I know it's hard to think of buying stocks when we see the kind of price drops we've seen recently, mostly due to the trade war with China and the weakening yuan. However, as a dividend investor I'm seeing an opportunity to load up on more dividend paying stocks at much lower prices. Simply put, each dollar I invest is buying me more dividend income than before. So while the trade war is bad for stock market prices, it's good for dividend yields. I plan to strike while the iron is hot and add as much new dividend income as possible.
While I mostly invest for dividends, I recently added a couple of bio-pharma stocks to my portfolio. They are penny stocks paying no dividends but with a tremendous upside potential. I'm hoping to make a quick profit in these and reinvest in a few more speculative stocks. Risky yes, but the possible rewards may make it all worthwhile. I'll let you know how it works out.
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
INCREASED MONTHLY DIVIDENDS ANOTHER 2% WITH PURCHASE OF LKSD!
Made a risky stock purchase today, buying shares of LKSD while the company is going through a rough patch. Not sure whether they will pull out of it or not, but I'm not risking much money here and I did increase monthly dividends by 2%, while I wait to see how things pan out. LKSD has a 52 week high/low of $15.88/$3. They pay a quarterly dividend of 26 cents per share for a dividend yield of 27.44% on the recent price of 3.46. The fact that they're still paying the dividend and the price is moving up made me decide to invest a small amount. If they go to zero and I lose my total investment, it will be very little compared to my overall portfolio. However, if they manage to show some improvement, which I'm sure they're working on, then the rewards could be great for such a small buy in price. In the mean time, I'll enjoy collecting the dividend, as long as they continue to pay. Should they cancel the dividend all together, I'll sell out my shares and move on.
I've gotten to the point where a great deal of my new investments are paid for with dividends from my current investments. Meaning little or no cash out of pocket. I purchased my stake in LKSD with one month's worth of cash dividends. I'm still reinvesting over half of the dividend payments I receive in more shares of current holdings, while taking the other half in cash to add new investments. I'm also still adding additional cash to my taxable account, the IRA, the ROTH IRA and my 401k. I'm beginning to see amazing results of late, the snowball effect is really starting to kick in and overall balances are rising rapidly.
Been seeing the same thing happen in reverse with my old debts. Every month I pay less in interest and more on principle. By May of 2020, I should be getting near debt free! Then I'll be free to put all that money to work building my investments at a phenomenal rate! I'm very excited about the whole situation!
I've gotten to the point where a great deal of my new investments are paid for with dividends from my current investments. Meaning little or no cash out of pocket. I purchased my stake in LKSD with one month's worth of cash dividends. I'm still reinvesting over half of the dividend payments I receive in more shares of current holdings, while taking the other half in cash to add new investments. I'm also still adding additional cash to my taxable account, the IRA, the ROTH IRA and my 401k. I'm beginning to see amazing results of late, the snowball effect is really starting to kick in and overall balances are rising rapidly.
Been seeing the same thing happen in reverse with my old debts. Every month I pay less in interest and more on principle. By May of 2020, I should be getting near debt free! Then I'll be free to put all that money to work building my investments at a phenomenal rate! I'm very excited about the whole situation!
Monday, May 13, 2019
PANIC OVER CHINA TRADE WAR COULD BE GOOD BUYING OPPORTUNITY
I just set all my stocks to reinvest dividends. With people panicking over the trade negotiations with China, stock prices have plummeted. I think it could be a good buying opportunity. So I'm reinvesting all dividend income until the whole thing plays out. Eventually I believe China will negotiate a deal and the markets will recover.
I think this is where Trump is definitely on the right track. For far too long trade between the U.S. and China has been very one sided. It's about time the tables were turned. While many might think Trump is fighting a losing battle here, I don't think that's the case. He stated almost casually, "We can make these things here." Which is absolutely true. So while Chinese products may be cheaper, there's no reason we have to buy from them. Anything manufactured there can be manufactured in the U.S. just as well. Might cost a little more, but then again, it would also provide more jobs and boost our economy. I think he's on the right track and we'll eventually see a new trade deal with China that is much more favorable to the United States.
I think this is where Trump is definitely on the right track. For far too long trade between the U.S. and China has been very one sided. It's about time the tables were turned. While many might think Trump is fighting a losing battle here, I don't think that's the case. He stated almost casually, "We can make these things here." Which is absolutely true. So while Chinese products may be cheaper, there's no reason we have to buy from them. Anything manufactured there can be manufactured in the U.S. just as well. Might cost a little more, but then again, it would also provide more jobs and boost our economy. I think he's on the right track and we'll eventually see a new trade deal with China that is much more favorable to the United States.
Thursday, May 9, 2019
INCREASED MONTHLY DIVIDENDS BY ANOTHER 2%!
Just sold half my stake in ZTR and reinvested the money in CLM. I consider both to be about equal in risk and don't see either making stellar gains in share price. However, by trading ZTR for CLM I increased monthly dividends by over 30% on dollars invested and boosted total monthly dividend income by a little over 2%! Because neither of these two stocks tend to make any capital gains, I'll collect all dividends in cash from both. High yields but high risk as well. I'm willing to take the risk, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.
Had some cash left over from the above trades, so I took advantage of the market being down to take out a stake in ABR. All together, this brings my total number of dividend payments collected per year to 498. Still less payments than before switching to Etrade, but I'm collecting a great deal more in cash per month!
