tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16489057940124680892024-03-18T21:57:05.368-07:00MidLife DividendMidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-22590887858902317312024-02-06T06:03:00.000-07:002024-02-06T06:03:27.526-07:00I did it!<p> Inspired by youngdividend's last post, this is mine as well. I'll keep the blog here in case I get hit by a truck and my wifenkids can use it to continue the trend. My son is especially into dividends.<br /><br />I did it. Over a year ago, I was offered a severance check to leave my company. I applied for it, I got it, and dropped the check into dividends. Today, I am happy to report that retiring on dividends works (over a year, anyways). </p><p>Now, I am a cautious person, and due to many FIRE folks my age dealing with the "messy middle" of my kids, my wife took a job. This was mostly because she was having a hard time dealing with empty nest syndrome, but also as a cushion in case this dividend thing didn't work. Well it worked. She is working to "borrow" my daughter tuition, but this is short lived, as my daughter will graduate before the end of 2024. My daughter will then pay us back without interest, and we will use that for my son's education, which is for a less expensive school. Ok, so that part of the "messy middle" is taken care of.</p><p>Just switched from my COBRA to my wife's medical coverage, but she will probably have to quit in 3 months because we want to stay inside a certain tax bracket. Then we will move to a health-share we have used in the past (keep reading for a better scope on this). Next year, I want to use the buffer in the tax bracket to move stocks from my Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. This year (and last), I am moving stocks from my taxable account to my Roth. I used dividends from my taxable account, and my traditional IRA in 2023 to pay bills and enjoy leisure activities. In 2024, I will also be pulling from my Roth and my wife's retirement accounts to increase income. </p><p>"But what about the 10% early withdrawal penalty?" Well, thanks to having a child in college, I avoid that penalty (for now). My son will help with that when he starts college and my daughter leaves. Once he leaves, I will probably lock up my traditional IRA with a 72t until I'm 59.5 to avoid the early withdrawal penalty. After that it will be all about converting the taxable into the Roth and avoid taxes as much as possible. </p><p>So, what did I do with the severance check? I bought some stinkers (MPW, MED, & WBA), but I also bought some (unexpected) winners: IBM(biggest gainer), UVV, OMF, UNB, VZ(shocker), & WMB. The rest have been fair to middlin' or more of what I have, and some are just me waiting for the rates to drop (ABR/AGNC/REITS). It is true that my best years were the Trump years, so I can expect the Biden years to not live up to it, but if Trump gets back in, the market will likely roar back. And even if that doesn't happen, lowering rates will do that as well. This is me being optimistic, of course.</p><p>I have my HSA dividends, and now my wife's HSA dividends helping with medical costs (and buying Excedrin and gel shoe inserts). I have both of our Roths, both of our Tradition IRAS, and the taxable account supplementing income. We are also toying with the idea to sell our home (which almost doubled in 5 years) when rates start to drop to take advantage of the profits, put them into dividends, and then travel/rent using that income. Our current state has insane inflation post-pandemic, and we need to take advantage of being flexible by going to countries (6 months) and states (6 months) where the dollar does best. And not accumulating material items - well that should keep us flush with cash. We've also been offered to stay rent-free at a snowbird's home, so if any "messy middle" life events happen, we could always sit there and accumulate, or just annoy my parents in a worst-case scenario. Our children will just be starting out, so we want to leave them alone, but that is the worst-worst-case scenario. I may be optimistic, but I am also cautious. </p><p>So, every day is Saturday for me. I am involved in my church, I attend a "retirement" club, and the guy running it is in his 90s, and did exactly what i did when he turned 50 and has been living off dividends. I don't think his was self-directed, but back then it was harder to do that. I am running two D&D games with my friends online (so I can do it anywhere), I belong to a walking group, a hiking group, a pub trivia group, and I fill in the rest with hot tub time, reading, crossword puzzles, and supporting my son in his interests. I travel with my son for his interests, and travel with my wife, leaving for weeks at a time. I have lunch every quarter with fellow dividend investors I used to work with and those we left behind who are also working on their "plan". </p><p>I am excited at achieving this, and I encourage others to find their way to this spot as well. Everyone's situation is different, and sometimes it is hard to make decisions when friends & family are involved, but you can always 1) get out of debt, 2) cover your bills with dividends, 3) have a plan if you ever get laid off, and 4) determine your retirement plan. Do the hard work now, then you can sleep well at night knowing your stocks are dropping coins into your piggy bank. Make your principle work for you, and even switch jobs to control your retirement funds (i.e. roll fidelity controlled 401k into a self-controlled IRA). A little discipline, some research, then kick back and enjoy the fruits of your labors. I am blessed, and God, my wife, and my kids get all the credit.</p><p>As youngdividend said, I won't be posting anymore because of doxing. Selling my home and going nomadic will help ensure my financial safety, along with umbrella insurance and a VPN. Time for the next phase...<br /></p><p><br /></p>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-69175147890723627712023-01-18T18:53:00.002-07:002023-01-18T18:53:12.316-07:00Big Changes Coming<p> I've had an extraordinary opportunity. More once I get it all set up. Currently I'm reading "The Millionaire Next Door". Preaching to the choir, but a good book nonetheless. Still surprised that doctors make so much money, but are not in the top 10 wealthiest occupations.</p>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-18651677390231911182022-07-02T16:24:00.004-07:002022-07-31T15:48:02.942-07:00Nice pullback, but for dumb reasons<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhSGwjXeaVZIDnNzj3kTUHwwQ6KnabveKDtJY_rFxs7fjbSt4b3X9bbvm7pnVKB2ZJEar3qhCzv9zyD2Ip0KmScPihHxnJOjPtTvA0yq4QVipyRV-jn_52yM1zXTtkbevfUC9ttU_iiEur1r-0T0q0tb2W0V8VOl5nIRHl01ihyl2HzILP4MqkFIO8" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="208" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhSGwjXeaVZIDnNzj3kTUHwwQ6KnabveKDtJY_rFxs7fjbSt4b3X9bbvm7pnVKB2ZJEar3qhCzv9zyD2Ip0KmScPihHxnJOjPtTvA0yq4QVipyRV-jn_52yM1zXTtkbevfUC9ttU_iiEur1r-0T0q0tb2W0V8VOl5nIRHl01ihyl2HzILP4MqkFIO8" width="212" /></a></div>Q1 earnings caused quite a ruckus in the market, and Q2 earnings might as well. Thankfully, dividend<br /> stocks, especially consumer staples, don't get hit as hard. Regardless, my (limited selection) 401k has lost <b>a lot</b>, and if I had that money in hand, it would not be the case. My net worth has been about the same as November of last year! And that is with me adding money to my account, and my house going up up up, and me adding just enough to my 401k for my work to match. <p></p><p>The market is pretty boring these days, and a debbie downer. I appreciate the great yields, but the depressed market is quite a change from the Trump economy market. I know Biden has been quoted as saying the stock market is for rich people, but that is such a small view. It is for companies that employ all classes, and holds retirement for all classes as well. This drop may cause some senior citizens to come out of retirement to work, and might require me to delay my retirement. I have been holding cash for the most part, with some big purchases here and there to take advantage of good yields from quality companies.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMk32y0YCiRkKkoTcLHRL2k8Yl33-ApkYaaTXvhbxQL1VWbgJYpeEdVydAbLJB8g285uLPFPYBtLLF5Wx2q_wul9Ili7GBL_N3hSusYhw0BGPCBoDtzJHEZAjH8LfRlHoLop8PErT1A-HLQGfiaZ31uGJS2956mZONDItUVShlNLa_zjA07TyLhu5n" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1238" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMk32y0YCiRkKkoTcLHRL2k8Yl33-ApkYaaTXvhbxQL1VWbgJYpeEdVydAbLJB8g285uLPFPYBtLLF5Wx2q_wul9Ili7GBL_N3hSusYhw0BGPCBoDtzJHEZAjH8LfRlHoLop8PErT1A-HLQGfiaZ31uGJS2956mZONDItUVShlNLa_zjA07TyLhu5n" width="297" /></a></div>The feds need to raise rates. If you didn't get a loan or mortgage with a low rate, you missed the boat. It's only going up from here. A lot of this is oil related, and we need to get back to using our own oil, at least to keep strong during this depressed economy. We should get a bounce back as money slowly re-enters the market, but if Q2 is as bad as Q1, we might have another drop. Companies are a lot more agile now than back in the Sears or Marshall Fields days. They may be able to take care of the increased price of oil, and in turn, everything else.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRBVwoC7i8ZyPqBwUKpzaAFc4A5EuL2yrHxOFjJtQmAakautGWV37iR_7-veG87VDYL_PUcYAiN7UtBd5CYQBW4Dtnwf3ciEma_OOifbZG5hQb_lEZOMSVHW9RDFOv-8hW6y3aiKopJoDl9rlxziFo7tqHBLsqGpErVDJmkrwRvXadte81j1NU25yj" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="911" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRBVwoC7i8ZyPqBwUKpzaAFc4A5EuL2yrHxOFjJtQmAakautGWV37iR_7-veG87VDYL_PUcYAiN7UtBd5CYQBW4Dtnwf3ciEma_OOifbZG5hQb_lEZOMSVHW9RDFOv-8hW6y3aiKopJoDl9rlxziFo7tqHBLsqGpErVDJmkrwRvXadte81j1NU25yj" width="320" /></a></div>SCOTUS rulings should be highly ineffective on the market. One possible contradiction to this was the giving of Roe vs Wade to the states (and I wish more things were given to the states). That kind of news in this economy is great as we may be able to increase workers, reason to work, and also more consumers into the economy, the market reflected that following the news. Considering the severe drop in family sizes in the U.S., we definitely need a larger work population.<p></p><p><br />Not much else to say. We finished remodeling our last room in our condo for retirement - and just need to buy some patio furniture with a few minor changes here and there to the inside. It is very exciting to be close to finished with that goal. Our first child is going off to university with one year+ of credits under her belt, and our son is going to college full time while in high school to reduce his tuition costs as well. I have been living my pre-retirement in my hot tub, and playing games with my friends.</p><p></p><ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.4; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 24px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></ul><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts Apr/May/June</span></u></b></p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 16px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">Watsco (<span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WSO?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Watsco, Inc.">WSO</a></span>) declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18733298-watsco-boosts-annual-dividend-13-percent-to-8_80-per-share?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$2.20/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span color="var(--sa-positive-color)" style="box-sizing: border-box;">12.8% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.95. <span style="color: red;"><i>- Beats inflation!</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">Procter & Gamble (<span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PG?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="The Procter & Gamble Company">PG</a></span>) declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18747409-p-and-g-declares-dividend-increase?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.9133/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span color="var(--sa-positive-color)" style="box-sizing: border-box;">5% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.8698. <span style="color: red;"><i>- I'll take it!</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">Johnson & Johnson (<span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JNJ?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Johnson & Johnson">JNJ</a></span>) declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18753297-johnson-and-johnson-announces-dividend-increase-of-6_6-percent?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.13/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span color="var(--sa-positive-color)" style="box-sizing: border-box;">6.6% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.06. <span style="color: red;"><i>-This company is managed right.</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">Southern CO (<span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SO?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="The Southern Company">SO</a></span>) declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18754761-southern-company-increases-dividend-for-21st-consecutive-year-annualized-rate-rises-to-2_72?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.68/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span color="var(--sa-positive-color)" style="box-sizing: border-box;">3% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.66. <i style="color: red;">- I'll take it!</i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">W. P. Carey (<span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WPC?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="W. P. Carey Inc.">WPC</a></span>) declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18836881-w-p-carey-inc-increases-quarterly-dividend-to-1_059-per-share?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.059/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span color="var(--sa-positive-color)" style="box-sizing: border-box;">0.2% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.057. <span style="color: red;"><i>-One of their many mini increases.</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">General Mills (<span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GIS?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="General Mills, Inc.">GIS</a></span>) declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18849743-general-mills-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-results-for-fiscal-2022-and-provides?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.54/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span color="var(--sa-positive-color)" style="box-sizing: border-box;">5.9% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.51. <i style="color: red;">- This was surprising and unexpected.</i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">LyondellBasell (<span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LYB?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="LyondellBasell Industries N.V.">LYB</a></span>) <span class="green" color="var(--teal-100)" style="box-sizing: border-box;">+2.9%</span> pre-market after saying on Friday that it will <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18811481-lyondellbasell-announces-5_20-special-dividend-and-increases-quarterly-dividend-5-percent?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">pay a special dividend of $5.20/share</a> and raise its quarterly dividend by 5.3% to $1.19/share from $1.13/share. <i style="color: red;">- This was the best new this quarter. Thanks LYB! </i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;"><br /></li></ul><p><br /></p>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-26261875959975855442022-04-04T04:59:00.001-07:002022-04-04T13:31:20.030-07:00Inflation, Ukraine, Home Prices<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjya47G42hXN8hDcWOUos8RcKoE1eiQzDbXotIlPwiaD5u5icAwHmAqV37e1Nf8cdxS4yxozQITOX1LpyVcAlVRZAP9Z1mQ4ZnNbIvdzfEB0zsNViirBK8rc32RYBZfNdlnhklwqMGvz10xWUa3-_ELf0FMPZJnsqiDNpgTJqky6aAxPVN_2uV1fZOd" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="201" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjya47G42hXN8hDcWOUos8RcKoE1eiQzDbXotIlPwiaD5u5icAwHmAqV37e1Nf8cdxS4yxozQITOX1LpyVcAlVRZAP9Z1mQ4ZnNbIvdzfEB0zsNViirBK8rc32RYBZfNdlnhklwqMGvz10xWUa3-_ELf0FMPZJnsqiDNpgTJqky6aAxPVN_2uV1fZOd=w200-h199" width="200" /></a></div> Interest rates are rising - and that means people will be borrowing less which should boost the value of<br /> the dollar - except the Fed is taking its sweet time to raise them. I'm not sure why - but as long as they drag their feet, the housing market should get a last minute shot in the arm as people scramble to take advantage of such low rates. I am not too worried about the value of my home, I live in one of the hottest parts of the country right now. So even if the market cools or busts, I should see little if any change. It is nice to see the price of my home almost double, as it has been the fastest growing asset in my net worth portfolio. The nice thing is that <br />it will continue to appreciate until such time as I decide I am tired of owning and wish to rent and let someone else deal with all the problems. I have often heard that you don't own a house, it owns you, and that has been true of my last two homes, but the current Condo I live in, I don't feel that way. While we are currently remodeling the last room in our house, I have not had to make any repairs to the home. I may keep it - but if I want to avoid state income taxes from dividends I may not. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsYFTgBdOvFCvviFmWQbDdOciKZfPOosgpuLmnr3Ey0RMt2cDQ8-sxP_OUxoEwAut8V_LTSIEJ7aiC3UqHds-Jz-0PHibBahrU89jwD5lWa-x_oi_ShcIH_VinIw_d6KJH9QG2yiUHTaJRvh-VWMnQQ30uC5sn_ZDf1fLx2iGP4OtoloVJunOhJ__z" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="765" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsYFTgBdOvFCvviFmWQbDdOciKZfPOosgpuLmnr3Ey0RMt2cDQ8-sxP_OUxoEwAut8V_LTSIEJ7aiC3UqHds-Jz-0PHibBahrU89jwD5lWa-x_oi_ShcIH_VinIw_d6KJH9QG2yiUHTaJRvh-VWMnQQ30uC5sn_ZDf1fLx2iGP4OtoloVJunOhJ__z=w200-h137" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p>I received a larger than average raise to compensate for inflation this year. Sadly, it was still behind the current rate of inflation (no surprise there). I now see why people job hop to different companies. It gets more expensive each year to keep your job, as the employer believes you will have some kind of loyalty and take the abuse. Thankfully, I have about 2.5 years left before I am eligible to retire. If the economy improves, I should be able to follow through with that. Drop my pension and 401k into an IRA, then drop that into a Roth, pay an obscene amount of taxes, then never pay federal income tax again. My taxable brokerage account is getting very close to the 20k bracket for married filing jointly, so by the time I do all this, I should be at 16-18k income on the taxable account, and everything else coming from my Roth. This current div meter does include some income from Roth, HSA, and my wife's IRA, but not a huge percentage.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidhRYtR7qO5wrTJBpJcf89G4rHhtoJitM4ovuOChDnXEmcsR0ysRGglVOJt1Azyl8NLu4RDn5IesWRqIL6jT0yM6FKjzjwIBQRJL8_5aI5MWXgCiYxz-BmgIpLciTCV9-NmVPSrZtEhZqDKVPcbhcBduFxETvPz6Zgvfp8CbMUCVW1gTdb0vilfW0c" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidhRYtR7qO5wrTJBpJcf89G4rHhtoJitM4ovuOChDnXEmcsR0ysRGglVOJt1Azyl8NLu4RDn5IesWRqIL6jT0yM6FKjzjwIBQRJL8_5aI5MWXgCiYxz-BmgIpLciTCV9-NmVPSrZtEhZqDKVPcbhcBduFxETvPz6Zgvfp8CbMUCVW1gTdb0vilfW0c=w200-h113" width="200" /></a></div>From an economic perspective, the Ukraine debacle is itching for "peace to break out". I have been buying quite a bit as my portfolio is recovering from the last several months of losses. In all situations there is a place to make money, and one stock that has been taking off like a rocket is Archer Daniels (ADM). Who would have thought the Ukraine was the breadbasket of the world? Stateside farm value has exploded due to lack of farming in Ukraine, and ADM certainly is breaking out. My son owns LAND which is a farm REIT, and it has blown up as well. They will probably settle down after "peace breaks out". The only problem I have with the Ukraine situation is Putin's lack of success. It feels like a feint on purpose, or a smoke and mirrors tactic for China or itself. I hope there are no surprises later.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAgAkqcpSwoGyxqNZqqhPnvmqUDrvfwhWvqxVW4mMk5_JJmmO18FacizYps5KyYIxk9toENjQJVqED9LPGQsHRKbTWkjoWN1RnRUascA81_qGPaEa471bBYPeI0PTZJJnss3Ao29oy3BkE3Imk_q87EKyODIxBlQEYRaZ3pbensaODXQh4J_wjJISL" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAgAkqcpSwoGyxqNZqqhPnvmqUDrvfwhWvqxVW4mMk5_JJmmO18FacizYps5KyYIxk9toENjQJVqED9LPGQsHRKbTWkjoWN1RnRUascA81_qGPaEa471bBYPeI0PTZJJnss3Ao29oy3BkE3Imk_q87EKyODIxBlQEYRaZ3pbensaODXQh4J_wjJISL=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><br />Inflation definitely puts a crimp into my retirement plans. It also tips me toward going abroad. After all, most of the world's grain goes through the Panama Canal, and Panama is in my top 5 countries to retire to. I expect the dollar to go a lot further there, as we are feeling the squeeze on fuel and consumer staples. We will see how this goes - I don't have much keeping me around at this point that I can't do online. That includes socially as well.</p><p><br /></p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts Feb/Mar</span></u></b></p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 16px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">Air Products and Chemicals <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/APD?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.">APD</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18657718-for-40th-consecutive-year-air-products-increases-quarterly-dividend?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.62/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color);">8% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.50.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">Watsco <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WSO?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Watsco, Inc.">WSO</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18666283-watsco-reports-record-breaking-fourth-quarter-and-2021-full-year-performance?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$8.80/share annual dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color);">12.8% increase</span> from prior dividend of $7.80.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">Home Depot <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HD?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="The Home Depot, Inc.">HD</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18679607-home-depot-announces-fourth-quarter-and-fiscal-2021-results-increases-quarterly-dividend-15?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.90/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color);">15.2% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.65.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">Xcel Energy <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NASDAQ:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XEL?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Xcel Energy Inc.">XEL</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18683447-xcel-energy-inc-board-increases-2022-common-dividend-6_6-percent-declares-dividend-on-common?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.4875/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color);">6.6% increase from prior dividend of $0.4575</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">Old Republic <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ORI?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Old Republic International Corporation">ORI</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18686957-old-republic-declares-first-quarter-cash-dividend-of-23-cents-per-share?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.23/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color);">4.5% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.22.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">Qualcomm <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NASDAQ:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/QCOM?