Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• T:  25.99 shares @ $34.60 --- Yield  5.32%
• BBL:  13.94 shares @ $64.48 --- Yield  3.85%
• MCD:  9.5 shares @ $94.64 --- Yield  3.42%
• KO:  21.58 shares @ $41.66 --- Yield  2.93%

Total capital invested is $3600 ($900 in each company).  The combined yield on these purchases is 3.88% and will increase my yearly dividends by $139.68.


100/week Challenge---Week 18   S&P 500  2003 (NEW ALL TIME HIGH)

Well so much for the much anticipated correction.  I have not added to T or BBL since the beginning of the year.  They both have come down in price recently and look good at these levels.  MCD is still out of favor and provides decent value at these prices.  KO is not cheap, but is worth adding pretty much anytime. 

Note:  This week's purchases are higher than normal and will continue to be higher during the next couple of months.  The additional funds are coming from my recent mutual fund sale.

The S&P 500 reaches 2000!!!

Almost 15 years after first reaching 1500 points way back in March 2000, the S&P 500 has finally climbed the 500 points necessary to reach its new milestone of 2000.  Will it take another 15 years to reach 2500? Who knows, hopefully the index will trade in a cycle for a while so we can continue accumulating dividend growth stocks.  The last 15 years have been essentially dead with many peaks and valleys during the period.

The Dow has also experienced long periods between major milestones. The DJIA first reached 1000 points in 1972. The Dow then stayed under 1000 during the rest of the 1970s and into the early 1980s. Once it finally broke out of its long trading range, it jumped up to 2000 in 1987. What happened once the Dow surpassed 2000?  Well, I think we all know.

As many of us have seen, the market can stay depressed or overvauled for years even decades.  This is the primary reason why I focus on dollar cost averaging and believe market timing ultimately will cost you money in the long run.

Let the race to 3000 begin!

Altria raises dividend 8.3%---New yield is 4.88%

Today Altria (MO) raised its quarterly dividend 8.33% from $.48 to $.52 per share.  The new yield is 4.88%.  Since I own 150 shares, this will increase my yearly dividends by $24.00.

Mutual Fund Sale: ABALX

I started the year wanting to transition from mutual funds to stocks and today I sold off my shares of ABALX.  I owned 589.16 shares and the sale price is $25.61. The proceeds are $15,088.34 and this will reduce my yearly divideneds by $229.34.  The S&P 500 is current sitting at 1991.

I probably won't sell any more mutual fund shares this year because the taxes from the Intel sale, this sale, and my dividends are starting to become scary. 

There are no immediate plans to reinvest the proceeds.  I certainly want to continue the diversification process going forward.  I will be looking for larger block purchases separate from my normal weekly purchases much like when I invested in KRFT and AFL after selling the INTC shares. 

BBL is high on my radar since its recent pullback and I would also like to buy JNJ and XOM.  I may just pull the trigger on all three even though the market continues to make new all-time highs. 

Again I don't believe in timing the markets because it doesn't seem to pay to wait.  I will continue dollar cost averaging throughout all market cycles until I reach enough passive income to exit the rat race.

Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• APU:  11.14 shares @ $44.88 --- Yield  7.84%
• GM:  14.39 shares @ $34.68 --- Yield  3.46%
• MCD:  5.28 shares @ $94.59 --- Yield  3.43%
• CVX:  3.92 shares @ $127.42 --- Yield  3.36%
• BAX:  6.63 shares @ $75.42 --- Yield  2.76%

Total capital invested is $2500 ($500 in each company).  The combined yield of this week's purchases is 4.17% and will add $104.25 to my yearly dividends.


$100/week Challenge---Week 17   S&P 500  1979

Well after dropping the past couple of weeks, I was hoping the S&P would be in the 1800s by now.  That is not the case as it is now marching back up towards 2000.  It has been a while since I have added shares of GM and CVX.  I was hoping to catch these two along with MCD at 3.5% or higher.  

Stock on my radar for next week include BBL, T, MCD, CVX, GE, GM, and VZ.

Liebster Award Nomination

Recently I was nominated for a Liebster Award by four very inspiring bloggers.

Thank you Happy Healthy and Wealthy Girl, Asset Grinder, Captain Dividend, and All About Interest.  I follow all of your blogs and I am impressed and amazed by the progress you guys are making in your quests for FI.  Keep up the great work!

