INVESTMENT PLAN 2012 UPDATE

I'm excited about my new investment plan for 2012.  If you haven't read my earlier posts, in a nutshell, I plan on purchasing shares in 50 additional dividend stocks paying quarterly dividends, with the goal of earning a dividend payment for every day of the year.

This week I received dividends from Advance America Cash Advance (AEA) and Centerpoint Energy (CNP).  I also deposited cash in my taxable account and my IRA.  I've put in orders to purchase the next 2 stocks for my accounts:  Exelon Corp. (EXC) for my taxable account and Clorox (CLX) for my IRA.  I figure it will take me 2 to 3 years to accumulate shares in 50 stocks, although that may be accelerated with the additional dividends I'll be picking up along the way.  Also, with the economy improving at a slight pace, it's possible I may find a better paying job during this time which will allow me to speed up the process.

I know most "experts" would advise against this, however I've never really had a great deal of luck following the "experts" advice, so I'm going with my own instincts on this one.  There have been times during my investment career when I've held shares in as many as 50 dividend stocks and I was amazed at how quickly those dividend payments added up.  With this plan, I will own nearly shares in almost twice as many stocks!  The rate of compounding on my investments will increase dramatically.  When I've reached my goal of 92 stocks, all the dividends payments will be used to build my positions, constantly increasing payouts.  If some of the companies should falter, I plan on replacing them with shares in other companies. 

If all goes well, when I retire I plan to draw only the dividend payments minus 10% which I'll reinvest to account for inflation.  Kind of an ultimate buy and hold strategy.