Recent Buy --- KHC

Today I added to my KHC position

• KHC:  40 shares @ $41.69 --- Yield  6.00%

Total capital invested is $1667.60 and will increase my yearly dividends by $100.

Wow the yields on food companies is starting to rival energy companies and REITs.  I was looking closely at CAG and GIS as well. I currently have shares of GIS, but not with CAG.  I decided to stick with Warren Buffett on this purchase.

There were some crazy deals earlier today with IBM right at 6% and the continued tobacco carnage.  A name that I haven't added to for a while is SO. It's close to 6% right now so is becoming very interesting.

Recent Buy - T

Today I added to my T position.

• T: 100 shares @ $27.42 --- Yield  7.44%

Total capital invested is $2742 and will add $204 to my yearly dividends.

This is the highest yield I can remember on T. It may have been higher during 2008-2009, but not too much as the stock price is nearing those levels.  While the Dow has essentially tripled during the last 10 years, T has basically remained unchanged. The thing to remember is is T has probably paid out $17-$18 in dividends during this period making it a rather stealthy investment.

I will add a few hundred more shares as the yield continues it's march to 10%.

Merry Christmas everyone!! 2019 is going to be OUTSTANDING!!

Recent Buy --- CAH

I did some last minute Christmas shopping today.

• CAH:  100 shares @ $44.30 --- Yield  4.31%

Total capital invested is $4430 and will increase my yearly dividends by $191.00.

Many stocks are on my radar including the ones listed yesterday. UPS, CAG, HP, BBBY are in free fall right now so I hope to add one or two of these names by year end.

Recent Buys -- PM & XOM

Today I added to my PM and XOM positions.

• PM:  30 shares @ $69.91 --- Yield  6.53%
• XOM:  30 shares @ $69.75 --- Yield  4.70%

Total capital invested is $4189.80 and the combined yield is 5.61%.  These purchases will add $235.20 to my yearly dividends.

Lots of weakness in these two companies and I will probably add more as the PM yield approaches 7%. I will also watch MO closely and will go strong if the price dips into the $30s.

I only own XOM in the energy space right now. BP and Shell surprisingly have held up better than XOM. I will start adding to BP and Shell if the yields reach 8% or higher.

Another off the grid company is SMG. The share price has fallen by $50 from $110 to $60 pushing the yield up to around 3.5%. If it reaches 4% I will initiate a position.

Recent Buy --- GIS

Today I initiated a position in GIS.

• GIS:  100 shares @ $40.24 --- Yield  4.87%

Total capital invested is $4024 and will add $196.00 to my yearly dividends.  I've been watching GIS for a while and told myself I would pull the trigger at 5% yield or around $40. We basically reached that point today.

Note: This is the second purchase using my Chase account (primary checking/savings). JPM introduced a You Invest Trade platform and I'm using free trades right now. The layout is simplistic and I can easily transfer money between checking/savings/investing/retirement.

I also like the estimated annual income calculator.

November 2018 Net Worth

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

After a really shaky October, the markets (stock and housing) have bounced back by almost $16,000. It actually feels good going through these ebbs and flows without having the safety net of a day job. Ironically it bothers me less now than when I was working all the time.

My home is now at the highest book value ever. I have no plans on selling it, but it still feels good to see the value steadily increase. I think the low value this year was in the $125k and it currently is around $139k.

The stock market now is about break-even on the year. My credit card debt is at the highest level in 15 years. I continue to pay the balances in full each month. I decided to open a Chase Sapphire account, an Amegy Amazing Card, and a Capital One Savor card. 

I have already received 53k in points from Chase. I just received the spend requirement for the Amegy card and that means $150 in credit card rewards. That doesn't seem like much, but I also opened a $50 checking account and a $1000 money market account with Amegy. These each will pay me $200 after 90 days. This means I will receive $550 total from Amegy. 

Finally I just received my Cap One Savor Card and will receive $500 once I spend $3k in 90 days. 

Fortunately between October and December my property tax, yearly auto insurance, & homeowner's insurance are all due. Combine that with my recent California trip and I easily can meet the spend requirements without manufacturing any spending. So I will receive over $1500 for expenses that would have occurred anyway.

I'm looking for to future credit card churning opportunities!!

Assets

Checking --- $4,177
Savings/Investments --- $362,502
Lending Club --- $2908
HSA --- $2,644
IRA --- $9,666
401K --- $353,054
2014 Jeep Wrangler --- $21,500
House --- $139,429

Liabilities

$4478

Net Worth

891,402


YTD Totals

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



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 Buy --- MO

Today I added to my MO position.

• MO:  40 shares @ $55.77 --- Yield  5.74%

Total capital invested is $2230.80 and this purchase will increase my yearly dividends by $128.00.

This brings my MO share count to 110.

I will be watching T, XOM, KMI, and TGT is starting to become interesting as well.

October 2018 Dividend Summary

Here are the dividends that I received from last month.

