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.

June Spending, Dividend Income and a July Buy

It's looking like blog updates are going to be less frequent for the foreseeable future as my work hours are starting to pile up once again.  Overall June was my best month of the year for both dividend income and spending.  The numbers speak for themselves!

June Spending 

Total spending came in at a very low $849.81.  This is by far the best spending month I have had since I started this blog back in February.  The main reasons this number is so low has to do with the fact that my first mortgage payment wasn't due until July 1st so I had no rent or mortgage to pay in June.  June was also the first month that my work has started making my student loan payments.  This saves an additional $121 every single month which I will happily put to work earning me dividends.

My food and dining, shopping, and utility bills were higher than normal.  I had to pay utilities on two properties in June which propped up spending.  I also needed to buy a few household items to do some repairs/renovations on the new house.  I took friends out for dinner a few times and also bought groceries for a family barbecue which increases the food bill to slightly higher than normal.

June Dividend Income


The majority of my stocks have dividend distributions that occur in June.  As such it was by far my biggest dividend haul to date.  Dividend payments were as follows:

AWLCF: $50.51
INTC:      $10.13
CVX:       $9.63
TGT:        $7.74
MCD:      $8.91
PSEC:      $33.13
SDRL:      $43.00
GLPI:       $16.12

The total haul for the month of June was $179.17  When compared to last quarters March dividend income of $46.82 we have an increase of over 382%  I couldn't be happier with the increase which is mostly attributed to the fact that almost all of my high yield income investments pay out in this time period.  This brings my total dividends received in my first 6 months of investing up to $348.58.

Total dividend coverage for the month of June was 21.08% That little sliver of dividend income has had its first very noticeable month.  This is mainly due to the supplementation of my dividend growth stocks with high income investments.  My ideal portfolio at this time is an equal combination of dividend growth and income investments.  The higher yield income investments typically carry higher risk in particular risk to dividend distributions/increases due to very high, sometimes greater than 100% payout ratios.  There is a very real possibility of a poor quarter causing a dividend decrease.

 I carefully monitor these higher yield investments and consider all of these positions as possible trades.  I will typically pick up higher yield positions in industries that have seen hard times.  For example SDRL and AWLCF (offshore drilling) which has been rallying nicely for the last few months after a severe decline.  NAT (shipping) which is an industry that has still not recovered well since the financial crises.  However indicative rates (how much it costs to contract out an oil tanker) have risen substantially in the last few weeks causing the stock to bounce nicely (might sell soon).  Conversely my dividend growth positions I plan on holding and allowing the distributions to grow long term.  They are my SWAN (sleep well at night) investments that require significantly less attention and preening.

July Stock Buy

Earlier this month I picked up 59 shares of CVRR for a price of $25.69 per share for a total investment of $1525.69.  My new 12 month forward dividend income sits at $2,316.4 with this purchase.  This is another high income play for me that pays out the majority of its free cash flow in dividends.  A risky play similar to my purchase of AWLCF, CVRR owns and operates two refineries.  The company is currently recovering from difficulties at one of their refineries last year which caused a major decrease in income/company value.

Currently considering for my second July purchase:
RY, WFC or TD  (I keep wanting to buy a financial but the prices keep rising.  I like each of these companies and might just pull the trigger regardless instead of missing the bus)
NORSB:  illiquid microcap great analysis here:  http://otcadventures.com/?p=1374
GE, RTN, LMT, AGU, POT (still need to do more analysis.)
Also closely monitoring the merger of RAI and LO for a buying opportunity.

Considering selling my position in NAT

Thanks for reading folks!

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!

April Spending Report 2014

With April come and gone It is time to report my monthly spending.  These spending reports are one of my favorite segments because they help keep me honest.  Any time I start to think about making an unnecessary purchase I remember that at the start of each new month I have to air it out for everyone to see and I risk missing my monthly goal of spending less than $2,200.

For the month of April I spent a total of $1868.76.  This beats my goal  and is my second lowest month of spending so far this year.  Right now February came in at $5 cheaper (Darn Subway sandwich).  I am absolutely ecstatic with this amount and hope to be able to continue the run going forward.  My spending breakdown (courtesy of Mint) is as follows:

Major notable differences include:

• The utilities category where I managed to only spend $256.81, this includes heat/power/cell phone/internet service.  This has been decreased by switching from my $55 verizon plan to a $12 per month Republic Wireless plan which was also a significant boost in quality of service.  The coming of spring has also helped to knock down my heating bill significantly.

• I also switched car insurance companies to a company called Metro Mile which provides deeply discounted car insurance based on how much (or in my case how little) you drive.  As you can see I didn't get out and drive much this month (working 90 hour weeks will do that to you).  With this change I am saving ~$20 per month.  I am about a 5 minute walk from my office/groceries so that really cuts down on my monthly commute expenses.  At this point the only reason I maintain a car is for the occasional camping/hiking/paddle boarding adventure.  

• I spent slightly more money this month on entertainment and bought my pet parrot a treat.  

• Misc expenses include the cost of filing my state taxes.

This morning I finished signing paperwork for the purchase of a new house.  This should knock about $170 off my monthly Home cost and will significantly decrease my heating costs in the near future.  The downside will be a few months of increased misc spending as I purchase necessary home items (insulation, curtains, furnace filters, lawn mower, etc.)

I hope you all had a fantastic April!

February Spending Report

It is that time of the month again, time to report spending for the month of February.  Spending for the month came in at a grand total of $1,863.29.  This meets my goal to spend $2,200 or less every month, and brings my six month average spending down to $2405.13.  Overall my spending for the month was a huge success and hopefully I can continue to decrease this average each month.  I have some big plans for the near future that could greatly lower this monthly spending so stay tuned!  My spending can be broken down as follows:

Compared to my January Spending Report I was able to lower costs in the Bills and Utilities ( $-123.08) and Food and Dining ($-68.60), my Auto & Transport, and Entertainment categories grew slightly but overall I spent $368.04 less this month then last.  I have been extremely busy with work this month (60+ hrs/wk) which really keeps my entertainment spending low.  If my plans work out (they never do as intended) I will be able to lower this total by approximately $414 more each month by June.  All the more money to invest and grow the portfolio!  By continuously auditing my spending each month I am constantly able to find ways to improve.

January Spending Report

Spending totals for the month of January were $2,231.  This is slightly below my six month average spending of $2467.  Unexpected expenses during the month included auto licensing and registration and a $319 energy bill to heat the old house I am renting.  My Spending for the month is as follows:

The bills and utilities category includes the $319 utility fee as well as costs for phone and internet service.  In March when my phone contract expires I am hoping to decrease the bill by around $40 per month by switching to Republic Wireless's $10 plan.  This comes with the expense of having to buy a new phone but on the plus side I will join the rest of the people in this decade with a smart phone.  The $121.95 student loan charge will be picked up by Uncle Sam starting in June which is one perk of government work.  My entertainment category was extremely low this month partially because most of my hobbies don't cost money, combined with the fact that I have been very busy at work.

For February my goal is to focus on lowering my food and dining category by using my crock pot and Vitamix blender more often.  This typically forces me to eat more healthy and cost effective food.