Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• VZ:  15.12 shares @ $49.53 --- Yield  4.28%
• PFE:  25.47 shares @ $29.41 --- Yield  3.54%
• CAG:  25.97 shares @ $28.84 --- Yield  3.47%  (initial position)
• PG:  9.44 shares @ $79.37 --- Yield  3.24%

Total capital invested this week is $3000 ($750 in each company).  The combined yield of these purchases is 3.63% and will add $108.98 to my yearly dividends.


$100/week Challenge---Week 9

I keep telling myself to stop buying shares of Pfizer and here I am buying more shares.  I don't have any food companies in my portfolio so I have chosen the ugliest duckling of the group in Conagra. Conagra has a great stable of brands that are definitely out of favor for now.  Hopefully this will be a good contrarian play. Procter has been drifting lower and at 3.24% or higher I will keep adding more shares.  I have over 300 shares of AT&T so I have been accumulating shares of VZ as a counterbalance. 

Stocks on my radar for next week are BP, RDS-b, VZ, BBL, APU, ARCP, and TCAP.

Weekly Run Log 10k Milestone Reached

Here are my runs for this week.

Sunday:  10k--6.25 miles  (high school track)                       
Monday:  Idle
Tuesday:  3.5 miles  (neighborhood) 
Wednesday:  Idle
Thurday: 2.75 miles  (neighborhood)
Friday:  3 miles  (neighborhood)
Saturday:  3 miles  (high school track)

Weekly Total:  18.5 miles

The weather in Houston was about normal for this time of year----80 and humid in the mornings.

Sunday

I finally finished a 10k after six months of running.  It was only one more lap than last week, but it was both difficult and very rewarding.  I started running at 6:45 and finished in 1 hour and 3 minutes which is a 10:03 minute per mile pace. 

I was dying at the end and needed three fifteen second water breaks during my run.  Sunday is my only day off each week and I hate the idea of getting up 5:30, but the heat is too much during a long run. 

The good news is I felt no effects of fatigue, shin splints, or general pains during the next few days.

Weekdays

I added a lit bit of distance to my three weekday runs and felt great after each one.  I still prefer running on the track and will probably do that more often.  I have not noticed any ill effects from increasing the mileage this week.  My knees feel great and my breathing is normal.  I have also noticed more energy while at work.

Today--My wife joins me

I was going to take today off since I have a long run tomorrow and a 12 hour workday today.  My wife for the first time asked if I would go running with her at the track.  She recently started running about 6 weeks ago.  Obviously I was excited she wanted to go running with me and I jumped out of bed full of energy at 5:30 this morning.  Even though we run at different paces, this was by far my most enjoyable run of the week with her present.  I finished 3 miles in 27 minutes.

I will probably work on increasing the mileage totals during my weekday runs and lower my time on Sunday runs.  10k is a good solid base for now.

Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• VZ:  19.32 shares @ $49.17 --- Yield  4.31%
• CLX:  10.56 shares @ $89.97 --- Yield  3.29%
• PG:  11.96 shares @ $79.42 --- Yield  3.24%

Total capital invested this week is $2850 ($950 is each company).  The combined combined yield of these purchases is 3.61% and will add $102.89 to my yearly dividends.


$100/week Challenge---Week 8

This week I decided to backfill some positions that I am light in.  Clorox and Procter at 3.2% look like decent buys and VZ is fully valued here in my opinion.

Looking at July's calander I just realized that there are 5 Tuesdays.  This means I will have to make 5 purchases and my dividends will have to increase over $500 in order to keep pace.  I will probably add some high yielders in order to get through the next month. 

Stocks on my radar for the coming weeks include BP, RDS-b, ESV, T, VZ, BBL, APU, TCAP, and SNH.

Weekly Run Log

Here are my runs for this week.

Sunday:  6 miles (high school track)
Monday:  idle
Tuesday:    2.5 miles (neighborhood)
Wednesday:  idle
Thurday:  2.5 miles (neighborhood)
Friday:  2.75 miles (neighborhood)

This was a great week for running in Houston.  We have had a lot of rain which has kept the temperatures lower.

Sunday

I set a new personal best with 6 miles completed in 1 hour and 2 minutes.  This equates to just over a 10 minute per mile average.  I did take a 15 second break for water twice.  The first break was at the 3.25 mile mark and the second was at the 5 mile mark.  While I don't know what the official rules are for taking water breaks, I know that it is summertime in Houston and I don't want to die! While completing 24 laps was fantastic,  I should have probably completed lap #25 as that would have been a 10k run.  That will be my goal for this Sunday.  I also will start running at 6:00 am instead of 7:30 like I did last week.  The heat was pretty intense even at 8:30 when I finished running.

Weekday runs

I decided to change things up during the week as time is more of a factor.  Instead of going to the track I decided to run though my neighborhood.  Road running is without a doubt more difficult.  The road is harder on my feet an knees.  Also my neighboorhood has many hills and this makes for a more rigorous run.  I think the worst part about road running is the the center to side slope in the roads.  My ankles and knees always feel like they are bent sideways. 

About half a mile of the run was on a trail though a wooded area.  Even though the terrain is uneven and at times a bit muddy, this was the most enjoyable part of the run as it is easiest on my feet and the scenery is enjoyable.  I will look for a longer trail in the area and try to run off-road more often.