Had some cash left over from the above trades, so I took advantage of the market being down to take out a stake in ABR. All together, this brings my total number of dividend payments collected per year to 498. Still less payments than before switching to Etrade, but I'm collecting a great deal more in cash per month!
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
BOOSTED MONTHLY DIVIDENDS BY 20%!
Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. I've been terribly remiss. I'll try to do better from now on. Been really busy since December, looking for ways to increase monthly cash flow from dividends.
Sold my SPLV shares for a tidy profit and reinvested the money in OXLC to triple dividend income on the same dollars invested. Also sold some shares of GAIN, in my ROTH account, to take out my initial investment and kept the remaining shares, so I'm playing with the house's money there. Whatever I make from the remaining shares is pure profit as far as I'm concerned. Also purchased shares in EVT, to add more stability to my portfolio. Today I purchased shares in AMZA with over a 21% yield to bring the total increase in monthly dividends to a little over 20% since the beginning of 2019!
I'm pretty happy with the progress I've made so far and excited about picking up some bargains while prices are down. However, with my retirement looming ever closer and health issues that may cause me to have to sign up for disability, I'll be on the lookout for ways to turbo charge my monthly dividends.
Currently I'm reinvesting all dividends in stocks that are selling for less than my original purchase price and taking cash payments on stocks selling above my original buy in. By doing so, I'm reducing the average price per share on the under performers and holding the line on stocks showing capital gains. Not exactly sure of the wisdom of this approach, but so far it's working out well for me.
I'm amazed by the ever increasing monthly dividends, whether I add new money or not. Reinvested dividend income keeps monthly cash flows growing every month. While the prices of my shares go up and down, my income from dividends just keeps increasing, regardless of whether or not some of my shares cut their dividends. If the cut is minor, I usually keep the stock. If they suspend dividends, they're sold and replaced with another dividend payer.
Sold my SPLV shares for a tidy profit and reinvested the money in OXLC to triple dividend income on the same dollars invested. Also sold some shares of GAIN, in my ROTH account, to take out my initial investment and kept the remaining shares, so I'm playing with the house's money there. Whatever I make from the remaining shares is pure profit as far as I'm concerned. Also purchased shares in EVT, to add more stability to my portfolio. Today I purchased shares in AMZA with over a 21% yield to bring the total increase in monthly dividends to a little over 20% since the beginning of 2019!
I'm pretty happy with the progress I've made so far and excited about picking up some bargains while prices are down. However, with my retirement looming ever closer and health issues that may cause me to have to sign up for disability, I'll be on the lookout for ways to turbo charge my monthly dividends.
Currently I'm reinvesting all dividends in stocks that are selling for less than my original purchase price and taking cash payments on stocks selling above my original buy in. By doing so, I'm reducing the average price per share on the under performers and holding the line on stocks showing capital gains. Not exactly sure of the wisdom of this approach, but so far it's working out well for me.
I'm amazed by the ever increasing monthly dividends, whether I add new money or not. Reinvested dividend income keeps monthly cash flows growing every month. While the prices of my shares go up and down, my income from dividends just keeps increasing, regardless of whether or not some of my shares cut their dividends. If the cut is minor, I usually keep the stock. If they suspend dividends, they're sold and replaced with another dividend payer.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
BOOSTED MONTHLY DIVIDENDS BY OVER 6%!
It's nearing Christmas and I haven't done any shopping yet. But I have the next couple of days off, so I'll get it all done then. In the mean time, I put some of my Christmas bonus to work, investing equal amounts in AGNC and NRZ for a boost to monthly dividend income of a little over 6%! Dividends from the new shares purchased will kick in in January 2019, which I figure is a great way to start off the new year.
Yesterday's big drop in the stock market has a lot of people running to cash. Quite understandable, especially since 2008. However, I have no intention of abandoning my dividend investment strategy. I'm looking at the situation as an opportunity to buy more dividend income at a lower price. What the market does tomorrow or next week or next year is really anybody's guess. But if you're collecting a nice stream of dividend income every month, it becomes almost irrelevant since you're not likely to be selling your shares.
Currently, I'm showing a loss on most of my investments. That may continue for quite some time. But I'm not panicking as long as they continue to pay dividends. I have to admit it's tempting to take all the dividends in cash, just to be on the safe side. However, I think it's better to reinvest the dividends at the new lower prices and reduce my average price per share while I have the chance. I'd feel pretty stupid about building up a big chunk of cash and then the market takes off again and I'd have lost out on the chance to pick up some bargains. So I'll keep reinvesting dividends until I actually need the cash.
Yesterday's big drop in the stock market has a lot of people running to cash. Quite understandable, especially since 2008. However, I have no intention of abandoning my dividend investment strategy. I'm looking at the situation as an opportunity to buy more dividend income at a lower price. What the market does tomorrow or next week or next year is really anybody's guess. But if you're collecting a nice stream of dividend income every month, it becomes almost irrelevant since you're not likely to be selling your shares.
Currently, I'm showing a loss on most of my investments. That may continue for quite some time. But I'm not panicking as long as they continue to pay dividends. I have to admit it's tempting to take all the dividends in cash, just to be on the safe side. However, I think it's better to reinvest the dividends at the new lower prices and reduce my average price per share while I have the chance. I'd feel pretty stupid about building up a big chunk of cash and then the market takes off again and I'd have lost out on the chance to pick up some bargains. So I'll keep reinvesting dividends until I actually need the cash.
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
KICKED OFF DECEMBER WITH 5 GREAT DIVIDEND PAYMENTS!
