November Review / December Preview, 2016

Mountain Climbing Gremlin here to talk about this past month and the future.  My ankle is doing well, well enough to climb a mountain?  Probably, but this mountain I am referring to is Financial Independence, or FI.  Today that mountain has gotten a little smaller, as I (we) have extinguished the last remnants of student loan debt.  Bye bye, no one will miss you.  In addition, I made three buys of which two were sizeable.  Then to top it off, November had Thanksgiving, which is a great time to see family.  Sure there are always negatives, and shocks (like that crazy relative of yours).  However, nothing is crippling me from earning that FI a little faster.  In fact, even negative situations provide opportunity.  So lets see how I did. 

November:

I bought three stocks this past month across my Loyal3, regular taxable, and Roth accounts.  In all, a total of $762.01 was invested, and that money should generate around $27 next year.  It is pretty nice to acquire securities like that.  In addition, YUM split off its China division, giving me a new position in YUMC.  YUMC will likely be sold at some point, but when is the real question.

Last month I brought in a total of $235.86 in dividends ($39.34 taxable, $58.71 Roth, and $137.81 in my IRA).  This is an increase from last year ($82.13 total) by 187.2%.  My SEP IRA really adds a new dimension, and its almost making this month apples to oranges in terms of a comparison.  I plan on keeping my method the same and recognizing that the SEP IRA has a big impact on total numbers in the short term.  Overall, not including my SEP IRA I am still up over last year.  Either way, over $200, sweet.

In terms of dividend increases, I realized two this month from YUM and American Express (AXP).  Both raises were around 11%, which is solid. 

Next month I will realize five raises, from McDonald's (MCD), Microsoft (MSFT), Union Pacific (UNP), VF Corp (VFC), and Emerson Electric (EMR).  The increases range from less than 1% for EMR to 10+% for MSFT and UNP. Thus far for 2016, I have realized 29 dividend increases!

December:

Things are getting exciting.  As I stated, student loans are trashed, all that remains are extremely low interest auto loans.  Looking ahead, I will be to 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.

Since I did not post a beers of Thanksgiving, just a simple review, perhaps I will do a beers of Christmas.  Wintertime has the best seasonal stuff in my mind.

Next month should produce around $240 in dividends, which is a 136% YOY increase, most of which is attributable to my new IRA. I am now ahead of last year, and I need to remain focused.

My portfolio page is currently up to date.

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