sit on the shares and continue collecting CB's dividends.  Once the deal completes there will be a grace period to decide if ACE, despite its foreign with-holdings, is right for my Roth.  As of right now, I am leading towards dropping it, but we shall see.

Lastly, I have hit 25 shares of Coke (KO) in my Loyal3 account.  That value is slightly over $1000, and so long as it stays above that threshold I am done with it.  It feels extra nice to tick another Loyal3 position off my list, but if the price drops I will not be afraid to capitalize!

Travel:

Recently I've attended one wedding in the city of Harrisburg, PA.  I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised with the nice little downtown area on the water, and Appalachian Brewing company there.

Then immediately after that wedding, I traveled to Texas.  I am currently involved in a contract that involves testing of indoor filtering machines to make sure they are working right, which means there are a lot of stops in a lot of places for each trip.  This one started in Dallas, then wound its way down through Austin, San Antonio*, Laredo*, McAllen, and Brownsville*.  The asterisked locations indicated places that were just passed through.  My perception was that Texas seemed like an alright place, and sadly I did not have enough time to really see anything.  Dallas and Austin in particular seemed cool, along with the coast by Brownsville.  Alas, these places will just have to get added to the list at this time...

Sports:

Summertime for me is usually when I careless about seeing any sports and more about playing them, I'm just not a big golf or baseball fan.  However, this year we have the Women's World Cup and the Gold Cup in soccer.  It was really cool to watch the US Women win the whole thing again in such dominate fashion (at least once pool play was over).  At one point I almost felt bad for Japan during the final game, and really bad for England who I thought should have taken on the USA.  England did dominate Japan in that game, but they just had one lapse that lead to their collapse.  (Plus it would have been cool to beat the Brits again the day after July 4th...)

With the women's team winning, perhaps its time to see the men's step up and take the Gold Cup this year.  2 semis left, and 1 final, it would shock me if the games were not exciting.  Mexico's win over Costa Rica last night was very exciting to watch, though Costa Rica got hosed badly at the end falling due to 1 bad call.  Really though Mexico could have won 3-1, if strikers could just shoot on frame...

Beer:

As much as I'd love to say I've tried a ton of new beers of late, that would simply be a lie.  However, my travels did allow me to get a few sips on some new flavors.  Specifically these were at Appalachian Brewing in Harrisburg, PA and Glasstown Brewing in Millville, NJ. 

Appalachian had a few excellent beers.  My favorites here were their IPAs, Belgian, Pale Ale, and Scottish Ale.  Appalachian showed they clearly excelled in both hoppy and malty styles.  The newer Glasstown surprised me with an excellent variety.  Though I did not try the stout, I was told it was one of the best people have had in a while.  Their Pale Ale and Red Ale were both fantastic.  In general both were very reasonably priced and provided nice if completely different atmospheres.

Moving forward on my beer posts I've decided to add some variety and spice it up in the future.  Posts will review my favorite beers within certain categories.  These could include by state,  country, style, and in depth reviews of local crafters.  I will also cover some wine in this, as that frequently gets paired with dinner in my house depending on the meal of course.

Thanks for reading, sorry it was long.
- Gremlin
- Long UNP, CB, KHC, KO