Now that the transfer from Capital One to Etrade is complete, it's time to get busy building monthly dividend income again. I'm happy to report, I collected 5 great dividend payments for the first of December, reinvesting 4 to buy more shares and taking the remaining payment in cash.
I've taken a new approach to reinvesting dividends since switching to Etrade. If the stock is more than what I paid for it, I take the dividend in cash and if it's selling for less than I paid, I reinvest the dividend. My goal is to reduce the average price per share on the stocks that are down in price by reinvesting dividends at the lower price. This will put me in a better position to benefit from a recovery in share price on these stocks. As for taking cash payments from stocks that have gained in price, it may seem like it would be better to buy more shares of something that's doing good. However, my thinking here is, I don't see any of them doing well enough going forward to justify raising my average price per share by reinvesting dividend payments. So instead I'll take the cash and use that where I see more opportunity.
I'm still wanting to purchase a larger stake in AGNC. I like their monthly dividends and the high yield, but I mostly like their numbers which lead me to believe they can continue paying the dividends. So I'm wanting to build up a large stake in my Roth account to add to monthly cash flow. I do own shares in all three of my investment accounts now and plan on keeping them for the long haul.
I've taken a new approach to reinvesting dividends since switching to Etrade. If the stock is more than what I paid for it, I take the dividend in cash and if it's selling for less than I paid, I reinvest the dividend. My goal is to reduce the average price per share on the stocks that are down in price by reinvesting dividends at the lower price. This will put me in a better position to benefit from a recovery in share price on these stocks. As for taking cash payments from stocks that have gained in price, it may seem like it would be better to buy more shares of something that's doing good. However, my thinking here is, I don't see any of them doing well enough going forward to justify raising my average price per share by reinvesting dividend payments. So instead I'll take the cash and use that where I see more opportunity.
I'm still wanting to purchase a larger stake in AGNC. I like their monthly dividends and the high yield, but I mostly like their numbers which lead me to believe they can continue paying the dividends. So I'm wanting to build up a large stake in my Roth account to add to monthly cash flow. I do own shares in all three of my investment accounts now and plan on keeping them for the long haul.
TURNING A NEGATIVE LIFE EVENT INTO A POSITIVE
A couple of weeks ago, I got woke up at 2 am. by my neighbor pounding on my front door. He told me someone just messed up my car. Apparently a hit and run driver ran off the road, crashed into my car in the driveway and took off. One look at my car convinced me it would be totaled by the insurance company. Right then and there I decided not to let this be a catastrophic event. I had full coverage on my car, so I knew I would get something for it.
As it turned out, the police were able to catch the driver of the other vehicle. However, when I called to file a claim with his insurance, they told me his insurance number was invalid. So I had to file a claim with my own insurance. They sent a tow truck to tow my car to the body shop for an estimate on repairs. I was still convinced they would total the car, so I began looking for a replacement. I estimated what I thought I'd get after the deductible and shopped online for a car with comparable mileage to my old car and within the price range of the insurance settlement. I did research on used vehicles concerning reliability and gas mileage while I shopped and narrowed my picks down to a Toyota Corolla or a Ford Focus. When the insurance company called to tell me they'd decided on a total loss and confirmed how much they'd be paying for my car, I went and bought the Ford Focus. I'd have preferred the Corolla, but it was already sold.
After all was said and done, I bought a car 6 years newer than my previous car. It was priced at $2,400 but I got it for $1,950. It needs a few minor repairs, which I'll pay for with the $650 I had left over from the insurance money after buying the Focus and getting it licensed and insured. My insurance is less on the newer car and I'm averaging 28.5 miles per gallon on gasoline, so I'll save money going forward. Should I have any money left after making repairs, I'll put that toward purchasing more shares of a monthly dividend stock, so I can continue to collect from this incident. Also, should my insurance be able to collect from the driver of the other vehicle, I'll be reimbursed for my $500 deductible.
So with a little thought and action on my part, I took what could have been a very negative situation and turned it into a positive one.
As it turned out, the police were able to catch the driver of the other vehicle. However, when I called to file a claim with his insurance, they told me his insurance number was invalid. So I had to file a claim with my own insurance. They sent a tow truck to tow my car to the body shop for an estimate on repairs. I was still convinced they would total the car, so I began looking for a replacement. I estimated what I thought I'd get after the deductible and shopped online for a car with comparable mileage to my old car and within the price range of the insurance settlement. I did research on used vehicles concerning reliability and gas mileage while I shopped and narrowed my picks down to a Toyota Corolla or a Ford Focus. When the insurance company called to tell me they'd decided on a total loss and confirmed how much they'd be paying for my car, I went and bought the Ford Focus. I'd have preferred the Corolla, but it was already sold.
After all was said and done, I bought a car 6 years newer than my previous car. It was priced at $2,400 but I got it for $1,950. It needs a few minor repairs, which I'll pay for with the $650 I had left over from the insurance money after buying the Focus and getting it licensed and insured. My insurance is less on the newer car and I'm averaging 28.5 miles per gallon on gasoline, so I'll save money going forward. Should I have any money left after making repairs, I'll put that toward purchasing more shares of a monthly dividend stock, so I can continue to collect from this incident. Also, should my insurance be able to collect from the driver of the other vehicle, I'll be reimbursed for my $500 deductible.
So with a little thought and action on my part, I took what could have been a very negative situation and turned it into a positive one.
