Retirement Accounts (Update) - July 2015

As our readers already know, our family has switched our focus towards diligently building our Dividend Stocks Portfolio and P2P Lending Accounts in an effort to building additional income streams for retirement so we don't have to solely rely on the typical retirement vehicles.

We will still continue to track are retirement accounts (pension, 457K, Roth IRAs) as they are still part of our retirement plan.  Plus, although they are mainly invested in mutual funds, we still need to keep an eye on them and re-balance them periodically.

EXISTING RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS

(JULY UPDATE):

Below is a quick update to show the current values of our retirement accounts as of July 1, 2015.  For a more comprehensive list of values and details of these accounts, please visit the RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS page on our blog.

As of July 1, 2015

PENSION

Cash Value of Pension: $224,181
($2,359 increase from last month's update of $221,822)

457K

Total value of 457K: $122,671
($1,649 decrease from last month's update of $124,320)

Roth IRAs

Total value of Roth IRA accounts: $56,567
($1,250 decrease from last month's update of $57,817)

Although we continue to see gains in our pension account, partially because both my employer and I continue to contribute to it each and every paycheck, our retirements accounts still saw an overall decline of $540.  Nobody wants to see a decline in their investments and/or retirement accounts, but since I know we are still years away from retirement, I am actually thankful for the opportunity to buy more shares at lower costs during each and every dip we have.  

As it stands, the total amount of our retirement accounts is currently valued at: $403,419 (down from the $403,959 reported last month).  

Click below to view retirement accounts page

RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS

We currently contribute to my 457K (up to my company's match - 3%) and also $200 each to a Roth IRA for both myself and my wife. Although we are not entirely happy with their growth, we still feel that the 457K and Roth IRAs should remain part of our retirement plan.  If for nothing more, the 457K and Roth IRAs will help supplement my pension. With some of the uncertainties around government pension these days, they could very well serve as back-up plans as well. 

RECENT BUY : (NYSE: TD)

WE RECENTLY PURCHASED THE FOLLOWING

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)
Purchased 10 shares of TD on 7/28/2015 at $38.88
Total Spent: $388.80
$15.65 added to annual dividends

The Toronto-Dominion Bank provides financial products and services. It was founded on February 1, 1955 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. TD is the 2nd largest Canadian bank in terms of market capitalization.  TD Bank Financial Group is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves more than 18 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in key financial centers around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust and TD Insurance; Wealth Management, including TD Waterhouse and an investment in TD Ameritrade; U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD Bank Financial Group also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with more than 6 million online customers. TD Bank Financial Group has over $550 billion in assets.

Back on January 14th of this year, our family became shareholders of TD with our initial purchase of 10 shares at $42.00. The stock had eventually recovered from the January lows and, at one point, reached the $46.00 mark for a brief moment in April.  Since April, however, the stock has been on a continuous decline and today set another 52-week low at $38.66. 

We've been keeping a close eye on the stock since it dipped below the $40 mark and today decided to pull the trigger and add another 10 shares of TD to our portfolio. Our buy today was at the purchase price of $38.88 a share.   

With our recent purchase of TD, we added $15.65 in forward dividends to our family's dividend stocks portfolio. This now puts our yearly dividends at approximately $2,691/year (excluding our Edwards Jones account) and $3,049/year (including our Edward Jones account). Today's purchase was our 5th buy of the month. Looks like July will end as another active month for this Frugal Family of 4! :)

Since we had already held TD shares in our family's dividend stocks portfolios (WF and EJ Accounts), the portfolio remains unchanged at a total of 44 different dividend paying stocks/ETFs and also 4 companies that either don't pay a dividend our has currently suspended their dividends.

Our family's dividend stocks portfolio may be found

by clicking on the link below:

DIVIDEND STOCKS PORTFOLIO

We also maintain an extensive list of stock analysis

that can be access through the link below:

COLLECTION OF STOCK ANALYSES

We also just started a list of Recent Buys by other bloggers

that can be access through the link below:

COLLECTION OF RECENT BUYS

HERE IS A QUICK FACT SHEET FOR THE STOCK I JUST PURCHASED:

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)

P/E: 12.07
Payout Ratio: 58%
Dividend Yield: 3.95%
Dividend Growth rate (5yr AVG): 10.0% 
4 consecutive years of dividend increases
Last Ex-dividend date: 7/7/2015

Next Ex-dividend date: approx. 10/7/2015
Have paid a dividend since: 1857 (158 years!)
Pays a dividend 4 times a year.
Market Cap: 73.2 Billion
52-week high: $53.49
52-week low: $38.92
Purchased Price: $38.88

What are your thoughts about my recent purchase?

