December 2015: Income & Expenses

    Wow the New Year is already starting to get into gear and pass us by! It has already been a full week since we said goodbye to 2015. And while financial markets may be doing their thing, going up and down, although mostly down for the moment. The part of my finances that I do control however went quite well in December. Those being my income from work, and my spending, trying to keep expenses down as much as possible, especially considering the usual surge in spending that comes with Christmas and other holiday festivities.

2015 Goals in Review

    This year has felt as if it zoomed by, and even though the year is just about gone I am very happy with the progress I have been able to make. With continuing to work on this blog (and Twitter), building my portfolio and at long last starting a career in banking!

Here is a recap of my 2015 goals.
1)  $1,200 in yearly estimated dividend income.
2) Achieve a savings rate of 40% or higher.                              
3) Regular posting of update and informative articles(1-3) month.   
4) Complete partially finished 2014 articles!
5) Thank you to all my readers, regular and new!

December 2015: Dividend Update!

    With December coming to a close, 2015 is going with it as well. I am very happy to once again to be posting about the dividends that I have received this month, as well as looking back over this years progress. Seeing the dividends get deposited into my brokerage account always makes me smile, and I get an even bigger smile at the end of the month every time I see that the months dividends have out paced the previously comparable month. This December was no different, with the months dividends once again pulling ahead!

Next Buy Watchlist: December 2015

With my last Watchlist in September I focused on consistent, steadily growing quarterly dividend payers within the financial sector. The big Canadian banks and insurance companies. Which of those companies, I bought my first shares in Manulife Financial, read about it here in my Recent Buy post.

    Recently, with my last purchase of Dream Office REIT I went for high yield, monthly income. This time around though I am so far still contemplating on what I want to buy next. While I am hunting for income and yield, I do also want to plan for the future with dividend growth stocks.

    In particular, I am looking to build singular positions to a size where dividends are able to DRIP a stock per payout, as well as try to diversify investments within my TFSA portfolio. Currently, I want to have my portfolio heavier on REIT's since within the Tax Free Savings Account their high income through distribution is not taxed, so for the most part I think I am about where I want to be on REITs. Making it the ideal account for Canadians to hold REIT's in, read my overview on the TFSA for more.

November 2015: Income & Expenses

    November was a busy and exciting month for me, particularly with leaving my job at Starbucks slinging coffee for the past two and a bit years to starting a new career at one of the big 6 Canadian banks. So baring that in mind, I actually had pretty good hours that month, having been given more hours to assist in the training of several new hires.

    Going forward I am looking forward to earning more each month due to a higher income. Also my continually higher dividend income will keep me moving ahead as I keep adding to my portfolio, and some of those great companies keep growing their dividends.

November 2015: Dividend Update!

    Writing about my monthly dividends is one of my favourite posts to write about. I think most dividend bloggers would agree if you ask them which post is the easiest to write as well. If not only because you write about the money you make while not working. And it is also fun to put together, tally up and compare the results from previous months.

    I also really enjoy watching the steady upward progression of my dividend income. Whether it be through actively adding more stocks, or new position into my portfolio, or the companies which I already hold raise their dividend payouts. For instance, this month my dividend income increased for both of those reasons!

Recent Buy! November 2015

    This post is actually a fair bit late, as I had made this purchase on November 12th. I have just been rather busy lately, in part to my new job! So that had me pretty busy and tired by the end of the day. I had also meant to not make any buys till I put together and posted a Watchlist. However, I thought I saw a good opportunity and I went for it. 

Happy News: New Job!

    I have some great news to share! This Monday I will be starting my first day at my new job. Which means my days of slinging coffee for Starbucks has ended. I am really looking forward to going into a calmer work environment, where I don't end the day smelling of coffee and hard work! I also had to learn how to properly do a tie, which thankfully did not take too long. The site ties.com was super helpful, and I found it to be much easier to learn from instructional pictures than Youtube videos.

October 2015: Income & Expenses

    October was a very busy and exciting month. With a lot going on, I ended up spending more than I usually do. Luckily though October was one of those rare months every year that coincides with three pay periods which offset all that spending. And besides spending more at restaurants and fun, I spent more on health and new prescription glasses. So important items, not simply frivolous spending, as well as taking full advantage of my health and dental plan while I am covered.

October 2015: Dividend Update!

    October is ending this Halloween night, and with the months conclusion I have had many treats in the form of my monthly and quarterly dividends. With a new months high of $213.53 in dividend income! A modest $5.13 more than the last comparable quarter, or almost half an hour of working at a minimum wage job.

    I love being able to literally see the results of my hard work; putting the money I save every month to work for me. Having dividend paying stock reward me every month or quarter, steadily growing and increasing my future buying power of even more shares. And these monthly posts allow me to see, compare and highlight where my dividend growth is coming from. Usually in the form of a dividend increase, or having had bought additional shares in a company.

Portfolio Update: As of October 24, 2015

    Its been about a full Quarter since my last Portfolio Update at the start of June. Since that time the markets have been quite turbulent with a lot of worrying and speculation on the affects of slower growth in China, low oil prices, interest rates and elections. (Click here for my post on that)

    I have also since then added to a few of my positions, as well as initiated a new one with my Recent Buy of Manulife Financial last month. As well as increasing my positions in Bank of Nova Scotia, Veresen and eliminating my holdings of ZDV, my BMO exchange traded fund.

September 2015: Income & Expenses

    It feels like I only just wrote about what I earned and spent in September, but apparently it has been an entire year since! I find it interesting to compare how I am fairing from year to year, seeing the changes in where my income is coming from and where I spend my money. From the snapshots between September 2014 and 2015 it looks like I worked less, made about the same in Other/Bonus income, but more than doubled my dividend income!