Friday, November 23, 2018
FIRST STOCK PURCHASE THROUGH ETRADE
I made my first stock purchase through my new Etrade account. Decided to buy more shares of AGNC for my Roth IRA and my regular taxable account. AGNC's numbers look very promising and I love the monthly dividends. Their monthly dividend of eighteen cents per shares works out to a 12.34% yield on their recent price of $17.42 per share. With earnings per shares far exceeding current dividend payouts, I think it will be a good pick for my portfolio going forward. I wouldn't suggest anyone else buy into it without first doing some research to see if it fits with their own investment plan.
My car was totaled by a hit and run driver while parked in my front driveway last week. So it's been a hectic 2 weeks, replacing my vehicle, dealing with the insurance, working extra hours and spending time with the family for Thanksgiving. I'm very tired, but happy to report that it all worked out well. With a lot of research, I was able to buy a car 6 years newer than the one I lost, using only the insurance settlement and none of my own money. Actually had about $460 left over, which I'll use to get any work needed on the car. I bought a smaller car with much better gas mileage, so it should save me a great deal going forward. I'm pretty happy with the way it all worked out.
With market prices down, I'm currently reinvesting all dividends. I figure I'll take advantage of the lower prices to pick up more shares of current holdings at lower prices. It will also help reduce the average price per share. So when the market eventually goes back up, I'll be in a much better position to profit on my holdings. In the mean time, I'm happy to keep collecting the dividends and watching the payments increase month after month.
My car was totaled by a hit and run driver while parked in my front driveway last week. So it's been a hectic 2 weeks, replacing my vehicle, dealing with the insurance, working extra hours and spending time with the family for Thanksgiving. I'm very tired, but happy to report that it all worked out well. With a lot of research, I was able to buy a car 6 years newer than the one I lost, using only the insurance settlement and none of my own money. Actually had about $460 left over, which I'll use to get any work needed on the car. I bought a smaller car with much better gas mileage, so it should save me a great deal going forward. I'm pretty happy with the way it all worked out.
With market prices down, I'm currently reinvesting all dividends. I figure I'll take advantage of the lower prices to pick up more shares of current holdings at lower prices. It will also help reduce the average price per share. So when the market eventually goes back up, I'll be in a much better position to profit on my holdings. In the mean time, I'm happy to keep collecting the dividends and watching the payments increase month after month.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
MOVE TO ETRADE COMPLETE!
It was a long time in coming, but the transfer of my investment accounts to Etrade is now complete. While I've been spending a lot of time getting acquainted with their format, I think I'm really going to like the move. I made my first cash deposit into my taxable account. I had drawn quite a lot of money out before the move, mostly to pay for medical bills not covered by my insurance. However, I'm in a position now to start replacing the money I took out, thanks in large part to the extra cash I've been earning from Prizerebel, Swagbucks and MyPoints.
Haven't decided on my first stock purchase yet. I'll probably go with a monthly dividend ETF. Most likely it will be one of the ones they offer with no commissions. Haven't figured out how to find those yet, but I know they offer them. I could just buy more shares of SDIV, but I think I can do better income wise. So I'm going to shop around.
I did get signed up for dividend reinvestment. Want to take advantage of the current lower prices in the market to add to all my positions. Also leaning very heavily toward adding a great deal to my position in AGNC. As a dividend investor, I love the monthly dividends with the 12.14% yield, but I'm especially crazy about their earnings per share of $3.17 compared to their annualized payout of $2.16! Add in a price to earnings of only 5.65 and I think I'd be crazy not to buy more. I'm always cautious when it comes to real estate trusts because I've been burned in the past. However, in those cases they were paying out huge dividends without the earnings to back it up. So I'm pretty optimistic about this one. I already hold shares in my IRA and Roth IRA, but I think I'll boost my holdings in the Roth account as soon as I have the available cash.
If my workplace comes through with the Christmas bonus this year, I plan on investing the majority of the money. We haven't had a very good year, so I'm not sure whether we'll get a bonus or not. I would think so, but in case we don't, I don't want to be disappointed by not being able to go ahead with my investment plans. So I'm looking at ways to boost my investments and dividend income outside of getting a bonus.
My 401k just keeps racking up the cash. The investment performance is lackluster at best and I hate the fees. But I would not have that money in my portfolio if it weren't for the 401k, since the deductions from my paycheck come mostly from taxes. So I'm pretty happy to see the balance increase every payday. When I'm ready to retire, I plan on rolling that money over into my Roth IRA. It should provide a substantial boost to monthly dividend income and I'm pretty happy about that.
Haven't decided on my first stock purchase yet. I'll probably go with a monthly dividend ETF. Most likely it will be one of the ones they offer with no commissions. Haven't figured out how to find those yet, but I know they offer them. I could just buy more shares of SDIV, but I think I can do better income wise. So I'm going to shop around.
I did get signed up for dividend reinvestment. Want to take advantage of the current lower prices in the market to add to all my positions. Also leaning very heavily toward adding a great deal to my position in AGNC. As a dividend investor, I love the monthly dividends with the 12.14% yield, but I'm especially crazy about their earnings per share of $3.17 compared to their annualized payout of $2.16! Add in a price to earnings of only 5.65 and I think I'd be crazy not to buy more. I'm always cautious when it comes to real estate trusts because I've been burned in the past. However, in those cases they were paying out huge dividends without the earnings to back it up. So I'm pretty optimistic about this one. I already hold shares in my IRA and Roth IRA, but I think I'll boost my holdings in the Roth account as soon as I have the available cash.