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="QUALCOMM Incorporated">QCOM</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18703124-qualcomm-increases-quarterly-cash-dividend-10-percent?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.75/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color);">10.3% increase</span> from <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/news/3788690-qualcomm-incorporated-declares-0_68-dividend?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">prior dividend of $0.68</a>.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">W. P. Carey <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WPC?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="W. P. Carey Inc.">WPC</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18706162-w-p-carey-inc-increases-quarterly-dividend-to-1_057-per-share?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.057/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color);">0.2% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.055.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 2.11111em; position: relative;">Realty Income <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/O?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Realty Income Corporation">O</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18711478-115th-common-stock-monthly-dividend-increase-declared-realty-income?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.247/share monthly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color);">0.2% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.246.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; position: relative;"><span style="color: red;"><i><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>Feb/Mar Purchases/Sales: TBA</u></span></b></i></span></li></ul>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-9974513050525421812022-02-10T09:50:00.003-07:002022-02-10T09:50:36.930-07:00Late, but was waiting for milestone<p> Finally!</p><p>This morning, WSO aka Watsco aka HVAC Supplier, raised their dividend 13%, which pushed my dividends over to $1001 per month (average). $12k a year. I am proud to reveal my divmeter's new milestone:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiETJrW-8eYscco6rGglBm7z19rDSCVfcIUqVQydBZFE1dqZ-PqGHnSIUnWDDb5sMVpyWB8oLkDr5FoBY0oTGzV4JevWH09qen9W8ZKas22mKD5JGzh9Zh8XrI3Qs5ar6RB5f3QIbfjHZ_l6_ZGL9K2282BCgFhQh33ghJPrgqzGc2UTf0-MdqT6_PP" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="198" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiETJrW-8eYscco6rGglBm7z19rDSCVfcIUqVQydBZFE1dqZ-PqGHnSIUnWDDb5sMVpyWB8oLkDr5FoBY0oTGzV4JevWH09qen9W8ZKas22mKD5JGzh9Zh8XrI3Qs5ar6RB5f3QIbfjHZ_l6_ZGL9K2282BCgFhQh33ghJPrgqzGc2UTf0-MdqT6_PP" width="260" /></a></div>It took under 5 years... <p></p><p>I'm halfway to "livable" (green) income. Granted, some (but not many) of these divvies are in a Roth and HSA. None of them are in my 401(k), since I'm not allowed by Fidelity to own dividend paying stocks. I will need to hit 40k if I want to maintain my current lifestyle, after kids have left.</p><p>I'm also late because I was on a vacation - took a cruise at the height of Omicron. I won't do that again - wasn't worth the discounted price! I also spent most of January doing taxes and making money decisions. It appears I will be opening a Traditional IRA for my wife, so I can pay her instead of the government. It will also help us simulate having one at some point. It remains to be seen if we will be 72(t) it when retirement rolls around in a few years. I have been giving a lot of thought to the backdoor Roth, but not too much thought, the Democrats may yet be able to eliminate it, but I hope not! My co-worker is retiring in a few months and hopes to take advantage of it. I will be watching (the end of) his career with great interest.</p><p>As far as my daughter's education, one of the scholarships we were banking on fizzled out - they ended it last year, and announced it this February. It looks like we will need to fund her education and she will pay us back interest free. Almost every scholarship is "need based" which exposes the ridiculousness of the price gouging that takes place, colleges hoping students get free money from the government or go into debt paying for their school. I consider it an investment in the end, she can pay the old man instead of the loan sharks.</p><p>With 2+ months of markets flat or retreating, it is clear we have a president who isn't concerned about the stock market status. With inflation on the rise, Fed raising rates, and supply chain shortages, I'm expecting more of the same going forward. It will be harder to find a few gems here and there. We can wait for Putin to invade Ukraine, and maybe even China invading Taiwan to get a few bargains, but other than that, I don't see any motivation from the White House to keep this Bull market of the past 5 years going. </p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts Dec/Jan</span></u></b><br /></p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 16px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 18px;"><b>WEC Energy</b> </span><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WEC?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="WEC Energy Group, Inc.">WEC</a>)</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">declares</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18585974-wec-energy-group-announces-plan-to-increase-dividend-7_4-percent?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.7275/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="font-size: 18px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span class="green" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--teal-100); font-size: 18px;">7.4% increase</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">from prior dividend of $0.6775. <span style="color: red;">~<i>Keeping up with inflation</i></span></span></li><li><b>Abbott Laboratories</b> <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ABT?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Abbott Laboratories">ABT</a>)</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">declares</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18596662-abbott-increases-quarterly-dividend-for-50th-consecutive-year?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.47/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="font-size: 18px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span class="green" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--teal-100); font-size: 18px;">4.4% increase</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">from prior dividend of $0.45. <span style="color: red;"><i>~A little unusual after the record-breaking increase a year ago.</i></span></span></li><li><b>Fastenal </b><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px;">(NASDAQ:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FAST?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Fastenal Company">FAST</a>)</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">declares</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18635374-fastenal-company-announces-cash-dividend?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.31/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="font-size: 18px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color); font-size: 18px;">10.7% increase</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">from prior dividend of $0.28. </span><span style="color: red;">~</span><i style="color: red; font-size: 18px;">Keeping up with inflation</i></li><li><b>Archer-Daniels-Midland</b> <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ADM?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Archer-Daniels-Midland Company">ADM</a>)</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">declares</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18642773-adm-reports-outstanding-results-fourth-quarter-earnings-per-share-of-1_38-1_50-on-adjusted?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.40/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="font-size: 18px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color); font-size: 18px;">8.1% increase</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">from prior dividend of $0.37. </span><span style="color: red;">~</span><i style="color: red; font-size: 18px;">Keeping up with inflation</i></li><li><b>Kimberly-Clark</b> <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KMB?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Kimberly-Clark Corporation">KMB</a>)</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">declares</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18645169-kimberly-clark-announces-year-end-2021-results-and-2022-outlook?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.16/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="font-size: 18px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color); font-size: 18px;">1.8% increase</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">from prior dividend of $1.14. <span style="color: red;"><i>~ Very shameful. KMB will need to sit in the corner this year.</i></span></span></li><li><b>Chevron </b><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CVX?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Chevron Corporation">CVX</a>)</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">declares</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18646552-chevron-increases-quarterly-dividend?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.42/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="font-size: 18px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color); font-size: 18px;">6% increase</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">from prior dividend of $1.34. </span><span style="color: red;">~</span><i style="color: red; font-size: 18px;">Keeping up with inflation (barely)</i></li><li><b>Air Products and Chemicals</b> <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/APD?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.">APD</a>)</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">declares</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18657718-for-40th-consecutive-year-air-products-increases-quarterly-dividend?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.62/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="font-size: 18px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color); font-size: 18px;">8% increase</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">from prior dividend of $1.50. </span><span style="color: red;">~</span><i style="color: red; font-size: 18px;">Keeping up with inflation</i></li><li><b>Watsco </b><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WSO?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Watsco, Inc.">WSO</a>)</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">declares</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18666283-watsco-reports-record-breaking-fourth-quarter-and-2021-full-year-performance?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$8.80/share annual dividend</a><span style="font-size: 18px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--sa-positive-color); font-size: 18px;">12.8% increase</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">from prior dividend of $7.80. </span><span style="color: red;">~</span><i style="color: red; font-size: 18px;">Sent me over the top!</i></li></ul></ul><div><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; line-height: 1.4; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; position: relative;"><span style="color: red;"><i><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>December/January Purchases/Sales:</u></span></b></i></span></li><ul style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem;"><li><i style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Sold OHI-100 to tax harvest to Buy QYLD</b> - <b>128</b></span></span></i></li><li><i style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>O - 10</b></span></span></i></li><li><i style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>QYLD - 49</b></span></span></i></li><li><i style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>JNJ - 2</b></span></span></i></li><li><i style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>ORI - 1</b></span></span></i></li><li><i style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>SO - 9</b></span></span></i></li><li><i style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>XEL - 7</b></span></span></i></li><li><i style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>WTRG - 1</b></span></span></i></li></ul></ul><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; line-height: 1.4; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; position: relative;"><span style="color: red;"><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; position: relative;"><span style="color: red;"><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; position: relative;"><span style="color: red;"><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></i></span></li></ul></div>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-23833922683226065232021-11-27T10:02:00.003-07:002021-11-30T07:40:27.111-07:00The Great Resignation, FAFSA, Lyondell Basell, Omicron<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mY8Am9XlVes3jFFls8qyuaccHKk1p4lCI2VmDdTBGR-4NpSnrjrnkemPEGu5wbq_1ZC7f4zQyXVSxdG3Hq19Q3xtGj45hNXVt8w3FoLkedQMa9c5tN0u3hySr4MJTAANur7GU-o8FbU/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="181" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mY8Am9XlVes3jFFls8qyuaccHKk1p4lCI2VmDdTBGR-4NpSnrjrnkemPEGu5wbq_1ZC7f4zQyXVSxdG3Hq19Q3xtGj45hNXVt8w3FoLkedQMa9c5tN0u3hySr4MJTAANur7GU-o8FbU/w200-h188/image.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Income as of 11/27/21<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> I didn't post last month as I was too busy! However, this week has been slow at work, so I thought I would post something. <br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkSXmCJYTblAA6qJjilkqi5WyH_qddqJoUMqAtqcyQsCF9rjeTk8TewDuTxbKaTkPV9xwmdW33ZqgFNIfcYPq77o7S_o3J4ax0CGepzvKUvxWQcnzHE_v3KneB67xFSxKPGRtuEV734o/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkSXmCJYTblAA6qJjilkqi5WyH_qddqJoUMqAtqcyQsCF9rjeTk8TewDuTxbKaTkPV9xwmdW33ZqgFNIfcYPq77o7S_o3J4ax0CGepzvKUvxWQcnzHE_v3KneB67xFSxKPGRtuEV734o/" width="192" /></a></div>In October we saw the fallout of "The Great Resignation". Peo<br />ple were walking out of their jobs due to an abundance of employers scrambling to fill the gaps caused by a rebounding economy, and the inability of foreigners to take those jobs. And this of course creates a snowball effect for the companies that lose employees and need to refill those jobs. I did not partake, although it has been tempting. I am too close to retirement to start over somewhere, even if they offer more money. While my work is relatively dangerous, and I am compensated for it, I know it, and I have made it very efficient over the years that the return on time investment is greater than if I worked elsewhere.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxcbOLVkf3xyZ9e56HLksrR6q3UGtyDgJwumpgQnCZglbMaRsHUYRV9qGU_dtPHalVPcjv16Tn7GbQERXOSiy2-FMnqwqzdAnRkMp5MWg73GfsE1N63ca7PEQM7iIuFjhw8e71qOhoVqY/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="354" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxcbOLVkf3xyZ9e56HLksrR6q3UGtyDgJwumpgQnCZglbMaRsHUYRV9qGU_dtPHalVPcjv16Tn7GbQERXOSiy2-FMnqwqzdAnRkMp5MWg73GfsE1N63ca7PEQM7iIuFjhw8e71qOhoVqY/" width="239" /></a></div>I did fill out the FAFSA. There were no fireworks or open arms. My daughter's college will review it and send out letters of offers at the end of December. I don't expect anything. My company does offer a scholarship for employee's kids, which I filled out the day it dropped, but two things on the questionnaire bothered me. First was a question on my income and savings, and would I share it. Really? Nobody who works at my company should have to answer a question like that. The qualification is my child is the daughter of an employee, where everyone is compensated at a certain level or higher. I clicked "No". I'm not even sure if that was a good idea, since if I did share, I certainly would not be the highest earner who did. Maybe I would be higher on the priority list if I did. I have seen this question before on forms that have nothing to do with being an employee's child. The next question really blew my mind, though, as I have *<b>NEVER</b>* seen it before. "Please describe reasons you did not do well in school, i.e. parent with addiction, stress from work or family, etc." Wow. That is a consideration? We all have problems, but they are really going to consider people who submitted their transcript, got C's and D's, because their dad, WHO IS AN EMPLOYEE OF A LARGE TECH COMPANY, has blown all the college money on alcohol, and caused you to get bad grades??????? I answered: "Due to the pandemic, I was unable to participate in extracurricular activities." I then talked to a fellow employee whose daughter is studying to become a Marine Biologist. He also answers "No" on the income/savings question. She has not received 1 penny from the employee scholarship program. What I once saw as a sure thing now looks like it is slipping away...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbPUp9lKnvTDZCwCXlOpwsKznhhc44amjQY0cUWuGnnjrYVsVSIeHqTfF8ISlulsWRBROdmF5TqWaV6RpLvHpYaRB1JbHU-dB5_ImYN7hkt17wwhSTCzBhSGlsXy6TtK-8zYQIOoj9Kg4/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="349" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbPUp9lKnvTDZCwCXlOpwsKznhhc44amjQY0cUWuGnnjrYVsVSIeHqTfF8ISlulsWRBROdmF5TqWaV6RpLvHpYaRB1JbHU-dB5_ImYN7hkt17wwhSTCzBhSGlsXy6TtK-8zYQIOoj9Kg4/" width="265" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>International Paper (IP) and Realty Income (O) split off some of their divisions into other companies, and I received stock for those companies. I sold them immediately as they did not offer dividends, and counted it as a "bonus dividend" in my records. Realty Income then proceeded to raise their dividend, International Paper proceeded to say they would cut their dividend. I sold IP and kept O. I then took the proceeds from IP, and bought a higher yielding industrial company, Lyondell Basell (LYB). It is chemicals, not unlike Air Products (APD), which I own. However, I think they are different enough that it shouldn't be an "all eggs in one basket" situation. LYB has dropped since I bought it, so the yield is still good for future purchases.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NacNRG0W4XTSVK6AI2CtVzXtUD6FQYAD6D8uuZz1PLE3hum3zTHNYM60gV-9Au_3qFmDSyP0UAqPPrpiCb199RqFjoUZnKz5QbGcRBULdcF5Z_PJpY70yIMTx_ZOpabA5hKd4MXg3SE/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="510" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NacNRG0W4XTSVK6AI2CtVzXtUD6FQYAD6D8uuZz1PLE3hum3zTHNYM60gV-9Au_3qFmDSyP0UAqPPrpiCb199RqFjoUZnKz5QbGcRBULdcF5Z_PJpY70yIMTx_ZOpabA5hKd4MXg3SE/" width="228" /></a></div><br />The market dropped quite a bit yesterday, and my net worth felt it, due to the announcement of the Omicron Covid strain. Apparently deadlier, and easily caught by young people, showing up in South Africa. I don't know what this will do to my cruise plans in January, but travel and energy related stocks took quite a hit. The last two strains didn't do much to the market, or to the covid issue (IMO), so I expected the market not to bat an eye. But it did. Time will tell what happens next.<p></p><p>With a new session of dual-enrollment (my son will be starting next semester), and two kids participating, and other bills + inflation, I haven't bought much the past two months. Christmas coming will most likely postpone any big purchases until Jan/Feb.</p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts Oct/Nov</span></u></b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"></ul><p></p><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 1.11111em; position: relative;">Hormel Foods <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HRL?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Hormel Foods Corporation">HRL</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18573417-hormel-foods-corporation-announces-56th-consecutive-increase-to-annual-dividend?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.26/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">6.1% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.24. <span style="color: red;"><i>- This was a bit of a shocker - glad I've been buying Hormel while it has been sitting at a 52 week low.</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 1.11111em; position: relative;">Realty Income <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/O?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Realty Income Corporation">O</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18565215-realty-income-announces-dividend-increase-of-5_1-percent?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.246/share monthly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">4.2% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.236. <span style="color: red;"><i>- This was refreshing to see after they spun off their office real estate division (which I sold). Thanks O!</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 1.11111em; position: relative;">Main Street Capital <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MAIN?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Main Street Capital">MAIN</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18539198-main-street-announces-first-quarter-2022-regular-monthly-dividends-increase-and-supplemental?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.215/share monthly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">2.4% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.210. In addition to the regular monthly dividends for Q1'22, the Board of Directors declared a supplemental cash dividend of $0.10 per share payable in December 2021. <span style="color: red;"><i>- Another surprise, since MAIN was about to miss their increase streak. Apparently someone is making money in this economy.</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 1.11111em; position: relative;">AbbVie <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ABBV?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="AbbVie Inc.">ABBV</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18535315-abbvie-reports-third-quarter-2021-financial-results?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.41/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">8.5% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.30. <span style="color: red;"><i>- Very nice! Thanks ABBV!</i></span></li><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.4; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; position: relative;"><span style="color: red;"><i><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>October/November Purchases/Sales:</u></span></b></i></span></li><ul><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">QYLD - 5</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">ONL - Sold 10 (O's spinoff)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">O - 5</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">HRL - 0.9011 (this is on DRIP)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">LYB - 104</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">VZ - 1.5036 (also on DRIP)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">IP - Sold 192</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">SLVVM - Sold 17 (IP's spinoff)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">WTRG - 11 (HSA)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">SO - 8 (HSA)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">JNJ - 4 (HSA)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">XEL - 2 (HSA)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 1.125rem;">WEC - 8 (HSA)</span></li></ul></ul>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-81388609349749307912021-10-01T16:01:00.002-07:002021-10-01T16:16:05.995-07:00September Slump, finally! QYLD<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNLRQfOmnddDbkpioDLrjKIl0uQOtI7Bm8Bn1vJiEl4ApbvNPhNG1oS9Tk7preV_66AK85oswOHRweWpseCyHq5MUh8eMgBtrQxGzXhm-d1Q48wx2ZZ337JpyB7QNXHPidihbrAsbnXU/s196/divmeter.