TUP --- $136.00
PM --- $102.60
MO --- $56.00
KMB --- $20.00
GE --- $12.12

Total dividend income received last month is $326.72.

Starting in January my GE dividends will be about a nickle per year.

This is the first photo I have posted in some time. I am really liking the new etrade account. It seems to be much more sophisticated than Capital One. I like the estimated income feature in particular.

Recent Buy --- IBM

Today I initiated a position in IBM.

• IBM:  25 shares @ $115.74 --- Yield  5.43%

Total capital invested is $2900.12 and will add $157 to my yearly dividends. 

I should also note that GE effectively eliminated its dividend. It's new yield is close to ZERO. I have 100 shares or so and will lose around $48 in yearly dividends. Glad that position is small. I might buy a few hundred shares if the stock drops to around $5.

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

2018 Net Worth Catchup post

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

It's been a while since I made one of these posts, so I'm going to fill in the blanks from the beginning of the year through yesterday.

As you can, I have been holding steady around the $900,000 level for most of the year. October has been a brutal month for the markets. My overall net worth is down about $24k through yesterday which is a large amount, but still not too bad considering the S&P 500 is down about 9% month to date.

Just a casual observation is that a .75% monthly gain in the S&P keeps my portfolio even after all expenses. Over time that is a reasonable return and I still have a ton of cash in 2.2% CDs that I can deploy if a 30% drop occurs at some point.


YTD Totals

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 (as of this post)

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 --- T,F KHC, & XOM

Today I added shares of these four companies to my portfolio.

• F:  350 shares @ $8.31 --- Yield  7.22%
• T:  200 shares @ $30.47 --- Yield  6.56%
• KHC:  50 shares @ $55.75 --- Yield  4.48%
• XOM:  30 shares @ 77.75 --- Yield  4.22%

Total capital invested is $14,150.30 and has a combined yield of 5.89%.  These purchases will increase my yearly dividends by $833.40.

It's pretty cool/scary how high the yields on some of these companies are getting. T at 7% and Kraft at 5% would cause me to buy heavy. Kraft has fallen about $40 a share in the last year. I also have my eyes on BBL if it gets closer to 7% and MMM around 3%. Finally I believe IBM is touching 5% and will look at it closely as well.

In other news early retirement is fucking awesome!

February 2018 Net Worth

All figures are generated from Mint.com. 

On paper I took about a $6,500 drop in my net worth over the last 30 days or so. In all reality that is not too bad considering the market has come down quite a bit during that period.

A few outlier expenses paid in January include:

• Property taxes --- $2415
• Auto insurance --- $1315
• Home insurance --- $921

Again with these expenses and the lower markets I am not disappointed with the drop in net worth.

Assets

Checking --- $13,114
Savings/Investments --- $372,303
Lending Club --- $6,635
HSA --- $2,762
IRA --- $9,760
401K --- $349,549
2014 Jeep Wrangler --- $23,493
House --- $133,050

Liabilities

$0

Net Worth

$910,666


YTD Totals

2018

Jan 2018 --- $917,116
Feb 2018 --- $910,667


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

January 2018 Dividend Summary

Here are the dividends I received in my taxable account.

• KMB --- $19.40
• GE --- $12.00

Total January dividends are $31.40. All dividends are reinvested.

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

Recent Buy -- SO

Today I initiated a position in SO.

• SO:  100 shares @ $44.11 --- Yield 5.26%

Total capital invested is $4417.69 and will add $232.00 to my yearly dividends.

Forward dividends are $1367.

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

January 2018 Net Worth

All figures are generated from Mint.com. 

December was certainly an interesting month. Christmas always seems to put a strain on the finances and this year was no different. My on again off again girl friend (who is also a really good friend regardless of our relationship) had some health expenses related to cancer. 

Yeah I know, logically I should not have stepped into helping her with the expenses, but I care about her a lot and she's always been a good person and helped me out when times have been difficult. I reasoned that sometimes you have to help friends/family out even when you know the money will never be capable of being returned.

Also having lost my step dad to colon cancer complications and having seen my mom have a cancerous mass removed from her stomach within the last year probably influenced the decision.

In the interest of full disclosure, the expense was $6,000. Anyone who knows me understands that this is entirely against my normal behavior. Maybe I am making up for a lot of the shit I've done in the past. A karma situation perhaps lol

Anyway, I had another rough income month at work and am fortunate to realise the roughly $3k gain I had. I'm super glad to have it and it took my 401k surging big time in the last couple of weeks to make a month over month gain.
I know eventually the market will drop and these monthly gains will go away, until then it's nice seeing the upward trajectory!

Assets

Checking --- $8,698
Savings/Investments --- $375,631
Lending Club --- $6,501
HSA --- $2,555
IRA --- $9,945
401K --- $358,044
2014 Jeep Wrangler --- $23,743
House --- $131,999

Liabilities

$0

Net Worth

$917,116


YTD Totals

2018

Jan 2018 --- $917,116



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