If my workplace comes through with the Christmas bonus this year, I plan on investing the majority of the money. We haven't had a very good year, so I'm not sure whether we'll get a bonus or not. I would think so, but in case we don't, I don't want to be disappointed by not being able to go ahead with my investment plans. So I'm looking at ways to boost my investments and dividend income outside of getting a bonus.
My 401k just keeps racking up the cash. The investment performance is lackluster at best and I hate the fees. But I would not have that money in my portfolio if it weren't for the 401k, since the deductions from my paycheck come mostly from taxes. So I'm pretty happy to see the balance increase every payday. When I'm ready to retire, I plan on rolling that money over into my Roth IRA. It should provide a substantial boost to monthly dividend income and I'm pretty happy about that.
Thursday, October 18, 2018
MOVE TO ETRADE NOVEMBER 5th
Well it's been months in the making but the move from Capital One Investing to Etrade is finally near. As of Friday Nov. 3rd all accounts will be transferred to Etrade and available for access on Monday, November 5th, 2018. I'm actually pretty excited about the move. I made a lot of changes in my holdings prior to the move, so it will be a fresh start with Etrade. Can't wait to get things moving again.
Just as an update, I'll still be collecting 496 dividend payments per year from my current holdings. This does not include any dividends paid through my 401k account. I also receive 40 interest payments per year. While total dividends and interest are still way short of the amount I'd need to live on, they are increasing every month. I've also started to make a substantial amount on my side gig doing surveys on the internet. So 2018 hasn't been an entirely bad year for me.
Just as an update, I'll still be collecting 496 dividend payments per year from my current holdings. This does not include any dividends paid through my 401k account. I also receive 40 interest payments per year. While total dividends and interest are still way short of the amount I'd need to live on, they are increasing every month. I've also started to make a substantial amount on my side gig doing surveys on the internet. So 2018 hasn't been an entirely bad year for me.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
HEALTH ISSUES SLOW BLOG POSTS
I didn't realize until today, that it had been over two months since I'd posted to my investment blog. I've been dealing with health issues, mostly related to advanced osteoarthritis. I was at the point of losing my ability to walk, but with the help of a good chiropractor, I'm doing much better now.
Being distracted does not mean I've been inactive. On the contrary, I've made several adjustments to my portfolio in the past couple of months to boost monthly dividend income. I've also streamlined my investments by selling off some individual shares and putting the money to work elsewhere. Unfortunately, health care is expensive and I had to take money from my taxable investment account to pay for some of my care. This has only been a minor setback, since at the same time I was adding to my 401k and reinvesting monthly dividends. So my total investments are about the same as before, except for the recent drop in market prices.
Speaking of the drop in market prices, I'm thinking this may be a good time to add to some of my positions, reducing average price per share by buying additional shares at the lower price. I'll be looking for opportunities to do this after the transfer of my accounts from Capital One to Etrade are completed. In the mean time, I'm letting dividend payments accumulate as cash balances in my accounts. While I'm big on automatic reinvestment, since it avoids commissions, I've seen some advantage to taking all dividends in cash. The main advantage being that I'm able to direct the cash towards the higher dividend paying stocks. While commissions eat into that somewhat, the higher monthly payments may make it all worthwhile.
One thing I'm excited about with Etrade are all the funds they offer with no commission charges. I've already bought a stake in SDIV which is available through Etrade with no commission charges. I also like the fact that I can select which stocks to reinvest dividends and which ones to collect cash. Of course I was able to do this with Capital One as well, but I'm glad I'll be able to continue doing so.
Made some advancements in paying down old debt, which I'm very happy with. I'll be even happier when I get the first one paid off entirely. After I pay off the first bill, I'll be directing the money from that payment towards paying off the next one, so they'll be dropping fast! I'm pretty excited about that!
Last month I looked at the paid survey sights I'd been working with online, with a view to increasing income from those. I'm happy to report a dramatic increase in income from this source. Not only will it help to pay off old debt, but it will be a boon to my investment accounts, since I'll have more free cash to invest. I like the idea of turning money into more money!
Being distracted does not mean I've been inactive. On the contrary, I've made several adjustments to my portfolio in the past couple of months to boost monthly dividend income. I've also streamlined my investments by selling off some individual shares and putting the money to work elsewhere. Unfortunately, health care is expensive and I had to take money from my taxable investment account to pay for some of my care. This has only been a minor setback, since at the same time I was adding to my 401k and reinvesting monthly dividends. So my total investments are about the same as before, except for the recent drop in market prices.
Speaking of the drop in market prices, I'm thinking this may be a good time to add to some of my positions, reducing average price per share by buying additional shares at the lower price. I'll be looking for opportunities to do this after the transfer of my accounts from Capital One to Etrade are completed. In the mean time, I'm letting dividend payments accumulate as cash balances in my accounts. While I'm big on automatic reinvestment, since it avoids commissions, I've seen some advantage to taking all dividends in cash. The main advantage being that I'm able to direct the cash towards the higher dividend paying stocks. While commissions eat into that somewhat, the higher monthly payments may make it all worthwhile.
One thing I'm excited about with Etrade are all the funds they offer with no commission charges. I've already bought a stake in SDIV which is available through Etrade with no commission charges. I also like the fact that I can select which stocks to reinvest dividends and which ones to collect cash. Of course I was able to do this with Capital One as well, but I'm glad I'll be able to continue doing so.
