5 Financial Mistakes I Made in My 20s and How They Cost Me Thousands of Dollars in Dividend Income

Mistakes.  We’ve all made them.  I’ve made my fair share of mistakes over the years, professionally and personally.  Sometimes, the best way to learn is to experience the pain yourself.  It is funny, my mom and I were talking over the weekend and she told me that my grandpa always used to tell her that “learning is expensive.”  This didn’t specifically relate to education, either.   This related to different life situations her and my dad encountered over the years.   This year, I’ll be turning 29.  My 20s will soon be in the rear-view mirror.   I’ve made plenty of financial mistakes over the years that have likely cost me a lot of dividend income.  With the benefit of hindsight, I wanted to share my top 5 financial mistakes and calculate the true impact they had on my life and my dividend income.

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Buying Our First Used Car

We had an insane month of May, no questions asked.  We bought a house, we attended a couple of weddings, and traveled to Boston for a graduation.  A lot going on!  If you recall, in what feels like forever ago by now, I wrote an article about how we were also going to have to purchase a car for my wife since her lease was set to end in May.  So on top of all of it, we added buying a car to the mix!   This time, something was different, we changed our plans at the last second and decided to purchase our first ever used car.  Now, here is the “thrilling” story about one of my least favorite processes ever, buying a car.

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Buying My Wife’s Next Car

Despite my disdain for the costs of owning a car, I find myself in a familiar situation…looking for a new car.  This time, it isn’t a replacement for my dented Toyota Camry.  Instead, my wife is looking for a new car.  With the prospect of having a family being in the not so distant future, we are looking to upgrade my wife’s Honda Civic to an SUV.   This article will summarize some of the discussions my wife and I had about car ownership along with discussing our final options that we are looking to purchase.

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Why I Love Listening to Podcasts

Random topic, I know.  But over the last year, I discovered the wonderful world of podcasts.  I’ll be honest with you, it has been a game changer for me and I have learned some pretty cool stuff, listened to some awesome interviews, and discovered new interests that I never knew I had.   So naturally, I wanted to share my experience with all of you.  Best of all…it is free!microphone-639192_640

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Endless Liabilities of Owning a Car Part 3 – $250 Edition

Throughout the life of our blog, Lanny and I have searched and slashed our way to save as much as possible to invest in the market NOW.   Even though we have tried to identify ways to save through battling with our phone/internet provider (nice job Lanny!), tried to make our football season more enjoyable at a cheaper price (Can a football season be enjoyable as a Browns fan?), or just finding random savings “life hacks,” there is one expense that we have flagged as a major liability…I mean…money pit… our cars.   A car is a necessary evil in the Midwest that does nothing but lose value and cost you money.   Sadly I am writing this article, so that must mean something happened to my car.   Let’s see how my car took a little extra money out of my savings account this month.

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Genuine Parts Company Stock Analysis

Pullbacks in the stock market present some great opportunities in the stock market.  Thanks Captain Obvious.  When I see the whole market stumble substantially for a series of days, I begin looking to purchase stocks that typically trade at a premium that may now become discounted.  To me, that’s how you get the most bang for your buck in this kind of market environment.  While I was very close to following Lanny’s lead and purchasing JNJ, one of my favorite dividend stocks, there is still one stock I wanted to analyze to see if it would be a better fit for my portfolio.  So now, it is time to dive in and perform a stock analysis of Genuine Parts Company.

Genuine Parts Company

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