Friday, October 30, 2015

October Review / November Preview 2015

Reviewer Gremlin here to talk about October.  The theme of the last few months seem to be be traveling for work.  This past month I did a long circuit trip through New England, spending some time in each state and I am glad to be back for Halloween.  In the last 2 months my finances have vastly improved, but it seems like my free time has decreased.  This is not all my fault, part of it is my wife's work; that is exactly the point of our financial independence.  To get time back on our side.  So let's take a look and see how things went.


October:
First off, I was able to put $598 to work in Loyal3 over the course of last month, so that was a good start.

Last month I brought in a total of $53.45 in dividends ($46.61 taxable , $6.84 Roth), way less than expected.  This is a decrease from last year ($70.52 total) by 24.2%.  The main reason this occurred is Kraft Heinz (KHC), who have not continued the Kraft dividend.  That should change, however I plan on monitoring this position closely for the rest of the year.  It is my personal belief they are setting up to pay in a different month.  Also my position in PGH reduced its payout, it hurts, but as stated before this is a legacy stock - one that I am happy to no longer depend upon.  

In terms of dividend increases, I realized two this month; Realty Income's (O) with a small percentage increase and CIBC (CM) with a small increase as well.  Unfortunately with CM, the ForEx ratio meant that very little was realized by me in the USA.  Two new raises were reported, Kinder Morgan (KMI) adding another 4% and VF Corp pumping up their dividend by15%!  KMI has now given me a raise ever quarter since the first I've owned them.

November:

Our only long term debts are our cars, which will continue though I plan to pay mine off as fast as possible.  I have already gotten ahead on my monthly payments and that will not stop.  My wife's car will receive this attention after mine is finished.  Hopefully I can travel for work less so I can enjoy stuff around me more, that is starting to become too common in my life.

Next month should produce around $62 in dividends, which is a 1% year-over-year increase.  I expect to realize one raise next month from KMI.  On the Loyal3 side, I plan pursue increasing positions in VFC, Walmart (WMT), and Hershey's (HSY) - all stocks that have seen price declines making them more attractive.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Happy Halloween!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stocks mentioned

4 comments:

  1. The slight decrease in dividend income is OK, as long as you continue buying dividend stocks and inject fresh capital, you will be fine long term.

    Hopefully you can pay off the car loan quickly. :)

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    Replies
    1. Tawcan,

      Thanks for the comment. I agree, the march forward must be relentless and steady. As far as our debts go, I will actually target the remainder of my wife's student loans. It is a lower amount due each month and total than our rides to be sure, but it is the highest % loan of ours. In fact our car loans over a 2 year time line essentially get blown away by inflation, which is nice. Still that student loan is the low hanging fruit, then onto my car. However, I am still getting ahead of it slightly each month.

      - Gremlin

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    2. Hi Dividend Gremlin,

      First time visitor and I look forward to taking a look around. Based on this article and your comment, we're both battling student loans and a car loan. Let's kick some butt :)

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    3. Thanks Red,

      Yes we both are, though the student loans were my just my wife's problem they have become our problem. Getting rid of those loans and generating passive income are both equal priorities in my mind!

      - Gremlin

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