All About Interest

New Purchases – Week of 05/01

April 27, 2016 by All About Interest 4 Comments

I Bought:

04/26

$200 of BP
$300 of WFC
$1000 of DEO

I used $1500 in new capital and added $46.28/year to my dividend income. This is an average yield of 3.09%.

Notes:

Two weeks in a row I’ve had larger purchases of over $1500. This won’t continue though for a while. I sold a few items on Ebay and put the proceeds into my Sharebuilder account.

Another fairly large purchase of DEO here. It’s creeping up to a full position. If DEO stays under $110 , I plan to keep adding some shares. They have a giant portfolio of alcoholic beverages with great international exposure, what’s not to like?

I’m a little light on WFC and I believe the banks stand to benefit as rates eventually rise again. WFC is in my opinion the safest and most conservative American bank. I plan to build up a full position by continually dollar-cost-averaging

I haven’t added any BP in a while. I sold 100 shares late last year for tax loss harvesting. I’d like to build those shares back up to where they were since it’s below my sales price and well below my cost basis currently. Will BP cut their dividend? It’s highly likely if we see oil prices this low for a continued period. However, it’s a cyclical company and still generates lots of free cash flow. At current prices, I think all risks are already build in. Heck, a dividend cut might raise the share price.

In Recent News:

I’ve literally never seen this much rain. It has rained like crazy in Texas and even Louisiana has made national news with record flooding. They had the Interstate shut down at one point a few weeks ago. We’re supposed to get hit hard again this weekend. My grandfather always told me to never invest in a business that relied on the weather. He was a farmer. Besides being bored without much to do outside, I’ve still been working hard on the restaurant. The opening has been delayed as we work on menu items and figure out employees. Progress is still being made in small steps.

As promised, here’s a sneak peak of what part of the bar looks like. Yes, I have a moose head hanging on the wall. No, I didn’t kill it, lol.

Dividend Increase – Unilever (UL) (UN)

April 21, 2016 by All About Interest 2 Comments

Just in case you missed it, Unilever (UL) announced 04/14 a dividend increase of 6% to €0.3201 per share. It’s about a $0.02 increase from previous. Just like clockwork, Unilever keeps increasing it’s dividend. It may not get the attention it deserves because its dividend is declared in Euros and currency conversion to U.S. dollars can make the dividend seem like it fluctuates. However, I do give companies credit for increasing their dividend in their own currency. The cash dividend is payable on June 1st to shareholders of record as of April 29th.

For U.S. Invetsors, I recommend UL, as no taxes are withheld in the U.K. UN shares are taxed in the Netherlands at a rate of 15%.

Below is a look at their recent dividend history:

UL_dividend_history

Since I own 82.76 shares, this will increase my yearly income by $6.62.

New Purchases – Last Four Weeks Update

April 19, 2016 by All About Interest 6 Comments

This is a catch-up post for my last four weeks of purchases.

I Bought:

03/29

None

04/05

$200 of TD

04/12

$200 of TD

04/19

$250 of DE
$250 of WFC
$1000 of DEO

I used $1900 in new capital and added $52.55/year to my dividend income. This is an average yield of 2.77%.

Notes:

I’d like to build up my weight in financials to nearly 10%. I plan to slowly add more to both TD and WFC until they are a full weight (currently 2.5% of my portfolio). Both stocks have risen recently but I think they still offer some value here.

I’m still really liking DEO here. I wish it would stop going back up so fast though until I can build a full position. I think they are at fair value and as soon as currency weaknesses subside, their price will rise even more. 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 keep averaging into more shares.

I’m nibbling at some De and CAT lately since they were below my cost basis. I enjoy averaging down and dollar-cost-averaging into positions. DE is still just a a half position for me along with CAT. 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:

It’s been raining like crazy here and I haven’t been able to get a lot done outside. I’m working on the last of the furniture for the bar and still trying to finish menus.

The picture is from a plantation in a recent trip to New Orleans, LA. Those are 300 year old trees.

March 2016 – Monthly Update

April 18, 2016 by All About Interest 5 Comments

Below is a summary of my activity for the month:

New Purchases: $1,300 (NET)

$900 of TEVA
$200 of DEO
$200 of CAT

Posts about new purchases can all be found by following the “Buys” label here.

