We gained some and lost some in the market for the last few days of August and the first few days of September. My accounts ended pretty much flat for the week. I did collect some decent dividends from AEA, AFLAC, Intel and ConAgra, so it wasn't exactly an unprofitable week. Still in the buying mode. Reinvested my dividend payments in additional shares of current holdings. I really don't see any sustainable rallies in the market until after October. I think we'll just be seeing more of the same minor ups and downs. Don't really think there will be a double dip recession, although I do think it will take quite a bit longer for the economy to recover. Which, as far as I'm concerned, spells prolonged buying opportunities.
I've decided to invest my extra check this month from SendEarnings in my cash accounts. I'm working toward building additional cash reserves along with beefing up my stock holdings. I should receive my first statement from my savings plan at work by the end of September. It will be great having an additional investment account, especially one with 100% matching contributions. I've already decided any new raises will go toward increasing contributions to the plan. With the company match and tax deferral it's the best opportunity available to me at this time.
I've been offered a new job with better pay and reduced hours (something I want), but it involves working at the county jail. So I'm going to have to think that one over. It's a new jail and they're working through setting up their operating system, think I'll wait and see how things go before I make a final decision. I'd be working for a private contractor, so it wouldn't be in my best interests to take the job and have them lose their contract leaving me unemployed. Think I'll wait until they've at least finished construction.
Showing posts with label stock investing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stock investing. Show all posts
Friday, September 2, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
BUYING ON THE DOWNSIDE
We had a tumultuous week with the stock market to say the least. However, I was able to take advantage of the lower stock prices to add to my positions in Clorox, EVEP, LGCY and SGU. These are all long term holdings in my taxable portfolio. I also managed to get things moving with work so I'll be able to take advantage of the generous 401k plan there. They offer a dollar for dollar match up to 5% of my salary. While I've always looked at my current job as a place to ride out the economic downturn, meaning I hope not to be there much longer, I figure I might as well take advantage of the opportunity to build on my investments while I'm there. I can always do a rollover on the 401k when I leave.
I doubt we've seen the last of volatility in the market, so I'll be looking to add more to my current investments in the coming weeks and months. As long as the market is down I'm looking at it as a sale on future dividend income. So I'll be buying as much as I can afford. Let's face it, volatile or not, with interest rates in the toilet for the foreseeable future, the stock market is still one of the best games going.
I doubt we've seen the last of volatility in the market, so I'll be looking to add more to my current investments in the coming weeks and months. As long as the market is down I'm looking at it as a sale on future dividend income. So I'll be buying as much as I can afford. Let's face it, volatile or not, with interest rates in the toilet for the foreseeable future, the stock market is still one of the best games going.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
Well here it is, August 2nd, central Missouri continues to suffocate under sweltering heat, I'll sure be glad when the heat wave is over. The heat in Washington saw some relief with the deal to raise the debt ceiling, although I wouldn't say it was a victory for either side or for the U.S. economy for that matter. Be that at is may, most seasoned investors know that adverse market reactions to bad economic news make for great times to pick up bargains on good stocks. So I'll be concentrating on adding to some of my positions while prices are down and looking for bargains on new additions to my portfolio. I think I made a good decision to sell some stock last month and pay off high interest debt. Not only did I free up cash flow, but I got out of the stocks before further declines and put the money to good use.
Collected some great dividend payments at the end of July and the first part of August, so I'm pretty happy about that. My investment company added an FDIC insured account for parking cash as an option to their traditional money market account. With the interest on the FDIC account being .5% compared to .01% for the money market account, I've moved my cash to the insured account to pick up some additional interest.
While the stock market is not doing so well, I've been racking up bargains right and left with couponing. Picked up $97 worth of merchandise at Walgreens Sunday for just $24 and saved another 67% on my weekly grocery shopping at Gerbes. The only problem I'm having is finding anything I actually need. I've built up such a stockpile of groceries, household and personal care items that my shopping lists are getting smaller and smaller. The good thing about that is I'm able to wait for the very best deals. Which means that my average savings are going up with each trip to the store. When I started couponing, I was averaging a 20-25% savings each trip. Now I routinely save 50-75% on my purchases, allowing me to keep more of my hard earned money.
Collected some great dividend payments at the end of July and the first part of August, so I'm pretty happy about that. My investment company added an FDIC insured account for parking cash as an option to their traditional money market account. With the interest on the FDIC account being .5% compared to .01% for the money market account, I've moved my cash to the insured account to pick up some additional interest.
While the stock market is not doing so well, I've been racking up bargains right and left with couponing. Picked up $97 worth of merchandise at Walgreens Sunday for just $24 and saved another 67% on my weekly grocery shopping at Gerbes. The only problem I'm having is finding anything I actually need. I've built up such a stockpile of groceries, household and personal care items that my shopping lists are getting smaller and smaller. The good thing about that is I'm able to wait for the very best deals. Which means that my average savings are going up with each trip to the store. When I started couponing, I was averaging a 20-25% savings each trip. Now I routinely save 50-75% on my purchases, allowing me to keep more of my hard earned money.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
DO NOT LIVE IN FEAR OF A BEAR MARKET
With the stock market being up for the past couple of days, it is perhaps inevitable that we begin to see more headlines about a coming bear market. Of course we all know as investors that bear markets occur, but we should not live in fear of a market correction. Accept it as part of the investment process and realize the reality of the overall market, sometimes it's overpriced and sometimes it's undervalued, and then you begin to see the opportunities provided by bear markets.
