Well, I couldn’t stay on the sidelines too long in 2016. I am AMPED and ready to start the year off strong after setting my goals and realizing that I have some serious work to do. One of the stocks I already own has been trading at a discount of late and let me tell you, I just couldn’t hold off any longer. Let’s dive right in and see which company won the honor of being my first stock purchased in 2016 (If the title hasn’t given it away already). 
Tag Archives: adm
Bert’s Final 2015 Goal Review
Over the last few weeks, we all have spent many hours preparing tough/challenging goals for the year ahead of us. Why not? It is fun and exciting to think about the future and map out where you want to be a year from now. Before I fully shift modes and focus on knocking out my 2016 goals one by one, I figured I should take a cold hard look at my 2015 goals and see how well (or poorly) I performed during the year. Even though it was not articulated as well as it could have been in my article, the results of 2015 were a major influence in setting the table in 2016. So now, let’s have a look at my final 2015 goal review and see where/how I can improve in 2016.
Bert’s December Dividend Income Summary
Happy New Year everyone! It still blows my mind that the calendar has officially turned over and it is 2016. HOLY COW! I hope you all have had the chance to set your goals so we can hit the ground running in 2016. It seems appropriate that the first article published on our website in 2016 is a review of the dividend income received during my favorite dividend month of the year…December. Let’s take a look at my December dividend income summary, my final report of 2015!
Recent Sell – Mutual Funds
Man, I just got back from an amazing concert and am full of energy. The band was great and had the formula for success (in my opinion, as Lanny is shaking his head in disagreement). There were plenty of guitar solos, drum solos, crowd surfing, a diverse music selection, great lyrics, and best of all, the lead singer of the band was from our hometown! What wasn’t there to love. Thank goodness my fiance introduced me to the band and I was able to go tonight. Anyway, what was the purpose of this article. Music…no….Oh wait, I remember. This week I sold a few positions in my portfolio. That’s right! Here is a little information about the transaction.
Lanny’s 2016 Goals
I love this time of the year. Time to sit down in a quiet space with no distractions going on and reflect on the year a bit and then prepare for the successes and even failures of 2016/the next year. 2015 has been an amazing year, big ups and big downs throughout this time period – but that’s how we learn, that’s what makes us stronger and it’s on the pursuit of being happy. Cannot wait for what the upcoming year has in store and obviously will try to make due on my goals that I am establishing for the upcoming 12 months. My 2016 goals are as follows:
Bert’s December Watch List
First of all, I want to take the time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Today is such a great day as you get to sit down with family, share stories, exchange gifts, and spend some time catching up with each other. Hopefully everyone is having a relaxing, special, day off. I know Lanny and I are. A few days ago, I published my 2016 goals article and I have been inspired over the last few days to find some great dividend growth stocks to add to my portfolio. After all is said in done, there have been two stocks recently that I keep coming back to and wanting to add to my position/initiate a position in my portfolio. Here is my December Watch List everyone!
Top 5 Dividend Aristocrats with Low Debt to Equity Ratios
Recently, we saw the ugly side of debt. As we all watched Kinder Morgan’s stock fall and wait for the final, inevitable sword of a dividend increase, there was one thing that became evident…KMI’s debt level was too high and the results were unsustainable in the current market environment (See Lanny’s awesome write up/analysis about KMI from earlier in the week). The pressures mounted and management plus the Board of Directors decided to slash their dividend to preserve cash flow for capital expenditures and cover interest/dividend payments. While debt isn’t a bad thing, I don’t want you leaving this intro thinking that’s my conclusion, runaway/uncontrolled debt can present many problems. The name of our game on this website is investing in stocks with a growing dividend income stream, so we try to avoid companies and stocks that take us off of this course. Which is very ironic considering that Lanny and I purchased shares in KMI just under a month ago (here and here) With the wound from KMI still fresh, I wanted to run a stock screener and identify several Dividend Aristocrats with low debt levels. Check out our newest installment of our Top 5 list series (foundation stocks and low dividend yield/high dividend growth rate stocks)….the Top 5 Dividend Aristocrats with Low Debt to Equity Levels.