Sells:

None

Dividends:

January – 293.72
February – $362.73

TGT – 47.77
CVX – 37.95
TEVA – 26.55
MCD – 16.43
ESV – 4.86
BP – 69.46
RDSB – 200.33
BDX – 31.29
UNP – 28.87
PEP-14.45
BBL – 41.04
WAG – 132.00
CSX – 36.00
LMT – 72.60
NFC – 59.00
JNJ – 37.50
KMI – 25.00
CLX – 39.27
CMI – 63.38
HSY – 29.34
VOO – 25.29
PJP – 1.56
MOTIF – 28.60

I earned $1068.54 in dividends for the month. It’s been a while since I broke $1000! The next couple of months will be a lot lower but I’m anxious to start posting a quarterly dividend graph again once I’m half way through the year.

Forward 12-month Dividends:

My expected forward 12-month dividend income is $7269.00. BBL, and ESV’s latest cut dropped my dividend income. I also forgot to factor in a sell of some BP stock from late last year from tax loss harvesting. My portfolio should be completely updated now. A lot has happened over the last twelve months but my dividend income has nowhere to go but up now.

I keep a forward dividend projection on my Dividends tab.

Dividend Increases:

The following companies in my portfolio increased their dividends this month.

APD – A raise from $0.81 to $0.86 was declared on March 16th

GIS – A raise from $0.44 to $0.46 was declared on March 8th
Some of these increases can be found on my Dividend Increases label.

Goals:

I’m overdue for getting this out. I hope to have it done before the first ~~quarter~~ third of the year is over.

All goals can be found on the Goals tab.

Rental Real Estate:

I currently own 1 rental property that’s up for re-lease in a couple of months. Since I have to give a 60 day notice, I have to notify the tenants of a planned increase in rent. I’ll post results.

All of my other real estate posts will be found on my real estate label.

Net Worth:

I’ve started to update my net worth again. I still have a few changes but it will be more accurate after another month or so.

You can find the details of this on my Net Worth page.

Looking Ahead:

Purchases were still light but I’m still consistently investing. I have not caught up on taxes, It will likely take until the fall to get back on track. The majority of extra money has been pumped into the restaurant/bar I’m opening soon.

The restaurant is doing a mini opening for an outdoor event in a couple of weeks. This will allow me to test the POS system and work any kinks out. There’s still a lot to work on as far as perfecting the menu. I literally had no idea how much work this was! I’m hopeful I can be fully open in another month. I’ve gotten pricing for almost everything I need so I am getting closer each day. If it ever stops raining here I’ll post a picture of the outside.

I’m not at the computer as much any more but I will post whenever I can.

The picture is from the sushi market in Tokyo on my recent trip. I had the best fish I’ve ever eaten there.

Motif Investing – DOW 30 – Portfolio Update

March 27, 2016 by All About Interest 6 Comments

I haven’t posted an update since last July. I wanted to take a look at how it’s doing. I originally posted my Motif Review back in the middle of last year. If you haven’t checked out Motif yet then I’d recommend taking a look. You basically get to purchase a basket of 30 stocks for one commission fee.

My thoughts after my original purchase for this Motif was: “what if I could have a higher yielding stock like AT&T but get the growth from companies like Visa”? Well I created a Motif that is based on the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones 30 Index to do just that. However, I’ve placed a much higher weight in AT&T for a higher yield. The goal is to keep the yield of the portfolio above 4%.

My first purchase was in June of 2014 and I bought every stock in the Dow 30 and I weighted them accordingly.

My second purchase and third purchase went in heavy on AT&T since I basically wanted to add more telecom exposure. What this did was boost the yield of my Motif and put a heavier weight on AT&T.

I made my fourth and latest purchase back in December. I didn’t post about it but I added $3k to the Motif.

Here’s a look at how the Motif has stacked up against the S&P 500 over the last year for anyone interested. I don’t usually compare these metrics but it’s easily available. Keep in mind that none of the dividends have been reinvested in this portfolio. In fact I have been withdrawing them and using them in my other accounts. So you could basically tack on a little more to the return since my Motif has a higher yield than the S&P 500.

Motif_Update

Now I’ve got a screenshot below of the current portfolio. You can see that AT&T has the majority of the weight and is responsible for the majority of the returns.

Motif_Update_holdings

You will notice a 31st company at the bottom of the portfolio which was spun off from Dupont and is not getting re-invested in.