What are you buying?

RECENT BUY - (NYSE : MMM)

WE RECENTLY PURCHASED THE FOLLOWING


3M COMPANY (MMM)
Purchased 3 shares of MMM on 7/24/2015 at $149.31
Total Spent: $447.96
$12.30 added to annual dividends

Our purchase of 3M Company (MMM) was based on the results from our recent ASK THE READERS post. On Friday morning, with MMM seemingly this month's reader's pick, we decided to place an order to buy the stock at the current market price since it was down near the low for the day.  Minutes later, we got a notice that our buy was executed at a price of $149.31.  And just like that, we added another company to our family's dividend stocks portfolio. 

With the recent purchase 3M Company (MMM), our estimated forward dividends grew another $12.30, putting our yearly dividends at approximately $2,676/year (excluding our Edwards Jones account) and $3,034/year (including our Edward Jones account).

As mentioned previously, our recent purchase of MMM also added a new holding to our family's dividend stocks portfolio. We now have a total of 44 different dividend paying stocks/ETFs in our family's dividend stocks portfolios (WF and EJ Accounts).  We also own stocks in 4 companies that either don't pay a dividend our has currently suspended their dividends.

Our family's dividend stocks portfolio may be found

by clicking on the link below:

DIVIDEND STOCKS PORTFOLIO

We also maintain an extensive list of stock analysis

that can be access through the link below:

COLLECTION OF STOCK ANALYSES

We also just started a list of Recent Buys by other bloggers

that can be access through the link below:

COLLECTION OF RECENT BUYS

HERE IS A QUICK FACT SHEET FOR THE STOCK I JUST PURCHASED:

3M COMPANY (MMM)

P/E: 19.49
Payout Ratio: 50%
Dividend Yield:2.75%
56 consecutive years of dividend increases
Last Ex-dividend date: 5/20/2015

Next Ex-dividend date: approx. - 8/20/2015
Have paid a dividend since: 1916 (99 years!)
Pays a dividend 4 times a year.
Market Cap: 94.7 Billion
52-week high: $170.50
52-week low: $130.60
Purchased Price: $149.31

What are your thoughts about my recent purchase?

What are you buying?

RECENT BUY - (NYSE : UNP)

WE RECENTLY PURCHASED THE FOLLOWING

Union Pacific Corp (UNP)
Purchased 6 shares of UNP on 7/23/2015 at $93.33
Total Spent: $559.98
$13.20 added to annual dividends

We have been watching Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) for while now and our interested only grew even more recently after seeing several bloggers post their Recent Buy of UNP.  Since we are trying to build and keep a portfolio of stocks for years to come, it makes sense to grab a few shares in the largest US railroad, right?

Union Pacific, founded in 1862, operates 32,000 miles of track that spans across 23 states. Plus, UNP connects with Canada's rail system. And they are also the only railroad that serves all six major Mexico gateways. In fact, the 2014 carload composition was 61% domestic and 39% international. UNP, therefore, clearly has some international exposure, which is one of the criteria we like to see from our stocks. 

With our recent purchase of UNP, we added $13.20 in forward dividends to our family's dividend stocks portfolio. This now puts our yearly dividends at approximately $2,663/year (excluding our Edwards Jones account) and $3,021/year (including our Edward Jones account).

Our recent purchase of UNP also added a new holding to our family's dividend stocks portfolio. We now have a total of 43 different dividend paying stocks/ETFs in our family's dividend stocks portfolios (WF and EJ Accounts).  We also own stocks in 4 companies that either don't pay a dividend our has currently suspended their dividends.

Our family's dividend stocks portfolio may be found

by clicking on the link below:

DIVIDEND STOCKS PORTFOLIO

We also maintain an extensive list of stock analysis

that can be access through the link below:

COLLECTION OF STOCK ANALYSES

We also just started a list of Recent Buys by other bloggers

that can be access through the link below:

COLLECTION OF RECENT BUYS

HERE IS A QUICK FACT SHEET FOR THE STOCK I JUST PURCHASED:

UNION PACIFIC CORP (UNP)

P/E: 15.9
Payout Ratio: 34.18%
Dividend Yield: 2.37%
8 consecutive years of dividend increases
Last Ex-dividend date: 5/27/2015

Next Ex-dividend date: approx. - 8/27/2015
Have paid a dividend since: 1900 (115 years)
Pays a dividend 4 times a year.
Market Cap: 80.6 Billion
52-week high: $124.52
52-week low: $91.23
Purchased Price: $93.33

What are your thoughts about my recent purchase?

What are you buying?

ASK THE READERS - Should I buy VZ, IBM, MMM?

