This was another huge month for me in terms of buying and selling. My day trading plan is in full effect; however, I continue to earn dividends from my 5 core dividend growth holdings, such as Realty Income (O).
In the month of January, I made 10 stock trades. In this article I will highlight the details of each trade - showing you exactly which companies I bought and sold, AND their corresponding profit or loss. Overall, a very exciting month to begin the year.
Without further adieu, listed below is a summary of the dividends I received in my Dividend Income Portfolio and the profit (or loss) from my day trading activities for the month of January:
Dividends Received
I only received dividends from one company this month: Realty Income (O). Given that I now only hold 5 dividend companies, my monthly distributions of dividends are going to be much smaller; something I am comfortable with as long as I can have success in active trading. Nevertheless, the details of this company's dividend distribution for January is below:
*O - $22.21
Therefore for the month of January my dividend income total was a staggering $22.21.
Day Trading Profit/Loss:
Continuing my effort to disclose my total 'earned' monthly income (excluding my retirement account), listed below are the specific details for my second month of active trading:
*1st trade: Ford (F) - $413.19 profit
*2nd trade: USNQX Mutual Fund - $111.78 profit
*3rd trade: Sirius (SIRI) - $39.76 profit
*4th trade: Ford (F) - $130.64 profit
*5th trade: Sirius (SIRI) - $89.67 profit
*6th trade: Chipotle (CMG) - $143.77 profit
*7th trade: Ford (F) - $99.97 profit
*8th trade: Sirius (SIRI) - $89.70 profit
*9th trade: Urban Outfitters (URBN) - $57.62 profit
*10th trade: I currently am, as I call it, "stuck" in a stock that is flucuating approximately 5% below my purchase price. Definitely a bad move on my part; one that if I sell, I will pay for. I have been stuck for 13 days now...unable to trade at all because of it. I was somewhat careless with my decision to enter a long position at that price, and now I may not be able to actively trade for awhile. In fact, I do not plan to trade at all until the price rises to a point where I am comfortable exiting. That said, however, it is a quality company and should rebound. (There are still several days left in January, so we'll see what happens).
To conclude this section, for the month of January my Day Trading Profit was $1,176.10.
Total Income (Day Trading and Dividends) for the month: $1,198.72
In conclusion, I have learned a decent amount this month about trading, but I still have a long way to go. Furthermore, despite the "success" I have had actively trading in December (~$600) and January (~$1100), I am still convinced that dividend growth investing is the safest, and "best," way to make it in the long run.
That's all for now. I've updated my 'Progress' Tab to reflect the amounts above. As always, I appreciate your thoughts and insight.
Thanks for reading,
DivPartisan
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I need to research the rules on "pattern day trading". Once or twice I have rec'd warnings from my broker about a couple of my trades. Not quite sure I understand what I am doing wrong.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteI can explain the warnings becuase I researched this particular topic myself right before deciding to try day trading.
Here's your answer: "Customers are considered as engaging in Pattern Day Trading if they execute four or more stock or options day-trades within a five-day period in a margin account."
The way around it and bottom line - Unless you have over $25,000 in your account you cannot trade more than 4 times in a 5 day period. If you have over $25k, you can trade as many times as you'd like without warnings.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything else..
DivPartisan
To be clear, I assume you mean $25k in available cash? Thanks
Delete$25.44 my take on dividends so far this year. Enjoy your Blog. he next thing I have to learn is when to dump a stock and take my gains. Earl
ReplyDeleteEarl,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. Keep it up; you'll be surprised how quickly your gains add up. Keep in touch!
DivPartisan
I'm going in the opposite direction. I have been day-trading off/on for past 3 years (nothing huge, just dabbling). I'm starting the dividend path now. Watching stock tickers is stressful and wears you down after awhile. The $$ can be nice, but as someone else mentioned - you decided to start day-trading on an 'easy' month, i.e. nearly everything has been going up. Once the market gets choppy again (and it will, trust me), you will experience frustration. Either way, GOOD LUCK!
ReplyDelete- beneficialbard.com
Beneficial Bard,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. I would agree that December (when I started actively trading) and January have been bullish months where it is easier to take gains. No doubt. I think I have done better than the market so far though, which I have been thankful for. I'd be interested to talk point-to-point about your strategy if you'd like.
Take care,
DivPartisan
Beneficial Bard,
ReplyDeleteFollow up thought...I think it almost makes more sense to exit the market prior to the pullback, and hold about 50% in cash, rather than waiting for the rebound...wouldn't you agree?
I'm trying to get to the point where I feel comfortable shorting, so I can be working both trends..
DivPartisan