What another crazy week in the stock market. The price of crude oil continues to slide, causing the price of many great dividend growth stocks to continue to slide. Both Diplomats had extra capital to spend (one much more than the other) to take advantage of the discounts the market has provided us. Which stocks did we buy this week? A few markets, outside of the market as a whole, took a little more of a “goodfellas” beating than others – Canadian Banks, Oil, Mineral/Resource realm.
The hottest topic as of late, that I’ve seen outside of the oil/gas industry is… Canadian Banking. I have seen quite a few dividend investors over the last two weeks, continue to purchase shares into the big 6 Canadian Bank companies. I also own of them, but with all of the downward pressure on the industry in that geographical location, plus all of the activity with buying happening, it has caused me to dive into some research on the fundamentals with 3 of the bank stocks. Let’s take a look.
With 2015 approaching, I wanted to formally put together my goals for the next year. Ever since Lanny wrote about his goals last month, I have been hard at work thinking about my goals. What I like/respected the most from Lanny’s set of goals were that they were very challenging and well-rounded, containing both investing and life goals. It reminds me that while I should be focused on growing my portfolio and sprinting towards financial freedom, you still can’t forget about your life and building those memories that you will tell your kids and grandkids about. I should achieve this balance in 2015, so lets take a look at my goals for the year!
Time to bring the Frugal life out of me this season! As the cold weather approaches, our bills tend to go a little higher, more specifically our gas and electric bills. Living up in the mid-western part of the country, as well as any northern state, we tend to crank the heat to hide away from the winter temperatures that consume us. Even with the cold temperatures and the temptations to crank the heat to above 70 degrees – lets ask ourselves if that is we truly need or if it the sense of being uncomfortable or the fact that the Jones’s next door have their temperature set to Southern Florida during the months of November through March. There is a balance between a scolding 75 degrees with walking around in a t shirt and shorts and a point where you are wearing an Eskimo jacket lined with bear skin or something that sounds like the breaking post of frost bite. Let’s see how we can keep more of the frugal balance this winter.
My third month of taking the Dividend Diplomats 60% Savings Challenge is officially over. I am coming off quite the high note in October as I was able to successfully save 63% of my income! Could I keep the momentum going and achieve the coveted 60% savings ratio once again this month?
Another month has passed, another month where I ask myself… Did I hit the 60% savings goal with my income and expense tracker? Did I hit the big mark that I set for myself back in August when I was discussing why I am aiming to save 60% of my income? I know Bert did extremely well again I am betting – I hope he cruised past 60%! Let’s dive into the income and expense analysis. Continue reading
2015 is quickly approaching! Holy smokes. As the calendar turns for the final time this year, it is time to review which Dividend Aristocrats are expected to announce dividend increases in December. For all new readers, we have reviewed projected dividend increases at the beginning of each month. Why? Because the Dividend Diplomats love dividend increases, especially from Aristocrats. With that being said, let’s review our projections from November and take a look ahead to the final month of 2014!
