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
Tag Archives: Stocks
Dividend Diplomats’ January Watch List
We are already halfway through the first month of 2015 and it has been a very active month for us. There have been a few purchases, some we have written about and a few we haven’t, and one big sale. If there is one thing I have learned over the last year, it is that we do not hold cash for a long period of time and we are always looking to make a move. The big question is, which stocks are currently on our radar?
Bert’s Dividend Income Summary- December
Happy New Year everyone! 2014 is officially in the books and we turn the page to a new, exciting year. 2015 will be the year of major moves, as we all continue to build on our success and grow our passive income. You know that dividend income we all received this year, we will receive more this year just from the power of DRIP and increasing dividends (See the impact of dividend growth on your portfolio). Since the year is over, I wanted to take one final look at the dividend income I received in 2014 and review my December 2014 totals. I have a surprise in store for everyone, possibly a new dividend record for me! So let’s begin.
Lanny’s Dividend Income Summary – December
Hello everyone! It’s the final month of 2014 and it was a great one at that! I have finally received my last dividend payment and am able to conclude on the amount of income my portfolio was able to bring for the month. The journey is a long one and being able to reflect on the capstone 12th month of the year and to see what leaps/bounds one was able to make is a humbling experience. I know we all love to read these posts from the writers in the community, so let’s get to the December Dividend Income Summary!
The Impact of the Dividend Growth Rate
Ah-ha! An epiphany over my head came yesterday, a little after 7:00pm. A few days ago, I showed Bert that I added a column to my portfolio spreadsheet that showed this year of 2014’s dividend growth rate for each stock. One other column that I have in my spreadsheet, as well, is not just the weighting each stock has in my portfolio, but also the weight each stock has of income in my portfolio. After adding in the dividend growth rate to my portfolio on each stock, I decided to weight each growth rate by mistakenly the weight it had in my portfolio via market value. When talking with Bert yesterday, I realized I made that mistake and changed it to apply to the weight of income it had in my portfolio. I began to think of what this tool meant, how it can be used and the actual impact it has on the path to financial freedom! 
Continue reading
Recent Buy – IBM
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This is my favorite holiday of the year. We relax, spend time with our loved ones, share stories of the last year, eat a ton of food, and watch football. What’s not to love?? Anyways, I started Black Friday a little early this week. To make Lanny proud, I was shopping frugally as I added a new position in a new industry to my portfolio using a free trade from Sharebuilder! I may have joined a bandwagon, but I purchased several shares of IBM this week! Why? Let’s find out!
Share Buyback Programs are Big News for Dividend Investors
Share buybacks. At first glance – it’s just a headline we read or a financial statement disclosure or event that a company/entity goes through. As an investor, some of us may not even know what that means, what the transaction entails or why companies even perform such a program – buying back shares, what? As of late, the Dividend Diplomats have discussed share buy backs in the IBM purchase, the November stock watch list, as well as DOW Chemical unleashing dividend value. I am going to make this post a very informative and illustrative piece for all of us. Let’s share the buyback event.