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="196" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNLRQfOmnddDbkpioDLrjKIl0uQOtI7Bm8Bn1vJiEl4ApbvNPhNG1oS9Tk7preV_66AK85oswOHRweWpseCyHq5MUh8eMgBtrQxGzXhm-d1Q48wx2ZZ337JpyB7QNXHPidihbrAsbnXU/s0/divmeter.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"> <b>A</b></span>s I sit down to write this, I realize that I am being pressured to fill out the FAFSA for my college-bound child as of October 1st. This is a bit of a landmark moment, as the first of my two children will be leaving, clearing up a some household expenses. Since she picked the major, and the university, she will be required to pay for her tuition. She needs to have some "skin in the game" so to speak, so that money is not thrown away. She was able to reduce her bachelor's degree by one year by taking community college classes (surprisingly, they all transferred). Senior year is completely dual enrollment with said picked university. She also qualified for a scholarship that pays for 1/4 of each year's tuition for up to four years (keep that GPA up and take the ACT/SAT).<p></p><p>Ideally, this is they best way to do it: Starting Freshman/Sophomore year (easier for homeschooled kids), take general classes with your local community college (College Algebra, a lab science, a general history class (American or World), etc.). Online seems to be popular, so no worries about how they look to the other kids, and no worrisome interactions (do be careful with lit courses, though, they might end up reading 50 Shades of Grey!). Try and pick the school you want, make sure they have dual enrollment starting Junior year, and take classes with said school the last 2 years of high school. Upon graduation, you should have to get a bachelor's in only two years with that school. I learned with my first, now I need to apply this to my second child.</p><p>Now for the FAFSA - the FAFSA punishes you for saving, and having middle/upper middle class income. You truly see how this country is made on the backs of these two classes, when you see friends and relatives get free rides thanks to the FAFSA. Having a taxable brokerage account the size of mine, without putting it into a "can't touch until 65" retirement account, automatically qualifies my daughter to NOT get any college money. I've taken several faux FAFSA indication tests and they all say that she cannot get any support. This is how the system punishes the FIRE set, and forces you to play by their rules. Just like the current infrastructure bill has a clause to get rid of the backdoor ROTH option (this will make things painful if that passes! I'll explain if it does in a later blog). You MUST not make too much money, and you MUST put it into a plan that MUST require you to work until 65 years of age (the age determined by the government that you are fit to contribute to the strength of your nation). And it makes sense from a governing point of view, I get it. I don't like it, and I don't have to play by those rules. I will get penalized for not playing by the rules, but I am determined to march to the beat of a different drummer. As I contemplate taking the FAFSA (one of those F's stands for futility, I'm sure), I'll post if I do.</p><p>I told my daughter that she needs to work on scholarships and writing all her friends and relatives for assistance. She is also working part time to save up as well. Who knows, the old man might pass away and she can pay off her loan with dividends sooner than later. We did open a 529 for her, which does cover dual enrollment tuition (just not other fees), and people can donate to it (gifting up to $15k tax free per year) and she won't have to pay taxes on the funds received. That coupled with the several writeoffs for college tuition & expenses should help ease some of the financial burden.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHK8-fGuLAG6rC2dvZdP2VIx-9J61xzpwYYScWhpvBZ7h3gaGOwg2dMhCeCIDQpZfPDdoOxPW3XR3uRNeRxA38aUs4FyM_LWOW4y48GMiZ7mcZcfjqjK7tsvDmPDut_Wt4oNpkvMsQ4go/s280/slump.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="280" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHK8-fGuLAG6rC2dvZdP2VIx-9J61xzpwYYScWhpvBZ7h3gaGOwg2dMhCeCIDQpZfPDdoOxPW3XR3uRNeRxA38aUs4FyM_LWOW4y48GMiZ7mcZcfjqjK7tsvDmPDut_Wt4oNpkvMsQ4go/s0/slump.jpg" width="280" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>A</b></span>nyways, after 9 months of my net worth going up, FINALLY it has pulled back thanks to the market slump. I tried to predict it the last 2 months, because prior, 6 months was the max before a pullback. I'm actually grateful, and I think it isn't done until earnings season starts in the middle of October. Now if Q3 earnings are also slumped, this will last until mid November to mid December. I think that companies have tightened up enough that profits will still hold over and Q4 following will be no exception. Q1 next year on the other hand will probably be the next slump. I also hope that it continues to slump, because dividends have not yet caught up to profits, so yields are still low. Granted I've lost about 10% of my brokerage value, but I can endure a lot more pain to gain better yields.<p></p><p></p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>his is why I decided to check out QYLD. QYLD is not a company's stock. It is an ETF. I know, ETF is usually a bad word for me, but this ETF is unlike any other ETF I've ever seen. It doesn't buy stocks. Yes, that's correct, an ETF that does not buy/sell stocks. It stands for, well, let me just cut and paste:<p></p><p></p><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74vcxHJZYzTnfbcELvengZ4IvzX_5swP5jS96MPwDbD0U94rdpAgZ92bs9lMVTGOfa_YRLelfRKrTyWV9fFi8yDHL6vIXrfxtz8LO6aOQsRoiJVYbjFGjxs13mPX6-XoHRofLiNVGF48/s225/qyld.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74vcxHJZYzTnfbcELvengZ4IvzX_5swP5jS96MPwDbD0U94rdpAgZ92bs9lMVTGOfa_YRLelfRKrTyWV9fFi8yDHL6vIXrfxtz8LO6aOQsRoiJVYbjFGjxs13mPX6-XoHRofLiNVGF48/s0/qyld.png" width="225" /></a></div>"<b>Global X Funds</b> - Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF is an exchange traded fund launched and managed by Global X Management Company LLC. The fund invests in public equity markets of global region. The fund invests directly and through derivatives in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It uses derivatives such as options to create its portfolio. It invests in growth and value stocks of large-cap companies. Global X Funds - Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF was formed on December 11, 2013 and is domiciled in the United States."</span><p></p><p>So basically, it is an ETF of covered call options. I don't do options, as I'm not looking to make a quick buck. I also know there can be risks, (as with all make-money-quick ideas). But here's the kicker: It averages an 11-12% yield, and guarantees NO GROWTH, and is managed (probably by a computer). It is basically an income vehicle with little work on my part. Now, I like a little growth with my dividends, so I was quite skeptical at first, but the growth + dividends with Hormel (HRL) in my portfolio is pretty petty, although stable and reliable. QYLD offers no such stability or reliability, but it does offer some nice MONTHLY dividends. I am cautiously buying into this one with some mad money, because I want to see how it performs in a bear market like September Slump, or perhaps a crash. I suggest you do massive research before buying into it, and be ready to jump if needed. Otherwise, it's not bad for a ROTH or HSA side dish.</p><p><span style="font-size: large;">M</span>y ROTH is fully funded for the year already, and I hope they don't eliminate the backdoor ROTH conversion, as I hope to do this over time. I'm playing catch up with my HSA, and am using that to invest into lower yielding & stable stocks to keep my portfolio balanced. Otherwise I'm hanging onto cash at the moment until the slump looks to be over.</p><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</span></u></b><div><span face="trebuchet ms, trebuchet, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 16px; position: relative;"><span style="background-color: white;">Verizon </span><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VZ?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Verizon Communications Inc.">VZ</a>)</span><span style="background-color: white;"> declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18459134-verizon-increases-dividend-for-15th-consecutive-year?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.64/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">2% increase</span><span style="background-color: white;"> from prior dividend of $0.6275. <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Best to be expected from a communications company.</i></b></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 16px; position: relative;">W. P. Carey <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WPC?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="W. P. Carey Inc.">WPC</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18476819-w-p-carey-inc-increases-quarterly-dividend-to-1_052-per-share?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.052/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">0.2% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.050. <span style="color: red;"><b><i>One of their minor increases throughout the year before the big one.</i></b></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 16px; position: relative;">McDonald's <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MCD?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="McDonald's Corporation">MCD</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18485894-mcdonalds-raises-quarterly-cash-dividend-7-percent-and-resumes-share-repurchases?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.38/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">7% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.29. <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Very Nice!</i></b></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; position: relative;"><span style="color: red;"><i><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>September Purchases:</u></span></b></i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; position: relative;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, Segoe UI, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol"><span style="font-size: 18px;">XEL - 7 (HSA account)</span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; position: relative;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, Segoe UI, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol"><span style="font-size: 18px;">ORI - 18 (HSA Account)</span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; position: relative;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, Segoe UI, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol"><span style="font-size: 18px;">That's it. Maybe late October I'll have some purchases.</span></span></li></ul><p></p></div>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-44100911091264287572021-09-01T08:28:00.002-07:002021-09-05T09:10:03.855-07:00August, Meh<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSbIn8QZtA7ww4-tjufbdhmdtH8F_em-7TEAYBQsbS37n4A-QupZeSPryeHfZPitbzYZ2G_SQApYTLoZAwX0J9AeTQDspq6jJRn0nCOw5nNGzM5A185DBBkABLXr2YyFpuPckTijHy664/s274/divmeter.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="268" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSbIn8QZtA7ww4-tjufbdhmdtH8F_em-7TEAYBQsbS37n4A-QupZeSPryeHfZPitbzYZ2G_SQApYTLoZAwX0J9AeTQDspq6jJRn0nCOw5nNGzM5A185DBBkABLXr2YyFpuPckTijHy664/w196-h200/divmeter.png" width="196" /></a></div> August was not a particularly notable month. I guess we need these months to make the notable ones more notable. My umbrella insurance policy was denied due to my wife hitting a parked car outside my condo (it's not what you'd think, but I won't go into details for her sake) last summer. We will qualify when it falls off next year. I was given a third party insurance offer which was about 3x more money until next year which I refused. I will wait...<p></p><p>I did open a Roth account. I guess I am going to use this as part of my tax harvest strategy, for now. While you can't tax harvest inside a retirement account, you can harvest into one. So I sold some low yielding losses and bought some higher yielding stock from different companies inside my Roth. I guess the end goal (someday, a long time from now) would be to move everything into a Roth. That way all my dividends will be tax free, no matter how much I make. I suppose I can outline the VERY long path to doing this:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Tax harvest into Roth up to $6k per year ($7k when I hit 50, not that far away). Repeat ad infinitum or until I run out of money.</li><li>When I retire, roll my 401k into a traditional IRA.</li><li>When the stock market crashes, roll from my traditional IRA to my Roth IRA up to the top of my current tax bracket. This rollover will be taxable since you are turning pre-tax retirement money into post-tax retirement money. I believe there is no limit to doing this, but I don't want to put myself into a higher tax bracket. Repeat ad infinitum or until I run out of securities in my traditional IRA.</li><li>Earn all of my income tax free, regardless of tax bracket.</li></ol><div>The only problem with this, will be selling my high capital gain stocks in my taxable brokerage account to move them to a Roth, like TGT, WPC, or MA. I will pay <b>so</b> <b>much</b> in taxes just to move them over, it probably won't be worth it. If I did decide to take the hit, it would be for my kids, which is another topic I need to research. What happens to these accounts when my wife and I pass into the next life? This is something for another day, as it is not at the top of my list, but I should explore it soon.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58TP-4losGq3Dju1OdfLx2XQdp7cAPGpxiW96UVxuB4fO9fxS_J0h1X-q1NFdQnICQxGXcQBo8OWBF4zbZJgXJWVoVxHuffQ0_boNJMTSv8y3aNo1uVYlBj1EXmkwyihMUtdYBVU65mk/s1432/Muttley.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1432" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58TP-4losGq3Dju1OdfLx2XQdp7cAPGpxiW96UVxuB4fO9fxS_J0h1X-q1NFdQnICQxGXcQBo8OWBF4zbZJgXJWVoVxHuffQ0_boNJMTSv8y3aNo1uVYlBj1EXmkwyihMUtdYBVU65mk/w200-h151/Muttley.png" width="200" /></a></div>I did try to open a traditional IRA with my brokerage, and they said I cannot do it because I have a 401k account with my employer. After a few choice words (cue Muttley's "Rassum Frassum") about my 401k, I decided to look forward to the day I would be free of the shackles of my 401k and be able to control my investments completely.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was able to get a big gain in dividends this month. My wife magically made a big sum of money appear and she invested in some high yields so she could get more money for herself each month. I also maneuvered my 401k to increase my taxable dividends I receive from my company's stock that I can have in my 401k. In short, we are now making $910 a month in dividends!</div><div><br /></div><div>I did say I would share my proposed retirement budget this month. It is by no means finished, but with current bills sans children here is what I can expect initially. I used some numbers from real charges I have today, and some I derived from estimates for retired couples in my location:</div><p></p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; table-layout: fixed; width: 0px;" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><colgroup><col width="243"></col><col width="54"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0",1]" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Annual"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-weight: bold; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Annual</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><b>Housing</b></td><td data-sheets-formula="=SUM(R[1]C[0]:R[9]C[0])" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":9809}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$9,809</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Property Tax"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Property Tax</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":807}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$807</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Maintenance (estimate)"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Maintenance (estimate)</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":744}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$744</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Repairs (estimate)"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Repairs (estimate)</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":744}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$744</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Home Insurance"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Home Insurance</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":424}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$424</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"HOA/Water/Sewage/Trash/Landscaping"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">HOA/Water/Sewage/Trash/ Landscaping</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":4008}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$4,008</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Phone"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Phone (wife cell)</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":660}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$660</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Electric"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Electric</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1560}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$1,560</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Umbrella Insurance"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Umbrella Insurance</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":310}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$310</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"HOA"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">HOA (yes I have 2 HOA fees)</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":552}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$552</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><b>Transportation</b></td><td data-sheets-formula="=SUM(R[1]C[0]:R[7]C[0])" data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":7851}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$7,851</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Fuel (estimate)"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Fuel (estimate)</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":800}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$800</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Car Insurance"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Car Insurance</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":726}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$726</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Car Maintenance (estimate)"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Car Maintenance (estimate)</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1000}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$1,000</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Car Repairs (estimate)"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Car Repairs (estimate)</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":450}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$450</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Car taxes & fees"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Car taxes & fees</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":360}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$360</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"AAA"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">AAA</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":91}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$91</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Travel"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Travel</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":4424}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$4,424</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><b>Health Care</b></td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><b>$6,719</b></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Samaritan"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Samaritan Health Share</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":3360}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$3,360</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Deductibles & Meds - use HSA"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Deductibles & Meds - use HSA</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":3359}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$3,359</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Groceries & Restaurants"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><b>Groceries & Restaurants</b></td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":6303}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;"><b>$6,303</b></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><b>Misc</b></td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"><b>$2,282<span> </span></b></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Pets (?)"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Pets (?)</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":322}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$322</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hobbies"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Hobbies</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1000}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$1,000</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Theater or Movies"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Entertainment</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":600}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$600</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Internet"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Internet</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="[null,4,"\"$\"#,##0"]" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":360}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">$360</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div>Total: $33k a year, or $2750 a month. That seems conservative, as I also tithe (I should do a blog on tithing vs. offering vs. usury vs. what qualifies for these at some point) so I will still be aiming for $40-50k a year combining my taxable with my 72(t) income. I can effectively head up to 80k+ (the + being the automatic tax deduction, so closer to 100k) before going from the 12% tax bracket to the 22% tax bracket. 22% is really where I don't want to be when I retire. The ultimate goal is to live essentially for free and pay no taxes, but I'm not Elon Musk, so realistically I will just aim for everything in my Roth IRA for no taxes, and eliminating as many bills as possible. Looking forward to Friday's jobs report.</div><div><br /></div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</span></u></b></div><div></div><p></p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 16px; position: relative;">Old Republic <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ORI?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Old Republic International Corporation">ORI</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18435686-old-republic-declares-special-one-time-cash-dividend-of-1_50-per-share?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.50/share special dividend</a>. <span style="color: red;"><i>ORI you SPOIL me. With the special $1 dividend payout last January and now this! One of the best dividend paying stocks I own! Word on the street is a hedge fund pressured them into this because of all the home sales increasing the home insurance part of closing costs. Either way, I'll take it!</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 16px; position: relative;">Main Street Capital <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MAIN?