This is a catch-up post for my purchases in March.  I’m currently contributing just $300 weekly into my Sharebuilder accounts.  I was making purchases every two weeks but now I’m making smaller purchases every week.  I hope to pick up the purchases a lot in a few months after taxes are paid and my new business is making money.

I Bought:

03/01

$200 of DEO
$200 of CAT

03/08

$300 of TEVA

03/15

$300 of TEVA

03/21

$300 of TEVA

I used $1300 in new capital and added $35.62/year to my dividend income. This is an average yield of 2.74%.

Notes:

I love TEVA here.  They are near 52-week lows and this allows me to build up to a full position.  Their business is mainly in generic medicines that are sold all over the world. I love the healthcare sector in general and this gives me a chance to  build up my position a little.  I’m nearly done with this position in the short-term.  They are off a lot of investors radars because of currency exchanges that make it look like the dividends have been going up and down.  I give credit to a company that increases their dividends in their own currencies.

I’m still really liking DEO here.  They have a giant portfolio of alcoholic beverages with great international exposure.  Even during a recession, there will be plenty of people still buying alcohol.  I plan to continue averaging into more shares while slowly building up my position.  I’m seeing their brands much more now that I own a bar.

I’m nibbling at some CAT since they were below my cost basis.  I enjoy averaging down and dollar-cost-averaging into positions. CAT is still just a a half position for me along with DE.  At 40 positions, that means they should have a weight of near 1.25%, so they are a little below weight.  I’ll continue adding CAT and DE on any weaknesses.

What are you buying?

In Recent News:

I’m trying to catch up on posts since I took about a month off to work on the bar.  Things have come along nicely and I’ve got all licenses and insurances in place to start business.  Now I have to work on training staff and perfecting the menus before opening.

 

The picture is from the Robot Restaurant in Tokyo.  I saw it on an Anthony Bourdain episode and had to check it out.  It was a reall cool and unusual experience.

I Bought:

$200 of V
$200 of DEO
$200 of CAT

I used $600 in new capital and added $20.16/year to my dividend income. This is an average yield of 3.36%.

Notes:

I love V, what a cash machine with no debt!  I’ll slowly add to this one until it’s at full weight (2.5% of portfolio).  They are more of a total return play but eventually that yield on cost will shoot up with the really high dividend increases I continue to expect out of them.

I still really liking DEO here.  They have a giant portfolio of alcoholic beverages with great international exposure.  Even during a recession, there will be plenty of people still buying alcohol.  I plan to continue averaging into more shares while slowly building up my position.  My plans to open a bar also increased my interest in them since I’ll be seeing their brands a lot.

Adding a little more to CAT here while it’s well below my cost basis.  I loveaveraging down and only plan on a half position of CAT complimented with another half position of DE for diversification in farming and mining.  This cyclical company will be back, it’s just a matter of time.  I want to build up the position to equal that of DE before adding more to DE.

In Recent News:

I’m back from my trip to Tokyo and Thailand.  I’m still on a strange sleeping schedule.  However, I’m reinvigorated and ready to get the bar open.  I’ve done everything TABC has asked and I’m hoping I get licensed really soon.

I’m still way behind on taxes for 2015 and will continue making small purchases every two weeks until I get them paid.  I’ve received my new POS system and will be getting it set up next Tuesday.  I’m also trying to finish the menu so I can get it on the online system.  Everything will be running from an app on the IPAD.  I still haven’t finished a 10-hour food management course but will soon.

I’m due to finish up my goals post for the year and a monthly review for January.  Those posts are late but I’m going to start working on them this week now that I’m back.

The picture is of a really cool bar in the Tokyo Golden Gai district.  I’ll continue posting pictures from my recent trip to Tokyo and Thailand.

I Bought:

$200 of UNP
$200 of DEO
$200 of CAT

I used $600 in new capital and added $20.16/year to my dividend income. This is an average yield of 3.36%.

Notes:

UNP is still high on my buy list. Coal and oil is weighing heavily on shares but I’m confident that will turn around.  I don’t mind slowly averaging into more shares while building a full position.

I’m really liking DEO here.  They have a giant portfolio of alcoholic beverages with great international exposure.  Even during a recession, there will be plenty of people still buying alcohol.  I plan to continue averaging into more shares while slowly building up my position.

