Friday, August 1, 2014

Spending and Dividend Income July 2014



Spending:

The numbers are in for July and another great month is in the books!  I think overall July was much more representative of what I will be spending going forward from here on out.  Over the last few months I have significantly cut expenses on my phone bill (Verizon to Republic Wireless), my rent (1050 per month to my now purchased home which costs 880 per month), and my student loans (122 per month down to 0 per month as work has picked up the tab for me).  So here are the new numbers:


There was a bit of a billing mix up this month and I was still charged for my student loan.  This is hopefully fixed for August and shouldn't happen again.  Other than that the only area of high spending was the Food and Dining category as I was a little lazier and purchased many breakfasts and lunches at work.  I have recently started going to the gym daily (free through work) and now need significantly more calories than I was eating before, it is likely that my food and dining expenses will be high from here on out as I am trying to gain a few more pounds of muscle.

This number is on track for my yearly goals and is less than my average monthly spending (Jan 1st - July 31st) of $1918.  Hopefully I can continue to bring this number down and finish the year strong.

Dividend Income:

The dividends just kept rolling in for the month of July.  While significantly lower than my June income I still managed a significant increase from my April income.  Dividends harvested this month include:

PSEC:    $33.14
SPLS:     $12.96
MO:       $19.20
PM:        $24.44
KO:        $7.93

Combining for a total dividend income of $97.67 dang so close to triple digits!  Compared to my April income 3 months ago this is an increase of almost 47%  Not bad at all!  This also brings my total dividends received up to $446.25 for 2014.


Total dividend coverage for the month was 5.54%  This was by far my second best month and it is exciting to see how quickly these numbers start adding up.  After just seven months of investing I was able to cover a good chunk of what it costs me to live.  The snowball is rolling now and it only picks up momentum from here on out.  I hope you all had a great July and here's to an even better August!  As always, thank you for reading.

15 comments:

  1. Good job on your spending. Pretty sparse on entertainment. Looks like you went out to eat a few times but I guess that your form of entertainment. Overall good work! Just keep investing and the dividends will roll in.

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    1. You are right, I didn't realize how low my entertainment fund was this month. Luckily I own most of the gear I need to go backpacking/camping/paddleboarding so on the odd weekend when I am not working it's actually really cheap to go out and explore the outdoors. A good chunk of entertainment gets rolled into my food bill (brewery or eating out with friends). The odd movie or t.v. show I watch on amazon prime which also saves significantly on the cable bill. It's good being easily entertained! Thanks for stopping in Grinder.

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  2. Great job and having loving monthly expenses is going to be great and really boost your investing. So close to hitting triple digits for a second month. It's a pretty cool feeling when you get your portfolio up to where it's $100+ every month. Keep up the good work!

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    Replies
    1. It's been pretty neat to see the expenses go down each month while the income increases but I think I have finally hit the lower limit of my spending. I'm hoping to hit that 100 every month by next year while investing more towards quality dividend growth stocks for my next few buys. You keep up the good work too, I'm looking forward to seeing you hit 5000 per year in dividends soon!

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  3. Congrats on the dividend income and yet another good month. Keep it up!

    R2R

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    Replies
    1. Thank you R2R, I always look forward to writing this post every month, it's always fun to keep track of the progress and see those numbers steadily rising. I really like your recent purchase of AGU and it is on my short list of stocks to watch closely. Thank you for stopping in, good to see you!

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  4. Hi Dividendasaur,

    Congrats on two levels - 2nd highest Dividend payments, and 2nd lowest expenditure. A very nice combination indeed.
    I'm also battling to keep spending down whilst catering for my increased appetite due to weight training. Gotta get those gainz bro! (I've never said that in my life before)

    Keep up the good work my friend, and thank you for sharing your information.

    Cheers
    Huw

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Huw, second place isn't so bad! It's tough because I have a fast metabolism already and the weight training makes me even more voracious. A crock pot definitely helps with both the gains and the wallet, and right now I am loading up on eggs and milk which are pretty good price wise per calorie. Eating out is killing me as I am still working long hours and it is so convenient to have a cafeteria at work just a few minutes from my office. Thanks for stopping in and good luck with the gains (both financial and aesthetic).

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  5. That food bill. Ouch! That's about 3x what I spend if you include dining out. That's more than my parents paid for a family of four! Adjusting for inflation ( say -10 years) and it's pretty close to even. I'm surprised more people haven't given you constructive criticism on this.

    Keep working out, keeping working on the budget. You're making great gains! Everything except the food looks exceptional.

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    Replies
    1. I agree the food bill was really high this month. That number also includes a crab fishing trip where I bought food and alcohol for the entire boat which probably ran about 70-80 dollars. Maybe that money would have been better placed under the entertainment section. But you are definitely right, I love my food.

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  6. Hi Dividendasaur!

    Triple digits a month is a great result, considering this blog is only 7 months old..
    Keep up the good work.

    By the way, I've nominated you for a Liebster Award. Please accept it.
    More information could be found at my blog: http://dividendforstarters.blogspot.nl/2014/08/liebster-award.html

    Best wishes, DfS

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  7. Your spending seems to be really in control. It's the classic question of what's better for your financial picture... spending less or earning more. I happen to believe that controlling expenses is easier than increasing income. Good job with the dividend income too. Triple digits are in your future!

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  8. You are so close to pulling in triple digits! I am enjoying PSEC myself every month. What is your dividend goal for the year?

    ~ISP

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  9. Great job on spending. It's odd to say, but I can only aspire to such lows at this point. I'll keep going though.

    Just curious -- what kind of numbers would I have to have invested in these dividend stocks to see the kinds of monthly returns you're seeing?

    FM

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