As a dividend investor, one thing I know for sure is that dividend stocks tend to be less volatile in market corrections than growth stocks. People are a lot less likely to sell stocks if they know they will be getting a cash payout in the near future, thus their prices tend to hold up better when the market heads south.
Another thing I've noticed in bear markets, although stock prices may decline there are many companies that remain profitable and continue to pay dividends, but with lower per share prices the yield on these stocks increase, sometimes dramatically, as their prices fall. Granted in hard times, like we've seen in the recent past, some companies may cut dividend payments to reserve capital, but a lot of them do not. I've found this to be a good time to pick up bargains on stocks that I've wanted to own, but thought were overpriced compared to returns.
Some may argue that if you invest during declines it may be years before stock prices recover, which is true, there's nothing guaranteed about the stock market. But even if that turns out to be the case, if you're investing for dividends price becomes less of an issue since you're more concerned about the payouts you receive in the form of dividends. When stock prices do eventually recover, that's just icing on the cake.
As a dividend investor, one thing I know for sure is that dividend stocks tend to be less volatile in market corrections than growth stocks. People are a lot less likely to sell stocks if they know they will be getting a cash payout in the near future, thus their prices tend to hold up better when the market heads south.
Another thing I've noticed in bear markets, although stock prices may decline there are many companies that remain profitable and continue to pay dividends, but with lower per share prices the yield on these stocks increase, sometimes dramatically, as their prices fall. Granted in hard times, like we've seen in the recent past, some companies may cut dividend payments to reserve capital, but a lot of them do not. I've found this to be a good time to pick up bargains on stocks that I've wanted to own, but thought were overpriced compared to returns.
Some may argue that if you invest during declines it may be years before stock prices recover, which is true, there's nothing guaranteed about the stock market. But even if that turns out to be the case, if you're investing for dividends price becomes less of an issue since you're more concerned about the payouts you receive in the form of dividends. When stock prices do eventually recover, that's just icing on the cake.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
SAVING MONEY WITH PROMOTIONAL CODES
As an example, I recently needed to reorder checks for my checking account. Like most people now days, I make a lot of payments electronically and don't use many written checks, but I still keep some on hand to use when needed. At any rate, I go to the check printers website, pick out my new checks procede to checkout and when I get to the part where they ask if I have any discount or promotional codes, I opened a second window and did a search on the internet. Turns out, in this case, there were several. The one that worked best for me was a buy one box and get a second box for 49 cents. So I saved almost $15 on my order and have at least a two year supply of checks.
You won't always find a discount or promo code for everything you buy, but it only takes a minute or two to search, so it's well worth the effort. The amount you'll save will vary, but I've managed to save hundreds of dollars on online purchases and have even found discounts that can be printed out and taken to local retailers for savings on in store purchases as well. The greatest part of all this is, the money you save makes it that much easier to reach your savings and investment goals.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"Happy workers tend to generate big returns for shareholders, according to a growing trickle of statistical evidence. Firms that earn top scores on one survey of employee satisfaction have more than double the broad market's return over the past dozen years."-- Jack Hough "3 Stock Picks Based on Employee Satisfaction" (Click title for link)
Should we really be surprised? I've always said, take care of your workers and they'll take care of you.
Should we really be surprised? I've always said, take care of your workers and they'll take care of you.
Monday, September 13, 2010
LATEST ADDITIONS TO MY PORTFOLIO
Added shares of telecom Windstream Corporation (WIN:NASDAQ) to my taxable stock account. It's been a great performer for my portfolio and I like the dividend (currently 8.06% on their recent share price of $12.39). Windstream is one of my long term holdings.
For my IRA account I purchased shares of Credit Suisse Group (CS:NYSE). They currently pay a dividend of $1.78 which represents a yield of 3.84% on their recent share price of $46.66. While it's not the highest yield, I think they have good prospects for increasing dividends in years to come. CS is one of my long term holdings for my IRA account.
I'm happy with the way the markets have been moving of late, although I'm not too optimistic that the upward trend will continue. I'm thinking a lot hinges on the direction of the November elections. Should the Democrats retain control of both houses, which seems unlikely, I'd expect a prolonged drop in equities. If the GOP manages to rest control of both the House and the Senate, I expect the stock market to react quite favorably, at least through the first part of 2011. Aside from the above scenarios, the only real market mover that I foresee would be a dramatic increase in new jobs, which I believe is highly unlikely. Should the jobs situation get worse, it would present another tremendous buying opportunity when equities bottom out. At least for those who still have money and the courage to invest in stocks.
For my IRA account I purchased shares of Credit Suisse Group (CS:NYSE). They currently pay a dividend of $1.78 which represents a yield of 3.84% on their recent share price of $46.66. While it's not the highest yield, I think they have good prospects for increasing dividends in years to come. CS is one of my long term holdings for my IRA account.
I'm happy with the way the markets have been moving of late, although I'm not too optimistic that the upward trend will continue. I'm thinking a lot hinges on the direction of the November elections. Should the Democrats retain control of both houses, which seems unlikely, I'd expect a prolonged drop in equities. If the GOP manages to rest control of both the House and the Senate, I expect the stock market to react quite favorably, at least through the first part of 2011. Aside from the above scenarios, the only real market mover that I foresee would be a dramatic increase in new jobs, which I believe is highly unlikely. Should the jobs situation get worse, it would present another tremendous buying opportunity when equities bottom out. At least for those who still have money and the courage to invest in stocks.
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