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Main Street Capital">MAIN</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18419199-main-street-announces-fourth-quarter-2021-regular-monthly-dividends-and-dividend-increase?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.21/share monthly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">2.4% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.205. <span style="color: red;"><i>They barely made their dividend streak with this increase. Not a lot, but they are bringing it back slowly. My wife was delighted, she owns a big chunk of our MAIN securities and has been waiting for an increase for a long time.</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 16px; position: relative;"><span style="color: red;"><i><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>August Purchases:</u></span></b></i></span></li></ul><span face="trebuchet ms, trebuchet, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Hormel (HRL) 15 </li><li>Verizon (VZ) 65 </li><li>McDonald's (MCD) 2 </li><li>Xcel Energy (XEL) 3</li><li>W.P. Carey (WPC) 10</li><li>Omega Health Care (OHI) 19</li><li>Chevron (CVX) 15</li><li>QYLD (I'll explain this one next month) 7</li><li>Main Street Capital (MAIN) 11</li></ul></span><div><google-sheets-html-origin></google-sheets-html-origin></div>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-84312995886554733802021-07-31T09:46:00.003-07:002021-09-01T07:14:04.211-07:00Umbrella Insurance Policy<p>No, I don't work for an insurance company, but I'm going to mention something to consider if you have</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMm_bkI0WAfqfKcWKnSnr-QioYWwygFsnk9twYNO0R4s4oCDGlS1weqc0IvEGdT3rskUI15a4NwKy7PTFFk6bR4erY3QF1bzVe9xAvBsY18KtL8YOlYTpIe2WwhJsYo5hSZ9AxLCeNja0/s2000/umbrella.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMm_bkI0WAfqfKcWKnSnr-QioYWwygFsnk9twYNO0R4s4oCDGlS1weqc0IvEGdT3rskUI15a4NwKy7PTFFk6bR4erY3QF1bzVe9xAvBsY18KtL8YOlYTpIe2WwhJsYo5hSZ9AxLCeNja0/w256-h640/umbrella.png" width="256" /></a></div>your home paid off and your taxable brokerage account is growing. <p></p><p>One of the few advantages your 401k/IRA has over your taxable accounts (savings/checking/brokerage) is that it is protected against lawsuits. That means someone could sue you for everything but can't touch those retirement accounts. So what do you do if you have a decent amount put away and a home? You could lose it tomorrow in this litigation-happy country. Or, for a few hundred bucks a year, get an umbrella policy. </p><p>I'm not a fan of insurance - I know all the insurance companies do is invest your money in dividend stocks, then pay you from the dividends they receive. That's why I talked my wife out of a term life insurance policy and she put it into dividend stocks. That's why I pay legal minimum liability insurance on used cars I pay cash for (and can replace if repairs cost too much). That's why I get the lowest home insurance for my condo. That's why my kids will keep their driver permits until they leave the house (then they can get a license and pay for their own insurance).</p><p>I'm not a cheapskate, really I'm not. I just think that money can be used to buy my own "insurance" via dividends instead of lining someone else's pocket. Heck, I invest in an insurance company for dividends, and they are the only ones who pay bonus dividends (Old Republic ORI). This is why an umbrella insurance is perfect for someone who doesn't want to waste money on car/home/life insurance. </p><p>Another option is to start a business/LLC and put everything under it, but then there's business insurance and other costs you would pay anyway. So, not going that route, here's how this policy can protect your assets, for much less than what you would pay for full protection on your car/house/life:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Someone gets hurt on your property (even people you invite over)</li><li>You cause a fire that damages neighbor's homes (listen up condo people)</li><li>You crash a boat or RV you rented on vacation</li><li>Your teenage driver hits a pedestrian</li><li>Your dog bites someone and you get sued</li><li>You post a review on Yelp that is negative and you get sued for defamation</li></ul><div>You might say "Hey, I have insurance that covers some of that stuff", but your insurance has limits. This goes above and beyond those limits up to a million bucks. Now, my net worth (minus retirement accounts) isn't near that much, but it will keep me from getting my wages garnished after I lose everything else. And I get to SWAN (sleep well at night).</div><div><br /></div><div>With inflation rising, evictions starting tomorrow, and crime pretty much all over the place these days, it is good to have SWAN insurance to go with my SWAN stocks. I like to look at it as retirement insurance - protecting my income.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj897f9_glCUFOThA6mGtX22KXnBUdFgImaZ7vVqMLG3d6XIpeEXW4hr-y_cwcb3JYNPoWhz9eEE7oEMfW8FquBUn0IeM5opO-P0mt7Ah2wTuLuWnkxPfVJixZN1uQsbbUeTg6e2M2YRCo/s218/divmeter.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="217" data-original-width="218" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj897f9_glCUFOThA6mGtX22KXnBUdFgImaZ7vVqMLG3d6XIpeEXW4hr-y_cwcb3JYNPoWhz9eEE7oEMfW8FquBUn0IeM5opO-P0mt7Ah2wTuLuWnkxPfVJixZN1uQsbbUeTg6e2M2YRCo/s0/divmeter.png" width="218" /></a></div>I have also been assembling my retirement budget, so I know the bare minimum I will need to survive. The good news is, my dividend income is almost at that point. Once I have the bills covered by my taxable account, I can then pursue other things with the money from my 72(t) disbursements (see last month's blog). That should hold me for 10+ years, then social security will kick in at 62, and there will be a 3rd source of income. I will attempt to share my budget next month. "But what about inflation affecting your current budget." Listen, folks, if inflation is going up by 6%, and I'm getting dividend increases greater than that, I think I can handle it. Dividends make future budgeting so easy... see if you can pay for today, because then you sure as heck can pay for tomorrow.</div><div><br /></div><div>The delta variant is on the rise, and it looks like the vax people are in danger as well (1% of those vaxed have caught it so far). That coupled with misdiagnosed fall flus and colds will make this an interesting year. Most businesses will refuse to close, and will prefer to have you sign a waiver and mask up. I hope this blows over in 3 years when I retire....<br /><br /></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</span></u></b></p><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 16px; position: relative;">Essential Utilities <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WTRG?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Essential Utilities, Inc.">WTRG</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18381476-essential-declares-7-percent-dividend-increase?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.2682/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">7% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.2507. <span style="color: red;">Drink more tap water, use more gas. Please.</span></li><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></b></div>July Purchases:</u></span></b><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span face=""trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Verizon (VZ) - 10</span></span></li><li><span face=""trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Main Street (MAIN) - 3</span></span></li><li><span face=""trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Omega Healthcare (OHI) - 4</span></span></li><li><span face=""trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chevron (CVX) - 4</span></span></li><li><span face=""trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">ONEOK (OKE) - 7</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="trebuchet ms, trebuchet, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Wisconsin Energy (WEC) - 5</span></span></li></ul></div>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-43512172703399461942021-07-03T06:40:00.004-07:002021-07-03T18:45:42.708-07:00Retirement figured out! Target breaks my personal dividend increase record!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdruvJ-Zi9ElP1-DvBdsulmGE4A67Ym4iWMjAGO7PBEGH9rD9UAD_VYGLuAx-DaFe0QUoLL1TDi6uf1CeA29o1_Q9FBkEgiSYHJsxiSyOTnRRxdLZsklieW2S6aGz6guGqKjSkvpO9sg/s2000/fire.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdruvJ-Zi9ElP1-DvBdsulmGE4A67Ym4iWMjAGO7PBEGH9rD9UAD_VYGLuAx-DaFe0QUoLL1TDi6uf1CeA29o1_Q9FBkEgiSYHJsxiSyOTnRRxdLZsklieW2S6aGz6guGqKjSkvpO9sg/w336-h247/fire.jpg" width="336" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times;"> Well, I was going to start a several part blog post about various retirement schemes for the FIRE set, and consider the pros and cons of all of them. Instead, I found the perfect escape hatch for me in the process, so I will just post about that instead. After all, it is my blog. I cleared it with co-workers, discussion groups online, and of course my wife. It is pretty simple, and although it isn't perfect, it is pretty darn close. And it is very rare - because it involves 72(t) AND dividends, as opposed to one or the other.</span><p></p><span style="font-family: times;">And let the music commence:</span><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: times;">This does not work for
everyone, but it works for me, where my plan was to empty my 401k/Pension and buy
dividend stocks in a taxable account. Unfortunately, at 51, I can’t take out my money all at
once without the mandatory 10% penalty and ending up in a higher tax bracket
for a year (or 2 years if I bridge December/January withdrawals).</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;">But what if I could buy all
those dividend stocks after my rollover to a traditional IRA, then take out dividends
every month (or weekly or annually, my choice) without penalty, and only paying
income tax on those dividends, which will keep me in a specific tax bracket during the process?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;">What if I could keep my money
in those stocks without having to sell them if the market is down, and let it
grow with the market, while dividends grow as well?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Then </b>what if I could change
that amount of money during my trip to 59 ½ years old (alas, only <b>one </b>time
allowed to change the amount disbursed from the IRA).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Au0Km53ZNLXyFqWxCSXWp3SZ97ZuAEBLLF80e2KFg1m5NiZqazA0JSMKcpHxYMyGtqEhKFvDMd5Fd0edZR5BW1xEu486YrXDnnhK2GLySmXjfLBXAagI8-cNOXjaACpIYjahaSR5M1k/s1193/72t.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="1193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Au0Km53ZNLXyFqWxCSXWp3SZ97ZuAEBLLF80e2KFg1m5NiZqazA0JSMKcpHxYMyGtqEhKFvDMd5Fd0edZR5BW1xEu486YrXDnnhK2GLySmXjfLBXAagI8-cNOXjaACpIYjahaSR5M1k/s320/72t.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times;">Let me introduce you to the
SEPP 72(t). The method the IRS allows you to remove from your 401k if you
are 45, fired in the tech field, and are not economically viable to get another
job, yet can’t claim disability. You have to use it for 5 years, or until
59 ½, whichever is <b>longer</b>. For me, it will be the longer. Today, I will show you how I will use
this method to my benefit.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"> Please utilize it to fit your
situation, or at least poke holes in it, because I haven’t found many at all
(cons listed at the bottom).</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHglh-I8xtlr0qUg3F7C1of112oEkKophIIZrmr-CZVvs7-kYXsDWI7-AY3mqa4h6Fn_Wh659Av7GbLRtzF9Uwcayxw57ilLZ6IbyIPYj623FWUPBjAlV570SRyOP10t0IIAxMEqfH5U4/s1148/madfi.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1148" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHglh-I8xtlr0qUg3F7C1of112oEkKophIIZrmr-CZVvs7-kYXsDWI7-AY3mqa4h6Fn_Wh659Av7GbLRtzF9Uwcayxw57ilLZ6IbyIPYj623FWUPBjAlV570SRyOP10t0IIAxMEqfH5U4/s320/madfi.png" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times;">Mad Fientist’s flowchart (<a href="https://www.madfientist.com/how-to-access-retirement-funds-early/">https://www.madfientist.com/how-to-access-retirement-funds-early/</a>),
modified by me. Click on it to expand size.</span><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">1. I
retire at 50 or 51. Kids are out of the house, debt-free, big
purchases paid for.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">2. I Roll over my 401k and
pension into a traditional IRA with my broker. My
broker said they can help with initiating the rollover 2 months before
retirement.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">3. I invest my IRA in the
quality dividend stocks I know and love to earn 4% yield on average (I may adjust up to 5-6% depending on the environment and my annual needs).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">4. I leave some cash in the
IRA for the next 3 months of equal disbursements (most dividend stocks are
quarterly, so the ball really needs to start rolling after 3 months). There is room to play with this part, but I don't want to exceed expected dividends on my disbursements expected.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">5. I file for a 72(t) (file
early to get equal disbursements each month) using this amortization table
to determine how much I *must* take out each year: <a href="https://www.bankrate.com/retirement/calculators/72-t-distribution-calculator/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #262626;">https://www.bankrate.com/retirement/calculators/72-t-distribution-calculator/</span></a>
I suggest a tax advisor setting this up, as if you take out too much or
too little, you will get the early penalty. Keep in mind the
“Reasonable Interest Rate” is 120% of the Fed’s mid-term rate. Right
now the rate is low, so in 3-4 years, it will hopefully bounce up for more
money per year. Fed’s midterm rates can be kept track of here:
<a href="https://www.pbgc.gov/prac/interest/historical-applicable-mid-term-rates">https://www.pbgc.gov/prac/interest/historical-applicable-mid-term-rates</a>
You get to choose from the previous 2 months which rate you want to use
(optimally the higher of the two – and even better if you wait for a good
one).<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">6. The amount I withdraw
each month, is equal to or less than the amount of dividends I receive
that month. That way I don’t need to sell my holdings in a down
market, like most people need to do. Since some months may pay more
than others, you will need to have that cash on hand in your IRA I talked
about in step 4. As long as dividends exceed your disbursements, and they eventually<br /> will, this shouldn't be a problem.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1GFpT-gsgOKROwtwKjeoXSB_G8gkxYey2B6allHqmc3o60yt6IRL5fXgD63onGmTKSc6w7Q-O2-retUhOLzNoaDH0sf_CszXrSVAET0u5PDDsXr_iD0tzQQ3fPPhE4cVPRm2mGv4Xq4/s862/72t2.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="862" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1GFpT-gsgOKROwtwKjeoXSB_G8gkxYey2B6allHqmc3o60yt6IRL5fXgD63onGmTKSc6w7Q-O2-retUhOLzNoaDH0sf_CszXrSVAET0u5PDDsXr_iD0tzQQ3fPPhE4cVPRm2mGv4Xq4/s320/72t2.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">7. Keep an eye on midterm
rates once starting the SEPP cycle. As your IRA weight and dividends
increase over time, you get <b>one</b> opportunity to change the amount,
so you can upgrade once during your 72(t) “lockdown”. Adjust
accordingly to stay in the tax bracket you want (<a href="https://taxfoundation.org/publications/federal-tax-rates-and-tax-brackets/">https://taxfoundation.org/publications/federal-tax-rates-and-tax-brackets/</a><span style="background: white;">). You can always
use HSA until 65 to hide money, and of course, charitable contributions,
which can be tricky with the standard deduction already eliminating your
taxable income. Please consult a tax expert for your specific
situation.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;">8. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626;">I continue to live off
these SEPP disbursements and my taxable dividend account with my
brokerage combined income until 59 ½. At that point I have other
options. At 72 I have to start taking money out… even if I don’t
need to. </span></span></div><div><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #262626;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="color: #262626; font-family: times;"><b>Pros</b>:</span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2;"><span style="font-family: times;">I avoid
the 10% withdrawal penalty. You can do this plan without the SEPP so
you have no limitations, and just pay the penalty when you need money,
it’s not a big deal sometimes, and I may consider it, so that way I can
take out more as my dividends increase, it will depend how much money I
need and how much is in my IRA at age 51.</span></li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2;"><span style="font-family: times;">I never
deplete my IRA holdings as long as I receive more dividends than I need to
pay out per the IRS. My IRA is untouched until 65, it grows, and dividends
increase, which makes it grow more as I reinvest.</span></li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2;"><span style="font-family: times;">My
money is safe from lawsuits in an IRA. This means I don’t have to
run a business with ROBS, start an LLC, etc. I might want to
get an umbrella insurance policy for my non-IRA holdings and house.
Best rule is not to flaunt your wealth, as you become a target. ROBS
or an LLC are good if you want to write off your house and expenses (like
Musk does).</span></li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2;"><span style="font-family: times;">I avoid
market volatility (as dividends do). Since most people sell their
securities to fund a 72(t), I am living off the dividends of my
securities, and not at the whim of the value of my securities.</span></li></ul><p></p><div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Cons</b>:</span><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background: white; color: #262626;">The amount is FIXED, and except in the
case of hardship, that is ALL I can take out. However I think I
figured out a way to work the system with my health share to get money out
for medical purposes from my IRA/HSA.</span><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: times;">Excess
dividends (due to inevitable increases) I can’t pull out, but I can
reinvest them in my IRA, which gives me more when I hit 59 1/2.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: times;">Jumping
to the next tax bracket (in case the brackets change), a nice problem to
have if you have a lot in your 401k/SERP to allow for a large SEPP
disbursement, but depending on your situation, you might be able to use
your one time change to actually *<b>lower</b>* your disbursements.
Externally I could just liquidate a few underperforming dividend
generating shares, or donate a lot to charity.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwqdOXM2rMBJlGgug24hYb2uo9OcCnLKBaFsicieoew883Y09qG4bEDpV3foI8Am0-Q6ZDEPeT7rukLKXwNZD84GxE5mb6WgYC3a9EWnfQo73rXlp49ysli_kxxMaCgkmcT0slyHZZmg/s442/NR.jpg" style="background-color: white; clear: right; display: inline; float: right; font-family: times; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="342" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwqdOXM2rMBJlGgug24hYb2uo9OcCnLKBaFsicieoew883Y09qG4bEDpV3foI8Am0-Q6ZDEPeT7rukLKXwNZD84GxE5mb6WgYC3a9EWnfQo73rXlp49ysli_kxxMaCgkmcT0slyHZZmg/w155-h200/NR.jpg" width="155" /></a><span style="font-family: times;">This works anytime you leave your company: retirement, fired, quit, etc. While I am not yet ready to live with a lower income (kids need to leave the nest first), it is nice to know this is available to help pay the bills between jobs as layoffs can happen. You might be able to do it right now... there's a lot of people out there with larger 401ks than me.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: times;">The step my wife and I are working on now is being mentally ready for retirement. This means strengthening relationships (family and friends), planning for lifestyle changes, possible health scenarios, not tying personal worth to a job, etc. I suggest anyone retiring to prepare for the psychology as well! There’s books, read ‘em!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;">Please comment if you see a hole in my plan.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;">And now back to my regularly scheduled blog :)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: times;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpQDvRRVsS4Wrjf2gEKkAMI05IhXLSI7Vr2Yq9Zgyjw2Nv5wxaEthkwwmro4Zhe4rn_f7Q5FVfPmFy31xIS9kBffm5rgqsRQ_LvUFut9UhgKwVjvUWevY7B8aZqVHmEJCG_vL7vH5q7s/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="226" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpQDvRRVsS4Wrjf2gEKkAMI05IhXLSI7Vr2Yq9Zgyjw2Nv5wxaEthkwwmro4Zhe4rn_f7Q5FVfPmFy31xIS9kBffm5rgqsRQ_LvUFut9UhgKwVjvUWevY7B8aZqVHmEJCG_vL7vH5q7s/w200-h200/image.png" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #262626; font-family: times;"><br />Inflation is increasing. My personal portfolio is on a Bull streak, smashing the previous record of 7 months of increases. That isn't good. </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: times;">That means stock prices keep going up, and yields are going down. So I am taking a breather this month, and for the foreseeable future, from buying too much. I will continue to increase my Verizon holdings to match the others for diversity, then bring up some of the laggards. Meanwhile, I will work on the condo for the last remodel and some outdoor furniture, and pay down debts incurred from this. With my 72(t) plan, I'm feeling a lot better about my retirement income, and surprisingly, my 401k (which I still dislike, and the company that manages it).</span><p></p></div><div><span style="color: #262626; font-family: times;">The Great Reopening is in full swing, and the market has it already built in. Target, now a major player in the consumer discretionary sector, increased their dividend by 32.4%!! That beats Abbott from before. Truly a beautiful sight! Imagine getting a raise like that from work without a promo or job change. No, I can't imagine it either.</span></div><div><span style="color: #262626; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #262626; font-family: times;">My annual dividend income is officially in the lowest U.S. income tax bracket.</span></div></div></div><div><span style="color: #262626; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</span></u></b></div><div>Uh, yeah..</div><div><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="paywall-full-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 16px; position: relative;">Target <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TGT?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Target Corporation">TGT</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18351183-target-corporation-increases-quarterly-dividend-32-percent?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.90/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">32.4% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.68. <i><span style="color: red;">A new record!</span></i></li></ul><div><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>June Purchases:</u></span></b></div></div><div><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, Segoe UI, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol"><span style="font-size: 18px;">FAST <span> </span>3</span></span></div><div><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, Segoe UI, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol"><span style="font-size: 18px;">VZ <span> </span><span> 15</span></span></span></div><div><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, Segoe UI, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><span>ABT<span> </span><span> 9</span></span></span></span></div><div><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, Segoe UI, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><span><span>That's all folks</span></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-54954961873310852732021-06-01T07:17:00.003-07:002021-06-01T07:42:51.959-07:00AT&T is out, Verizon is in, Rule of 72<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8c1ysEqfT-78dgKWIQeNO65g7w5S879fqfjTFq_779kFIKxiitd2TLF0JjsTrJnWkwcny4dpdmmJHrmqLVJfNxmf0Ij4y5Dzr3nS71Oj2UsYX2rpYWH11AGTAoNN6OPyx9OgTbns2wHM/s1280/attvsverizon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8c1ysEqfT-78dgKWIQeNO65g7w5S879fqfjTFq_779kFIKxiitd2TLF0JjsTrJnWkwcny4dpdmmJHrmqLVJfNxmf0Ij4y5Dzr3nS71Oj2UsYX2rpYWH11AGTAoNN6OPyx9OgTbns2wHM/s320/attvsverizon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b>What Happened?