Dividends Received: $60.60
October is my "low" income month. I'm not sure if I should do anything about it - two of the stocks are monthly payers, so I don't see how I would ever really get ahead. I guess I could make it my goal to make sure my bills are just barely paid for in this month, which means everything over that on the other two months would be excess. In that case, I have a ways to go!
October Purchases:
I started a position in ABBV, and now I am at 28 stocks. I have all the sectors pretty much covered with what I want, so I think I will hold here for awhile. My wife has been thinking about joining my son and I in the dividend investment realm, and will probably be purchasing just for monthly income starting this month. I will probably track her investments separately, even though we will use the same account (so she can take advantage of the free trades). IP has been dropping like a rock, despite having a great quarter, and WTR announced it will be buying Peoples Gas, which made it drop 10% as the shareholders digest that information. Everything else I've been buying on dips.
I put my house up for sale last month, and it is currently in escrow (crossing fingers) to close early December. I did this because the housing market is currently pretty good - along with the job market for potential buyers. With mortgage rates on the rise, I didn't want to be trapped in a big house that I didn't really need anymore. I have a feeling that the election in early November might have a negative impact on the economy sooner or later, so I wanted to be ready for any housing market bubbles popping. I'll be "homeless" for a few months, but we have that taken care of already. While it is tempting to drop all the house money into dividends for $1000+ a month instant income, I do realize that would be putting all my eggs in one basket, and while home equity buildup is slower (although it seems just as volatile sometimes), it is diversifying.
