Recent Buy -- M

Today I initiated a position in M.

• M:  150 shares @ $15.90 --- Yield  9.44%

Total capital invested is $1590.00 and will add $151.00 to my yearly dividends.

The past few years have not been kind to Macy's. Considering the stock has fallen from $83 all the way down to $15 and change, its struggles along with many other retailers are widely known.

This is an iconic brand and I hope that the restructuring plan resembles that of BBY and not BBBY.

Obviously this is a speculative purchase and I fully understand this company may join the ash heap with Sears and JC Penny. Time will tell.

In other news I'm still watching MO closely (7% yield), PFE (drastic fall recently) and WBA (down around 50% this past year).

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

Recent Buy --- XOM

Today I add to my XOM position.

• XOM:  16 shares @ $68.47 --- Yield   5.08%

Total capital invested is $1095.52 and this purchase will increase my yearly dividends by $55.68.

XOM briefly traded at a 5% yield at the end of 2018 when I last added shares. Will add more if weakness continues. I am also closely watching HP (Helmerich & Payne) which is now trading in the high 30s and its yield is approaching 8%. I'll probably initiate a position around $35. Also Shell in the $40s and BP in the $20s will peak my interest if they get there.

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

July 2019 Net Worth

All figures except my Jeep value are generated from Mint.com.

The Net Worth line keeps inching forward as evidenced by another $4,000 monthly gain. I finished the month just a hair under $899,000. Since I retired 17 months ago I have experienced extreme resistance around the $900,000 level. One day I hope to blow through that number permanently.

It does feel good to have positive month/month and year/year gains though. My YTD net worth gain is $34,000 which equates to about $5,000/month. I'll take it!

I also adjusted my Jeep value up from $17,500 to $20,000 as I actually received a cash value to buy it at a local auction. I decided to keep it since I enjoy it so much :) Anyway, here are the numbers from July.

Assets

Checking --- $3,429
Savings/Investments --- $480,637
Lending Club --- $793
HSA --- $2,101
IRA --- $10,316
401K --- $385,355
2014 Jeep Wrangler --- $20,000

Liabilities

$4,116

Net Worth

$898,515


YTD Totals

2019      

 ***Jan 1,2019 --- 864,816***

Jan 31, 2019 --- $887,560

Feb 28. 2019 --- $895,998

Mar 31, 2019 --- $899,902

Apr 30, 2019 --- $904,190

May 31, 2019 --- $880,455

June 30, 2019 --- $894,816

July 31, 2019 --- 898,515

2018

Jan 2018 --- $917,116

Feb 2018 --- $910,667

Mar 2018 --- $909,746

Apr 2018 --- $903,416

May 2018 --- $889,032

Jun 2018 --- $893,278

Jul 2018 --- $892,002

Aug 2018 --- $896,619

Sep 2018 --- $899,763

Oct 2018 --- $876,927

Nov 2018 --- $891,402

Dec 2018 --- $864,613


2017

May 2017 --- $835,009
July 2017 --- $851,904 

Aug 2017 --- $860,072
Sept 2017 --- $869,374

Oct 2017 --- $887,033
Nov 2017 --- $897,145

Dec 2017 --- $914,266


There is no down time when building a path that doesn't lead back to ZERO

Recent Buys --- MO & ABBV

Today I added to my MO position and initiated a new position in ABBV

• MO:  30 shares @ $47.70 --- Yield  6.71%
• ABBV:  20 shares @ $66.49 --- Yield  6.44%

Total capital invested is $2760.80. The combined yield is 6.58% and will add $181.60 to my yearly dividends. These are commission free trades through Chase.

This is my first stock purchase since January. I'm always interested in adding shares of MO especially when the yield is around 7%.

While the market keeps reaching new highs, ABBV continues its painful descent having dropped almost $60 a share over the past year and a half. Hopefully the dividend is safe. I would hate to see it follow the paths of TEVA, GE, and TUP.

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

June 2019 Passive Income

Here is the passive income I received from both taxable and retirement accounts.


