Spend Meaningful Money

Recently I spent a decent amount of money on something that was not an income paying asset. Being home for the summer affords me a great opportunity to spend time with family and last Saturday I did just that. I have said before that instead of spending money on "things" it is important to spend money on experiences. To accrue experiences. This last weekend I made plans for me and my grandfather to visit LeMay, America's Car Museum in Tacoma, WA. While I can't put a value on the time I get to spend with my family being frugal is still sensible. On the day I spent $71.00. That includes the price of admission, lunch and the completely necessary ride on the F1 racing simulator. Not only was this money well spent, I would do it again in a moments notice. 

I skimp on "things" such as eating out for lunch, and buying unnecessary stuff to do exactly what me and my grandfather got to do. The money that I do spend is more often than not spent on things like this, and it truly makes me happy.  I feel so guilty spending money that is not spent in a meaningful way. It is almost as if I am robbing my future self of a work free life. 

I was in a similar situation just under a year ago. I came across a windfall of ~$1500 and had a multitude of ideas on how to spend the money but could not quite decide. After a few weeks, and many suggestions by friends, I decided to break from the norm and not go buy a new TV or game system. In the end I purchased a year long membership to the Arizona State University Men's Rowing Team and never looked back. I was even able to save a remaining $500! In exchange I competed in three states, six regattas, and gained a ton of exciting experiences. This situation was the definition of accruing experiences. Not only was I able to compete in a collegiate sport but I was able to participate in something I had never done or even considered doing. I now have wealth of team building, and competitive experiences that I would have never gained had I spend that $1000 on a new TV and video games.

I tend to be very frugal and when I buy food for lunch or a new iPod I have a seriously hard time pulling the trigger. When I buy an income yielding asset like CVX and WMT stock, it is much easier. I know that money will be returned to me and I will be rewarded. It is a much different transaction in the end.

The moral of the story here is, pay yourself first. Resist the urge to buy the hot new thing that everyone needs. Buy things that are meaningful to you, whether thats a plane ticket home to see family or admission to a car museum with grandpa. Spend meaningful money.

Have you spent any meaninguful money recently?
What meaningless money could you cut back on spending?
Do you consider meaningful vs meaningless purchases? 

I am a 21 year old kid who seeks to create a life of financial independence via passive income. The accumulation and growth of quality dividend yielding stocks will be the main source of income and this is my journey.

___

Recent Purchases: June

This is the first of many posts in which I will outline my recent purchases in the stock market. Hopefully I can keep up with these as I tend to (due to available capital) buy shares in smaller quantities than most.

I like to think that it is not how much of what you buy, it is what you buy that matters in the end. Everyone is saying it, the stock market right now is generally considered to be expensive. Either way it makes no difference. Finding high quality and consistent dividend payers (and growers) is possible. Furthermore, I find that I am continually adding to positions I already own. This is called averaging down. Because my positions in the stock market are small relative to what they will become I aim to average down when  share prices drop from my purchase price around 6-10%. This is the case as long as nothing significant has caused a change in said share price. To over simplify it, if AAPL stock drops 5% over night for no reason one may consider adding to their position. In contrast though, if share price drops due to the discovered use of illegal child labor in production lines you may want to hold off. Each case will differ though so I suggest you evaluate averaging down for yourself.

On to the Purchases!

I recently added 1 share to my position in Chevron Corporation (CVX) at the price of $99.55. I now currently own 3 shares of CVX with an average cost of 105.04. I feel that I have a great opportunity with the slump in the oil industry. The value in this sector is great and my portfolio reflects this with positions in CVX and Exxon Mobile (XOM) and Kinder Morgan (KMI). A quality company with a lovely current yield of 4.28% this company is one which I would consider "un-killable" in my 20 year timeframe.

