Happy Thanksgiving

Have a break while at work today, so thought I'd share a few things.

I averaged down AT&T yesterday at market open, which was good as the stock went up from there.  Bought 21 shares, and added a nice +$40 to my annual div income.  Now at about $920, I have 3 more paychecks before the end of the year, so I *shouldn't* have any problems hitting the $1k mark for annual income.  Not bad for 6 months of work! :)  I may just average AT&T down again , since I'm not overweight on it yet, and the yield is incredible.  I figure the Time Warner merger will either boost the stock price, or if it fails, I'll be guaranteed my dividend for a long time, I really have a hard time seeing a downside to this.  I wish they would just sell off CNN already and be done with that fake news! :P

AT&T may be my first DRIP stock.  Another round of purchases at the current price and every quarter I'll have enough AT&T dividend income to buy a full share of AT&T stock.  My philosophy is to take dividend earnings and purchase shares of stocks on sale, not throw money at stocks that are overpriced such as Abbot & Mastercard.  If AT&T ever bounces back, I may have to reconsider, but since it is currently underwater in my portfolio at (now) -6%, it is definitely a candidate.  As a middle-aged investor, I need to be a bit more aggressive and meticulous about where each dollar goes.

I learned a real good lesson a few weeks ago.  I was a bit worried about the consumer staples, O, and AT&T falling and maybe never returning to the levels I bought them at, but as I gradually saw everything coming back (especially Hormel), I learned that I need to have more confidence in my stock picks.  I mean, over half are YD picks, have a record of stability, and the ones that are semi-speculative I still did my research on and have at least 6+ years of dividend increases.  I should have a bit more confidence in my choices.  After all, I am quite diversified, so a stock or two under water shouldn't concern me too much.  I was hesitant about buying AT&T initially, but I did my homework, looked at the (small) amount I was investing, and realized the potential reward was worth the risk.  No investor should worry about one particular stock's effect on their portfolio.  If they do, then they need to diversify more, and make sure they aren't overweight in any one stock or sector, that's all.  I guess I had just been burned too many times before, it is good to be cautious, but not paranoid if you don't have data to back it up.

Anyways, Happy Thanksgiving.  I have a lot to be thankful for.