This has been the busiest month for me, by far, since Lanny and I began the Dividend Diplomats’ Savings Challenge last year. I found myself having many new inflows and outflows this month, which can be both a good and a bad thing. The question is, with all of this new activity, was I still able to achieve a savings rate of 60% of this month?
All, I am very proud to say this, but this article series has come around full circle. One of the very first articles we wrote on this blog was about Dividend Aristocrats that were expected to announce a dividend increase during June, 2014. This article will represent our 12th summary and you know what that means, our website is getting ready to celebrate its one year anniversary! As a refresher, this monthly article series stemmed out of a love that me, Lanny, and many other dividend growth investors share….increasing dividends! So much so that it turned into a game as we would try our best to predict the increase that would be announced. While the game was fun, it was centered around the central idea that dividend growth is crucial for any DGI portfolio so that we can build a steady, growing income stream. Without the growth, our income stream would begin to lose its purchasing power annually as the growth in inflation would slowly erode the value of the income stream. With that being said, lets take a look at the first article in Year 2 and see which dividend Aristocrats are expected to announce a dividend increase in May.
Each month Lanny and I challenged ourselves to save at least 60% of our income. This high savings rate will allow us to jump-start our dividend income snowball by allowing us to invest as much as possible now and allow the power of compounding interest to do the rest! Not only that, but I have found this exercise very beneficial as it allows me to take a hard look at my expenses each month and help me trim the “fat” of my expense outflow. I have had a very successful beginning to 2015, as I was able to save 60% of my income in both January and February. Can I keep the streak alive in March? Let’s dive into my March savings rate summary and find out!
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.
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!
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.
I know that this post is LOOOOONG over do… Busy Season for us CPAs has kicked into high gear and it has been tough buckling down writing articles, when you are working 70 hours+, as well as traveling. Regardless – time does come and go and 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? Let’s dive into the income and expense analysis. Continue reading