The total yield of this portfolio is right at 4%. 60.5% of this portfolio is AT&T, up from 57.5% before the last purchase. The account is up over 15% since inception.

What I really like about this Motif portfolio is that I can have a relatively small balance and still collect a lot of dividends each month from different companies. These dividends aren’t large but it’s awesome to see them keep coming in like clockwork.

Adding to, buying an entirely new Motif of 30 stocks or re-balancing is $9.95. Buying only one company in the Motif is $4.95.

I’m contemplating re-balancing the portfolio and adding a higher percentage of IBM. I don’t have a major position in a tech stock and IBM is on so many screens. They churn out major cash and have been acquiring a lot of smaller companies. They have “artificially” been boosting their numbers by doing major share buybacks in recent years which has kept investors away. I believe now is the time to start a position and the companies they are purchasing will start growing IBM again as the legacy revenues continue to dwindle. What do you guys think? Should I leave it alone or do some re-balancing?

There you have it. I’m pretty happy with this account and can’t wait to add more money soon.

New Purchases – 03/01 03/08 03/15 03/22

March 26, 2016 by All About Interest 6 Comments

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.

February 2016 – Monthly Update

March 25, 2016 by All About Interest 6 Comments

I’m a little late AGAIN getting this out… I promise not to make a habit of it but I’ve been super busy getting the new business started. I can’t believe it’s been a month since I’ve posted! I do owe my readers more updates and I’ll try to get back on a regular weekly schedule of posting my latest purchases. At some point I’ll slow down and have more free time to write. Until then I will try a little harder to find time for some updates.

Below is a summary of my activity for the month:

New Purchases: $1,200 (NET)

$200 of UNP
$400 of DEO
$400 of CAT
$200 of V

Posts about new purchases can all be found by following the “Buys” label here.

Sells:

None

Dividends:

January – 293.72

DE – 17.94
APD – 20.76
KMI – 29.21
CAT – 17.61
OHI – 57.00
CLX – 39.27
GIS – 46.20
MOTIF – 134.74

I earned $362.73 in dividends for the month.

Forward 12-month Dividends:

My expected forward 12-month dividend income is $8076.00. This is a drop from January as BBL brought a giant hit to my dividend income. Another lesson of why it’s important to diversify.

I keep a forward dividend projection on my Dividends tab.

Dividend Increases:

The following companies in my portfolio increased their dividends this month.

KO – On 02/18/16 they increased the quarterly dividend from $0.33 to $0.35.
TD – They increased their dividend on 02/25/16 from C$0.51 to C$0.55
I wasn’t able to post about these increases in February but these increases can usually be found on my Dividend Increases label.

Goals:

I’m overdue for getting this out. I hope to have it done before the first quarter is over.

All goals can be found on the Goals tab.

Rental Real Estate:

I currently own 1 rental property that’s up for lease in the next couple of months.

All of my other real estate posts will be found on my real estate label.

Net Worth:

I’ve started to update my net worth again. I still have a few changes but it will be more accurate after another month or two.

You can find the details of this on my Net Worth page.

Looking Ahead:

Purchases were light but I’m still consistently investing, just not as much as I’d like since I am working on catching up with my taxes. The remainder of the money has been pumped into the bar I’m opening soon. Until things get normalized around here, posts will be a little sparse. However, I’ll do better than posting once a month, it was just a busy month.

The restaurant is getting really close to finished. I did receive my license to sell alcohol and the food license was easy to get. So I can technically open but have been taking care of other logistical things like insurance and pricing for foods/alcohol so I can work on the menu pricing. I’ve almost finished menus and have a fully operational POS system connected to two printers, one for receipts and one to send tickets to the kitchen. My original target date was mid march but that has been pushed back to the end of April. I’m getting a lot of interest from neighbors and I’m nervous as well as anxious to open up. I’ll try to post more updates and hopefully some pictures.

I’m keeping myself busy and focused. I’m a long ways from FI but I’m doing things that I enjoy doing so in a way I’ve already made it. I know I’m much happier now than I’ve been in a long time.

The picture is from a temple in Thailand.

Investing in Precious Metals in 2016

March 24, 2016 by All About Interest 5 Comments

The following article is a third party contribution:

It appears as though 2016 is the year for investing in precious metals. Silver, gold, platinum, and palladium have become increasingly popular this year. The weakening economy and the drop in oil prices are just some of the reasons that many people are choosing these commodities to invest in.