Furthermore. I recently initiated a position in Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) at the share price of 72.13. I currently own 2 shares of WMT and will look to add to this when more capital becomes available. WMT has been on a great run lately but missed expectations in Q1 leading to continued drops in price which started in January of 2015. Wal-Mart is boasting a current yield of 2.71% and is a good example of a company willing to constantly reward share holders. WMT has had 40 years of consecutive dividend raises and shows no sign of slowing down! I look forward to owning more of this company.

As I trade with Robinhood App I paid $0 in commissions which allows me to keep more of my money!

I can't wait to keep you updated on my journey until next time.

What have you purchased lately?

Do you own shares in these companies?

What are you watching as June passes its mid point?

Full Disclosure: Long all tickers listed

I am a 21 year old kid who seeks to create a life of financial independence via passive income. The accumulation and growth of quality dividend yielding stocks will be the main source of income and this is my journey.

___

Personal Post #1 : A Millennials Most Valuable Asset

Have you ever heard your parents or grandparents say something similar to “…there is no time like the present”? It is more than likely that you have. Why is that? Well aside from the ideas of being active and getting something done, for millennia’s, the statement holds a more significant meaning. More than just a meaning though, an opportunity, the key that everyone is searching for.

Recently I noticed I have been spending more and more time reading online. Topics include increasing blog traffic, undervalued dividend stocks, how to monetize a blog, the list goes on.  More specifically, I have been interested in finding value in the stock market. As a self-proclaimed subscriber to the dividend value investing school of thought this should be no surprise. Sooner or later I began to realize that I was not spending time online reading and learning as I have previously stated is valuable. Instead I was searching for something. I find, especially at my age, it is easy to attach to an idea. Recently that idea has been finding that next stock, that next opportunity to put my money to work. I cant quite put my finger on why but I almost feel pressured to deploy my capital.

Today I took a step back. After a bit of brainstorming and thought I discovered what I had been searching for. Not only had I discovered it but also I realized I already had it.

Time. My most valuable asset, I have had it all along. Chances are if you are under the age of thirty it is your most value asset as well. Time is everything and we only get so much (or little) of it.

In the investing world time is your best friend. If you are able to invest early in your life, time will be your life raft in the sea that is the stock market. The earlier you start, the bigger the raft.  There is a seemingly unlimited amount of information that continually tells us to buy in early and weather the storms. For many young value investors like myself this cannot be reiterated enough. As a dividend value investor I am, indirectly getting paid to do everything that I do. Currently my payments are small but they should grow from here forward. That is one of the ideas that got me interested in looking for high quality dividends. You will be paid to sit on the couch, or spend time with your family. It doesn’t make a difference.

Outside of the investing world when the value of time comes up I tend to think of opportunity cost. Right now I am not investing (though I am collecting dividends) but I have decided to take the time to write this article. What else could I be doing right now? Well I could be weed whacking for the man up the street for $12/hour. I could be playing video games, or any number of things really. The opportunity cost of any activity is the value of the next best use of your time . In other words, opportunity cost is the value of something else you would rather spend your time on. I emphasize the word spend because when you think of your time as a currency that you can not get any more of, the idea starts to take shape. Currently writing this blog post is worth more to me than $12/hour. That wont always be the case but you have to understand that these days you need to decide what is valuable to you. Is it video games? Twelve dollars? If your time is your most valuable asset; you should treat it as such.

What is your most valuable asset?

Do you consider opportunity cost when making decisions?

Do you think other millennial’s realize how valuable time is?

I am a 21 year old kid who seeks to create a life of financial independence via passive income. The accumulation and growth of quality dividend yielding stocks will be the main source of income and this is my journey.

___

Income and Expenses: May to June

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty details. For some, dividend investing creates a source of supplemental income that can be used for a variety of needs. I, on the other hand wish to use the income from my dividend yielding investments to retire from the traditional workforce early. In order to do so, I must be willing to track my income and expenses regularly Meticulous bookkeeping will keep me on track and expose areas I need to improve on.
In my first blog post I mentioned how fortunate I have been in life. When it comes to my expenses this is equally true. When not at school, I live with my parents for free, including utilities and food. This is a huge advantage compared to staying in Phoenix and paying for rent. My parents currently cover my cell phone bill at all times, and utilities, plus food while I am home. Aside from my cell phone bill I cover everything else, from car insurance and maintenance, to entertainment and spending money.

