November Review / December Preview 2015

Wacky Gremlin here to talk about November.  I continue to be on the road traveling for work; I've been in the Northeast and part of the South this time.  In the long run my goal is the leave this line of work for something that keeps me at home more.  Travel is not conducive to having a family and can really wreck plans no matter how mundane they may seem.  So I'm keeping my eyes open for what I can find, but I am being very selective.  In the meantime, I will use the extra income to continue pushing for our financial independence.  So let's take a look and see how things went.

November:

First off, I was able to put $600 to work in Loyal3 over the course of last month, so that was a good start.  That included starting a position with the Gap (GPS), which I think will be a nice long time addition to my account.

Last month I brought in a total of $82.13 in dividends ($12.69 taxable , $69.44 Roth), way more than expected.  This is an increase from last year ($91.99 total) by 32.5%.  The main reason this occurred is Kraft Heinz (KHC) switched its payout month to last month.  Naturally, this hurts last month and makes this one look better, but in the long run its all entering the same pot so little momentum if any is lost. 

In terms of dividend increases, I realized two this month; KHC and Kinder Morgan (KMI) both with around +4% increases.  KHC has been decent with its raises (considering its raise last year as KRFT), and KMI has given me a raise every quarter I have owned it.  These two are killing it for my Roth!

Next month I will realize 3 dividend increases: MCD, MSFT and VFC.  All were above 4%, though MCD was just barely at 4.7%!

December:

Our only long term debts are our cars and my wife's student loans (now I include hers with mine since we merged bank accounts), which will be paid off as fast as possible.  I have already gotten ahead on my monthly payments on my car and that will not stop.  The first priority though is my wife's student loans.  It is a lower payment with higher interest, making it the lowest hanging fruit.  I expect to have it fully paid off by May/June of 2016.

Next month should produce around $91 in dividends, which is a 17% year-over-year increase.  I expect to realize three raises next month from MCD, MSFT, and VFC.  On the Loyal3 front I will probably invest $400-500 on existing locations, with the goal being to push up next year's forward income.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

Have a good December!
- Dividend Gremlin
- Long all stocks mentioned