We started this series back in November as a way to add some fun to our buying process. We plan to continue doing these Ask the Reader post once a month (except when funds are limited) and will be maintaining the stocks purchased in a separate portfolio just to see how they perform. 

The three stocks we have chosen are stocks that are currently at the top of our watch list and thus stocks we would be comfortable buying regardless of the outcome.  But we thought it would be fun to get our readers input and see if collectively, we can all beat the market with this interactive portfolio. :) 

Below is a chart below of our ASK THE READER purchases to date: 



For each ASK THE READER post, we will select 3-4 current stocks on our watch list that we feel are worth buying.  But to add some fun into our buying process, we have decided to put our faith in our fellow bloggers and readers once a month. 

Please spend a few minutes to vote for ONE stock from the companies listed below.  Tell us why you like the stock that you picked. 

Thanks in advance for your STOCK PICK!

STOCK #1 - Verizon Communication Inc (VZ)

• Sector: Communications
• Market Cap: 189.45 Billion
• Dividend Yield: 4.73% 
• Consecutive years of dividend increase: 10 Years
• Paying Dividends Since: 1984 (31yrs)
• Payout Ratio: 91.49%
• P/E Ratio: 19.27

STOCK #2 - International Business Machine (IBM)

• Sector: IT
• Market Cap: 157.9 Billion
• Dividend Yield: 3.19% 
• Consecutive years of dividend increase: 19 Years
• Paying Dividends Since: 1916 (99yrs)
• Payout Ratio: 32.7%
• P/E Ratio: 13.97



STOCK #3 - 3M Company (MMM)

• Sector: Health Care
• Market Cap: 98.5 Billion
• Dividend Yield: 2.63% 
• Consecutive years of dividend increase: 56 Years
• Paying Dividends Since: 1916 (99yrs)
• Payout Ratio: 51.8%
• P/E Ratio: 20.58

For this months ASK THE READERS selection, we selected 3 large companies with proven track record for paying dividends. 

**LET US KNOW WHICH STOCK YOU WOULD PICK AND WHY**

Mid-Year UPDATES from Around the DGI Community!!

I recently posted our family's mid-year progress report, and specifically, where we stood with each one of our 11 annual goals.  And although we don't post our progress here each and every month, we actually review our progress each and every month. After all, goals mean nothing if you don't periodically look at them to see where you stand, right?! 

With the above said, I thought I'd share a few links of mid-year progress reports from fellow DGI bloggers that I follow:

1. Roadmap 2 Retire - R2R recently provided an update on his annual goals in his quarterly update.  He has 5 goals listed and has already achieved one of his goals!
2. Pollies Dividend - Pollie recently provided his readers with a mid year review of his annual goals.  He has 5 goals and seems to be on track to accomplish each one of them.  He even raised 2 of his goals. 
3. Dividend Diplomats - 
• LANNY - Lanny recently provided a 2nd quarter check-up on his annual goals. He has 7 goals, 4 are monetary goals while 3 are non-monetary goals.
• BERT - Bert also provide his readers with a 2nd quarter review of his annual goals. Bert also has 7 goals but only one goal in non-monetary.  As a sports fan myself, I can appreciate his non-monetary goal. :)
4. Dividend Mantra - Jason recently provided his readers with a mid-year goals review. He has 4 goals and well on his way towards meeting each one of them.
5. Dividend Growth Journey - Ryan provided a update to his 2015 goals back in June. He has 4 goals to help him stay on track with his investment strategy and well as his current and forward dividends.
6. I Want to Retire Soon - Adam recently provided an update to his annual goals along with his June Summary. He has 5 goals and is on track to accomplish them all.
7. The Dividend Drive - TDD provided their readers with a progress report for the first half of the year. They have 7 goals and one goal is already achieved.  They are on track to accomplish at least 6 of their 7 goals.
8. DivGro - FerdiS provides an update on his goals in his recent 2nd quarter review. He has 4 goals: financial, health and an awesome goal to climb the world tallest building. 
9. Financially Free by 40 - Huw recently provided a 6-month goals update for his bloggers. He has a multitude of goals that are broken into Financial goals, Business goals, Employment goals, Physical goals, Emotional goals, Relationship goals, Contribution goals, and Blogging goals.
10. Leigh's Financial Journey - Leigh recently provided a 2nd quarter update for her readers. She has 11 goals and has already accomplished one.  She is on track to meet at least 8 of her 11 goals.