Made some advancements in paying down old debt, which I'm very happy with. I'll be even happier when I get the first one paid off entirely. After I pay off the first bill, I'll be directing the money from that payment towards paying off the next one, so they'll be dropping fast! I'm pretty excited about that!
Last month I looked at the paid survey sights I'd been working with online, with a view to increasing income from those. I'm happy to report a dramatic increase in income from this source. Not only will it help to pay off old debt, but it will be a boon to my investment accounts, since I'll have more free cash to invest. I like the idea of turning money into more money!
CASHED IN GAIN ON HWBK AND BOUGHT MORE AGNC
I'd been sitting on a gain of over 51% on my HWBK shares in my IRA for quite some time now. While I think it's a pretty decent stock, I wasn't really making much in dividends. So I sold all shares, collected the gain and reinvested the money in more shares of AGNC. This more than doubles the amount of money I was earning in dividends from HWBK for the same dollar investment and the dividend is paid monthly.
AGNC has a dividend of .18 cents per share or an 11.59% yield on their current price of $18.70 per share. Their price to earnings is 5.4 with earnings per share of $3.46. Since the stock price is currently down from my initial buy in price, I've also lowered my average price per share. Overall, I'm pretty happy with this trade and look forward to collecting dividends from AGNC for many years to come.
AGNC has a dividend of .18 cents per share or an 11.59% yield on their current price of $18.70 per share. Their price to earnings is 5.4 with earnings per share of $3.46. Since the stock price is currently down from my initial buy in price, I've also lowered my average price per share. Overall, I'm pretty happy with this trade and look forward to collecting dividends from AGNC for many years to come.
Thursday, July 12, 2018
BOOSTED MONTHLY DIVIDENDS ANOTHER 1%!
With Capital One Investing transferring all their investors accounts to Etrade in August, I was forced to sell fractional shares from reinvested dividends. After liquidating the shares, it occurred to me that I could reinvest the money in mutual funds which allow for fractional share transfers. So I took the cash from the fractional shares and used it to purchase additional shares of FTF and ZTR. The new shares will boost monthly dividend income by 1%! So as it turned out, this wasn't an entirely bad thing. I took lemons and made lemonade.
Now that I'm finding out more about Etrade, I've decided to keep my accounts with them instead of transferring to TD Ameritrade. While I still think TD Ameritrade is better, I believe I can work with Etrade and avoid the hassle of moving my accounts a second time.
Can't say I'm especially proud of the performance of my 401k, although the account is making money. It's just not making much money. I've always thought TransAmerica was a very good company. They're the ones managing my 401k. I have to say I'd really like to see on my account statements when or if my dividend funds payout dividends. For some reason, that information is not provided. Otherwise, I'm O.K. with how things are going there. I'm certainly stockpiling a lot of extra retirement savings I probably wouldn't have, had I not signed up for the 401k.
Can't wait to get things moving with Etrade. I've researched some of their "no fee" funds and have already purchased a stake in one. I have another one I'd like to buy shares in as cash permits. That probably won't happen until my accounts are transferred over. I'll have to get my dividend reinvestment program in place. It's a little more involved with them than it was at Capital One, but it doesn't seem especially difficult. I'm excited about the move. Sometimes change is good.
Now that I'm finding out more about Etrade, I've decided to keep my accounts with them instead of transferring to TD Ameritrade. While I still think TD Ameritrade is better, I believe I can work with Etrade and avoid the hassle of moving my accounts a second time.
Can't say I'm especially proud of the performance of my 401k, although the account is making money. It's just not making much money. I've always thought TransAmerica was a very good company. They're the ones managing my 401k. I have to say I'd really like to see on my account statements when or if my dividend funds payout dividends. For some reason, that information is not provided. Otherwise, I'm O.K. with how things are going there. I'm certainly stockpiling a lot of extra retirement savings I probably wouldn't have, had I not signed up for the 401k.
Can't wait to get things moving with Etrade. I've researched some of their "no fee" funds and have already purchased a stake in one. I have another one I'd like to buy shares in as cash permits. That probably won't happen until my accounts are transferred over. I'll have to get my dividend reinvestment program in place. It's a little more involved with them than it was at Capital One, but it doesn't seem especially difficult. I'm excited about the move. Sometimes change is good.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
KEEP YOUR MONEY MOVING!
I've been reading a lot lately about the laws of attraction, especially pertaining to attracting money. One thing that struck me as really profound is that money is energy and needs to be in a state of flow. Normally people think of money as coming in and flowing back out to bills and expenses, but we should never forget it's just as easy to spend your money on tools to make more money as it is to spend it on things you probably don't really need.
I have a weakness for electronic gadgets and have a tendency to spend too much money on them. Even though I know I don't really need them. Lately I've taken to asking myself whether these things will increase or decrease cash flow. So I've cut way back on the amount of money I spend on things and use it instead to buy more dividend stocks to increase money coming in. If you get in the habit of spending your money on things that will bring you more money instead of things that collect dust around your house, eventually you'll be making way more than you ever thought possible.
So you need to keep your money moving. But most importantly, you need to keep it moving in the right direction. Make a habit of it. Once it comes in, pay yourself and put that money to work earning you more money. Then pay your bills and expenses and if there's anything left, you can buy the extra things that you want.
