Recent Purchase: 5 shares of KMB

There are some good buying opportunities as of yesterday.  KMB wasn't on my short list, but I needed to get consumer staples on top of my portfolio again.  I was going to purchase PG or GIS, but due to its recent dividend increase, Kimberly Clark Corp (KMB) had the best yield.  While I'm not a big believer in their toilet paper market futures (wait 'til America discovers the bidet), diapers and depends may never go out of style.  Not to mention Kleenex in this flu season.  I dropped TDS from my T-Com watchlist and put KMB in its place.  I should now own enough high yielding staples to re-invest in for awhile.  Wal-Mart is still on my radar, but it needs to drop quite a bit before I'll buy in.  At market close today I will update my charts.  I recently added linear trendlines to a few graphs, to help me predict, or work towards, my future goals.  Right now they show the $2k div mark to hit sometime mid-September, and barring any hardship, I'll try to make that happen sooner.

ORI has been a pleasant surprise, one of the few stocks positive these last few days, and for quite a bit since the short selloff after the bonus dividend cutoff date.  There's a lot to be confident about all around going into the first quarter of the new tax year.  I expect some good buys in healthcare after Bezos threatens to buy something up, and with the president's goal to reduce prescription drugs (may not be a coincidence he mentioned this).

Now that my staples are on top again, I can look at some other possibilities.  The REITs (O, NNN) are high on my list, along with MAIN, both due to interest rates.  Healthcare is next depending on what happens, and of course utilities are still offering some nice buys.  I am also keeping my eye on Alaska Air to finish out my 2 industrials, as it has been downgraded.  I would like to get a better yield on that one. 

Earnings season always reveals some great buys.

Goal Reached!

This is my current annual income, after purchasing 29 shares of ORI and 13 shares of SO.

Having reached my goal with the purchase of ORI, I decided to double-down on SO.  I know the P/E is not acceptable using my criteria, nor is the payout ratio, but I also know that SO is only out of favor because of redistribution in the utility sector, and that SO benefits greatly from the Trump tax cuts.  I also know that YD sold all his SO (I'm assuming for the tax harvesting) and dropped it into AT&T.  This is speculation on my part, I think the yield is worth the risk, despite SO's nuclear infrastructure, which would have occurred with or without the tax cuts.  I think that there are safer options out there, but I am chasing the yield so I can fit the part of the somewhat desperate mid-life investor :)

I would really like to spend next week's investment on O, since REITs are currently sinking due to rising interest rates, but I do plan to hold onto my requirement of keeping staples the largest part of my portfolio.  I am keeping an eye on P&G after their loss from earnings, but will also be watching the possible ADM/Bunge merger, earnings for my other staples, and the possible addition of Wal-Mart or Smuckers.  

I will be updating my charts today, and will take some time later to comment further.  I've been busy the past 3 weeks and need to research some things and digest it.