Taxable Account

• ABALX --- $660.60
• Amegy CD --- $340.90
• SO --- $64.06
• F --- $52.50
• XOM --- $52.48
• IBM --- $41.03
• KHC --- $36.26
• LB --- $30.54

Retirement Account

• 65/35 S&P 500/Bonds --- $1217.95

Total June 2019 passive income is $2,496.32

Not much to say other than everything is progressing nicely and early retirement is going well. I try to do new things each day and continue to collect memorable experiences. So far so good. I honestly haven't paid much attention to stock values or dividend yields. 

Spreadsheets, valuations, and spending hours researching stocks isn't what life is about. Exploring, hiking, swimming, yoga, wine tasting, and relationships are what I focus on now. 

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

June 2019 Net Worth

All figures except my Jeep value are generated from Mint.com.

We're at the mid point of 2019 and this has been an exceptional year so far. The S&P continues its strong march forward posting a 6.89% gain in June and a 17% YTD gain!

As of this post, my net worth is sitting on a $30,000 YTD gain. I still am continued to be amazed that I am literally earning no "day job" income and yet I am adding $6,000 a month to my portfolio even after withdrawing money to live on each month.

I am also slightly ahead in my YOY net worth.

I experienced a nice $14,000 gain during June. What makes this even more impressive is that I wrote down my Wrangler $2,000 and sold my house. Apparently my house estimate was a tad high as I netted about $6,000 less than the "paper value".

Speaking of my house, I am now officially homeless. I sold my house and moved in with my longtime girlfriend. Team Consolidate is how we refer to ourselves.

I invested most of the proceeds in a 2 year 2.5% CD. This should provide an additional $250.00 a month in income. I was fortunate in my timing, because the current 2 year rate has dropped back down to 2%. There may be an interest rate reduction by the Fed in the near future as well.

Anyway retirement life continues to exceed all expectations and all is well.

Assets

Checking --- $5336
Savings/Investments --- $479,764
Lending Club --- $1,047
HSA --- $2,101
IRA --- $10,295
401K --- $381,662
2014 Jeep Wrangler --- $17,500

House --- $0 (Sold it last month --- officially homeless)

Liabilities

$3,401

Net Worth

$894,504


YTD Totals

2019      

 ***Jan 1,2019 --- 864,816***

Jan 31, 2019 --- $887,560

Feb 28. 2019 --- $895,998

Mar 31, 2019 --- $899,902

Apr 30, 2019 --- $904,190

May 31, 2019 --- $880,455

June 30, 2019 --- $894,816

2018

Jan 2018 --- $917,116

Feb 2018 --- $910,667

Mar 2018 --- $909,746

Apr 2018 --- $903,416

May 2018 --- $889,032

Jun 2018 --- $893,278

Jul 2018 --- $892,002

Aug 2018 --- $896,619

Sep 2018 --- $899,763

Oct 2018 --- $876,927

Nov 2018 --- $891,402

Dec 2018 --- $864,613


2017

May 2017 --- $835,009
July 2017 --- $851,904 

Aug 2017 --- $860,072
Sept 2017 --- $869,374

Oct 2017 --- $887,033
Nov 2017 --- $897,145

Dec 2017 --- $914,266


There is no down time when building a path that doesn't lead back to ZERO

May 2019 Passive Income

Here is the passive income I received from both taxable and retirement accounts.


Taxable Account

• Amegy CD --- $329.88
• T --- $231.54
• OHI --- $137.94
• GIS --- $49.00
• HCP --- $38.97
• PG --- $26.11

Retirement Account

• VBMFX --- $230.55

Total May 2019 passive income is $1,043.99

Most of my income came from a CD, T, and OHI. I love it when I reach 4 digits in passive monthly income. Early retirement continues to exceed all expectations and life is fantastic!

My CD income will increase quite a bit starting next month as I sold my house and put some of the proceeds to work with a 2.25% 2 year CD. Considering the 10 year note is now hovering around 2%, I feel pretty fortunate to lock in this rate. Over the past year I have taking steps to increase my passive income in my taxable account from virtually zero to around a $1,000 a month. The ratio starting next month will be about 50/50 dividends and interest payments.

The picture is a random Thursday morning while staying at the Tremont Hotel in Galveston with my girlfriend. I love relaxing stress free mornings while I slowly sip coffee and create memories.

DEFY MEDIOCRITY