Pokemon 25th Anniversary & McDonald’s Happy Meals | McDonald’s Stock a Buy or Hold?!

Pokemon Cards 25th Anniversary

Gotta catch them all – Pokemon!  Yes, the nostalgia is real and Pokemon is now ringing in the 25th Anniversary of the brand.  I used to own the Blue version and definitely had a stellar collection of the base set Pokemon cards, which is no where to be found now (no, I didn’t have a Charizard, but I did have plenty of 1st Edition holos!).

Pokemon & McDonald’s partnered up for the limited edition 25-card set for the Happy Meal.  Not only are the price and value of Pokemon cards going through the roof, but now – Happy Meal sales stand to reach a similar height.  The argument/discussion today begs the question, is McDonald’s (MCD) a stock to buy now with this Pokemon venture or do the metrics want to keep you on the sideline? Continue reading

6 Dividend Increases Expected in September 2020

 

dividend increases, dividend increases in February, Dividend Aristocrats

Dividend increases are a major foundation of our financial freedom plan. We are building our dividend income, which is the EASIEST form of passive income, to eventually cover our monthly expenses. A key piece of this strategy is investing in companies that increase their dividend. Why? We want our dividend income stream to grow! Who wants their income to remain stagnent and lose purchasing power!

That is why we are constantly monitoring our dividend stocks for dividend increase announcements. It is a hobby the two of us love and are always discussing with each other.  One day, we decided to share this exercise with ALL OF YOU. Therefore, each month, we publish a list of the expected dividend increases in the coming month. 

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Is Burger King’s $5 Coffee Subscription Worth It?

Growing up, my favorite fast food restaurant was Burger King.  Despite the fact that there was a Wendy’s at the end of my street, I always preferred visiting “The King” and enjoying a flame-broiled burger.   While I’ve cut back on fast food over the years from my youth levels, I’ll still visit fast food places several times a month.  But as a McDonalds shareholder and the fact I have selected them as my restaurant category in the Bumped App, my incentive is to visit the Golden Arches.  But Burger King made one heck of an announcement over the weekend. Burger King will now offer a $5 per month coffee subscription!  As a coffee fanatic, I loved reading the headline and article.   This announcement had me thinking…is it worth it?  So I analyzed the subscription plan from the perspective of four different coffee drinkers to see:  The Coffee Snob, the Daily Coffee Buyer, the Keurig Lover, and the Home Brewer.

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Lanny’s September Dividend Income Summary

The quarter end baby!  We all look and wait for a big dividend income month and September, usually never fails.  The leaves are changing colors, the temperature is dropping and I have a sweatshirt on.  Sitting here with a nice cup of joe and looking at the Dividend Income that flowed into my account.  Blessed beyond belief everyone.  Now let’s grab that cup of coffee and see my September dividend income results!

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Expected Dividend Increases in October 2018

Wow.  It is the fourth quarter already.  It is hard to believe that the calendar is about to turn and the leaves are about to change colors.  With a new month at hand, you know that means…another installment of our expected dividend increases series.  For those of you that are new to the blog, each month we summarize a listing of companies that are expected to announce dividend increases in the coming month.  The two of us LOVE dividend increases.  So we thought we would share some of the excitement with you.  Now, here are the companies expected to announce dividend increases in October!

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Bert’s September Dividend Income Summary

September was a crazy month and it flew by.  It felt like every day Lanny and I were either receiving a dividend, purchasing a stock, or watching for a dividend increase announcement.  There was just a ton going on.  September was also huge for me since I was able to knock out my first 2015 goal:  Investing $15,000 in “New Capital” in 2015.  With the recent downturn, I have felt as compelled as ever to maintain a low cash balance to purchase some great discounted dividend growth stocks.   Now that the month is over, I can finally breathe and take a step back to assess my monthly dividend income and compare the total to prior periods.  Let’s see the results for September.

dividend income

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Top 5 Foundation Dividend Stocks for ANY Portfolio [May 2023 Update]

Foundation Dividend Stocks

Hey everyone!  I was sitting at my kitchen table doing an intense round of push-ups, reading articles and had a thought.  I would love to share my point of view on the top 5 foundation dividend stocks that every beginning investor should own.  Also, this could work for anyone that is also transitioning from more of the “sexy” (i.e. complex) type of investing into something that we, dividend investors, feel – just makes more sense.

In order to bring the excitement up a notch, we have drilled down to FIVE dividend stocks to be the foundation to YOUR dividend portfolio.  The five dividend stocks represent different industries and hold the mighty, “Dividend Aristocrat”, crown, as well.

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