Here are the questions from HHWG:

1. Your favorite vacation spot
I've been to Alaska twice and the scenery and wildlife is magnificent. Hopefully I will someday soon be able to vacation up there for more than just one week at a time.

2. Your first investment
I bought shares of Dell when I was in college at UT in 1994. Sadly, I sold them soon after I bought them in 1996. Yeah, that hurts looking back, but I needed the money.

3. Your best and worst investment
My house is my best investment. I bought it for $84k when I was 25 in 1997, paid it off in 2010, and still live in it today. My worst investment was buying Intel for $71 a share in the year 2000. I later sold it for $35 and was thrilled to get that. Ironically I bought Intel last year for $22 and sold it a few weeks ago for just under $35. 

4. Do you have pets?
Yes, I love animals even though they are expensive. Three dogs, two cats and numerous aquariums full of saltwater fish.

5. What will you do if you win a lottery tomorrow?
Exit the rat race immediately.


Here are the questions from Asset Grinder:

1. Whats your favorite TV show, Movie and why?
I know that I should say something like Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Casino, or Star Wars, but no it's a good old fashioned early 70's B movie called Vanishing Point.  If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it. The car chases are badass, but the general mood of the film is about a man searching for freedom from the chaos of the world around him.  Sometimes I feel like Kowalski.

2. What sports or physical activity are you guys involved with or what do you guys do for fun?

I really love running.  There is a great sense of freedom from hitting the open road with nothing but a good pair of running shoes, a nice breeze, and a great set of tunes on my Ipod blasting away. 

 

3. How has your blog helped you and what have you learned from it?

I think the interaction I have had with other like-minded bloggers has been exceptional.  I really thought that I would just use the blog to record my investing progress.  I am extremely grateful for the advice, encouragement, and information I receive from the many hard working FI bloggers out there.

 

4. Where do u want to be in 5, 10, 20 , 50 years?

Lying in the hammock in my backyard with a cold Shiner Bock in my hand.  In 10 years I hope to living a state with four seasons.  Houston is awesome, but the heat is starting to wear on me. 20 and 50 is probably too far out to contemplate.  I think that I will be looking back at a full life with no regrets knowing that I took the road less traveled which leads to freedom.

 

5. What is your biggest strength and weakness in your quest for financial independence?

My biggest strength is my extreme competitiveness.  I simply hate losing.  I will do whatever it takes to reach FI soon. My weakness is my impatience, but I working on it.

 

 

Here are the questions from Captain Dividend:

 

 

1 - Why did you start your blog ?
I started this blog mainly to chronicle my journey as I fight to exit the rat race.  Seeing my decisions written down motivates me to relentlessly pursue financial independence.

2 - What is your favorite tv series ?

I don't watch much TV, but I really like the HBO series Game of  Thrones. 

 

3 - What was your favorite car you've ever owned ?

1999 Pontiac Trans Am.  After too many tickets and trips to the body shop, my wife told me it was time to go.

 

4 - What is your worst stock market or financial mishap?

My worst financial mishap was buying a lot of new cars between 1995-2000.  Nothing destroys wealth like constantly buying new cars.

 

5 - What if anything do you do for exercise ?

I usually run between 14-16 miles a week.  It is a great way to unwind and clear my mind.  It is hot as hell in Houston, so I usually run between 5 and 6 am. 

 

 

Here are the questions from All About Interest:

 

1.) Where did you grow up and do you still live there?
Houston, Texas and I still live here.

2.) What are your plans once you reach financial independence?
Really the idea of not having to plan for anything sounds wonderful.  I suspect that I will spend time reading, running, building things around the house, playing guitar, cooking, and generally enjoying the small things in life that I have missed over the last 20 years.

3.) What was your best/worst financial decision?
I consider my house my best financial decision, because I bought an inexpensive house and stayed in it.  My worst financial decision was buying too many new cars between 1995 and 2000.

4.) What is your favorite part about investing?
I love the fact that I am building my dreams and not someone elses.

5.) Who’s your biggest idol and why?
My mom.  I know it sounds cheesy, but she really encouraged me to dream big and instilled a competive drive in me while growing up.  She hated seeing wasted potential and encouraged me to tackle things outside my comfort zone.

 

 And now for my nominees....

