Sunday, May 27, 2012

DELAYED LAUNCH OF NEW BUSINESS

Had to postpone the launch of my new flea market business this weekend due to a visit to the hospital for another stint operation.  Luckily I didn't actually suffer a heart attack this time around, but I had a blocked artery causing me a lot of chest pain.  I went to the emergency room Thursday afternoon, they admitted me to the hospital and did some tests.  By noon on Friday I was in the operating room having the stint placed in the blocked artery and was out of the hospital and back at home by Saturday afternoon.  So once again my cardiologist did a wonderful job and once I'm fully recovered from the operation, I'll probably feel better than I have in years.  The only thing I'm dreading now is all the new medical bills have to pay, but it's great to be alive!

As for my stocks, for the week of 5/20-5/27 both my regular brokerage account and my IRA ended down for the week.  I completed the purchase of a stake in AT for my taxable account, adding another 12 dividend payments per year to my towards my goal of 365 days of dividends.  Collected only one dividend payment for the week from ERF, but was really glad to see another of the new stocks begin paying dividends!  I'm going to need all the extra income I can get to take care of this latest round of medical bills.

As for the official launch of my flea market business, I'll be here in Jefferson City this week.  There are no outdoor flea markets, but I'm going to set up at my sister's garage sale.  She lives in a great neighborhood and always does well with her sales, so I'm taking my booth to her sale and setting up.  The weekend after that I'm looking to set up at either Lebanon or Versailles Missouri for my next flea market.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

FIRST SALE FOR MY NEW BUSINESS

Picked up some great items at garage sales yesterday for my new flea market business.  One of the items was a nice Mikasa wave glass clock, which turned out to be the first item sold for my new business.  I was showing one of my neighbors some of the items I'd picked up from the sales and he offered me $5 for the clock.  Doesn't sound like much?  O.K. maybe not, but I only paid .50 cents for it, so I made 9 times my original investment (9 x .50 = $4.50) in profit or a 900% return in less than one day! 

While I don't expect my average markup to be anywhere near 900%, the fact that I can make these kind of profits on some items will definitely help raise average markups overall.  So I don't think it's unreasonable at all to expect an average markup of 100% on items purchased for resale. 

What surprised me most at yesterday's sales was how many new in package items I was able to pick up for next to nothing.  At one sale I bought a magnetic dartboard for 50 cents, got 3 men's wrist watches at another sale for 50 cents each along with 2 wooden cutting boards for $1 each.  All of these items were unopened/new in package, so at the very least I expect to mark them up 100 to 900%.  I figure the dart game could go for $2, the cutting boards for $2 each and the watches for $5 each.  So with the sale of these items, my original investment of $4 will turn in to $21.  Since my original goal for this business was to turn every $1 invested into $2 in profit, I'm thinking, even after expenses, this is a very realistic goal.   

Saturday, May 19, 2012

BUYING IN ON SEASONAL DECLINE IN THE MARKET

Just completed my purchase of a stake in LLY this past week.  With the seasonal decline in the market, I've always found this to be a good time of year to purchase dividend stocks.  Dividend stocks tend to drop less during market declines, however their prices do go down this time of year, so you can pick up quality issues at better prices.  But probably the biggest reason I like buying this time of year is that with the drop in price the dividend yield rises!  So you're able to earn a higher percentage of return on initial investments made during the slowdown.


Had some great dividend payments this past week.  For my taxable account I collected dividends from REIT O and from EVEP.  In the IRA account I collected a payment from ABT and initial payments from NYB and AWF.  NYB pays quarterly dividends and AWF pays monthly.  Glad to see some of the newer purchases adding to the income stream!  Can hardly wait to complete my purchase plan and have 365 dividend payments a year!!!


I'm going to hit yard sales this morning with some family and friends and pick up some inventory for the flea market booth.  I'm really excited about this whole venture and most surprising, I'm not overly concerned about giving up regular paychecks.  Glad to be getting out of the grind of being a slave to the time clock and working with people I just don't want to work with.

