Without goals it is too easy to slip into routine. One way that I stay motivated and moving ever forward is to keep a checklist and attack it vigorously. It is also important to include a few "low hanging fruit" items because the act of crossing an item off that checklist can provide a huge confidence boost. When I was going through engineering school I remember being completely overwhelmed by the enormity of finishing the degree, at that time my ultimate goal. By breaking the monumental task up into ever smaller pieces I was able to digest it one item at a time, eventually leading up to the completion of the ultimate goal.
Financially my ultimate goal is to earn enough money passively that at any time I would no longer need to rely on a job to survive. Currently that goal is so far out it seems all but impossible. But by breaking it into smaller chunks, one investment, one blog post at a time I know that it is achievable. So without further ado, these are my goals for 2014.
1) Achieve a forward 12-month dividend of 700 dollars per year.
2) Invest at least $1,000 in a dividend paying stock each month.
3) Update this Blog with a new post at least once per week.
4) Have an average spending per month of $2,200 or less.
5) Close my darn #2 captains of crush grip strength gripper.
These goals provide me with weekly, monthly and yearly goals. Since I am completely new to this it is a bit difficult to fully gauge how realistic my goals are, but I will give them my best. I am confident that I will look back on this year in 2015 with a smile. (The gripper will likely kick my butt though)
What are your goals for 2014?
-Dividendasaur
Hi Dividendasaur,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your journey ! Like you, I have also just started investing in dividend paying stock in january. I'll invest $300 every month. Sharing your goals make me think that I should also set up some goals for this year. I'll think about that. The only one I currently have is just investing $300. I have set up an automatic investment through Loyal3. I am buying parts of TGT, MCD and WMT. It is small but it is a first step.
Best,
Guillaume
Hey Guillaume,
DeleteThank you so much for stopping by! Congratulations on starting on your path this year. It may be a small step but every journey has to start somewhere. I think you have some solid choices with TGT, MCD, and WMT right now. I am seriously considering adding more to my position in TGT as I feel it has taken an unfair beating with the recent hacking scandal and it may still be slightly undervalued. Anyways best of luck on setting and subsequently achieving your goals!
-Dividendasaur
Nice goals Div-asaur! I think the $700 in forward dividends won't be too hard for you to manage with some dividend increases and 10-11 more months of $1,000 plus getting invested.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes in 2014!
Thanks for stopping by W2R, and thank you for the idea to write this post. I will check my progress midway in June to see if I need to adjust my forward dividend goal. It was difficult to set a number considering I only have a few weeks of experience with this.
DeleteTake care and I hope that you reach all of your goals in 2014.
Great goals Dividendasaur! I think goals are a good way to keep us focused and on target long term. Stick to your goals and you'll have a nice dividend portfolio chugging along in no time!
ReplyDeleteI have similar goals as you. Build up my dividend income stream. Invest a monthly amount and grow my portfolio.
Dan Mac,
DeleteThank you so much for stopping in! I look forward to following you and watching you achieve those goals. As well as reading your excellent dividend growth stock analysis. As someone who is completely new to this kind of investing it is nice to have resources like you around to help out.
Congrats on starting your blog and investing for your future. I think you've set some very achievable goals. I'm not sure what the grip strength gripper is though lol.
ReplyDeleteAll About Interest,
DeleteThank you for coming by and leaving me a comment. I look forward to hitting these goals this year and many years to come. Your investments and portfolio are absolutely massive and I hope to one day be even close to your level. I look forward to following you on your quest to early retirement.
I didn't expect many people to know what that gripper is, hehe. I felt like I should throw some non investment type goals into the mix and of all my goals I think that closing that awful gripper might be the most difficult this year.
Take care!
Nice way to start off the year setting some goals. #2 $1000 per month will really ramp up your forward income. Good luck with the investments and the blog.
ReplyDelete-RBD
Retire Before Dad,
DeleteThank you for stopping in and wishing me luck! I am going to try my hardest to exceed that goal every month and as the portfolio grows so will the blog. Take care and best of luck to you with your goals for 2014.
I'm a big fan of goals too since they can keep you focused and motivated each and every day. That $1k per month getting invested will juice up your dividends in a hurry. It's tough when you first start out to figure out what's a good goal to push you and what's way too easy or way too hard. I still struggle with that myself but it's always good to get to revise goals higher.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, love the disclaimer. Possible and probably investment disasters.
Passive IncomePursuit,
ReplyDeleteHaha, I really wanted people to know what they are getting into if they follow my advice without doing any of their own research first. Thank you so much for stopping by the blog and hopefully we can both hit all of our goals this year.