This is my first purchase of CAT in a while.  It has popped a little from lows but still about 20% below my cost basis.  I don’t mind averaging down on shares at this level.  This cyclical company will be back, it’s just a matter of time.  I want to build up the position to equal that of DE.  I’m planning on having a 1/2 position in both CAT/DE for the long-term to give myself some extra diversification.

In Recent News:

I’m currently traveling in Japan and Thailand.  Posting will be slow here but I’m taking a lot of pictures I will start sharing.  I’m trying to get one last thing done for TABC.  It’s a little difficult being out of the country but I think I can finish it before I get back.  I’ve determined I’m way behind on taxes for 2015 and will really slow my purchases down until taxes are paid.  I’m only transferring $300/week into my Sharebuilder account and will be making purchases only ever other week for a while.  Between taxes and the new bar, I’ve got a lot of expenses.  I’ve received my new POS system and will be getting it set up and trained on it as soon as I’m back.  I also still haven’t finished a 10-hour food management course.

I’m due to finish up my goals post for the year and a monthly review for January.  Those posts will be a little late, likely a few weeks from now when I get back.

The picture is of a giant Gundum robot in Tokyo.  Yes, it’s freezing cold in Tokyo but Thailand will be much warmer.

 

I Bought:

$703 of UNP
$300 of V

I used $1003 in new capital and added $24.71/year to my dividend income. This is an average yield of  2.46%.

 

Notes:

UNP is still high on my buy list.  I may taper off purchases just a little as continued weakness in shares could provide even better buying opportunities.  I’d like to have a full position by the middle of the year.

I just love V.  If I had to pick only 10 stocks for a capital appreciation portfolio over the next 10-20 years, V would be in there.  No debt and tremendous cash flows.  They are growing their dividend with leaps and bounds.  The yield is low because the stock price keeps going up.  I don’t have a problem with that.  I don’t need to live off of dividend income anytime soon and at the rate they are compounding, I should end up with a pretty decent yield on cost in the long-term.

In Recent News:

I’ve finished the last items for my TABC application and am just waiting on a license to be issued.  I’m targeting an opening by mid March.  I’ve learned that my kitchen doesn’t meet all of the requirements for a commercial kitchen and I have to make more changes.  These costs may slow my dividend purchases for a while since I’m also saving for a large tax payment.  I’ve ordered a POS system and it’s on the way.  They even included a new IPAD to run the sytem on with printers and other needed hardware.  I still need to take a 10-hour food management course.  It’s a constant learning process.  I am still working on menus and ordering basic things needed to open.

The picture is of the sunset from the top floor of my new bar.

 

I Bought:

$300 of UNP
$600 of DEO
28 shares of NSC ($2018)

I used $2918 in new capital and added $100/year to my dividend income. This is an average yield of  3.4%.

 

Notes:

Choo Choo!  It’s like Monopoly and I just bought two railroads.

UNP continues to be on my short list at these prices until it’s a full position.  A couple more months at these prices and I’ll be loaded up for a while.

DEO is still a fairly new position.  They have a lot of big alcohol brands in their portfolio and sport a pretty nice yield of almost 4%.   S&P Capital IQ estimates their 3-year CAGR at 8% and Morningstar  gives the company 4 Stars.  I’ll keep buying and think they are a good company to diversify my portfolio further.  Even when we have a recession, people are drinking alcohol.

It’s been a long time since I added to NSC.  I topped off the position with a purchase of 28 shares to make my share count an even 100.  The price is slightly over my basis but I think there’s good value here.  Morningstar gives them 4 Stars currently.  I’m done purchasing NSC for a while now since it’s slightly overweight.

In Recent News:

I corrected a few items on my TABC application and the lady seems happy.  I picked up appropriate signage.  I have to place an ad in the newspaper alerting everyone that I’m applying for the license and that should be the last step.  I’m targeting an opening still in early March but expect to have the license by mid February.  I picked out a POS system that works on the IPAD.  I’m looking at credit card processing companies and I still need to take a 10-hour food management course.  I never knew how much work this would be. I still need to finish menus and get the bar in compliance with ADA laws.

 

 

I Bought:

$500 of UNP
$300 of DEO
$100 of RDS.B
20 shares of JNJ ($2018)

I used $2918 in new capital and added $93/year to my dividend income. This is an average yield of  3.2%.

