Expected Dividend Increases in April

One quarter is almost in the books.  Lanny and I had quite the active month and added some nice dividend income to our portfolios, as Lanny purchased CAT (twice) and HCP and swapped LO for PM last week while I added four new stocks to my portfolio and re-upped my position in one tobacco stock (I’m not spoiling the surprise completely).   As I said, a crazy month for us.  While we were active and many companies paid dividends in March, it was a relatively quiet for Dividend Aristocrats as only a few were set to announce increases last month.  Will that change in April?  Did  the companies follow through with their expected dividend increases last month?  Let’s find out!

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Lanny’s Recent Purchase – Re-Up in CAT

This has been a great month for dividends and dividend investing I feel.  There are quite a few nice stocks going on sale temporarily and if you like the company in a fundamentally sound way and they fit your criteria – then make a decision to investor or not… that is if you have the capital.  The month of March has been the busiest month so far for me in terms of contributions or capital going into my account – that is when you add my purchases, my dividends being reinvested, as well as my automatic 401k contributions.  A stock that I recently purchased earlier this month, in my eyes, went further on sale and I thought – if I liked it then, I like it even more now.  Move out of the way, as I am bulldozing for more Caterpillar (CAT)!

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Archer-Daniels Midland (ADM) Stock Anaylsis

It has been a while since we performed our last stock analysis, when we reviewed Philip Morris International.  This seemed to be beneficial for us, as Lanny purchased a large amount of shares last week; Recently I have been keeping a close eye over a stock that is down almost 9% YTD and would represent a new industry in my portfolio. While it appears to be undervalued, it is time to perform a detailed stock analysis over Archer-Daniels Midland to see how it stacks up in our dividend stock screener!

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Decision Made… Philip Morris > Lorillard

After the long thought debate and analysis on whether I should maintain my Lorillard (LO) holding or sell and rejuvenate my position into Philip Morris (PM), my decision was made.  You can remember last week, my LO stock was close to hitting the ceiling potential and the valuation on the stock just wasn’t showing that it was an appropriate valuation anymore, as well as my brief research into Reynolds American.  I wanted to know my money was going to transition into an undervalued stock, and that it was under my control to make that decision/action happen… And it was.  Continue reading

Bert’s Savings Rate Summary: February

We are flying through 2015 folks.  With two complete months in the book and nearly a third (I apologize this post has taken me a while to finish), we are marching our way through the calendar year.  Soon, it will be time for our quarterly goals assessment to see if we are on pace to hit accomplish our goals for the year.  Anyway, as February came to a close, it is time to see if I was able to defeat the Dividend Diplomats’ Savings Challenge for the second consecutive month.  Let’s review my savings rate summary.

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My Cigarette Problem

Okay – I am sure the title fools you, but I thought it may be clever to have one think – what are Bert and Lanny up to now?  Are they okay?  Yes – we are okay and no – we do not have a physical Cigarette problem.  It comes down to the fact that I (Lanny) own both Lorillard (LO) and Phillip Morris (PM).  I have had a discussion with Bert on the right plan of attack with holding Lorillard and PM looking at a very low price point/strong valuation.  Here is the cigarette problem I am facing.

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Lanny’s February Income and Expense Summary

As you have come to see from us Diplomats – each month we share our savings from the income and expense we have endured during the previous month.  Our goal is to achieve 60% savings rate in an ever inflationary lifestyle from advertisers, television, peers and co workers.  Though it is difficult, we know the combination of being frugal, saving and investing allows us to achieve our financial freedom goals faster, by still enjoying the benefits of life itself.  Was I able to hit 60% this month?  Let’s check out my income and expense summary from February!

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