March 2019 Dividend Portfolio Update

It’s quite rare to see markets move the way it has the last 3 months. The recovery in stock prices in such a short period of time has been amazing. In fact, I don’t recall in almost 2 decades of investing, a bounce of the lows of this magnitude and speed in the S&P.

It’s unfortunate to have close friends who have sold during the December sell off. The experience can be a painful but a priceless lesson as I have made many similar mistakes myself. Making mistakes is simply part of the whole investing process.

Investing during and learning through volatile periods is what makes one a maturing investor. The more experience you have with corrections, the more you are likely to learn not to make irrational investing decisions. Time strengthens and combines your growing wisdom with your actions. Stay engaged.

The dividend portfolio is quickly evolving over the months. I have made some changes along the way to focus primarily on equities.

The purpose of this fund is to diversify my income away from being heavily weighted on real estate income. My initial goal is to reach $1,000 in dividends per month. Today, I am roughly at the half way point in my journey. Building dividend income is a long process which requires some patience and persistence.

The name of the game is to invest in great companies who have the investors interest in mind that religiously raises dividends on an annual basis, strong business model, responsible management, companies that continue to re-invest into their businesses, etc.

Here is a quick update on the changes in the portfolio for the month.

 

Buy Orders

I purchased 10 Shares of 3M Company (Ticker: MMM) at $203.80, which will add an additional $57.60 in dividend income per year.

I purchased 16 Shares of Chevron Corporation (Ticker: CVX) at $122.70, which will add an additional $76.16 in dividend income per year.

I purchased 18 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (Ticker: UPS) at $109.16, which will add an additional $69.12 in dividend income per year.

I purchased 3 Shares of The Boeing Company (Ticker: BA) at $391.47, which will add an additional $24.66 in dividend income per year.

I purchased 3 Shares of The Boeing Company (Ticker: BA) at $367.31, which will add an additional $24.66 in dividend income per year.

The total of additional dividends added to the year from this month’s purchase is $252.20.

 

Sell Orders

I sold ALL shares of Global X Lithium & Battery Tech (Ticker: LIT) at $29.23, which will remove $149.29 in dividend income per year.

The total decrease in dividend income from the following sells is $182.84.

 

Dividends

This month the LBF portfolio paid out dividends in total of $534.12.

 

LBF Portfolio Summary

The LBF portfolio closed the month at $123,296.50 which is 3% higher than the previous month total of $119,698.

Currently, the portfolio is expected to generate $5,331.19 in annual dividends. That is a 1.6% increase then the previous month which was at $5245.12. The average current yield is at 4.3%. I use Personal Capital to help keep track of all my investments.

 

Conclusion

Sitting back and collecting dividends, I think I will never get tired of this. The experience truly is an educational one as well.

Some may choose to use their financial freedom to travel or sit at the beach. And some, like me, is enjoying the process of learning and consuming information trying to form a better understanding and more accurate view of the world we live in. It never gets boring.

In fact, I look forward to waking up every morning to learn something new. I am reminded almost on a daily basis how much of a blessing it is to have such freedom at my age. If it wasn’t for this financial freedom, I may have never discovered my new found hobby, blogging.

Financial freedom may not change who you are as a person but amplify the characteristics that make who you are. If you like reading, you may do much more reading. Perhaps you enjoy cooking? You may find yourself becoming an amazing cook. For me, I love learning about businesses, and I sure hope I never get bored doing so.

Thank you for reading.