</b> <p></p><p>AT&T announced a restructuring plan. It announced a merger with its TimeWarner assets with Discovery to create a new streaming company. Sounds good, right? AT&T sheds TimeWarner, and a merger, what could go wrong? The stock went up 4%. Then people read the fine print: </p><p><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 18px;">"Attractive dividend – resized to account for the distribution of WarnerMedia to AT&T shareholders. After close and subject to AT&T Board approval, AT&T expects an annual dividend payout ratio of 40% to 43% on anticipated free cash flow<sup style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 1; position: relative; top: 0px;">1</sup> of $20 billion plus."</em></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJdxh0T4es3EmtUAGqE11VkfEWuS7utl74utpst-qRdJThgW7CyKsnIz1hwx1CPiBoFbYuf573tFvO32U_3xu3WnQCbwgkYzUuI4RutfAKopELyUgtmdfjYP0CMwwm8cDQIJg0eGp55M/s233/divmeter.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJdxh0T4es3EmtUAGqE11VkfEWuS7utl74utpst-qRdJThgW7CyKsnIz1hwx1CPiBoFbYuf573tFvO32U_3xu3WnQCbwgkYzUuI4RutfAKopELyUgtmdfjYP0CMwwm8cDQIJg0eGp55M/s0/divmeter.png" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">Doing the math on the new payout ratio, you get FCF payout from $15B to $8B. I did not sell on the news right away. I wanted to make sure this was correct. Basically, you will get a piece of the new TimeWarner spinoff, and AT&T stock with a 4% yield as opposed to the current 6% yield. Now if you are looking for value and capital gains, it is not so bad of a deal. If you can handle a 2-3% cut to your income, then keep it. However, this goes against my golden DGI rule:</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">"If a dividend is cut, sell."</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">I don't want a piece of a company that doesn't pay a dividend (TimeWarnerDisco spinoff), I don't want to own a media company (I owned AT&T before it bought TimeWarner), and I want the best in the communications market. Now I didn't own AT&T because of its growth, but I did own it for its high dividend yield and free cash flow. However the market is saturated, and there are better players out there, like Verizon.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">Verizon isn't looking to become a media giant, and my son has owned them for a few years to his profit. I am not a big fan of this sector as it is, because it is saturated, but I might as well hold something a little more stable and safe. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">I did sign up for after hours trading, and seeing the direction it was going the next day as the institutions were continuing to rotate out, I made my biggest sell-off ever. What was the damage?</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">Well, since the stock was essentially flat, I was in the red for $800 after the first day drop. However, I had collected $900 in dividends over the past 4 years I owned it. I netted $100, which is pretty pathetic for a 4 year investment. However, I can tax harvest (my first this year) for -800 on my taxes (-3k is the limit every year), which helps reduce my taxes, and still walk away with a net profit, which is the fun of tax loopholes.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">Do you own it? Should you sell? It depends on your situation. If you show a profit (however minor), and benefit from tax harvesting, why not? The $11k I received from selling I dropped into OHI, OKE, and a small amount into Verizon. This increased my monthly dividends by $1, so I actually made out, but those two former stocks are the riskiest in my low-risk portfolio. So we will see how things progress.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5405SvZum5FmWkxHQaH4T1I5tw5DuLA8lUgxGT0qgwwBd_tzS4PJxUuDE1S2dbcnxDrSYW5DVf4KYzL7ja7K4hPBPMhi4gZUxyYBcxnzlo9DGrauwW5QgcE3JqQ7cH534Km3NqIR104Y/s2220/ruleof72.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2220" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5405SvZum5FmWkxHQaH4T1I5tw5DuLA8lUgxGT0qgwwBd_tzS4PJxUuDE1S2dbcnxDrSYW5DVf4KYzL7ja7K4hPBPMhi4gZUxyYBcxnzlo9DGrauwW5QgcE3JqQ7cH534Km3NqIR104Y/s320/ruleof72.jpg" /></a></div>Meanwhile, I learned about the <b>Rule of 72</b>. Just a fun little metric to look at. I always try to figure out how long it takes for a dividend stock to pay for itself. Typically a 5% yield that <b>never </b>changes should pay itself off in 20 years. However, <i style="font-weight: bold;">stocks go up</i>, and <i style="font-weight: bold;">yields increase</i>. So it should theoretically be less than 20 years. <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">This is typically covered in my <b>Equity Cost</b> column in my holdings spreadsheet (see holdings in the menu). I take what I paid for it, minus the gains in the stock since then, minus the dividends received. Once this number goes negative, the stock has paid for itself.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">Rule of 72 is better, because you take into account the stock market growth rate (and this numerator changes from 69-75 depending on yield). I am going to try and fine-tune it a bit more, since it initially applies to interest rates, but it can be converted to handle stocks. However, it can be far from accurate. See below.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">I have been doing this for 4-5 years. I already have 3 stocks that have paid for themselves. My lowest yielder, MasterCard, which has increased in capital gains value at an insane rate, paid for itself first. Rule of 72 calculates it wouldn't pay for itself until 73 years from now! My other two, QCOM and TGT had such huge growth in short amounts of time, they also met their equity cost in less than 16 and 18 years, respectively. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">So, it might need some fine-tuning, but it is a good metric for the slower stocks, to give me an idea on when they should pay for themselves, and I should always aim for less than 20 years. Now this also makes me wonder if I should cash out fast growers like Target (tripled value) to my initial investment, and reinvest the excess into something higher than my yield on cost (YOC), is another matter. I'll expound more on this next month...</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</span></u></b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, sans-serif;">None! Target is expected to have a massive increase in August, we will see...</span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>May Purchases:</u> (not much!)</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div ccp_infra_copy_id="2a843967-870a-497c-b439-d6a8a679adde" ccp_infra_timestamp="1622558312936" ccp_infra_user_hash="1790447185" ccp_infra_version="3" data-ccp-timestamp="1622558312936" style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 128px;"><colgroup><col span="2" style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 48pt;" width="64">T </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 48pt;" width="64">-322</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">OHI </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">150</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">OKE </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">50</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">VZ </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">35</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">QCOM </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">4</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">ABT </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">CVX </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">3</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></p>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-23345226693302722812021-05-01T13:17:00.003-07:002021-05-01T13:44:01.203-07:00More Fun with Dick & Jane, Oh Hello OHI, Biden's Plans for Dividends<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmD2HeQYnmiTjqJugGeSApLkaxLI4OL9nBd7gzf7FfNQl-_Frp9M8C7MDD8gajR1IewRgH1FlJqS4ntsWXo7irEpwhwxksPvarrxtcfbVVFlxtzj0qUiXtvkVrPFvwg_Cg9MjQgMchWQ/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="530" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmD2HeQYnmiTjqJugGeSApLkaxLI4OL9nBd7gzf7FfNQl-_Frp9M8C7MDD8gajR1IewRgH1FlJqS4ntsWXo7irEpwhwxksPvarrxtcfbVVFlxtzj0qUiXtvkVrPFvwg_Cg9MjQgMchWQ/w400-h225/image.png" width="400" /></a></div> Well the experiment with my Fidelity "Roth" 401k was a bust. Because it is a 401k, and not an IRA, it is beholden to the withdrawal rules. Therefore I quickly changed to a pre-tax 401k, still holding at 5% of my income to be matched by my employer. After doing the math, and checking on an article by the <a href="https://www.madfientist.com/how-to-access-retirement-funds-early" target="_blank">"Mad Fientist"</a> It still makes sense to take advantage of matching. Even though I still think I could make more with my $100, the math shows that after early withdrawal penalties and taxes, my matched $100 would come out at $135. This is assuming the ETFs that Fidelity uses do not increase or decrease over the next 3-4 years. The key here is if you are married, you don't want to make more than 80k a year in retirement, otherwise you jump from 12% in taxes to 22%! So I choose pre-tax now, withdraw enough after I retire each year to take me to 80k, then invest it. It may take me awhile, I have quite a chunk in there (I wish it were otherwise). For now, the pre-tax works.<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOv9Hs1SGPjOkYADTZM-y16PsG7Fq5ZWicc_7iORr6mG5S2n4LOnarNnJFOaJrK-8bFLQI58HMKh8BsClKhtJVazeuAbJqoH4UHbQy396fZCGYmutCpaVupTvKpfR7xkFN43SwGfpsKM/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="389" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOv9Hs1SGPjOkYADTZM-y16PsG7Fq5ZWicc_7iORr6mG5S2n4LOnarNnJFOaJrK-8bFLQI58HMKh8BsClKhtJVazeuAbJqoH4UHbQy396fZCGYmutCpaVupTvKpfR7xkFN43SwGfpsKM/w267-h640/image.png" width="267" /></a></div><br />Well, it is happening. I am running out of good companies with good yields, and I am overbought on the companies that do. However, after studying Justin Law's list of Dividend Contenders, Champions, and Aristocrats, I did find one... Omega Healthcare (OHI). It is a REIT, and it caters to nursing homes, retirement homes, and senior living. Some things about this REIT that caught my eye:<p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>They are funded mostly by Medicare and Medicaid (80-90%). While this can be affected by politics, it won't the next 4+ years with Biden at the helm. </li><li>It survived the Pandemic. Surprisingly, this management team not only survived, but recovered, and also took advantage to buy up other senior housing REIT units. Impressive! Also, Uncle Sam didn't stop payment during the pandemic either. Seniors were affected the most, so this speak a lot to their management being on top of things.</li><li>It has 16 years of increased dividends, so on its way to being an Aristocrat someday.</li><li>Sports a 7%+ yield.</li><li>It helps me spread out my weights. I was overbought on some stocks, now I can buy more of them. The only drawback is that REITs are now king in my portfolio, not consumer staples. I will work on that, but right now consumer staples are highly priced due to success during the pandemic (yes, they are still cool).</li></ul><div>I bought 2 lots this week. Yep, my first time buying in "lots" (a bundle of 100 shares). No waiting to be grouped with another lot as my purchases usually go, they were bought almost immediately. They have their earnings next week, so we will see if I made a good call. Now I have 29 stocks. Only one to go, right Creed?<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinWRHePovE-y-I_j-mH035D__I5zCGW9W4enDjwwB6FakjUSe5bRUZuwAZoEPXnFsuyI37oNcGjR49PIBJC9rnxn_7c2MgIkteNW9O7DpOkRWW_ACqW8WwqNsi6WAfeyPJRKHTqwxoGq8/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="857" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinWRHePovE-y-I_j-mH035D__I5zCGW9W4enDjwwB6FakjUSe5bRUZuwAZoEPXnFsuyI37oNcGjR49PIBJC9rnxn_7c2MgIkteNW9O7DpOkRWW_ACqW8WwqNsi6WAfeyPJRKHTqwxoGq8/w400-h234/image.png" width="400" /></a></div>Biden announced a proposed increase in capital gains tax. At first glance, I would say "so what, doesn't affect me. I'm keeping my stocks forever. Plus, I'm not even that rich." Yeah, but what will the big money do? They have nowhere else to put their cash, so they might just cash out their capital gains now, and put it into dividend stocks. And what will that do??? Decrease yields. When will the Dems learn that when you increase taxes on the big guys, it just hurts the little guy. Like when they increase taxes on corporations, it only decreases headcount, increases automation, and leftover costs get passed right on to the consumer. Biden Hood "Robbing the rich to give to the poor" does not work. For now I will be watching carefully, and investing in higher yields assuming they will dry up. If Biden was smart, he would raise returns in municipal bonds so the wall street bros will go there instead of dividend stocks. Let's cross our fingers.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmrNoRsahWaAUwKX4K1y7XTlHXduTAzgQ5r5PhOPjDLHQ8Y3gI1ePH7WKDjg7tfKDpy_e2vHZfEnuA3QRcdpta2O-PeatkRrXQvEC65M_zKifypsY1iIa27I4-sl_hx3fc4nCSMkgPDUM/s331/divmeter.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="327" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmrNoRsahWaAUwKX4K1y7XTlHXduTAzgQ5r5PhOPjDLHQ8Y3gI1ePH7WKDjg7tfKDpy_e2vHZfEnuA3QRcdpta2O-PeatkRrXQvEC65M_zKifypsY1iIa27I4-sl_hx3fc4nCSMkgPDUM/w198-h200/divmeter.png" width="198" /></a></div><br /><div>On the plus side, I hit another benchmark, now making 800+ a month on dividends ($825 actually). That comes to $191 a week, $27 a day. Over a dollar an hour! Catching up to you Buffett! :P Close to making 10k a year... I should hit that in the next 1-2 months.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</span></u></b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Procter & Gamble </span><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PG?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="The Procter & Gamble Company">PG</a>)</span><span style="background-color: white;"> declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18270081-p-and-g-declares-dividend-increase?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.8698/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">10% increase</span><span style="background-color: white;"> from prior dividend of $0.7907 <span style="color: red;"><i>Fantastic increase from a consumer staple stock! PG is kicking butt and taking names, but with increased production and transportation costs, and the reopening of the economy, this may be the peak for awhile.</i></span></span></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Southern CO <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SO?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="The Southern Company">SO</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18277350-southern-company-increases-dividend-for-20th-consecutive-year-annualized-rate-rises-to-2_64?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.66/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">3.1% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.64.<span style="color: red;"><i> I expect this to be better going forward, now that their nuclear plant is finished. C'mon hot summers!</i></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Johnson & Johnson <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JNJ?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Johnson & Johnson">JNJ</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18278060-johnson-johnson-announces-dividend-increase-of-5_0?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.06/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">5% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.01. <span style="color: red;"><i>Despite Covid setbacks, JNJ takes a licking and keeps on ticking!</i></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Chevron <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CVX?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Chevron Corporation">CVX</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18292552-chevron-increases-quarterly-dividend?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.34/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">3.9% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.29.<span style="color: red;"><i> I expect Chevron & AT&T to benefit from the "Rich Rotation". I see better raises in the future.</i></span></span></li></ul><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">April Purchases:</span></u></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRfBdThQtiAUHoS2FmEcgBEqOe2gDuecKvwPha_QoP6rNOWLH3a1O9wdqqUiGYlkjYemqHUphL72Iz1lMXb2ZQ0OQLGN6XC9OpwL-K_k15hdIfq39S0nsBZcPqugFEvdkc8MJC2Vo6J8/" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="193" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRfBdThQtiAUHoS2FmEcgBEqOe2gDuecKvwPha_QoP6rNOWLH3a1O9wdqqUiGYlkjYemqHUphL72Iz1lMXb2ZQ0OQLGN6XC9OpwL-K_k15hdIfq39S0nsBZcPqugFEvdkc8MJC2Vo6J8/" width="123" /></a></div></div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span></u></b></div><p></p></div>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-21291927315181567132021-04-02T11:05:00.000-07:002021-04-02T11:05:30.518-07:00Fun with Dick (Roth) and Jane (401k)I was going to lament how much I miss the Trump stock market (bad news tweet = buying opportunity, good news tweet=back to normal), but last night I had a flash of brilliance. <div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMwzyQk9U_BBaLBSZN31l4F45GV02Co1BOQu7SHZmE11teWiuuHaXD11kmRS10jdOiDkl4HNjKohxKNC9TdLy8U6WY5KttbRsivFXwnblgySELHHKdN1zgeTHyzk_hy0C1ZwLI6pjmSE/s1024/401kemployer.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMwzyQk9U_BBaLBSZN31l4F45GV02Co1BOQu7SHZmE11teWiuuHaXD11kmRS10jdOiDkl4HNjKohxKNC9TdLy8U6WY5KttbRsivFXwnblgySELHHKdN1zgeTHyzk_hy0C1ZwLI6pjmSE/s320/401kemployer.png" width="320" /></a> I have more disposable income now than I have ever had in my life, but still not enough to retire. So I was looking to see other ways to increase income. My employer recently started matching 401k contributions, and last year they did an introductory 2:1 match for a year, which I participated in for a pre-tax account, but this year when it converted to 1:1 I stopped contributions altogether. Now I know many of you are saying "But it's free money! Why would you do something stupid like that!" Well, it *is* free money, but I make more money using my after tax money on dividend growth stocks (and in the long run) than I do from a managed pre-tax 401k (ETF-only no dividend) institution, that's why. Remember, I'm not the genetically healthiest person around, I don't plan to live forever like my 401k and social security accounts think I will.
Then I started wondering - can I get my employer to match, then just take the money out? No I can't, unless I claim hardship, which I have nothing to back that claim up with if I'm making enough from dividends. Then I saw something interesting: My employer also matches Roth contributions:
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrh7I4Dt8-7-3gJI5eiw1LhjwmlovfPDXr2pHOYh9BURBkrU5jlc0HEpRy2lyc4IEl_LKWeIAwBBJzj91siVZwVrD6ySDJU2AXXxskPLimYVNr3mxeXDkqxAadDPPsx7pGrdU7CILGQc/s274/match.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="60" data-original-width="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrh7I4Dt8-7-3gJI5eiw1LhjwmlovfPDXr2pHOYh9BURBkrU5jlc0HEpRy2lyc4IEl_LKWeIAwBBJzj91siVZwVrD6ySDJU2AXXxskPLimYVNr3mxeXDkqxAadDPPsx7pGrdU7CILGQc/s320/match.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Uhm, wow. Because, this:
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5xw8ehsl7rxO1qw6uHvsZRKqT_z74gs1ZVxraMB70X_gHt63vPzlk61jYb19H_VDnWK9IFqTaYIMfImYAuhExawXZyNGzRy8TMYezqGSD5mFrboQiCPagfBgRK5RzNUZ5_qXm-1c2aw/s602/withdraw.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="133" data-original-width="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5xw8ehsl7rxO1qw6uHvsZRKqT_z74gs1ZVxraMB70X_gHt63vPzlk61jYb19H_VDnWK9IFqTaYIMfImYAuhExawXZyNGzRy8TMYezqGSD5mFrboQiCPagfBgRK5RzNUZ5_qXm-1c2aw/s400/withdraw.png" width="400" /></a></div>
See where I'm going here? But then you ask, "What happens to the money your employer matched (and any gains on both contributions) when you take that money out?"
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qJlcehY10nHGzFYGz8WgFckb7ObszpUMROgKiiqNtsNIsJITQxve-LaIqvpm5lCB7V1R4oiTEKy5FH6mfljmhQkHhk_xCVetzegXaWc7svL9JD732WisrbHTnMzzoZcNgM-t1z1BJgM/s855/matching.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="142" data-original-width="855" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qJlcehY10nHGzFYGz8WgFckb7ObszpUMROgKiiqNtsNIsJITQxve-LaIqvpm5lCB7V1R4oiTEKy5FH6mfljmhQkHhk_xCVetzegXaWc7svL9JD732WisrbHTnMzzoZcNgM-t1z1BJgM/s600/matching.png" width="600" /></a></div>
So, to summarize: I give my 401k instituion 5% of my paycheck to deposit into a Roth 401k, my employer matches that 5%, then I remove that contribution whenever (say, 2 weeks later), invest in my dividend stocks, my 401k instution takes that matching amount (and any gains) and puts it into a traditional 401k account (since it is pre-tax) and I let it sit until I retire and take that matching amount out (sooner with penalties, later without).
Simple, right? No, of course not, not when it comes to institutions. I have been struggling with the institution my employer uses since day 1. When I leave my employer, I <b>can't wait</b> to roll that money into my own IRA, or even better a <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/rollovers-as-business-startups-robs" target="_blank">ROBS</a> <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/rollovers-as-business-startups-robs" target="_blank"></a>. <div><br /></div><div> So I called my institution, and of course I was sent up the chain with my "complicated" question. After stating this was recorded, and restating my name (ever feel like you are being set up for a court hearing?), I received an explanation which made no sense. "So let me get this straight, I allocate $5k to my Roth 401k, my employer matches $5k, and I can only take out $600, $100 of which will be taxed as though it was earned." What??? I laughed inside as this guy started to go into his pitch of getting me invested for much more, to which I reply I'll likely be dying before I'm 65, so what's the point? He never missed a beat, and kept going with his spiel without an ounce of empathy. </div><div><br /></div><div> Finally, I did get him to show me where the plan information is, and all I could find out about what he was talking about was this: </div><div>"You are always 100% vested in your contributions and any rollovers made to your 401(k) Savings Plan account. You are also 100% vested in any 401(k) match contributed by (Employer)." </div><div>and </div><div>"Excess contributions of Roth contributions are distributed tax-free, but earnings are taxable. If you made both Roth and pre-tax contributions to the 401(k) Savings Plan in excess of the IRS Annual Contribution Limit during the calendar year, excess contributions will be taken from the pre-tax source first followed by the Roth source.
<b>Please note: return of Roth and/or pre-tax contributions could result in the forfeiture of associated matching.</b>" </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_idPS2n-qjDhWKgDUie1coRhSb5v3KLFfJEK5pK_dqoRRKRmt2DhaiK66eWt80ULo3vrpz-DicgaJKkIKQsShruy01_okXcF2iJnpsriB99ZngNwbc0ujlEC8uEAFOsYw5efuZm6naf8/s227/divmeter.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="224" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_idPS2n-qjDhWKgDUie1coRhSb5v3KLFfJEK5pK_dqoRRKRmt2DhaiK66eWt80ULo3vrpz-DicgaJKkIKQsShruy01_okXcF2iJnpsriB99ZngNwbc0ujlEC8uEAFOsYw5efuZm6naf8/w198-h200/divmeter.png" width="198" /></a></div>Which makes sense if it only works with excess contributions (Roth limitations).