If you have been keeping up with my blog and read my post on Tools Of The Trade you might’ve noticed that I left a tool out of that article. I did this on purpose, and will be posting a separate article on Personal Capital in the future.

This is the first income and expenses report so it isn’t particularly consistent l, but that should clear up from here on out. This article will cover cash flow from May forward.

Income




A majority of my income can be attributed to the deposits category. This is because any transaction that took place while I was at school was conducted in cash. This is a combination of profit and principle from these mini-investments. These relatively large amount of cash deposits will not be regular over the summer. The other income category is pretty simple to explain. The $300 came from receiving a sign-up bonus to create a Chase checking account. All I had to do was trigger two direct deposits and I received $300 to do with what I wanted. I took advantage of this offer because I was able to meet the, "keep this account free" requirements and could collect my "free money". Paychecks and salary have come in a bit light so far because when I am home for school I work through a local temp agency. So far this work has been inconsistent and rather disappointing in length of assignment. I look forward to this picking up around mid to late June as it did last year. Lastly, interest income is comprised of interest paid from my two online Barclays bank accounts. These accounts yield 1.00% and 1.05% monthly.





Expenses





This month I had a slightly larger than normal personal expense report. I normally have no postage and shipping charges. That transaction was another mini investment as I noted above. Excluding that outlier, my achilles heel has been restaurants, though even this is inflated. My last few days at school the dining halls were closed and I was forced to eat out. I try not to make a habit of it but, rewarding yourself with a great meal is often very worthwhile especially since I like to consider myself a budding foodie. The small amount of groceries was a one time expense where I picked up a few things from the store on the way home from work. Another expense that isn’t listed,include car insurance which is payed in cash to my parents. This expense totaled $70 which covers storage while I was at school and full coverage while home for the summer.



So far my saved income percentage is 88%. This number is inflated due to having very few real bills. I need to take advantage of this time to save as much as possible before I incur some actual expenses. For now though, I will just consider this a test run!


What about you?
Do you track your expenses?
Does saved income percentage hold as much weight with you?
Let me know down below!

I am a 21 year old kid who seeks to create a life of financial independence via passive income. The accumulation and growth of quality dividend yielding stocks will be the main source of income and this is my journey.

___

Tools of the Trade

Like any job or hobby, there are always tools of the trade. If you are just starting out on you dividend journey then your tools may be books or other information sources like blogs. Maybe you are a little farther ahead in your journey than most. For the sake of this article lets say that you've already completed 6 months of reading and LEARNING before having decided to become a dividend investor. Where do you go from here?

Well there are many tools and resources to set you on your way. Primarily you will have to be able to research particular companies. Notice that I say companies instead of stocks. When investing you need to be whole heartedly committed to everything about a particular company. Look at their history and how they have treated their shareholders over the years. Have they constantly increased their dividend? Has the company participated in any recent share repurchase plans? How many years of consistent dividend payments has this company made? These are all questions you need to be able to ask yourself. When it comes to the actual buying and selling of shares you may already have a broker but thats not to say you shouldn't be interested in a different one. How much per trade do you you pay with your current broker? Or, if you do not have a broker, how much would you be willing to  pay per trade? Finally, investing is quite the "to-do" as my Papa would put it. You need to have a way to organize your portfolio and keep track of everything you are doing.

For company research, portfolio organization, and stock screening I suggest : Google Finance

As you will see below, through Google Finance, you have access to charts, quick glance financial info, related companies, executives, key financials, and related news. It is very intuitive and best of all its FREE! I find the Google Finance Stock Screener particularly useful when searching for companies that contain specific attributes such as a low P/E ratio or above average dividend yield.