I have a weakness for electronic gadgets and have a tendency to spend too much money on them. Even though I know I don't really need them. Lately I've taken to asking myself whether these things will increase or decrease cash flow. So I've cut way back on the amount of money I spend on things and use it instead to buy more dividend stocks to increase money coming in. If you get in the habit of spending your money on things that will bring you more money instead of things that collect dust around your house, eventually you'll be making way more than you ever thought possible.
So you need to keep your money moving. But most importantly, you need to keep it moving in the right direction. Make a habit of it. Once it comes in, pay yourself and put that money to work earning you more money. Then pay your bills and expenses and if there's anything left, you can buy the extra things that you want.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
SDIV REPLACES NRZ AS MY FINAL STOCK PURCHASE WITH CAP ONE
After doing a little more research on Etrade, I decided I may leave my account with them after it's transferred from Capital One. With that in mind, I looked up a list of their commission free funds and identified two monthly payers with high yields and low price to earnings. So I cancelled my purchase of NRZ and put in an order for SDIV instead. Once my account transfers to Etrade, I'll be able to purchase additional shares of SDIV commission free! Not to mention this initial stake will increase monthly dividends by over 1%!
Once my account is transferred and I have the DRIP plan in place, I'll also be purchasing shares of SRET. It's a REIT with a yield of 8.4% and a P/E of only 9.49 and pays monthly dividends as well. In order to have more cash on hand, I'll be taking all dividend income from my taxable account in cash. I'll transfer that to an interest bearing account to hold for a rainy day or in case some incredible opportunities should pop up in the future. As for my retirement accounts, I'll be mostly reinvesting dividends, although I think I'll make an exception for the bond funds and take those payments in cash.
At the beginning of the year, I certainly didn't expect to make so many changes. However, sometimes change is good and you got to roll with the punches, especially where the stock market is concerned. So I'm excited and optimistic about the changes. I think there could be some real opportunities here to take my investments to the next level.
Once my account is transferred and I have the DRIP plan in place, I'll also be purchasing shares of SRET. It's a REIT with a yield of 8.4% and a P/E of only 9.49 and pays monthly dividends as well. In order to have more cash on hand, I'll be taking all dividend income from my taxable account in cash. I'll transfer that to an interest bearing account to hold for a rainy day or in case some incredible opportunities should pop up in the future. As for my retirement accounts, I'll be mostly reinvesting dividends, although I think I'll make an exception for the bond funds and take those payments in cash.
At the beginning of the year, I certainly didn't expect to make so many changes. However, sometimes change is good and you got to roll with the punches, especially where the stock market is concerned. So I'm excited and optimistic about the changes. I think there could be some real opportunities here to take my investments to the next level.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
LAST STOCK PURCHASE THROUGH CAPITAL ONE
Just put in an order to make my last stock purchase through Capital One Investing. I'm buying a stake in NRZ for their 11%+ yield and intend to hold on for the long term, as long as their earnings hold up. This will increase monthly dividend income by a little over 1%. Not a huge increase, but it all adds up. Don't know how I'll feel about Etrade, I'm taking a wait and see approach right now. If I don't like it, I'll switch my accounts to TD Ameritrade.
My place of employment has become really unstable due to poor management, so I've been looking at options outside my job for earning an income. I restarted my resale business, which is doing good so far and am considering launching a service type business involving computer upgrades. More on that to follow. Due to ongoing health issues, I'm not really sure how much longer I'll be able to work a regular 40 week, so I've been exploring my options. Would love to see my health improve so I could move on to another job, but I'm beginning to think that just might not happen.
I think there's a lot of instability in the markets going forward, so I've decided to take some money off the table by collecting all dividends in cash. I'll be holding the cash in an interest bearing account and waiting for future opportunities to put it to work. While this will slow the growth of my investment portfolio to an extent, I'll still be adding more through my 401k at work.
Friday, June 15, 2018
PAYING OFF DEBT
A couple of months back I got really angry about the amount of interest I was being charged each month on my credit cards and charge accounts. So I decided it was time to get serious and work out a plan to pay them off for good. So I started with the highest interest charge account. I've been paying my regular monthly payment and making 2 additional payments each month with money earned from swagbucks. I've already got the balance down low enough that the two swagbucks payments would actually pay the monthly bill. I'm going to continue paying the three payments per month for a couple more months, then I plan to finish paying the bill off with swagbucks cash and divert the $70 per month I normally pay on this bill towards paying off the next bill. Once I have the second bill out of the way, that frees up $180 per month to rapidly knock out the third bill. I'll just keep repeating the process until they're all paid off. At the rate it's going, I'm estimating it will take two and a half to three years.
Once all my charge accounts are paid off, I really only need to work 3 days a week to cover all my regular monthly expenses. Most likely I'll continue to work 5 days a week and add the extra money to my investment accounts. While using all available income to reduce debt, my investment accounts continue to grow through 401k deposits each payday and the 502 dividend payments I receive each year. It's exciting to see my debt levels dropping instead of increasing!
If you'd like to earn a little extra cash to invest or payoff debt, I highly recommend Swagbucks. You can sign up by clicking the link in my Link Exchange on the right side of this page. It's free, it's easy and you can make some cash!
Once all my charge accounts are paid off, I really only need to work 3 days a week to cover all my regular monthly expenses. Most likely I'll continue to work 5 days a week and add the extra money to my investment accounts. While using all available income to reduce debt, my investment accounts continue to grow through 401k deposits each payday and the 502 dividend payments I receive each year. It's exciting to see my debt levels dropping instead of increasing!