So, after all this inconclusive information, I went ahead and decided to match 5% of my income into a Roth 401k. I really have nothing to lose, if I can't touch it until I'm 65, then I guess I'll be getting it then (or my kids will). Or I'll just take it out with a 10% penalty, but doubled money (the only reason I might stay in it). </div><div><br /></div><div>But, right after it goes in, I will see if I can remove my contribution and see what happens. If the employee match stays, then I'll keep adding and removing, magically making free money for when I'm 65 appear, and keeping my after-tax income. If the match doesn't stay, or they won't give me my money back, then I will simply turn off the feature, and continue as normal, waiting for this boring market to bubble and crash so I can add more dividends. There's a good chance this might happen in September, when the stay of execution for people not paying mortgages and rents will come due...</div><div><br /></div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</span></u></b></div><div><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 20px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Qualcomm Incorporated <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NASDAQ:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/QCOM?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="QUALCOMM Incorporated">QCOM</a>)</span> has approved a 5% increase in the Company's quarterly cash dividend. The quarterly cash dividend will increase from $0.65 to $0.68 per share and will be effective for quarterly dividends payable after March 25, 2021. <span style="color: red;"><i>This one has been really growing in value, too. I picked a winner.</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Realty Income <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/O?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Realty Income Corporation">O</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18235100-110th-common-stock-monthly-dividend-increase-declared-realty-income?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.235/share monthly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">0.2% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.2345. <span style="color: red;"><i>Just a hair, but I'll take whatever I can from REITs after the lockdowns.</i></span></li></ul><div><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>March Purchases:</u></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMUHh9PdgabWLv8fSDjTrrHjWiQD46EcbhjmfxwFSkq70H39wBMmvGbd6CscwAMK0N4mX9bLFwFyFaaGFlnL2qLg_cgFoKfuiLRYttuT5bad9FZ-gPUzaWNJ2jwPs9VyvuZBWS-TDjks/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="129" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMUHh9PdgabWLv8fSDjTrrHjWiQD46EcbhjmfxwFSkq70H39wBMmvGbd6CscwAMK0N4mX9bLFwFyFaaGFlnL2qLg_cgFoKfuiLRYttuT5bad9FZ-gPUzaWNJ2jwPs9VyvuZBWS-TDjks/w147-h320/image.png" width="147" /></a></div><br /><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div><br /></div></div>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-7547096172094313132021-03-06T17:54:00.009-07:002021-03-07T17:01:10.381-07:00Rotations<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSpNINwFa9W0sq49hdXpk6dbtSo-XbjafRavgUKbL5Ez1xm2ev6MD0V8r-O_83dRfTLM91f0OzCMeOzyShJd3Mp7bM4f4H4uOxWUWBcy0kKjg2HdWmfPPNH-c25AzHh5aSF8E-V10904/s1320/rotation.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="1320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSpNINwFa9W0sq49hdXpk6dbtSo-XbjafRavgUKbL5Ez1xm2ev6MD0V8r-O_83dRfTLM91f0OzCMeOzyShJd3Mp7bM4f4H4uOxWUWBcy0kKjg2HdWmfPPNH-c25AzHh5aSF8E-V10904/s320/rotation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The stock market is kind of a crystal ball. It prices itself based on what the majority of investors and traders *think* is going to happen. Now that vaccinations are up and cases are down, money is leaving tech/entertainment (and others) and rotating into energy/travel (and others). I haven't noticed too much rotation out of consumer staples... yet. While I don't expect any shocking changes to this path (the establishment is back in power), if any happen I'll try to buy up what I can while blood is in the streets. <div><br /></div><div> I think much of this "reading of the future" is also the expectation of a democratic congress passing another bailout bill, and a possible positive jobs market report-which should be only natural as everyone goes back to work. </div><div><br /></div><div> The housing market is starting to bother me a bit. We are definitely seeing a bubble, and rentals/leases are going to have to have a day of reckoning soon. I'm glad I bought my latest house when I did, as it has gone up 20% in only two years, but I don't know if I can expect it to maintain that much longer, or even continue to increase. Not that it matters, I don't plan on selling - I expect this to be my last home before the old folks home! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqE3Pogauh1ySKRT9UaNmrEiIou6Id04O9rwaiGYwLC_Ug02PM8aQS75ZIFT3uJMwxhEmo_BnFJOjF6VOAHw3-qDgY0keNauuLUREpvItWrRkhRoQqQlKUQrig0hmcxzc73W3cM1O8lU0/s235/divmeter.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqE3Pogauh1ySKRT9UaNmrEiIou6Id04O9rwaiGYwLC_Ug02PM8aQS75ZIFT3uJMwxhEmo_BnFJOjF6VOAHw3-qDgY0keNauuLUREpvItWrRkhRoQqQlKUQrig0hmcxzc73W3cM1O8lU0/s0/divmeter.png" /></a></div><br />Big homes require more upkeep than I'm willing to expend energy or money on. But I digress... </div><div><br /></div><div> I have hit another benchmark, attaining over $700 a month in dividends ($711). The benchmarks are still slow, but happening sooner. I still remember hitting $600 a month. Meanwhile I am finishing up getting my home ready for retirement in under 4 years, while putting everything else in dividend stocks. Bills that I can pay ahead are paid to the end of the year, which helps, and no debt whatsoever. I have found that having a nice chunk of cash on hand to "borrow" from myself is quite helpful. Not only can I get large ticket items last minute, but I can also take advantage of a crash when it happens. I'm not quite sure what the magic number is to have on hand, but I think having enough for a quick small car purchase is best (low 5 digits). </div><div><br /></div><div>Government checks have been amazing for the market, and for my personal retirement prep. I am not a fan of them, as inflation is a shadow looming over the USA, and only a fool would stick it in a savings account or mattress. The best way to keep up with, and ahead of inflation are dividend stocks, as they are usually raising their dividends on par with, or ahead of inflation. At the same time the effect on the dollar is reflected in share prices. So make your money work for you... Don't sit on it, don't buy a depreciating asset with it (like a car - Uber instead). </div><div><br /></div><div> So my advice is this: If you *need* something (food/home/transportation) get it. Then, if you have debt, pay it off! If you need a vacation, make it cheap (RoI)! Next, invest it. Appreciating asset, small business (things are about to open up), growth stock, or best of all, a dividend stock. And if you are so rich and retired, then gamble on crypto, meme stocks, or Vegas, but I wouldn't do those, even if I was rich and retired. There's so many ways you can give back instead. </div><div><br /></div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</span></u></b></div><div><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 20px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Xcel Energy <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NASDAQ:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XEL?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Xcel Energy Inc.">XEL</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18196532-xcel-energy-inc-board-increases-2021-common-dividend-6_4-declares-dividend-on-common-stock?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.4575/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">6.4% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.4300. <i>Boom!</i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Home Depot <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HD?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="The Home Depot, Inc.">HD</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18202679-home-depot-announces-fourth-quarter-and-fiscal-2020-results-increases-quarterly-dividend-10?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.65/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">10% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.50. <i>Boom!x2</i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Old Republic <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ORI?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Old Republic International Corporation">ORI</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18210321-old-republic-declares-first-quarter-cash-dividend-of-22-cents-per-share?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.22/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">4.8% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.21. <i>Nice!</i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Watsco <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WSO?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Watsco, Inc.">WSO</a>) will raise its dividend by 10% </span>to $7.80/share!</li></ul><div><p style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>February Purchases:</u></b></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">HD <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>13</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">OKE </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">6 </span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">WTRG </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">15</span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">XEL <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>10</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">ABBV 3 </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">MCD </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">2 </span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">WEC 5 </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">APD <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3 </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">IP <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>55</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">JNJ </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">4 </span></p><p style="background-color: white;"></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">HRL <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>6 </span></span></p></div></div>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-32706399790133843472021-02-01T07:25:00.004-07:002021-02-01T08:27:27.705-07:00Wall St. History<p> The retail investor takes over the internet!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOfZ1XsjNuJVHcU4bHV8FOO62peJq6dHK985TFPw3CryD9DTU7SIKYu5jrj4uROpqqUrjte0Wz-fre5zsweDldWGhrwaKPPSd1RsI-sLX9M1e5VRECfWlb1V3OfwRzttuw4YOh-9FGS0I/s1300/gamestop-wallstreetbets-memes-adds1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1140" data-original-width="1300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOfZ1XsjNuJVHcU4bHV8FOO62peJq6dHK985TFPw3CryD9DTU7SIKYu5jrj4uROpqqUrjte0Wz-fre5zsweDldWGhrwaKPPSd1RsI-sLX9M1e5VRECfWlb1V3OfwRzttuw4YOh-9FGS0I/s320/gamestop-wallstreetbets-memes-adds1.png" width="320" /></a></div>While you may be sick of hearing about it, I am posting about it here to keep it as a record of Wall St. history. This past week, a reddit forum, WallStreetBets, got together and decided to buy a stock that some hedge funds had communicated that they shorted. The stock was Gamestop initially, then it bled into others. This put the pressure on the shorts to buy to cover, and to sell some oversold stocks to cover. This is how it affected me, as stocks such as Target, Mastercard, and a few others that I own, had some buying opportunities (sometimes 5% drops on sale!). Many of my friends wanted an explanation on what happened, and I ended up re-watching "The Big Short" with one of them, which is a great film for understanding what happened in the 2007 housing crisis, and what shorting a stock is. I recommend watching it with Vidangel (a private company that I own stock in!) filters, due to adult language/content.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRODKSjPnpB5gTw4W4LJI1geHEpAZIr0P4dhfWMDJ4laXJDxgnOjOkpp0NhTJnNcOIw0s3wb4P5zdVEV4NRiRaxL06_9yNvy1dxWtyT4QUfF06fpfTpkuoW-R-W_ylqgsFWVUx909Fgt4/s256/divmeter.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="244" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRODKSjPnpB5gTw4W4LJI1geHEpAZIr0P4dhfWMDJ4laXJDxgnOjOkpp0NhTJnNcOIw0s3wb4P5zdVEV4NRiRaxL06_9yNvy1dxWtyT4QUfF06fpfTpkuoW-R-W_ylqgsFWVUx909Fgt4/w191-h200/divmeter.png" width="191" /></a></div>So, how did this affect me? I was able to buy several of my stocks, and most notably Mastercard, on sale. I have not been able to buy Mastercard since the inception of my dividend growth investment (DGI) account. This is because Mastercard grew so fast, and I didn't have the disposable income I have now to catch it. Mastercard quickly doubled in value since I bought it. While it is still quite expensive and has a poor yield, it is easily my most reliable capital gain stock, and they have a good record of dividend growth. I figure if I am ever in financial jeopardy, Mastercard will be the first to go.<p></p><p>I had bought my son some SPCE (Virgin Galactic) a year ago for a Christmas present for this past December. It mostly went down after I bought it (it's not SpaceX after all). It was also on the list of stocks targeted by retail investors as being shorted. I told him to sell it - and he did for over double what it was paid for. Carpe Diem, eh? If he wants it back, he can wait until the short squeeze is over, then buy it back for probably less than I paid for it. He seems to be more interested in buying a dividend stock, however. </p><p>As of this writing, the reddit investors are "holding the line" until the shorts get squeezed. I am not sure if they know when this will happen (depends on the contracts and their risk tolerance), but when it does, it will drive the price through the roof. And very possibly cause a slight crash on the more stable company stocks as they sell to cover. Good times.<br /></p><p>Most of my companies showed a profit in the Q4 earnings, with the exception of Chevron, which had their first loss since 2016. Chevron and Okeo are having a hard time with the Biden administration, which is not oil friendly. A colleague who bought Okeo after the crash is thinking of selling. I have a harder choice, since I would post a loss. It would be quite a loss, but I would definitely be close to my tax harvesting limit of -$3k. </p><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</span></u></b><div><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 20px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Fastenal <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NASDAQ:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FAST?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Fastenal Company">FAST</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18157711-fastenal-company-announces-cash-dividend?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.28/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">12% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.25. <i>Very nice, for an industrial parts vending machine company that was predicted to die thanks to Amazon.</i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Kimberly-Clark <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KMB?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Kimberly-Clark Corporation">KMB</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18162662-kimberly-clark-announces-year-end-2020-results-and-2021-outlook?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.14/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">6.5% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.07. <i>Thanks, toilet paper!</i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Archer-Daniels-Midland <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ADM?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Archer-Daniels-Midland Company">ADM</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18165613-adm-directors-vote-to-increase-cash-dividend?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.37/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">2.8% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.36. <i>China has been buying a lot of corn!</i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Air Products and Chemicals <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/APD?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.">APD</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18169960-air-products-increases-quarterly-dividend-12-percent-to-1_50-per-share-39th-consecutive-year?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.50/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">11.9% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.34. <i>Very nice increase.</i></li></ul><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>January Purchases:</u></b></p><div ccp_infra_copy_id="edc9daef-6b3c-46b2-a719-f243021e479c" ccp_infra_timestamp="1612189530773" ccp_infra_user_hash="1790447185" ccp_infra_version="3" data-ccp-timestamp="1612189530773"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 128px;"><colgroup><col span="2" style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 48pt;" width="64">JNJ </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 48pt;" width="64">4</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">HRL </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">18</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">ADM </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">3</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">APD </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">4</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">MA </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">7</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">ORI </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">172</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">CVX </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">4</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">FAST </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">4</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">XEL </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">4</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">IP </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">5</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">WTRG </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">6</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">SO </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">4</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">O </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">16</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">GIS </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">T </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">4</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">WEC </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">3</td></tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; height: 15pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">MCD </td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-43633463375067760032021-01-03T20:26:00.002-07:002021-01-04T07:57:10.555-07:00HEY ABBOTT!! Merry Christmas! Busy month for the portfolio!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiHsurDisW6L1cTJbR6bQ5vYSsJjU87NbEovWNgRUFD2rdpsU22D47vhtdFA6i_YBfVFJB4rW3zL2mCboPHjslWw6u-VEZdl29RqIFtWgDIsb8xmqXqLe-yKuFFdFNgqOzBSB2d4UUj70/s1350/abbottlabs.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1350" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiHsurDisW6L1cTJbR6bQ5vYSsJjU87NbEovWNgRUFD2rdpsU22D47vhtdFA6i_YBfVFJB4rW3zL2mCboPHjslWw6u-VEZdl29RqIFtWgDIsb8xmqXqLe-yKuFFdFNgqOzBSB2d4UUj70/w200-h133/abbottlabs.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>LOTS OF STUFF HAPPENING! WOW, just got my highest dividend raise ever this month! Abbott Labs raised their dividend a WHOPPING 25% I can't imagine getting a raise like that at my current job! While I don't own as much Abbott as I would like (it is very expensive), I'll take it nonetheless! I can only assume this will continue next year, since what Abbott makes everyone wants right now. If they can also make a covid home test, this would really boost profits. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61_fLO71yuv7RDIHEuqEzTN7yxr6W9IeezoHAMcRvZL3pfOMUOMpjWUBBY3humfLVmgjil4DKZGORmDdTOwOJBfjhId6Y5lwmrYiMbCtw9YGoEbjF0qkKitQiqPRRavYNlLZOG8bd56E/s315/divmeter.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="310" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61_fLO71yuv7RDIHEuqEzTN7yxr6W9IeezoHAMcRvZL3pfOMUOMpjWUBBY3humfLVmgjil4DKZGORmDdTOwOJBfjhId6Y5lwmrYiMbCtw9YGoEbjF0qkKitQiqPRRavYNlLZOG8bd56E/w197-h200/divmeter.png" width="197" /></a></div><p>Old Republic (ORI) also announced a special $1 per share special dividend for the third year in a row! While I don't consider this a part of the dependable income, I do know they did it after Trump removed several regulations which benefitted ORI greatly. It would be great if they can keep it going, since it is greater than their dividend normally. My son was thrilled since he bought it a week before they announced it. You can see below I did some heavy buying this month, not of ORI, but I do intend to do a large purchase of it soon, hopefully before the cutoff for the special dividend. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEaIsuMU9-n_DbP9OHGMwt5SyI_Lff9kxANfxwVKdglWg6lAWayv9zERDbPij72J-EejgSwdhCOxX0q61gYqMyzdPPNOGAtUj9AIHl2jwB3WAvSA2u2rCpN8fbnykcsgfczNuq5tIAE4/s960/euphoriacycle.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEaIsuMU9-n_DbP9OHGMwt5SyI_Lff9kxANfxwVKdglWg6lAWayv9zERDbPij72J-EejgSwdhCOxX0q61gYqMyzdPPNOGAtUj9AIHl2jwB3WAvSA2u2rCpN8fbnykcsgfczNuq5tIAE4/s320/euphoriacycle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>While 2020 was a bad year for some, it presented unprecedented financial opportunities for all who could take advantage of them. I truly feel blessed to continue receiving income which I can then redirect to my retirement. I am grateful for my secure, well paying job, and the opportunity to keep bringing home the bacon and putting bread on the table, while also setting up my retirement income. The stock market ended on a very high note, and I do expect some correction soon, but as with anything, nobody knows for sure when. Especially with all the young money entering the market. All you can do is tell when it is "close". Euphoria is the key to look out for, and that is what I am starting to see. I posted this once before, but it bears reposting to remind me to wait for the Euphoria cycle to end before buying much.<br /><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwapC6PqDmSRVUYk7uPkr2215bwqIXqGcNrkLU06D9fgvQl9-iv-u8rGwOZ7LjE2zPM17dVlyfBxgFvRtzH88Pg0gHVXQLDcQdlXR2xWlVC4V41qgU1HEfeZH5tImJfoF1KMQp5cjhd58/s1280/dune-wonder-woman-1984-trailers-august-inception-1231649-1280x0.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1280" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwapC6PqDmSRVUYk7uPkr2215bwqIXqGcNrkLU06D9fgvQl9-iv-u8rGwOZ7LjE2zPM17dVlyfBxgFvRtzH88Pg0gHVXQLDcQdlXR2xWlVC4V41qgU1HEfeZH5tImJfoF1KMQp5cjhd58/w320-h168/dune-wonder-woman-1984-trailers-august-inception-1231649-1280x0.jpeg" width="320" /></a>I would also like to comment on Warner Bros. decision to stream since I am an AT&T stockholder (who owns Time/Warner). I am all for it, and I know this is not a popular decision with Hollywood and the movie theaters. However, I think it can be profitable for AT&T and Disney should they decided to do it. There is much money wasted on the way to the theater, and apparently eats up a good chunk of the cost to make a movie. I personally would prefer to make my superior garlic parmesan popcorn, pause it when I like (bio breaks), and customize my own sound system all while laying on a comfortable couch with no fear of disease, sticky floors, or other people talking. I understand the key to jobs is layers, but from a user standpoint, it is more economical and fun. Again, my opinion. While I am not a fan of the DC universe, I hope Wonder Woman does well. I do look forward to the new Dune movies, and will probably pay for HBOMAX (owned by AT&T) when Dune comes out. I did some heavy buying of AT&T (T) because this is a visionary and bold move, and that is what makes money. Now if they could only shut down CNN...</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</span></u></b></p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 20px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">WEC Energy <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WEC?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="WEC Energy Group, Inc.">WEC</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18109496-wec-energy-group-announces-plan-to-increase-dividend-7_1-percent?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.6775/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">7.1% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.6325.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Mastercard <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MA?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Mastercard Incorporated">MA</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18115057-mastercard-board-of-directors-announces-quarterly-dividend-and-6-billion-share-repurchase?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.44/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">10% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.40. <i>(Nice, but their $6B buyback will help guarantee shareholders more dividend safety!)</i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">W. P. Carey <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WPC?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="W. P. Carey Inc.">WPC</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18117001-w-p-carey-inc-increases-quarterly-dividend-to-1_046-per-share?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.046/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">0.2% increase</span> from prior dividend of $1.044. <i>(Small, but typical of REITs, multiple small increases, and one large increase each year)</i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Abbott Laboratories <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ABT?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Abbott Laboratories">ABT</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18119896-abbott-increases-quarterly-dividend-25?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.45/share quarterly dividend</a>, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: green;">25% increase</span> from prior dividend of $0.36. <i>(Woohoo!)</i></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;">Old Republic <span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ORI?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Old Republic International Corporation">ORI</a>)</span> declares <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18129192-old-republic-declares-special-one-time-cash-dividend-of-1_00-per-share?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.00/share special dividend</a>. <i>(Nice Christmas bonus!)</i></li></ul><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>December Purchases:</u></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCztRMc8MbAqg3cHmWSDoECxPYYHb84w2hcrUscXZjtaoHsa_i0iURJ3P7ldS9EWq6iLWqZbB4qa9puGNZqDlbKwm5mAHlLupKslyicmWgK79InHWxXDymRpU4R28bSOtYsBZHFERBj4/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="193" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCztRMc8MbAqg3cHmWSDoECxPYYHb84w2hcrUscXZjtaoHsa_i0iURJ3P7ldS9EWq6iLWqZbB4qa9puGNZqDlbKwm5mAHlLupKslyicmWgK79InHWxXDymRpU4R28bSOtYsBZHFERBj4/w200-h181/image.png" width="200" /></a></div><br /><br />MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-50493109342271834762020-12-02T07:08:00.002-07:002020-12-03T07:20:03.450-07:00Thankful for November Growth<p>Many unpredictable factors occurring as of this writing:</p><p>- Election is over and pro-business candidate lost.</p><p>- Covid vaccine claims are popping up with high percentages of effectiveness.</p><p>- War is brewing in the Middle East</p><p>- Covid cases are spiking and hospitalizations are at an all-time high.</p><p>- Families defy warnings during Thanksgiving.</p><p>- Black Friday IRL is dead, Cyber shopping is booming.