No frills portfolio organization with the ability to view your holdings in many different detailed ways

Interactive charts by date ranges, and the ability to compare other tickers on companies homepages

Related companies, and company key dates such as shareholder meetings 

Market and stock specific news from varying outlets

Stock screener with everything you could need to find your next purchase

For your trading platform I suggest : Robinhood App

If you have an iPhone or other Apple iDevice, Robinhood is perfect. Not only will you avoid any traditional fees associated with buy or sell orders, but Robinhood App's ultra simplistic interface keeps things easygoing. This is key for a new investor who is looking to invest small amounts of money at a time and not become overwhelmed with a complex trading platform. Robinhood App is currently working on a Web App version of their platform, as well as an android version! It needs to be stated though that currently Robinhood App is very feature light. Buy, sell, and transfer funds is about it. As a buy and hold investor this should be a non-issue.

If you do not have currently have an iDevice, I would suggest : Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers has some of the cheapest commission rates around. This is key because you'll be able to deploy more of your money into a companies shares instead of someone else's wallet. Unlike Robinhood App, Interactive Broker is a full service broker that allows you to do anything that the big boys such as E-Trade or ScottTrade can.

What about you? What tools do you use on your own investing journey? Anything I left out? Let me know down below!

Thats it for now everyone. Blog readership is picking up now, (over 500 total views in 3 days) so expect an update every 3-4 days or so. 

Div

I am a 21 year old kid who seeks to create a life of financial independence via passive income. The accumulation and growth of quality dividend yielding stocks will be the main source of income and this is my journey.

___

Book Worm

This blog is still in its early stages, but in the event that readers suddenly flock here I feel it is best to be prepared. In this post I will be discussing where you start when looking to get involved in investing, dividends and frugal living in general.

When I started learning about personal finance and really became interested in investing I did what any reasonable 18 year old would do. I wanted to open account the next day and throw money and the chart that had the largest one year return I could find. Excitement had taken over and I started looking. "Biggest return ETF", "Best growth mutual fund", and similar searches yielded everything that I was looking for. I was blinded by the prospect of 20% returns inflated by the overcharging bull market. A month went by and I still hadn't bought anything. I began to dig deeper, read more, take emotion out of it and learn. My searches for knowledge quickly transitioned to "How to Invest" and finally I realized that I had found the right question.

It wasn't long before I learned about asset classes, allocations, and the risks of picking singular stocks vs ETF's (collections of stocks selected to track an index such as the S&P 500). In my information hunt I found Dividend Mantra, Jason Fieber's journey to retire by 40 years old by living frugally and investing in dividend paying stocks. After reading almost every post, learning about Dividend investing, living frugally, and passive income I was hooked. I found out very quickly that companies would actually give me money just for being loyal to them, just for holding their stock. It wasn't for another five months that I purchased my first dividend paying stock. It took me that long to be confident in my readings, and commit to my own investment style. Im happy I did too, everything that I've learned since has only affirmed my position and strengthened my drive.

So it goes without saying that YOU need to learn about what kind of investor you are as I did. Dividend Value Investing is not the only way to go about things, just my way. What ever you decide, know that the single greatest thing I have done to better my future as an investor was read. There is no supplement for pure learning. 

Below you will find a collection of links to books and blogs that I read before making the plunge. Happy learning!

As I previously stated Im quite the fan of Dividend Mantra and what he has done. Great personal incite and a proven track record of technical analysis. He practices what he preaches and brings everyone along for the ride.

Dividend Mantra : Blog

The Dividend Mantra Way : Book








For one of the best books on investing, investors should consider “Shareholder Yield: A Better Approach to Dividend Investing.” This book is a quick read that focuses shareholder value with dividends, share buybacks and debt repayment. The book is riddled with information about finding the best dividend stocks in the low yield world.

Shareholder Yield : Book



Other blogs to consider with great content that I visit regularly

Dividend Growth Investor
Passive Income Pursuit
Mr. Money Mustache 

I am a 21 year old kid who seeks to create a life of financial independence via passive income. The accumulation and growth of quality dividend yielding stocks will be the main source of income and this is my journey

___