 

Notes:

At these prices, UNP will be on my list until it’s a full position.  I like the value here and I love companies with a large moat.  UNP is a good compliment to my railroad holdings in CSX and NSC.

RDS.B is one of the best values of the majors in my opinion.  The cash flow they produce is enormous and I believe their dividend is still fairly safe even at an 8% yield.  It’s a company in a cyclical industry and now is the time to load up in my opinion.  I’m willing to build up to a $20k position in this company over the next couple of years if prices stay depressed.

DEO is a brand new position.  They have a lot of big alcohol brands in their portfolio and sport a pretty nice yield of almost 4%.   S&P Capital IQ estimates their 3-year CAGR at 8% and Morningstar  gives the company 4 Stars.  I’m a buyer here.  Considering I’m opening a bar, I think this one is fitting for my portfolio.

I also added 20 additional shares of JNJ to bring up the weight.  JNJ is one of those “forever” companies if there is such a thing.  I plan for them to be a core holding for the rest of my life.

 

In Recent News:

The TABC inspection seemed to go well.  The officer didn’t have much of a personality but I have my fingers crossed.  Apparently I’ll have to go for an in-person interview soon.  I’m getting quotes on pouring some concrete for a parking lot currently, testing out some POS and credit card payment systems, working on menus and getting the bar in compliance with all the state laws.  The target opening date is still in March.

 

I Bought:

$600 of UNP
$200 of RDS.B
$269 of TD

I used $1069 in new capital and added $41/year to my dividend income. This is an average yield of  3.84%.

 

Note:

At these prices, UNP will be on my list until it’s a full position.  I like the value here and I love companies with a large moat.  UNP is a good compliment to my railroad holdings in CSX and NSC.

RDS.B is one of the best values of the majors in my opinion.  The cash flow they produce is enormous and I believe their dividend is still fairly safe even at an 8% yield.  It’s a company in a cyclical industry and now is the time to load up in my opinion.  I’m willing to build up to a $20k position in this company over the next couple of years if prices stay depressed.

TD – TD offers a good value right now with the exchange rate practically being equal.  Canada also offers some of the safest banks in the world.  TD sports a dividend of nearly 4% and Morningstar rates it at 4 Stars.  I’m a buyer here.

Watchlist:

I’ll likely focus the majority of my new investments outside of the energy sector.  The remainder  will go into the beaten up energy, materials or industrial sectors.  I love lowering my cost basis on companies I already own.  I’m looking at adding more to existing positions in CAT, DE, RDS.B, BP, BBL, CVX, TD, UNP, MDT, V to name a few.  I’ve also been eyeing WMT as a new investment to compliment TGT.  So many companies and so little funds.

Update:

I’m getting a visit by a TABC officer tomorrow to inspect the bar.  That’s the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission for anyone not familiar.  I have to jump through hoops to get licensed to sell liquor here.  Anyways, wish me luck.  I hope to have the bar/restaurant up and running in March.  I’m working on menus currently in addition to pricing glassware and other typical things you need for a restaurant.  This is where most of my money continues to be tied up.

No new changes on the real estate front but I do plan to buy another rental sometime next year.

 

I hope everyone has a happy New Year!

I’ve had a few things going on lately and I’d like to update my readers somewhat about what I’m doing.

I’m going to talk about some of these things in more depth soon; one was a divorce this year, another is a possible investment in a bar and there is also a purchase of a new residence.  So I’ve been saving up a little cash.

As for my weekly purchases, I put them on hold the last several weeks to save up money for an investment.

However, I did get around to rolling over a 401k plan to an IRA.  I hadn’t even been tracking it but I converted it to cash and so far have used up about half of the 35k that I had in there.  I purchased 4 equities so far and have updated the purchases on my portfolio:

40 shares of CMI (Cummins)

They pay a solid 3.8% dividend yield.  They have grown impressively their dividends the last several years.  I’ve wanted to own the company for a while and the price is now attractive to me.  I believe their natural gas engines will be huge one day and I just like the company fundamentals.

50 shares of HSY (Hershey)

What’s not to like about Hershey.  They are a former Dividend Champion and are back up to a 6-year streak.  They never cut the dividend, but held it the same for 10 quarters during the financial crisis.  S&P Capital IQ believes HSY will have a 3-year EPS CAGR of 7%.  Their yield is currently 2.65% and they are sitting close to their lows for the year.  They have a much lower market cap than some of their competitors at just 14 billion.  I believe the company still has a lot of room for growth including international expansion.