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVR0OzpQFUHLf6IyGLhO_il8nRrfP6WX27aTuumBTU7x05Pm9aoDAwbUdWKYu3U85KR3ZZKwAxFXhAyjBq7nKIDF4UgeTHD3vmATQbIpNZjpMgEAtBNgPobYf1kt1RFo2fXF87eTz1828/s264/divmeter.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="264" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVR0OzpQFUHLf6IyGLhO_il8nRrfP6WX27aTuumBTU7x05Pm9aoDAwbUdWKYu3U85KR3ZZKwAxFXhAyjBq7nKIDF4UgeTHD3vmATQbIpNZjpMgEAtBNgPobYf1kt1RFo2fXF87eTz1828/w200-h200/divmeter.png" width="200" /></a></div>These are variables with unpredictable long-term outcomes, yet the market is optimistic. I wish I could explain that, but I cannot. It can't be because gamblers are stuck at home so they play the market. Nor because Biden is set to roll back several pro-business regulation removals, that wouldn't make sense. I know there is a lot of young money in the market, but I can't see how that accounts for anything. Lack of jobs or people willing to fill them which damages tax income and social security income. Also the old and infirm are dying which is helpful for the state of social security from an economic standpoint. These deaths also are taxing to life insurance companies, but are positive for people set to inherit money from their relatives. Government is set to swoop down on estates not legally protected. Covid related deaths are set to peak in mid-January, which means further delays to education and some businesses. I could go on and on with all the variables that add more uncertainty, but I won't. The point is that no one knows what will happen next. <p></p><p>As I write this, we have locked down our household. Our church has been affected by Covid, my work is a ghost town with everyone working from home (myself included part of the week). My wife's friends have contracted it, and thankfully she hasn't seen them for a few months. Our annual vacation was cancelled, and we are thinking of buying a few more Oculuses to have a virtual vacation. Not much to do but watch Kitboga on Twitch and play the market. Crime seems to be increasing locally, a logical outcome of a hurting economy. But I digress... the market is predicting that everyone will live happily ever after. This makes it somewhat difficult to find bargains, but I'm buying when I can.</p><p>The ongoing drama of Chevron and Okeo: Both companies seem to be improving, without cutting dividends. I actually bought some Chevron recently because I feel more confident. Hormel recently dropped after poor earnings so I swooped in and bought some up. I also virtually toured the Spam museum on Zoom. </p><p>As I look back on these words I write, I can't help but think how bizarre the world is currently.</p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><br />Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</u></b></p><p><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;">Fastenal </span><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem;">(NASDAQ:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FAST?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Fastenal Company">FAST</a>)</span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;"> </span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;">declares</span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;"> </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18095120-fastenal-company-announces-cash-dividend?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.40/share special dividend</a><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;">. <i>Nice!</i></span></p><p><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;">Hormel Foods </span><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HRL?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Hormel Foods Corporation">HRL</a>)</span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;"> </span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;">declares</span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;"> </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18097712-hormel-foods-announces-55th-consecutive-increase-to-annual-dividend?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2867db; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 1.125rem; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.245/share quarterly dividend</a><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;">,</span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;"> </span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-size: 1.125rem;">5.4% increase</span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;"> </span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Segoe UI", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.125rem;">from prior dividend of $0.2325. <i>Not bad!</i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>November Purchases:</u></b></p>CVX: 3<div>JNJ: 5</div><div>XEL: 9</div><div>HRL: 13</div><div>ORI: 47</div><div><br /></div><div>As Evie once sang: "Be thankful for the good things that you got. The good things that you got, are for many just a dream. So be thankful for the good things that you got."<br /><div><br /></div></div>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-67423514868139749922020-10-31T08:55:00.006-07:002020-11-04T22:11:11.118-07:00A Scary Earnings Month...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQbf387oNp5sXtJVOg_Md4qexaCevoM9cs5Fsv_78ov7Q5qsEklXv-wd_4hwFFEFDWS8juUP_zgdmzzsG0HAAeOYavChchEf27RoaIBTenAQ3FXuvqk1xLwMcDT1Eg-Ed9QOSrwpEJ94Y/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQbf387oNp5sXtJVOg_Md4qexaCevoM9cs5Fsv_78ov7Q5qsEklXv-wd_4hwFFEFDWS8juUP_zgdmzzsG0HAAeOYavChchEf27RoaIBTenAQ3FXuvqk1xLwMcDT1Eg-Ed9QOSrwpEJ94Y/w253-h190/image.png" width="253" /></a></div> Some good news, but mostly bad :) The main thing was my net worth went from a record high, to lower than last month. It dropped a LOT. There was some good news though:<br /><p></p><p>OKE and CVX did NOT cut their dividends. This is huge, this tells investors such as myself that these big boys consider 2020 to be a blip, and they will continue next year business as usual. That doesn't mean the dividend won't be frozen, but there is now a light at the end of the tunnel.</p><p></p><p>ABBV increased their dividend by 10% This is a <br />big deal for me, because I did not do much investing this month. I paid down some debt, and the way my paychecks were timed this month, I didn't get too much cash in the brokerage account. This will change next month, however. In summary, my monthly income went up more than expected thanks to ABBV.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5QbzIYLkFuSK3W6_v7dgo_5lUmn2PL8XuP-oEUzpAzKNcm7zPYpznBcnMzwaW4vMeD9W0rTU3CjUOXJ7KzVMKL8skZ8W-HeuI_hY8DxnyLWRDQNcNEgdsm6a_ZsKpjJnwTuwE0E7s8Y/s360/countfloyd.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5QbzIYLkFuSK3W6_v7dgo_5lUmn2PL8XuP-oEUzpAzKNcm7zPYpznBcnMzwaW4vMeD9W0rTU3CjUOXJ7KzVMKL8skZ8W-HeuI_hY8DxnyLWRDQNcNEgdsm6a_ZsKpjJnwTuwE0E7s8Y/s320/countfloyd.gif" width="320" /></a></div>This has been a fascinating month to watch the market. China related stocks went up on the news Biden is winning in the polls, then everything took a dive on the 30th. I'm guessing the big money is removing their cash in preparation for any election fallout. Whomever gets elected, there will be a drop in certain stocks, while others will gain, but different for each candidate. Either way I will try to maneuver through it. I feel more confident in a Trump economy (I will miss those buying opportunity tweets), but there will always be different opportunities. Of course, energy giants like CVX and OKE might be hurt again by a Biden presidency. <p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TEorex1YWzEQIyNxr23aje3EHrlEOex7WubgOPTApEu7tDFP3JCzusgcO_uFzqHezt0313-qUVIhkYNg2QSjhTOccWb9_MZFGWloMwLCLR1tGxSpWpkvMvpX6eHnVk0S482IX5V5aig/s224/divmeter.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="224" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TEorex1YWzEQIyNxr23aje3EHrlEOex7WubgOPTApEu7tDFP3JCzusgcO_uFzqHezt0313-qUVIhkYNg2QSjhTOccWb9_MZFGWloMwLCLR1tGxSpWpkvMvpX6eHnVk0S482IX5V5aig/w114-h113/divmeter.png" width="114" /></a><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</u></b></p><p><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">McDonald's </span><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-size: 16px;">(NYSE:<a class="ticker-link" data_retrieved="0" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MCD?source=news_body_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="MCD">MCD</a>)</span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18036278-mcdonalds-reports-third-quarter-2020-comparable-sales-raises-quarterly-cash-dividend-and?source=news_body_link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.29/share quarterly dividend</a><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-size: 16px;">3% increase</span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $1.25. <i>(That's a relief!)</i></span></p><p><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">AbbVie </span><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-size: 16px;">(NYSE:<a class="ticker-link" data_retrieved="0" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ABBV?source=news_body_link" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="ABBV">ABBV</a>)</span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18065979-abbvie-reports-third-quarter-2020-financial-results?source=news_body_link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.30/share quarterly dividend</a><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-size: 16px;">10.2% increase</span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $1.18. <i>(Still a good yield to buy today)</i></span></p><p><b style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>October Purchases:</u></b></p><p>WPC - 6 (that's all, folks)</p>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-70987043597649089652020-10-08T16:28:00.004-07:002020-11-04T22:12:20.968-07:00Welcome to my passive income blogI am about a week late, but I did save all the data on the last day of the month. Biggest news is General Mills unfroze their dividend and raised it!! I never thought I'd see the day! 😁<div><br /></div><div>I'm not very inspired this month, and there isn't really anything in particular to say, with the election inching closer and no perceptible impact on the market. I've been pretty busy getting back into the swing of things post-pandemic, and preoccupied with some life events. So I'll just reiterate what I'm doing and why I'm doing it, something I haven't done for awhile.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTyljB0CskQqR5XEPHiYAf0S4Qr8a-_edMA2lzEZA3kB-7DWBhJ1ZnzXc7JU4ZbvCpln2tVBXiMNgscBR7D1P9_zZl4zHvmH24gB2sp6Bk2OG0-MSdqe8A8VbIc564giwAPvduFoKpnx0/s223/meter.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="223" data-original-width="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTyljB0CskQqR5XEPHiYAf0S4Qr8a-_edMA2lzEZA3kB-7DWBhJ1ZnzXc7JU4ZbvCpln2tVBXiMNgscBR7D1P9_zZl4zHvmH24gB2sp6Bk2OG0-MSdqe8A8VbIc564giwAPvduFoKpnx0/s0/meter.png" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>My dividend investing began back in 2017. I thought to myself, "I'm a halfway intelligent person, how come I can't make any real money in the stock market?" I made some good calls, and some bad ones, but every time I invested, I had to wait a long time and hope for a profit. I wanted a sure thing, something I could depend on, and live on without much time investment and stress. </div><div><br /></div><div>Prior to this, each paycheck I had excess cash, and I found that my wife and I were starting to buy things that we really did not need. Henry David Thoreau's mantra of "Simplify, simplify" kept resonating in my brain. I realized that in about 8 years I would be eligible for retirement. While I had no debt (house had been paid off a few years before), I did not think I would be able to retire early, even though my employer offered this option. As the first of my name to obtain a secondary education, and being blessed with being raised to be frugal but not stingy, I wanted to be able to "make it happen". Why can't I retire early, as some are able to do, and then pursue some personal goals?</div><div><br /></div><div>My job had proven itself to be as stable as can be compared to many. So I just needed to increase my cash flow and invest it in my future. I could have gone all in with 401k, and I did for a few years, but I did not like the choices that were given to me, and the fact that even if I retired early, I wouldn't be able to touch the money until I am 65. After all, it was *my* money. On top of that, my employer didn't even match it. So how could I live off of it? I stopped giving to my 401k at this time.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I did the one thing every bank and insurance company has done for decades, bought high quality dividend stocks. I took my initial stock account value (about 4k), borrowed 16k from my 401k (which *doesn't* allow me to reap dividends), and dropped 20k into about 10 stocks recommended for dividends. And I was off to the races! Best part about it was I didn't have to worry about these stocks breaking me. General Mills, for example, has paid out their dividend for over 100 years. They haven't always increased it, but they never decreased it. That is something you can bank on.</div><div><br /></div><div>Following this, I decided to take Thoreau up on his simplification of life, and started eliminating excess. This was not difficult for me, as I am a minimalist by nature, but my wife is a hoarder, and even today she is still working on eliminating her accumulation of material items. I basically took the view of, if I don't plan to use it in the next 6 months, get rid of it. Our donations to the Salvation Army have been epic, and I'm still surprised I haven't been audited yet. We continued this thinking by going down to one car (I use rideshare to commute to work, when I don't telecommute), getting a modest condo instead of a huge house (less upkeep, and kids are graduating soon), and eliminating time wasters. When you have too many things, and not enough time to do them, then you don't need those things. Right now we are preparing for retirement. Fixing up the condo to our liking so we don't need to spend a lot of money later, obtaining large appliances, but delaying as much as possible until the retirement date, so they last longer, and taking every cent we save and putting it into dividend stocks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Three and a half years later, I am making over $600 a month in passive income, which I reinvest, along with spare cash from my paycheck. My employer also recently started matching my 401k, so I am giving the minimum for matching. Once I retire, I can move my 401k to an IRA and live off the dividends on stocks *I* get to choose. That is my bigger asset. I calculate that with the IRA dividends, and my capital investment dividends, I could make over $2k a month if I retired *today*. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sadly, I can't retire today, but I can in 4 years. While $2k a month before taxes is a modest amount, I would like to double it in 4 years, if possible. Once retired, I can draw on the dividend cash to pay my bills, and the dividends should increase annually ahead of inflation to more and more every year. Any windfalls I receive, I would use to add to that, and I would monitor the companies that may take a wrong turn, cash them out, then reinvest in another dividend company. Then, when we pass on to the next life, my kids should be able to split the accumulation down the middle and live off the dividends as well, and hopefully, if they are wise, will pass it down to their kids, and so on. Trying to leave a financial legacy, so that way if they are artists or missionaries, they won't need to worry about income.</div><div><br /></div><div>Financial independence and freedom is the end result. To be able to pursue other projects and endeavors without worrying about paying the electric bill or being able to get your next meal. Set up my own schedule, say no to something I don't believe in, support or do the things I do believe in without pressure, care for people, and provide opportunities for others than myself. As a great man once said: "Without money, one often has to do things one does not want just to survive, and this is not how I want to live." Money is a tool lent to us, being a good steward of it and not wasting it is the legacy I want to leave.</div><div><br /></div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</u></b></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Realty Income </span><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-size: 16px;">(NYSE:<a class="ticker-link" data_retrieved="0" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/O" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="O">O</a>)</span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18011672-108th-common-stock-monthly-dividend-increase-declared-realty-income" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.234/share monthly dividend</a><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-size: 16px;">0.2% increase</span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $0.2335. (another one of their minor increases, but any increase is good for real estate at this time).</span></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">General Mills </span><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-size: 16px;">(NYSE:<a bus_desc="General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide." class="ticker-link" company_name="General Mills, Inc." data_retrieved="0" direction="up" fund_type="Market Cap." high52="66.14" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GIS" index_symbol="false" is_commodity="false" low52="46.59" market_cap="37431971880" percent="0.508" price="61.39" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="GIS" test_version="control" value="0.31">GIS</a>)</span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18016738-general-mills-reports-strong-fiscal-2021-first-quarter-results-and-announces-dividend" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.51/share quarterly dividend</a><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-size: 16px;">4.1% increase</span><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $0.49. (Soon after I first bought them, they froze their dividend, but now they raised it!! Patience has paid off!)</span></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">(October preview, McDonald's raised their dividend!!!!)</span></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div><p style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>September Purchases:</u></b></p></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">T - 10</span></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">WPC - 9</span></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">WTRG - 15</span></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">SO - 4</span></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">ORI - 30</span></div><div><br /></div><div>See you next month!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-5784738702404758982020-09-02T14:48:00.004-07:002020-09-02T14:48:58.768-07:00Milestone: $600 a Month Passive Income<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0nmUE-_hvlXA4_xS2x4YcjAIB4VKEttDXqAj7uElqVWdNeeZ9xcsEZkbZVYkkj4RUCa31MM5sEWdwBRRERTwhLC_wyWV6GsaXzyK__V8TJonSHcPaLQZm39eAGAmgyFVEbCM13iTFqs/s227/divmeter.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="227" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0nmUE-_hvlXA4_xS2x4YcjAIB4VKEttDXqAj7uElqVWdNeeZ9xcsEZkbZVYkkj4RUCa31MM5sEWdwBRRERTwhLC_wyWV6GsaXzyK__V8TJonSHcPaLQZm39eAGAmgyFVEbCM13iTFqs/w118-h116/divmeter.png" width="118" /></a> A major milestone has been reached for my quest to retirement. I am now making $600 a month in passive income! That's $600 in my pocket, to pay bills, buy more dividends, or travel. Well, not too much travel right now. Other milestones are close as well, net worth, home value, etc. Things I don't normally share on here. Also got rid of some home remodeling debt as well. The pandemic continues to be an economic boon for our household finances.</p><p>Not much more to say - America is slowly opening back up, people are starting to come out from their homes, their eyes dilating from the bright light. There's still a few riots (allegedly funded) in a few blue cities, but it doesn't change anything, so hopefully they will stop the nonsense, and let main street recover like Wall St. did (close to all-time highs again).</p><p>Major movers this month:</p><p>Abbot Labs - $5, 15 minute covid test, funded by the feds</p><p>Air Products </p><p>Procter & Gamble (as expected)</p><p>McDonalds??? up 11%</p><p>Johnson & Johnson</p><p>Qualcomm</p><p>Mastercard</p><p>Target +17%!</p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</u></b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Essential Utilities </span><span class="ticker-hover-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">(NYSE:<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WTRG" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Essential Utilities, Inc.">WTRG</a>)</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17958485-essential-declares-7-dividend-increase" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.2507/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">7% increase</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $0.2343.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">No cuts. Yet.<br /><br /></span></p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>August Purchases:</u></b></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;">XEL - 4<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;">IP - 6<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;">WPC - 10<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;">O - 5<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;">WTRG - 7<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;">SO - 5<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;">GIS - 2<br /></span>CVX - 4<br />ABBV - 2</div><p></p>MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-13245633503428560182020-08-01T10:34:00.001-07:002020-08-01T10:54:54.434-07:00Good. Bad. Ugly. Q2 Earnings SeasonQ2 earnings, the moment we were all dreading, is here. Thankfully, it is better than expected, but worse than hoped. Let's dive into my portfolio, shall we?<br />
<br />
<b><u>The Good</u></b><br />
<br />
This is a hard time to predict earnings, and many corrections have been made for pretty much all companies. The recession stocks actually had to correct up! It appears everyone is learning how to cook their own meals. Probably good for some people to eat healthier, bad for some people because of the waistline (snacking habits - something I'm struggling with - fasting helps!). Here're the good stocks that have reported good earnings already (most have gone up $10+ per share the past month):<br />
<b>FAST</b> - their medical side (I didn't even know they had one) has been doing very well<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNahYUbs2dkXyYqIptb_1-NnKbEYyFVKkOXHXuun7N_ubKujPOggGzUt5sXZcDgs162de7XPDlV1iS_JzIzNGYwIyjviwK_uSWEbi-OcCNy4XjjUE2uHQ3s9RqLdeL4I8QcB5A60hS0b4/s1600/biden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNahYUbs2dkXyYqIptb_1-NnKbEYyFVKkOXHXuun7N_ubKujPOggGzUt5sXZcDgs162de7XPDlV1iS_JzIzNGYwIyjviwK_uSWEbi-OcCNy4XjjUE2uHQ3s9RqLdeL4I8QcB5A60hS0b4/s320/biden.jpg" width="245" /></a><b>JNJ</b> - Rose and dropped, but ended up higher than starting the month<br />
<b>ABT - </b>Just keeps going, and going, and going...up<br />
<b>PG - </b>Another winner that increased dramatically<br />
<b>WSO - </b>Rose over 16% on earnings... WOW<br />
<b>KMB </b><br />
<b>XEL</b><br />
<b>MA</b><br />
<b>SO</b><br />
<b>ADM</b><br />
<b>WPC - </b> So glad I bought this stock after trading in NNN<br />
<b>APD</b><br />
<b>QCOM - </b>Another exploder! Up 17% on earnings news and a deal with Huawei. New high!<br />
<br />
<b><u>The Bad</u></b><br />
So that was a good list above, but we were expecting everyone to report bad this quarter. It was inevitable with the shutdown earlier and the slow restart of the economy. So here are the expected bad boys of my portfolio:<br />
<b>MCD - </b>One cannot thrive on Drive-Thru alone. 200 stores closed in Japan. They did maintain their dividend, and this is the best of their sector, they will pull through.<br />
<b>ORI - </b>They beat their earnings, but the share price is flat and still far below what I paid for it. I'm leveraging a little here and there, but I need some sign from the insurance sector that they are ok.<br />
<b>T - </b>AT&T has the cash flow, but Time/Warner is suffering from the lack of entertainment industry. The dividend is safe, but the share price is still terrible. Another one I'm nibbling at.<br />
<b>ABBV - </b> I have been buying on the way down, the yield is too good to pass up, but I am a little surprised at this one. I expected a medical stock to do better in this environment.<br />
<br />
<b><u>The Ugly</u></b><br />
<b>OKE - </b>They maintained their dividend, but this one is not pretty. While I expect them to cut the dividend, I'm looking for a boost to get out. But where would I go? They are the best company out there for natural gas (you may think that's debatable) with a dividend. If I get out of OKE, I would need to go into another sector completely. Although my portfolio on a whole is up, I've lost about half my investment in OKE. The only good news is that this has to be the worst quarter and we can only go up from here, right? Right?<br />
<b>CVX - </b>Wow this one was way worse than I expected. Chevron is the king of oil in this market, and they still were hemorrhaging on earnings <span style="color: red; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt;">EPS of -$1.59 misses by $0.70</span> - Wow! They also took on some debt to take advantage of this crisis by an acquisition of a smaller company, so they are confident. I'm just glad I don't own Exxon.<br />
<br />
If these two Ugly guys cut their dividend, I may stay with them, going against my rule of running when a dividend is cut. I have nowhere to go in this sector, they are the best you can get. However, if they *eliminate* their dividend, I will send them packing and just go to another sector (or maybe load into the other one). Apparently energy will be too volatile for me in that case. I need dependable income, and this crisis has separated the men from the boys.<br />
<br />
Still a third of my portfolio needs to report, mostly utilities and consumer discretionary stocks.<br />
<br />
There weren't a lot of buying opportunities this month, because the good got expensive, and the ugly scared me away, but I did some buying mostly on the market drop yesterday. Good news is my low month dividends increased by about 60% after all the buying a few months ago.<br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</u></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif;">None, but no cuts either.</span><br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>July Purchases:</u></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix09DUXnbFDYek1UJ735JIn5GzTLfJwLmKB9WRaHyj3kLpZyYcG5mffTWgLbYG0V7FwbDGUJnoX7fN8ix5WGIKDIGVzrNQ80HE5NPCHnpzRKh-SSx0bRumhnVC-5Jpig3thyv_sNBxFKs/s1600/divmeter.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="276" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix09DUXnbFDYek1UJ735JIn5GzTLfJwLmKB9WRaHyj3kLpZyYcG5mffTWgLbYG0V7FwbDGUJnoX7fN8ix5WGIKDIGVzrNQ80HE5NPCHnpzRKh-SSx0bRumhnVC-5Jpig3thyv_sNBxFKs/s200/divmeter.png" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">IP - 12</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">CVX - 7</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">O - 4</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">ABBV - 2</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">SO - 2</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">ORI - 10</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">WPC - 2</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
Looking ahead, the rest of my stocks need to report out in August, following worst GDP on record. We can only go up from here, right? I expect that so close to the election, Trump will do his best to shock the economy and to stock market back into action. Stay tuned.<br />
