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 March!
Monthly Archives: April 2015
Why I Changed Jobs
In my last article, I hinted that I recently made a big decision in my life, and boy was it a difficult one. As the title of this article suggests, I recently changed jobs for a variety of reasons. The decision was not an easy one by any stretch, and I had many conversations with my fiance, family, and Lanny about the move. But ultimately, the pros outweighed the cons and handed my boss my resignation letter. Just like that, I closed one chapter of my life and began writing a new one. Here is some insight into why I changed jobs.
Bert’s Quarterly Goal Review
We are done with one-quarter in 2015 folks. As Lanny mentioned, time flies by! These last three months have been a whirlwind for me, personally, professionally, and investing wise. Between helping plan a wedding, working a busy season, making some stock purchases and other big decisions (you guys will know soon enough!), the first three months were a giant blur. But these are all great events and I have set myself up to have a very memorable 9 months of 2015! This year I told myself that I was going to pay closer attention to my goals to make sure that I am on target to meet the goals and that way, if I need to, I can make any necessary adjustments. Well, here we go, let’s dive into my quarterly goal review!
Lanny’s Quarterly Goals Check Up
Three months are in the book baby! Given that 90 days have past, it’s time to look back at the goals I previously set back in November of 2014 and to see what lane I am in on this track to accomplishing them. I went into the 2015 year with full of positivity and motivation to line them up and knock them out of the park. How big has the bat been this winter? Time for the quarterly update. Continue reading
Bert’s March Dividend Income
The first quarter is officially in the books and we have completed one dividend cycle for the majority of companies. 2015 has started off with a bang for me, recording record dividend growth rates in the first two months (190% in January and 79% in February), as my portfolio has grown exponentially since the same time last year. I know that rate is not sustainable and surely will decrease to a lower amount – however, my monthly income will continue to grow nonetheless! After all, the amount of capital needed to sustain a 190% monthly dividend growth rate would be insane! But I am not complaining, I am blessed to be in the position I am in and am happy that I have joined this community that pushes each one of us to continue to grow our income, whether that be 1% or 1400%. It is even easier to push yourself when you have a a friend like Lanny who is killing it in terms of dividend income, as he nearly eclipsed $800 in March. What better motivation is there than watching the success of one of your best friends? With that being said, let’s take a look at the dividend income that I received in March!
Lanny’s March Dividend Income
As time passes, so does a month of collecting dividend income. I am astounded by the first quarter already being in the books and my busy season feeling like it is 80% over. How wild is that? My fourth full busy season is just about up. Almost 900 hours later (that’s insanity in human terms) and I’m writing my quarter end, month of March Dividend post. Enough about busy season, let’s talk dividend income!
Bert’s Recent Purchases – PM and CVX
Lanny isn’t the only one to purchase stock recently, as I re-upped a stake in one position and initiated a new position in another. Both transactions have occurred over the last couple of weeks and added a nice sum of dividend income to my portfolio. This month has been crazy for me and has been one of my highest frequency trading months since I started investing a few years ago. Let’s see which companies I added!