If you'd like to earn a little extra cash to invest or payoff debt, I highly recommend Swagbucks. You can sign up by clicking the link in my Link Exchange on the right side of this page. It's free, it's easy and you can make some cash!
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO ASK FOR MORE
At the first of 2018, I asked myself how I could make more in dividend income. Just asking the question got me looking at ways to earn more per month and I've been able to increase monthly dividend income by a considerable amount without adding any additional cash out of pocket. Then I asked myself how I could pay down my old debts and cut the high cost of interest charges every month. That got me looking for ways to accomplish this and I've made considerable progress in that direction as well.
Monday of this week, I met my boss at the door to her office and asked for a raise. I had very good reasons to ask for a raise, I never miss work, I'm highly trained for my position and I always do more than is expected of me. Unfortunately, the company I work for is not very forthcoming with raises. So I took the initiative to ask for a raise. I figured I have nothing to lose, either I'll get it or I won't, but it's a sure bet that if I didn't ask, I was not likely to get one. Didn't get a definite answer to the affirmative, but I got things moving. They're submitting a request for a raise to the corporate office. We'll see if it works out.
So now I've been asking myself how I can increase sources of income outside of work, without taking on another job. Not that I'd mind working part time at another job, but my health just wouldn't permit it. So it's time to ask what can I do and forget about what I can't do. I'm making 6% of my income outside my job at the present time. Three percent is in the form of dividend income, the other 3% comes from money I earn over the internet. Since asking myself how I could come up with other sources of income, I've had several ideas. My goal is to boost income outside of work to 10% of total income by the end of the year. All this just took a little thought on my part and I began the thought process because I asked.
Monday of this week, I met my boss at the door to her office and asked for a raise. I had very good reasons to ask for a raise, I never miss work, I'm highly trained for my position and I always do more than is expected of me. Unfortunately, the company I work for is not very forthcoming with raises. So I took the initiative to ask for a raise. I figured I have nothing to lose, either I'll get it or I won't, but it's a sure bet that if I didn't ask, I was not likely to get one. Didn't get a definite answer to the affirmative, but I got things moving. They're submitting a request for a raise to the corporate office. We'll see if it works out.
So now I've been asking myself how I can increase sources of income outside of work, without taking on another job. Not that I'd mind working part time at another job, but my health just wouldn't permit it. So it's time to ask what can I do and forget about what I can't do. I'm making 6% of my income outside my job at the present time. Three percent is in the form of dividend income, the other 3% comes from money I earn over the internet. Since asking myself how I could come up with other sources of income, I've had several ideas. My goal is to boost income outside of work to 10% of total income by the end of the year. All this just took a little thought on my part and I began the thought process because I asked.
Thursday, May 31, 2018
MAY BEATS PREVIOUS DIVIDEND EARNINGS RECORD BY OVER 10%!
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I expected May 2018 to set a new record for dividend income and I wasn't disappointed. It not only set a new record high for monthly dividend income but it beat out the old record by over 10%! In a year over year comparison, the income for this month was nearly double that of May 2017! While I wish I could see that kind of improvement every month, I'm not really expecting as much for the rest of the year. I expect gains will be much more moderate, as my efforts to squeeze as much dividend income from my investments have pretty much gone as far as they can at this point. From now on, increases will come mostly from re-invested dividends and whatever extra cash investments I make. Still, I'm very happy with the results of my efforts for the first 5 months of the year.
Collected 12 dividend payments for the last day of the month. Will collect several more payments tomorrow to kick off the month of June. All the rearranging I did in my investment accounts had an unexpected benefit, in that it spread income payments out more throughout the month. I'm now getting more middle of month payments and more payments between first, middle and last of the month. I suppose it doesn't really matter when you get the money, but it's kind of nice to have some coming in every week. While I collect 502 dividend payments per year now, most of them were paid on the first, 15th and last days of the month. Now I still get the big paydays but also get 3 or 4 smaller paydays interspersed throughout the month.
Made an extra $50 this month on Swagbucks! That doesn't sound like much, I know, but you should see how much faster my charge accounts are dropping since I've been using Swagbucks earnings to pay off my old debt. I knew it would help, but I'm amazed at what a difference that little extra payment has made in eliminating debt. I'm pretty excited about it. Once I finish paying off my bills, I'll go back to investing all the extra money I earn through Swagbucks. If you're interested, you can sign up for free! Just click on the Swagbucks link in my Link Exchange on the right side of the page.
Collected 12 dividend payments for the last day of the month. Will collect several more payments tomorrow to kick off the month of June. All the rearranging I did in my investment accounts had an unexpected benefit, in that it spread income payments out more throughout the month. I'm now getting more middle of month payments and more payments between first, middle and last of the month. I suppose it doesn't really matter when you get the money, but it's kind of nice to have some coming in every week. While I collect 502 dividend payments per year now, most of them were paid on the first, 15th and last days of the month. Now I still get the big paydays but also get 3 or 4 smaller paydays interspersed throughout the month.
Made an extra $50 this month on Swagbucks! That doesn't sound like much, I know, but you should see how much faster my charge accounts are dropping since I've been using Swagbucks earnings to pay off my old debt. I knew it would help, but I'm amazed at what a difference that little extra payment has made in eliminating debt. I'm pretty excited about it. Once I finish paying off my bills, I'll go back to investing all the extra money I earn through Swagbucks. If you're interested, you can sign up for free! Just click on the Swagbucks link in my Link Exchange on the right side of the page.
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