<br />MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-33617001973920124462020-07-02T14:10:00.002-07:002020-07-23T07:35:06.139-07:00Stunted Growth<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBCYZBRongLvc3v2JiNMffNBcOGA_BGJ2SkDcv8aDCFcpv3PyDKJHKvzZIr6zsGXk3JVilm-8j9czkjrTIzJiecI8nv0VoM1101vuOGKEBz8yT69hREhvuswe3EGtAeZqpNkdcQHsz9A/s1600/soros.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="976" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBCYZBRongLvc3v2JiNMffNBcOGA_BGJ2SkDcv8aDCFcpv3PyDKJHKvzZIr6zsGXk3JVilm-8j9czkjrTIzJiecI8nv0VoM1101vuOGKEBz8yT69hREhvuswe3EGtAeZqpNkdcQHsz9A/s320/soros.jpg" width="320" /></a>My net worth grew quite slow this past month, although the highest it has ever been. I expect this slow pattern to continue until the Q2 earnings are announced (which will be in a few weeks). I am writing and compiling this data as of July 1st - and the jobs number just came out, and it was very good. I would like to say we are back to normal economically, but the election is on the horizon, and I fear that the establishment is making inroads in making sure the outsider is not re-elected (yeah, I'm talking to you, Soros). While the blue outcome could be a bit devastating to the growth of my net worth, as long as regulations aren't reintroduced, it will give me some time to get more deals.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHW_njTniDh08wjIXLAtRTaXoJXJrpHoPU3okneqQZyOn8zcePK7ib1u9CuKtEEBm-dfxPrpg9heljCBRspVYTnI5XAAqvx3N6kXYzk6_0SDoRlahbjB-4WJ_pvlfigyLLDB987mhaX4/s1600/divmeter.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="329" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHW_njTniDh08wjIXLAtRTaXoJXJrpHoPU3okneqQZyOn8zcePK7ib1u9CuKtEEBm-dfxPrpg9heljCBRspVYTnI5XAAqvx3N6kXYzk6_0SDoRlahbjB-4WJ_pvlfigyLLDB987mhaX4/s200/divmeter.png" width="200" /></a>I hit a milestone of $7k a year taxable income, $583 a month. Not too bad, but I really need to step it up if I want to retire in 5 years. Whatever I get to, I can figure about x4 that when I retire after moving my 401k over to an IRA I can control for dividends. That would put me at 28k a year right now, which is not bad. However, as I am growing my brokerage faster than my 401k (minimal matching contributions and Fidelity's silly restrictions and ETFs), that factor may dwindle.<br />
<br />
As far as the riots, I did note them in my "dividend history" as I always do each month on something of significance that may or may not impact the market. I also noted the 2nd wave. I think the riots are mostly noise as far as the market is concerned, those people still need to buy goods and services, or at least their handlers do. The 2nd wave is the troublesome note. On a good note, Realty Income collected more rent money in June than they did in May, so O is ok!<br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</u></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Realty Income (NYSE:</span><a bus_desc="Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company, is an S&P 500 company dedicated to providing stockholders with dependable monthly income." class="ticker-link" company_name="Realty Income Corporation" data_retrieved="0" direction="up" fund_type="Market Cap." high52="84.92" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/O" index_symbol="false" is_commodity="false" low52="38" market_cap="20433255391" percent="0.016" price="61.1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="O" value="0.01">O</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">) declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17895717-107th-common-stock-monthly-dividend-increase-declared-realty-income" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.2335/share monthly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">0.2% increase</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $0.2330.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Target (NYSE:</span><a bus_desc="Target Corporation operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States." class="ticker-link" company_name="Target Corporation" data_retrieved="0" direction="up" fund_type="Market Cap." high52="130.24" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TGT" index_symbol="false" is_commodity="false" low52="80.03" market_cap="59966856516" percent="0.134" price="119.12" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="TGT" value="0.16">TGT</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">) declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17897260-target-corporation-announces-3_0-percent-dividend-increase" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.68/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3% increase</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $0.66.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">W. P. Carey (NYSE:</span><a class="ticker-link" data_retrieved="0" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WPC" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="WPC">WPC</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">) declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17898371-w-p-carey-inc-increases-quarterly-dividend-to-1_042-per-share" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.042/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">0.2% increase</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $1.040.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>June Purchases:</u></b><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 128px;">
<colgroup><col span="2" style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 48pt;" width="64">ABT </td>
<td align="right" style="width: 48pt;" width="64">3</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15pt;">T </td>
<td align="right">3</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15pt;">IP </td>
<td align="right">6</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15pt;">WPC </td>
<td align="right">18</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15pt;">O </td>
<td align="right">7</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15pt;">ORI </td>
<td align="right">10</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15pt;">SO </td>
<td align="right">6</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="height: 15pt;">WSO </td>
<td align="right">4</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="height: 15pt;">ADM </td>
<td align="right">4</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td height="20" style="height: 15pt;">GIS </td>
<td align="right">3</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-74798519328004238992020-06-01T08:11:00.001-07:002020-06-01T08:11:18.519-07:00Tax Harvest Time! NNN out, WPC in<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_3oHFgneZTEKOuCb4svIJSmSHa2Pp22pzwzGExbuzVVJ2uJqlCW9Y9lBZB4BC0nEH3VzkfxHDCv_GLAohoVFxoCzeNXa4RRL19lA4qLZab1mgtQQlAnUe_CUAX6eKtMQU4Sy7T_h9EE/s1600/wpc.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="99" data-original-width="510" height="62" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_3oHFgneZTEKOuCb4svIJSmSHa2Pp22pzwzGExbuzVVJ2uJqlCW9Y9lBZB4BC0nEH3VzkfxHDCv_GLAohoVFxoCzeNXa4RRL19lA4qLZab1mgtQQlAnUe_CUAX6eKtMQU4Sy7T_h9EE/s320/wpc.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Last month I was sweating a few sectors. One of them was the REIT sector. O (Realty Income), had received the majority of their lease payments from tenants. NNN (National Retail) only received about half their lease payments. I started looking into my watchlist for a similar dividend paying REIT, and I think I found a better one. WPC (W. P. Carey) had a good yield, 92% of their tenants paid up, limited retail exposure, 9 years of dividend increases, and many other favorable attributes. Now I had to do the math - if I completely sell my NNN shares (before they cut their dividend), and use that cash to buy WPC, what will it net me?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6eOJylurIQyXdPQvaJcQRaYE5dk0GXvMFw3DkxLIG-agN0wnWwiMQ8QN-tFJ7AgSPSx_nju597W1y-Ll9FQmD19j0MVgTIHCjC6BKE0DCWV4kuCTb3IKQcip8EBUk7zQR4YmxuzKolI/s1600/divmeter.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6eOJylurIQyXdPQvaJcQRaYE5dk0GXvMFw3DkxLIG-agN0wnWwiMQ8QN-tFJ7AgSPSx_nju597W1y-Ll9FQmD19j0MVgTIHCjC6BKE0DCWV4kuCTb3IKQcip8EBUk7zQR4YmxuzKolI/s200/divmeter.png" width="200" /></a>- Peace of mind: one less drop of sweat from the real estate sector<br />
- About $10 more a year annually in dividend income: So no loss to my income<br />
- $800 and change loss I can write off on my taxes: harvest time!<br />
<br />
So I made the biggest move in my portfolio in years. NNN, despite how long they have generated dividend income, despite how long I have held them, although they haven't cut their dividend, has left the building. My "never fall in love with a stock" philosophy was successfully tested, and now my portfolio is more recession proof than ever before.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
As far as the other risky sector stocks, there hasn't been much change except slow recovery. Well, slow is pretty relative, seeing as how we may avoid a depression and just see a recession. Of course, it is too early to tell anything, but I'm feeling pretty good about the purchases I made during the height of the pandemic. There still a few great yields out there, and I hope to keep taking advantage of them. "Never let a crisis go to waste", as Churchill said.<br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</u></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><br /></u></b>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Nothing this month. No cuts, though.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>May Purchases:</u></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div>
HRL 5</div>
<div>
NNN 9</div>
<div>
NNN -112</div>
<div>
WPC 58</div>
<div>
SO 3</div>
<div>
QCOM 5</div>
<div>
ORI 26</div>
<div>
O 4</div>
<div>
ADM 4</div>
<div>
MAIN 4</div>
</div>
MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-63980921152368160622020-05-01T07:09:00.001-07:002020-05-02T06:03:59.300-07:00Recession Stocks Weren't Cool... But Now, They AreBack in my MMO days, there was a web series with Felicia Day called "The Guild". They had a few song hits, "Do You Want To Date My Avatar" notably, the costume Felicia wore in that video is on display at the Smithsonian, which I recently visited. Lesser known is their song "I'm the one that's cool" which tells the tale of how the Guild, once a group of nerds, are now the center of our culture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcn4FKUHiQsg1yAU8tRRXQZ8YnZ6en8PWs3rOGemoZOH56NNnY78_gj9XvLc7ppQxP9dY_BebmMHq7pDpKkXi0vIgSxjpnmWlY5IM4eW-GgSleS007Eci6bid-b_ZYNURVU4MXhUqT3AI/s1600/divmeter.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="333" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcn4FKUHiQsg1yAU8tRRXQZ8YnZ6en8PWs3rOGemoZOH56NNnY78_gj9XvLc7ppQxP9dY_BebmMHq7pDpKkXi0vIgSxjpnmWlY5IM4eW-GgSleS007Eci6bid-b_ZYNURVU4MXhUqT3AI/s200/divmeter.png" width="200" /></a>I look at the recession stocks as the "nerds" of the stock market. No one thinks they are cool or worth the investment, until something like 911, the housing crisis, or a pandemic hits. Now they are "burning bright thanks to your rejection fuel" like the song says. I make sure most of my dividends come from these stocks, because you need your income most during times like this. The Nerd Stocks are:<br />
<br />
Consumer Staples like<br />
<ul>
<li>Archer Daniels (ADM) agriculture</li>
<li>General Mills (GIS) Grocery</li>
<li>Hormel Foods (HRL) Supermarket</li>
<li>Kimberley Clark (KMB) TOILET PAPER GOLD</li>
<li>Proctor & Gamble (PG) Everything else in the store lol!</li>
</ul>
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Utilities like</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Southern Co. (SO) Electric Company working on nuclear power in the south (hot summers)</li>
<li>Wisconsin Energy (WEC) Electric/Gas company in the north (cold winters)</li>
<li>Essential Utilities (WTRG) Water Works + Natural Gas</li>
<li>Excel (XEL) Electric/Gas</li>
</ul>
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Health Care (really shining in a pandemic)</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Abbvie (ABBV) Humira & Allergen</li>
<li>Abbot Labs (ABT) Covid-19 Testers (cha-ching!)</li>
<li>Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) everything else!</li>
</ul>
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Now for the stocks in severe trouble. I am keeping a close eye on them to see who will make it through, and sell off/tax harvest those who cut their dividend. Thankfully none of them are more than 3-5% of my portfolio, so I can afford to.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Chevron (CVX), while the king of the oil companies, is the closest of my stocks to cut their dividend. I just glanced at their earnings this morning, and Q1 wasn't as bad as expected. Q2 may be the real test, however. CEO assured shareholders the dividend is fine, but everything is always fine... until it isn't.</div>
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Okeo (OKE) is the next one. While they were hit hard by the pin action of the oil stocks, they did report a decent quarter. They are mostly pipelines and natural gas, so why they haven't bounced back too well is beyond me. Meanwhile, their dividend payout ratio is high (not as high as Chevrons) and they always had a great yield, now it is scary good - too high!</div>
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Realty Income (O) and National Retail (NNN) - these guys are in for a rough ride. As if brick and mortar wasn't already having issues. While some of their tenants (Walgreens, 7-11, Dollar General/Tree, Walmart, CVS, Home Depot) are doing well, many may never do well again (AMC, LA Fitness, Chuck E. Cheese). The problem is, if half your tenants are doing well, you don't get any excess, but if half are not doing well, you don't even get your lease payment. </div>
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Main Street (MAIN) - They dropped their semi-annual bonus dividend, but then they already planned to, and absorb it into the monthly dividend. They just dropped it sooner, and hopefully will absorb it later. They appear to be doing fine on paper, but investing in companies is a tricky business during a pandemic where many businesses are failing. I know they will be investing even smarter from now on.</div>
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Otherwise, the pandemic has been good for my wallet. My employer labelled me "essential" and gave me the documentation to prove it. They have been providing me with 2 square meals a day, an essential worker bonus, a Q1 bonus, and a secure job. My family hasn't been going anywhere or spending anything, so we have been working on home project spending only. The government provided me with a check I don't really need, so I am using it to invest and pay ahead on bills in case another tragedy hits. Our family has been blessed during this time, and I told my children to try to avoid a job in the entertainment/travel industries, because they are the first to suffer during a crisis.</div>
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Net worth took a big hit in February, but has recovered nicely. I think it is because Vegas is closed, so the gamblers are all playing the market, investing in biotechs and airlines.</div>
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<br /></div>
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IP was taken off tax harvest status on the 16th, so I loaded up a bit.</div>
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So glad many of my dividends actually increased during this time! Honestly, I'm just glad some like Chevron and O maintained their dividend.</div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</u></b></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Watsco (NYSE:</span><a class="ticker-link" data_retrieved="0" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WSO" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="WSO">WSO</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">) declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17824950-watsco-boosts-annual-dividends-11-to-7_10" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.775/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">10.9% increase</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $1.600.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:</span><a bus_desc="Johnson & Johnson researches and develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the health care field worldwide." class="ticker-link" company_name="Johnson & Johnson" data-original-title="" data_retrieved="0" direction="down" fund_type="Market Cap." high52="157" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JNJ" index_symbol="false" is_commodity="false" low52="109.16" market_cap="396085561889" percent="-1.353" price="148.01" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="JNJ" title="" value="-2.03">JNJ</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">) declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17835750-johnson-johnson-announces-dividend-increase-of-6_3" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$1.01/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">6.3% increase</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $0.95.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Procter & Gamble (NYSE:</span><a bus_desc="The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods to consumers in North and Latin America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Greater China, India, the Middle East, and Africa." class="ticker-link" company_name="The Procter & Gamble Company" data_retrieved="0" direction="down" fund_type="Market Cap." high52="128.09" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PG" index_symbol="false" is_commodity="false" low52="94.34" market_cap="289029486339" percent="-0.038" price="117.825" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="PG" value="-0.045">PG</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">) declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17836953-p-and-g-declares-dividend-increase-accelerates-third-quarter-2019-20-earnings-release-to" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.7907/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">6% increase</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $0.7459.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Southern Co (NYSE:</span><a class="ticker-link" data_retrieved="0" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SO" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="SO">SO</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">) declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17842282-southern-company-increases-dividend-for-19th-consecutive-year-annualized-rate-goes-to-2_56" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.64/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3.2% increase</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $0.62.</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><u>April Purchases:</u></b></div>
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<colgroup><col span="2" style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col>
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<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; width: 48pt;" width="64">ADM </td>
<td align="right" style="width: 48pt;" width="64">17</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">IP </td>
<td align="right">17</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">NNN </td>
<td align="right">10</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">ORI </td>
<td align="right">4</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">O </td>
<td align="right">6</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">SO </td>
<td align="right">4</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"><br />
Stay safe!</td>
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</tbody></table>
MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648905794012468089.post-63261585401963637302020-04-01T12:15:00.000-07:002020-04-01T12:15:09.746-07:00The CovidJust when the market was getting a little boring, this happens.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejVWiXCTvZ5gR5A-w2kgN_Sc768WPSj54I6vp78reQCH9JqoBeCbWOUiOE8YjqkdKe8KUCyqmJJfkb38NT7N-6Q3Yb_M1IvJTwSrHZ8iSBOiHi92pO6rUCNpnaDsNo6oGWhX5G5bIOGo/s1600/divmeter.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="331" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejVWiXCTvZ5gR5A-w2kgN_Sc768WPSj54I6vp78reQCH9JqoBeCbWOUiOE8YjqkdKe8KUCyqmJJfkb38NT7N-6Q3Yb_M1IvJTwSrHZ8iSBOiHi92pO6rUCNpnaDsNo6oGWhX5G5bIOGo/s200/divmeter.png" width="200" /></a>This is why I refuse to ever pull from my 401k. When I retire, which will be hopefully soon, I will just move it into an IRA, receive taxable dividends from it, and NEVER pull from it. If you have to depend on it, the market will fall when you need it, then what will you do?<br />I have depleted all of my dry powder, and now am waiting for each paycheck as it comes in to buy as much as I can here, or on the way down. I don't expect my job to be in peril, as it is big tech, and big tech is the clear winner here with everyone at home using it.<br />
<br />
<br />
I am trying to be careful to pick quality stocks with increased dividends, but since I am middle-aged and prone to a little risk to catch up, I have bought a few riskier stocks (MAIN, OKE). I did tax harvest IP, but I maybe <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpkYA3kuTvEHL6C3SB2eV59PaPbsHaNRbPuYRQl0C8jkXXjrpSaPJ9T3SghEH_ESiNaZkIVpgSbBhkqdJ0rYy84h7kgwxjfyg3plfOUwEo6xLyWHsUITwLt1G8w6aZ0ovGVvP-FWW7m8/s1600/covid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpkYA3kuTvEHL6C3SB2eV59PaPbsHaNRbPuYRQl0C8jkXXjrpSaPJ9T3SghEH_ESiNaZkIVpgSbBhkqdJ0rYy84h7kgwxjfyg3plfOUwEo6xLyWHsUITwLt1G8w6aZ0ovGVvP-FWW7m8/s200/covid.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>KMB Makes Toilet Paper!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
should not have since they have a great balance sheet. I should have harvested OKE, and I may yet still. If anyone cuts their dividend, I *will* sell them, so that is why I am not harvesting yet, I may be forced to. I only see OKE cutting at this point, but many stocks are at or slightly above their payout ratio. I am watching the market more often to see if I can catch the moment the announcement is made.<br />
<br />
Many stocks have cancelled buybacks, which I have mixed feelings on. Buybacks decreased the payout ratio, and during these low prices it seems foolish not to take advantage. At the same time, it is very bad PR for the company, since everyone wants companies to use that extra money to keep people employed. If! they use it for that. <br />
<br />
Several CEOs have come around saying the dividends are safe. Of course they are, until they aren't, right? Q1 earnings will be the true test. Still, I was surprised to see O raise theirs, even a little. QCOM raise should be fine, with the 5G rollout and the home PC use, tech will be fine or better for Q1.<br />
<br />
In the past week, the market seems to have found some footing, to slightly the point at the beginning of Trump's presidency, so a nice mulligan for anyone who wants to start jumping in. However, many stocks are at risk. The recessionary stocks, as expected, are doing fine, and are floating my portfolio well enough against the rest of them. I expect them to have a good quarter, if not a great one, and all the others to be affected almost exactly inversely. It is basic econ, the money flows one way, then the other. I also expect Home Depot to do well, as people finally get around to doing their home projects if they still have a job. I'm glad I don't have any stocks in the RED ZONE, such as restaurants, travel, and any consumer discretionary that isn't selling recessionary brands.<br />
<br />
I am VERY proud to own ABT and JNJ, as they are leading the charge in this pandemic war.<br />
<br />
It is hard not to say anything that hasn't already been said by the stock gurus. Stay safe out there, and always make sure the main source of your passive income is recessionary stocks! I need to buy more ADM on Monday!<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dividend Increases & Special Payouts</span></u></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Qualcomm (NASDAQ:</span><a bus_desc="QUALCOMM Incorporated designs, develops, manufactures, and markets digital communication products worldwide." class="ticker-link" company_name="QUALCOMM Incorporated" data_retrieved="0" direction="down" fund_type="Market Cap." high52="96.17" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/QCOM" index_symbol="false" is_commodity="false" low52="55.79" market_cap="78904244898" percent="-0.229" price="67.495" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="QCOM" value="-0.155">QCOM</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">) announces dividend increase to </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17804840-qualcomm-increases-quarterly-dividend-5-percent" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.65/share quarterly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">4.8% increase</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $0.62.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Realty Income (NYSE:</span><a bus_desc="Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company, is an S&P 500 company dedicated to providing stockholders with dependable monthly income." class="ticker-link" company_name="Realty Income Corporation" data_retrieved="0" direction="down" fund_type="Market Cap." high52="84.92" href="https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/O" index_symbol="false" is_commodity="false" low52="38" market_cap="18207769426" percent="-8.153" price="45.795" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" symbol="O" value="-4.065">O</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">) declares </span><a href="https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17811925-106th-common-stock-monthly-dividend-increase-declared-realty-income" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #024999; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">$0.233/share monthly dividend</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, a </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: green; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">0.2% increase</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> from prior dividend of $0.2325.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u><span style="font-size: x-small;">March Purchases:</span></u></b><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 128px;">
<colgroup><col span="2" style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; width: 48pt;" width="64">MAIN </td>
<td align="right" style="width: 48pt;" width="64">47</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">FAST </td>
<td align="right">11</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">QCOM </td>
<td align="right">6</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">NNN </td>
<td align="right">20</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">ADM </td>
<td align="right">30</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">WTRG </td>
<td align="right">12</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">SO </td>
<td align="right">22</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">WEC </td>
<td align="right">16</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">GIS</td><td align="right">22</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"><td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">KMB</td><td align="right">17</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">WSO </td>
<td align="right">9</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">OKE </td>
<td align="right">60</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">CVX</td><td align="right">17</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">IP</td><td align="right">-30</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">PG</td><td align="right">4</td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">TGT</td><td align="right">5</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">JNJ</td>
<td align="right">5</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">ABT</td>
<td align="right">5</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">ABBV </td>
<td align="right">10</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">ORI</td>
<td align="right">35</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"></td><td align="right"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Whew! Most purchases I have made in a month, and I certainly exceeded 30 trades (all of the ones above were split into 2 or more transactions throughout the month).<div>
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Keep on buying on the slide down, or the ramp up. Research your companies. Receive your dividends.<br /><div>
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MidLife Dividendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12064335583720014167noreply@blogger.com0