It is important to begin financing a venture just as it begins to gain popularity. This way you spend less money buying the commodity but can receive greater profit when you sell it later on. Thus, you should not wait too long before investing in a prospective commodity. Here are some of the reasons you should buy gold, silver, palladium, and platinum:

Greater Demand

Gold and silver are generally desired for their use in jewelry although they serve other purposes as well. These metals, particularly, gold have seen an increase in demand. Consumers in India and China have, for a variety of reasons, increased their demand of these precious metals. This has caused the prices of the metals to increase in cost. Palladium and platinum have much more practical uses in industries and corporations. They are important elements in various technological and automotive parts. These uses ensure that the demand for these metals will continue. The necessity of these metals bolsters their value in the market.

Inflation

Gold has typically been used as insurance against inflation of currency. This is because this precious metal increases in value when currencies tend to depreciate in value. It is also because the yellow metal has a more stable worth. It can be unaffected by the elevations and depreciations of paper currencies. Its value can remain the same even though its cost may fluctuate. This is why investors tend to purchase the metal whenever inflation begins to increase in any country, particularly the United States. It is also used to diversify portfolios, especially when there is political or economic turmoil. This way investors can ensure that the inflation (due to the market or political discord) will not affect their total portfolio. This minimizes risk.

Lower Supply

It has been predicted, across the board, that precious metals will be supplied in smaller quantities in 2016. The mining of precious metals has significantly decreased in recent years. This has led to a smaller amount of the metals being available on the market. This makes it a rare commodity. As in the cases of most rare commodities, this has caused the price of the metals to increase. This makes it a good venture for those looking for a solid investment. This increase in cost is further advanced by the rise in demand. These two factors alone ensure that the precious metals will be greatly valued. It also shows that people will be willing to pay more for a certain quantity of the metals.

For those seeking to take part in a venture that is currently succeeding, then one should consider precious metals. They are important to industries as well as individual consumers. This guarantees a continued demand for these commodities. These metals are also seen as a safeguard from the current economic situation. The increase in popularity make these metals a good investment.

January 2016 – Monthly Update

February 23, 2016 by All About Interest 10 Comments

I’m a little late getting this out but better late than never. I hope everyone had a great holidays and a great start to the new year.

Below is a summary of my activity for the month:

New Purchases: $4,821 (NET)

$703 of UNP
$300 of V
$900 of DEO
$800 of UNP
$100 of RDS.B
28 shares of NSC- $2018

Posts about new purchases can all be found by following the “Buys” label here.

Sells:

None

Dividends:

January – 293.72

BBVA – 26.92
WFM – 13.50
MO – 118.90
PEP – 14.35
PM – 60.33
DIS – 2.53
MDT – 13.86
TD – 35.15
MOTIF – 5.18

I earned $293.72 in dividends for the month.

Forward 12-month Dividends:

My expected forward 12-month dividend income is $8614.00. This is a starting over year after a lengthy time off so this will be my new starting point for future posts.

I keep a forward dividend projection on my Dividends tab.

Dividend Increases:

The following companies in my portfolio increased their dividends this month.

NVS – 4% increase in home currency from website
OHI – 14th consecutive quarterly increase. Article posted here
These increases can also be found on my Dividend Increases label.

Goals:

I’m working on setting my goals for 2016. I hope to have a goals post out shortly.

These goals can be found on the Goals tab.

Real Estate:

I currently own 1 rental property that’s up for lease in the next couple of months.

All of my other real estate posts will be found on my real estate label.

Net Worth:

I’m working on getting my Net Worth page back up. It’s taken a major hit last year from the divorce. I hope to have this updated by next month.

You can find the details of this on my Net Worth page.

Looking Ahead:

2016 is a year to get back on track. I plan to consistently invest and keep track of my investments once again. Until after April, investment activity will be a little light due to a larger tax bill due and work on the new restaurant. I hope to post at least once a week and gradually pick up as things get a little more normalized around here.

The restaurant is coming along. I’m expecting my alcohol sales license soon. I’ve almost finished menus and have set up POS software for processing credit cards. I’m target mid March for an opening. I have a lot of work to do. Wish me luck!

The picture is from Thailand. I’m reinvigorated after the trip and ready to get to work!

New Purchases – Week of 02/16/16

February 21, 2016 by All About Interest 2 Comments

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.