Stay tuned for more updates next week.  Again, Sunday's goal this week is 25 laps or 10k.

Target raises dividend 21%

Finally some good news from Target after all these months.  The quarterly dividend is being increased from $.43 to $.52.  This should put the new yield over 3.6% .  Since I own 145 shares of Target my yearly dividends will increase by $52.20. 

Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• ARCP:  24.49 shares @ $12.25 --- Yield  8.16%  (speculative)
• VZ:  12.14 shares @ $49.44 --- Yield  4.29%
• BBL:  9.51 shares @ $63.07 --- Yield  3.74%
• PFE:  20.37 shares @ $29.46 --- Yield  3.53%
• BAX:  8.16 shares @ $73.56 --- Yield  2.83%

Total capital invested is $2700 ($300 in ARCP and $600 each in VZ, BBL, PFE, and BAX).  The combined yield is 4.10% and will add 110.82 to my yearly dividends.


$100/week Challenge---Week 7

I had planned on buying Clorox and Altria this week, but they both have been heading straight up!  I have not added to BHP or Baxter in the last several months but I like the recent pullback in both.  ARCP continues to be speculative, but if the dividend can be covered this will look like one of the bargains of the year.

Stocks on my radar for next week are IBM, BBL, PG, VZ, BAX, and APU.

Weekly Run Log

Warning:  There will be no mention of dividends, stocks, or financial independence.


2013

One of my goals for 2013 was to run 5 miles by the end of the year. As easy as this goal should have been, It did not happen---in fact I think 2 miles was the most I ran all year.  I would run for a week and then take take a couple of weeks off hiding behind a myriad of weak excuses.  All my momentum would be lost and then I would attempt to start over again.  This happened throughout the first 7 or 8 months of the year.  By September, I received a job promotion that requires SIX day work weeks and 60+ hours.  That pretty much put the kibosh on my running program for the year.  By the end of my year after reaching most of my goals, the fly in the proverbial ointment was the 5 mile run goal.  To make matters worse a friend I have not seen in ten years posted on Facebook that he had just completed a Half Marathon.  Last I remember he couldn't run even half a mile back in high school.


2014

This past January I decided to start running again so I could lower my blood pressure and hopefully reduce some of the stress in my life. I half-assed it for the first couple of months like I usually do when I get the bright idea to start an exercise program.  In spite of a damn cold winter here in Houston (yeah I know, 35-40 degrees is not cold in most areas of the country.... In Houston it's Damn cold),  I dragged myself out of bed into the cold and decided to start exercising once again. 

After a few months of seemingly little progress, shin splints, sore feet, and blisters I finally reached 3.5 miles in March.  While 3.5 miles in not exactly a marathon, it is a helluva lot better than sitting on my ass after a long day of work.  Last Sunday while at the track I told myself  "5 Miles or Bust".  About 4 miles in I was dying, but I reminded myself that I had been "dying" for the past 2 miles.  I sucked it up summoned my inner "Rudy" and finally stopped running at 5 1/2 miles.  The feeling was awesome.  The fact that I could barely move on Monday was inconsequential.


Here are the runs I completed this past week.

Sunday:  5 1/2 miles
Monday:  Idle
Tuesday:  Idle
Wednesday:  3 miles
Thursday:  Idle
Friday:  3 miles
Saturday:  Idle
Sunday:  6 miles      I have not done this yet, but I am visualizing the end result. :-)
                                  Completed!!!  I may have to start logging my Sunday goal   
                                   every Saturday for extra motivation.

May 2014 Passive Income

Here is the passive income I received during May.


Taxable Account:

• AHITX --- $271.15  (This is a high yield bond fund that pays monthly.)
• T --- $150.61
• HCP --- $114.45
• KMI --- $82.25
• PG --- $35.40
• CLX --- $9.63
• PAYX --- $7.73
• ARCP --- $3.21

Total taxable passive income is $674.73. 


Retirement Account:

• AHITX --- $106.42
• ABNDX --- $69.64

Total retirement account income is $176.06

Total passive income received in all accounts is $850.79


Monthly Purchases:

• ESV --- $1350
• VZ --- $1350
• PM --- $1350
• GE --- $1350
• ARCP --- $1050
• RDS-b --- $700
• KO --- $700
• BP --- $700
• KMI --- $650
• CLX --- $650
• PFE --- $650

Total new capital invested is $10,500.00.

Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• ESV:  13.25 shares @ $52.85 --- Yield  5.68%
• CLX:  7.93 shares @ $88.28 --- Yield  3.35%
• GE:  26.14 shares @ $26.78 --- Yield  3.28%
• PG:  8.72 shares @ $80.25 --- Yield  3.19%

Total capital invested is $2800 ($700 in each company).  The combined yield is 3.88% and will increase my yearly dividends by $108.57. 


$100/week Challenge---Week 6

Oil and tobacco companies have been on a surge lately along with everything else.  PG and CLX are underweighted so I added to those positions.  I will probably only make one or two more ESV purchases this year since it is close to full weight.  This will make it more difficult to increase my yearly dividends $100 per week going forward. 

Stocks on my radar for next week are BP, KO, TD, PFE, PEP, PAYX, GE, and PG.