Listed below is a summary of the dividends I received, as well as the purchases I made for the month of May in my Dividend Income Portfolio:
Dividends Received
*ABT - $51.37
*PAYX - $44.75
*PG - $45.14
Therefore for the month of May my dividend income total was $141.26. For only three of my thirteen holdings paying out dividends this month, I was pleased with the amount received.
Purchases
In the month of May I made no new stock purchases. There are only a small few value plays left right now (at least on my radar and appropriate for my asset allocation), and therefore I made no new purchases. If you know of any great valuations let me know..
Instead of adding to my income portfolio, I contributed a small amount to my Roth IRA, and paid off a few large expenses my wife and I had. I expect a number of large expenses the next few months, so it may be hard to invest in the near term anyway.
Conclusion
Though this blog is not dedicated to talking about retirement, as far as my retirement savings go, I now only need one more contribution to my Roth IRA in order to reach my 2011 limit. That said, however, because I did not contribute any funds in May to my income portfolio, I now am slightly behind pace again in achieving my 2011 Dividend Investing Goal of $2,000.
In fact, I have found it extremely difficult with my new 'married life' to accomplish these two competing goals: 1) Max out my Roth IRA; and 2) Maintain the pace I set for myself with my income portfolio contributions. (On a side note, I wouldn't trade being married to my wife for anything). My main point though, as you can see, is that I am having to trade off every few months between the two accounts.
In conclusion, as far as whether I believe I will ultimately achieve the $2k dividend goal or not, it is still difficult to tell; however, if I had to guess today I would say I may indeed fall slightly short.
Time will eventually tell, but I feel I do a decent job of forecasting my contributions and dividends received... and the future 'looks a bit cloudy.'
We'll see though. I am not too far behind and you never know what could happen. The good thing is that whether I achieve my goal or not, I know I am blessed beyond what I deserve and am thankful for all that I have. I set goals to stretch myself and have a benchmark, but by no means am I disappointed if I give my best and fall short. I think $2000 in dividend income, however, may indeed still be possible. Here's to the pursuit! I welcome any comments.
Thanks for reading,
DivPartisan
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Definitely stay relaxed about the goal. You're obviously saving more than 99% of people your age, and you've taken control of your financial life, so the rest is gravy. I had a really hard time when I recently changed jobs and am making less - I can't save nearly as much as before. But as long as your still saving and investing (and not in debt) it'll all work out fine.
ReplyDeleteDon't beat yourself up about not making that $2000 goal. It is still possible if you end up with a contribution that nets you several shares. There are still 7 months to go and who knows which companies may increase the dividend.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the dividend income. Big numbers, and increasing every month. Great job! As far as the goals go, don't beat yourself up too much. You have a lot going on for yourself and you're doing awesome. Much better than I was when I was your age, even though we are only a few years apart. You are ahead of the game any way you look at it. I may also fall short of my dividend goal this year, due to getting rid of the car and what not.
ReplyDeleteBesides, when you are sitting on the beach in Mexico this summer with a cold drink dividend investing will be in the rear view mirror!
Take care brother.
Pig, Cashflowmantra, and DivMantra,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments; I appreciate the encouragement. You guys are investing gurus so I take what you say seriously. :)
We'll see what happens though. Nonetheless, keep in touch..
It is definitely non bad for the start : -)
ReplyDeleteOn your way to financial independence it is the direction that matters.
What do you do with the dividends? Do you re-invest them, spend them?
Why don't you publish rate of return on your investments?
Congrats on getting close to maxing out your Roth contribution for this year!
ReplyDeleteI'd say don't sweat it out and pace yourself. While saving for retirement is important, being prepared for unexpected expenses is equally crucial.
But looks like you already are on top of things! :)
Financial Independence,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. I currently reinvest all dividends in the company that pays them. Next year I plan to start 'strategically reinvesting' them, if you will.
I have posted my rate of return in the past and will most likely do so in the future. Last year I beat the S&P500 by 0.2%. :) I think this year I am a bit behind.
Keep in touch,
DivPartisan
MoneyCone,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the advice. You are right on with being prepared for unexpected expenses. I really have to start building an emergency fund!
Keep in touch pls,
DivPartisan
Great job.
ReplyDeleteNot making specific benchmarks is fine- you're working toward them and made the wise move of starting early.
A primary benefit of building wealth is that it hopefully makes it so that money doesn't have to be a worry. So no sense in worrying about not making certain goals yet. :)