25 shares of VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF)

Basically I wanted some money into an ETF that tracked the S&P 500 but with low expense ratios.  This one is cheaper than SPY or IVV.  This is the only one I’ve currently set to drip.

25 shares of PJP – Powershares Dynamic Pharmaceuticals Portfolio

I wanted a basket of companies in the healthcare space and chose this ETF from Powershares.  It has a low yield but high chance of more capital appreciation.  It also has a 5-star rating from Morningstar and here’s their top 10 holdings that make up over 50% of the weight:

With the rest of the cash, I’m going to sit and wait for some opportunities.  I may dollar-cost-average more into these positions above.  I had thought about adding XOM but am already heavy in the energy sector.

With these purchases I’ve added about 400 dollars to my 12-month dividend totals.

What are you buying?

I’m reporting my automatic purchases for this past week:

I Bought:

$750 of UNP
$750 of RDS.B

I used $1500 in new capital and added $68.51/year to my dividend income. This is an average yield of  4.57%.

$50 per Week Challenge:

From now until the end of the year, I’m going to challenge myself to invest enough money each week to generate at least $50 per year in annual income and a total cumulative amount of at least $1000.  There are 16 weeks left between now and the end of the year.

Week 4/18 complete:
Weekly Target: $50 / Cummulative Target: $1000
Weekly Actual: $68.51 / Cummulative Actual: $269.16 (26.9% of goal)

Note:

UNP is a new position for me.  I think there’s a lot of value in this name.  UNP will be a good compliment to my railroad holdings in CSX and NSC.  I plan to continue building UNP up to a full position.

What’s not to like about an oil major yielding almost 7%.  RDS.B was more than 20% below my cost basis so I decided to lower my basis and add a few more shares.  I will continue to build up my energy portfolio as long as these low prices persist.  I don’t see cheap oil going away for a while so I should have time to accumulate some nice positions that will do very well as soon as oil recovers and it will.

Watchlist:

Some stocks that are currently at the top of my list for next week are CVX, RDS.B, DE, DEO, MCD, MDT, PEP, KO, TD, WFC, UL, CSX, UNP, WFC, CMI.  I own all but CMI and DEO but would like to initiate positions in those two at some point.  I’m trying to average my portfolio out by first bringing up underweight positions that are near my cost basis or lower.

Picture:

Just for some fun and to add some color I will be posting pictures of places I’ve been to. It’s also motivation to reach FI so I can travel and do what I want to when I want to.

This is a picture from a trip to Costa Rica.

I’m reporting my automatic purchases for this past week:

I Bought:

$600 of CVX
$600 of UL

I used $1200 in new capital and added $52.99/year to my dividend income. This is an average yield of  4.42%.

$50 per Week Challenge:

From now until the end of the year, I’m going to challenge myself to invest enough money each week to generate at least $50 per year in annual income and a total cumulative amount of at least $1000.  There are 17 weeks left between now and the end of the year.

Week 3/18 complete:
Weekly Target: $50 / Cummulative Target: $1000
Weekly Actual: $52.99 / Cummulative Actual: $200.65 (20.1% of goal)

Note:

CVX is working it’s way up to a full position, 2.5% currently.  I can’t resist putting money to work in these energy companies at these prices.

UL is still trading right at my cost basis and and sitting at the lower part of the 52-week range.  The U.S. tax treaty with the UK allows me to pay no foreign tax witholdings on the dividends.  UL has some wonderful brands and I love any chance I get to average down or buy more shares at a discount.

I’m also going to start producing a monthly update post again starting this month.

Watchlist:

Some stocks that are currently at the top of my list for next week are CVX, RDS.B, DE, MCD, MDT, PEP, KO, TD, WFC, UL, CSX, UNP, WFC, CMI.  I own all but CMI and UNP but would like to initiate positions in those two at some point.  I’m trying to average my portfolio out by first bringing up underweight positions that are near my cost basis or lower.

Picture:

Just for some fun and to add some color I will be posting pictures of places I’ve been to. It’s also motivation to reach FI so I can travel and do what I want to when I want to.

This is another picture from a recent visit to the Denver/Boulder, CO area.