My Financial Independence Journey » Archive
8 Things To Do Before You Start Investing (or most of personal finance summed up in one post)
The basics. Everything starts with the basics. Personally, I’m pretty excited about dividend growth investing and achieving financial independence. I’m presuming you are too. But before one can embark on this journey, there is a whole universe of personal finance that must be mastered. But fear not, it’s really not that hard. If you’re determined and moderately intelligent (as I’m sure you are, as you’re reading this blog) you’ll blitz through this list in no … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing, Reflections
Recent Assignment – Annaly Capital Management (NLY)
As part of my commitment to keep my readers up to date on my portfolio, I write up short posts describing my transactions. Recently, I was assigned 100 shares of Annaly Capital Management (NLY) when my put option expired. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investment portfolio
Cardinal Health (CAH) Dividend Stock Analysis
Cardinal Health is a leading wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical products and medical supplies to hospitals, health care centers, and pharmacies. Approximately 91% of its revenue comes from pharmaceuticals and 9% from medical products. In addition to being a wholesaler, the company offers a diverse array of related services. In the UK, Cardinal Health manufactures and distributes generic drugs. In the US, Cardinal Health, repackages and distributes pharmaceutical products for retail and mail order customers, owns … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investment portfolio
Frugality is Just a Tool – Nothing More
Frugal habits take many flavors, kind of like ice cream. There is the do it yourself (DIY) approach which focuses on making your own clothes, doing your own home and car repairs, even making your own laundry detergent. There is the bargain hunter approach which wield coupons, shopper club cards, and weekly sales like some kind of a money saving Navy Seal. Then there is the haggle and negotiate approach, which emphasizes debating the price … Read entire article »
Filed under: Reflections
Achieving a 10% yield on cost in 10 years
Many dividend growth investors consider how long it will take a given stock to reach a 10% yield on cost (YOC). The ideal target is for a 10% YOC to be achieved within 10 years. How quickly a stock reaches a 10% YOC is a function of the yield at the time of purchase and the dividend growth rate. Math, a table, and an example all follow! … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing
Norfolk Southern (NSC) Dividend Stock Analysis
Norfolk Southern is a railroad service operating in the Eastern US and in parts of Canada. We tend to forget about railroads, but they do provide us with very important infrastructure for industry and commerce. Transport of coal primarily from mines to power plants accounts for about 31% of NSC’s revenue. Transport of general merchandise (all that crap you and I buy) comprises about 50% of NSC’s revenue. The general merchandise category also includes chemicals and automobiles. NSC serves 24 automobile manufacturing plants. The other 19% of revenues are derived from NSC’s intermodal business, a fancy term for standardized containers. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Stock Analysis
Man Up and Admit Your Money Mistakes In Order to Learn and Improve
If you’ve been investing in anything for a reasonable period of time, you’ve undoubtedly lost money somewhere along the line. I know I have. So at the risk of embarrassing myself, I thought I’d lead us on a little trip down memory lane, where I recount some of my failures and see if I learned anything along the way. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing
Recent Put Options Sale: NSC and INTC
Selling long-term cash-secured put options can be a great way to boost your yearly income. Recently I sold two long-term cash-secured puts against NSC and INTC. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investment portfolio
Leggett & Platt (LEG) Dividend Stock Analysis
Leggett and Platt is diverse manufacturer of components used in home furnishings, store and office fixtures, and cars and other machinery. The company has three main business areas. 1) The residential furnishings segment manufactures components used by mattress and furniture manufacturers. In fact, there is a good chance that your mattress has Leggett and Platt springs in it. 2) The commercial fixturing and components segment sells components for store fixtures and office seating. 3) The … Read entire article »
Filed under: Stock Analysis
Secrets of Super Savers Revealed
Currently, the average savings rate in the US is pathetically low, somewhere below 5% (3.6% when I wrote this). That means that people are saving, on average, 3.6% of their disposable (after tax) income. I like graphs, so let’s take a quick look at the one on the right. Three things pop out to me. 1) Before 1980 or so people saved around 8-10% of their disposable income. 2) After the early 1980s the savings … Read entire article »
Filed under: Reflections