Friday, May 18, 2012

RECOUNT ON DIVIDEND PAYMENTS

Just completed a recount on the total number of dividends I collect per year from my taxable and retirement accounts.  The correct number of payments I currently receive stands at 193.  To bring the number of payments up more rapidly, I plan to hold off on purchasing PFE for my IRA and purchase a stake in UTG instead.  I've put in an order to purchase AT for my taxable account next week and with the purchase of a stake in AT and UTG I'll add a total of 24 additional dividend payments per year.  This will put me up to 221 payments, or just 144 payments to go for a dividend every day of the year.  

Had some setbacks health wise this week, hopefully it's not as bad as it seems.  I'll be seeing the cardiologist on Tuesday of next week.  

On a brighter note, I've been working on inventory for my flea market business and the numbers are adding up fast.  I've reserved a booth for Saturday the 26th at a high traffic flea market on I-70 and have a booth right in front.  I'm excited to see how it goes! 

Saturday, May 12, 2012

WEEK IN REVIEW, DIVIDENDS, INVESTMENTS, NEW BUSINESS

Made some good progress this week towards my dividend a day goal.  Completed transfer of cash to my IRA to purchase stake in LLY next Tuesday.  Sold a few old coins that I've held for years, made a couple of days pay which I deposited to my savings account for transfer to my regular investment account.  I'll use this money to purchase another monthly dividend payer.  With the purchase of LLY and AT I'll be adding another 16 dividend payments per year for a total of 200.  With 208 dividend payments a year coming in, I'm only 165 payments away from 365 days of dividends.


For this past week I collected no dividends on my IRA.  I did get some great dividend payments for my taxable accounts from my investments in SGU and LGCY.  I will be reinvesting this money along with a cash transfer from savings to purchase a stake in AT.


Also this week I've been working on plans for starting my own business.  I've been wanting to get out of hospitality/food service for a while now and since my current job has become nearly unbearable, I'm thinking now is a good time to go into business for myself.  My mother always used to say "if you don't like the way things are being done, do it yourself."  I'm launching my own resale business for household and collectible items.  I had a resale business on Ebay for a few years and made a small profit.  This time around I'm starting out as a flea market vendor.  I've found an open air market near the Lake of the Ozarks with a good deal of traffic and I've checked out the merchandise currently sold there.  I'm thinking I can easily beat the prices and quality of merchandise offered by the other vendors, so I'm pretty excited about the venture.  Since my current job is paying much less than my old job, it will be a lot easier to replace the money I currently make working 5 days a week.  I've been a flea market vendor before, so I won't be starting from scratch and it's something I like to do.  It's time to make some changes and I'm well on my way to launch my business.  Wish me luck!

Friday, May 11, 2012

J.P. MORGAN LOSES $2 BILLION DOLLARS IN TRADING ACTIVITY

The financial news services are all a buzz about the $2 billion trading loss at JP Morgan due to a failed hedging strategy.  They say it hurts the reputation of the CEO and the corporation.  Can't say I'd argue with that any, but as a former credit card customer of JP Morgan, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe they should have treated their credit card customers a little better.  Granted they would still have the loss from the hedging strategy, however former customers like myself may have kept their credit cards and they would have continued to benefit from profits from the credit card accounts.  This latest $2 billion dollar catastrophe is just one more reason I will never invest in JP Morgan stock.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, MAY 5th

Completed purchase of a stake in EOI this past week, bringing total dividend payments to 192 per year, only 173 to go for 365 dividend payments per year.  Collected dividends for my IRA account from AT&T (T) and John Deere (DE).  Also collected a nice dividend from BMY for my taxable account.  


Read some interesting articles about investing last week.  One pointed out that Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet's company could collect over $5 billion per year if they invested their capital  to maximize dividends.  As it is, I'm thinking Mr. Buffet is doing pretty well for himself.  Another article from the Motley Fool pointed out that the old wisdom of "in May, go away" is not necessarily such good advice.  I do believe that we'll see a seasonal slump in the markets this summer and am looking forward to adding some good dividend paying stocks at great prices.