Accumulating Assets  I stumbled upon AA's blog a while back and thought THAT is the way I want to invest....RELENTLESS!!! The amount of capital he has been investing over the past several years is jaw dropping.  I have patterned my own investing habits after his and believe me it is a kickass method.

Dividend Growth Journey  DGJ in on a quest to build passive income through dividend growth investing.  I love the aggressive goals and portfolio additions.

A Frugal Family's Journey  I have found AFFJ to be very encouraging and has a great blog.  The collection of stock analyses is awesome and very informative.  If you haven't been over to see it, I highly recommend it.

DivHut  If you are looking for very informative analysis on a vast array of dividend stocks, this is the place to go.  I am constantly finding great little nuggets of info that quite honestly isn't available anywhere else I look.  Check it out!

Living A FI  While not a dividend growth investor, he is on the verge of FI and has a fantastic blog.  It's like Office Space in blog form. His work stories are hilarious.  Also he has done some amazing FIRE calc scenarios that everyone should really take a close look at as they prepare for their own FI.



So here are the questions I would like to ask...

1. If you could retire with ONLY 5 dividend stock in your portfolio what would they be?  (Here is the kicker...you cannot choose JNJ, KO, CVX, XOM, or PG)

2. What is the most important thing you would do in your first month of early retirement that you can't do now because of your job commitments?

3. Mentally, how do you prepare for a massive stock market correction/collapse like we experienced in 2007-2009?

4. What one major sacrifice will you make next year to accelerate your FI plans?

5. If you decided to open your own business today, what kind of business would it be?



 

 

Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• ESV:  10.20 shares @ $49.00 --- Yield  6.12%
• BP:  10.59 shares @ $47.23 --- Yield  4.95%
• VZ:  10.27 shares @ $48.69 --- Yield  4.35%
• PFE:  17.77 shares @ $28.14 --- Yield 3.70%
• MCD:  5.35 shares @ $93.40 --- Yield  3.47%

Total capital invested is $2500 ($500 in each company).  The combined yield of these purchases is and 4.52% and will add $112.95 to my yearly dividends.


$100/week Challenge---Week 16   S&P 500  1930

ESV, BP, and PFE continue to give me opportunites to lower my cost basis.  The market as a whole however, continues to be fairly resilient as the Dow is dead even on the year and the S&P is up about 5%. 

Stocks on my radar for next week are T, GM, JNJ, XOM, CLX, MCD, BAX, CVX, JPM, and PG.

July 2014 Passive Income

Here is the passive income I received in July.


Taxable Account

• AHITX --- $292.81
• PM --- $82.02
• MO --- $72.00
• GE --- $67.84
• CSCO --- $45.60
• KO --- $41.86
• ARCP --- $12.15
• BAX --- $3.07

Total taxable income is $617.35 

Note:  This is the highest interest payment I have ever received from AHITX.


Retirement Account 

• AHITX --- $116.67
• ABALX --- $114.17

Total retirement income is $230.84

Total passive income received in all accounts is $848.19


New Capital Invested

• KRFT --- $4037.25
• AFL --- $4014.64
• PAYX --- $2450
• APU --- $2300
• BP --- $1800
• GE --- $1250
• PM --- $1150
• CAG --- $1100
• ESV --- $650
• CLX --- $600
• BAX --- $500
• VZ --- $500
• INTC --- (6889.09)

Total net capital invested for July is $13462.80.

Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• BP:  12.25 shares @ $49.00 --- Yield  4.78%
• PM:  7.37 shares @ $81.45 --- Yield  4.62%
• MCD:  6.41 shares @ $93.66 --- Yield  3.46%  (initial position)
• CLX:  6.92 shares @ $86.73 --- Yield  3.41%
• PG:  7.56 shares @ $79.31 --- Yield  3.24%

Total capital invested is $3000 ($600 in each company).  The combined yield of these purchases is 3.9% and they will add $117.06 to my yearly dividends.


$100/week Challenge---Week 15   S&P 500  1933

As many of you know the markets have been wobbling recently and many new buying opportunities are presenting themselves to us.  I really like MCD and CLX over 3.4% and PM really looks good over 4.5%.  Hopefully this pullback will continue throughout the rest of this year. 

Stocks on my radar for next week include the five I purchased today as well as GE, PFE, KO, CVX, BAX, JPM, and BA.