Wednesday, June 11, 2014

2014 May Dividend Income, Spending, and a Pair of Trades


It's looking like my posts will be a bit fewer and far between while I settle in to my new house and get hooked back up to the internet.  So for the sake of efficiency I will probably be combining posts for the next few months.  For this month I present to you May's earnings, spending, and a few early month portfolio trades!

May Spending 2014

I accidentally blew my budget for the month of May.  I had to pay closing costs on my home purchase and pick up a lawn mower and weed eater to attack a lawn that had been neglected for almost a year.  With a few other essential home purchases I ended up spending a total of $2526.00 for the month.  Here is the spending breakdown!


The Misc Expenses, and Food and Dining categories were my biggest costs for the month.  Misc expenses includes my final closing costs, yardpocolypse equipment, moving truck fees, and a few smaller house items.  The food and dining budget was also part of the cost of moving as I took my friend and his fiance out for dinner and drinks to pay them back for helping me move(money well spent!)

While I was not able to meet my goals this month, going forward I am in a significantly better position to save money on both utilities and rent.  

May Dividend Income

My dividend income for May is as follows:

PSEC:  $11.04
KMI:    $18.90

For a total earnings of $29.94.  While this number still seems small, I have managed to double last quarter's (February) earnings.  I am extremely happy with this outcome and really look forward to blowing this number away this coming August.  Here is a breakdown of this months dividend income, and dividend income to spending.


Total dividend coverage to spending this month was 1.25%  This beats last February's 0.62% even considering I spent significantly more in May.  I am extremely happy with this outcome and am excited as to what the future holds.

Early June Portfolio Shake Up

Early in June I made the decision to sell off a few positions in my portfolio that do not meet my overall investing goals.  My typical investments are in dividend growth or high yield stocks.  While I plan on building my portfolio with rock solid blue chip investments I also occasionally dip into the foreign markets or industries with high yield stocks that have not recovered fully after the recession.  Two of my positions in my portfolio did not meet these criteria.  INTC and CHK.  Neither company has been successful at raising dividends in an extended time period, and they aren't my favorite high yield distressed companies. 

I took $600 of my own money and sold my positions in INTC and CHK (both for a profit), using the money to purchase shares of VZ and NAT.  I bought a total of 36 shares of Verizon for a price of $1797.12 and 157 shares of NAT for a total of $1307.81.  After the smoke cleared my new 12 month forward dividend income sits at $1964.40 per year.  My portfolio has been updated to reflect the new changes.

I am currently closely monitoring everything currently in my portfolio and RY, TD, and GM for a possible purchase later this month.

Thanks for reading and I hope you had an amazing May!



9 comments:

  1. Congrats on buying a home. I have also looked at GM but with all the recent recalls, I decided to stay clear from them for now. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Mongrel, I'm loving the new place. I agree with you that GM has been a bit rough lately and ridden with issues. There are some bright spots hidden under all of the dirt, and in a market that is so expensive I believe that GM is still at a decent price.

      Delete
  2. Thanks for sharing your recent dividend income and your monthly expenses. I understand about being busy after a move, especially to a new home. Regarding future purchases I wouldn't touch GM. It's a stock that reminds me Eastman Kodak.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you that GM is a bit of a stretch. However it is not too far out of line with some of the other troubled company investments that I have made in the past few months. It is hard to find something that I would consider a great deal right now with everything sitting at such an expensive price. Thanks for stopping in Divhut!

      Delete
  3. Congrats on your new home. As for your lawn mower purchase, you can always look at it as an investment. After a certain point, the lawn mower will pay for itself in manual labor. :)

    Your charts are revealing...I know you probably feel like you have a long way to go but at least through these charts, you know what that goal is and can continue to make progress towards it.

    Wishing you continued success in your journey! AFFJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you AFFJ! It's actually a nice feeling to have a lawn to take care of and mow. I've been renting for ten years now and I actually miss the lawn work that I was forced to do as a kid. I agree with you that the charts tell the whole story, and it really excites me to think about what they might look like a few years from now. Take care and thank you for your comment.

      Delete
  4. Cant blame u for selling intc after that runup. Your expenses were a lil high but hopefully u got that under control next month.

    Good Day and Grind On!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It seems I sold a few weeks too early on INTC as it has jumped significantly again! Oh well, it is impossible to time the market perfectly so I will just take my profits and be happy with that one. Regardless of the jump it does not fit the overall direction of my portfolio.

      The expenses were much higher than I would have liked but I think I will make up for it and then some during June. Thank you for your comment sir and you keep grinding on too!

      Delete
  5. Dearest Esteems,

    We are Offering best Global Financial Service rendered to the general public with maximum satisfaction,maximum risk free. Do not miss this opportunity. Join the most trusted financial institution and secure a legitimate financial empowerment to add meaning to your life/business.

    Contact Dr. James Eric Firm via
    Email: fastloanoffer34@gmail.com

    Best Regards,
    Dr. James Eric.
    Executive Investment
    Consultant./Mediator/Facilitator

    ReplyDelete