Although, a recent update was not posted, I thought I'd also mentioned that the following bloggers also provide annual goals on their blog:

1. My Dividend Pipeline
2. Young Dividend
3. Dividend Dreams
4. Dividend Legion
5. Dividend Empire
6. A Dividend Dream!
7. Dividend Vet
8. Financial Freedom
9. Passive Income Mavericks
10. Dividend Beginner
11. Dividend Quest
12. Dividend Life
13. The Dividend SWAN
14. Dividend Dreamer
15. Frugality to Financial Freedom
16. Forward Dividends
17. Anha Investing
18. My-Dividends.com
19. Dividend Mongrel
20. The Financial Unicorn

As you can see, many bloggers have annual goals for themselves.  What do you think, is there a possible correlation between having goals and success? I don't consider us a success story just yet, but I can tell you that what our family has accomplished thus far has been with the help of having annual goals for ourselves.  Whether you decide to public announce your goals or not, we encourage everyone to set goals for yourselves.  Even one goal is better than none! 

2015 Goals (Update) - Mid Year

In January, we set a total of 12 goals for the 2015 Calendar year.  We had made goals for our dividend stocks, P2P accounts, Blog, and Financial Milestone.  Below is a mid-year progress report to show how we are doing on these 12 goals.  The results provided was a snapshot taken as of July 1, 2015. On a side note, where did the first half of the year go? Time flies when your having fun, I guess! :) 

With 6-months left in the year, we should technically be half-way, or otherwise at 50% of our goal. Based on these results, it appears that we are doing well and should be on target to accomplish at least 9 of the 12 goals we set for ourselves.  It looks like we will have to put a little extra effort if we want to accomplish goals #1, #5, and #12.  Of course we hope to be successful in accomplishing all of our goals but honestly, we would be happy to remain on track and accomplish 9 of 12 (75%) or 10 of 12 (83%) of our published goals.  

Thanks for following along...stay tuned to see if we continue our current success! 

Regards, 
A Frugal Family's Journey

2015 GOALS

DIVIDEND STOCKS:

1.  Earn $3,000 in dividend income.

• $1,042.57 - Wells Fargo Account
• $187.70 - Edward Jones Account
• Current total: $1,230.27 (41% of goal)

2.  Increase projected annual dividend income to $3,500.

• $2,590.34 - Wells Fargo Account
• $375.40 - Edward Jones Account
• Current Annual Projection: $2,965.74 (84.7% of goal)

3.  Increase number of holdings to 40 (stocks and/or ETFs).

• ACCOMPLISHED!

P2P ACCOUNTS:

4.  Have a combined $20,000 from both accounts.

• $9,388 - Prosper
• $9,378 - Lending Club
• Current total: $18,766 (93.8% of goal)

5.  Maintain an average interest rate of 6.0% or higher (combined).

• AVG return from notes is currently: 5.78% (.22% more to go)

BLOG:

6.  Write at least 84 posts (7 posts / month).

• Currently total: 61 posts (72% of goal)

7  Reach 150,000 total hits by end of the year.

• Current total: 102,239 total hits (68.1% of goal)

8.  Increase stock analyses collection to 800+.

• Current total: 755 stock analyses in our collection (94% of goal)

9. Cash out my first $100 from Google AdSense.

• Currently total: $84.64 (84% of goal)

FINANCIAL MILESTONES:

10.  Increase value of retirement accounts to $425,000.

• Current total: $403,419 (94.9% of goal) 

11.  Increase Net Worth to $650,000 (excluding home equity).

• Current total: $645,240 (99.2% of goal)

12. Reduce mortgage balance to $312,000.

• Current Balance: $324,622 ($12,622 to reach goal).

Stocks Added to Collection of Stock Analyses - July 2015

For those who are not yet familiar with my extensive collection of individual dividend stocks. The collection is currently comprised of 766 stock analyses (and still growing) with links to various stock analyses that I found throughout the dividend blog community.  

The collection was created in a Google Docs Spreadsheet so that I may continue to maintain and update the list periodically. My plan is to provide bi-monthly updates (one at mid month and another and the end of the month) to inform everyone of new stock analysis I have recently added to my collection.

The collection goes back two years.  Eventually, as the collection grows, I am planning to only keep stock analyses for a one year time period. You should also know that to help highlight the stock analyses that have recently been created during the last 2 months, I have provided NEW!! at the end of those analyses.

Here is a list of newly added stocks analyses since my last post.

NEWLY ADDED STOCK ANALYSES:

1. AT&T Corp (T)
• by Sure Dividend
2. Chevron Corp (CVX)
• by Sure Dividend
3. Chevron Corp (CVX)
• by Dividend Growth Stocks
4. Clorox Co (CLX)
• by Dividend Monk
5. Duke Energy (DUK)
• by Dividend Growth Stocks
6. Emerson Electric Co (EMR)
• by Dividend Growth Investor
7. Helmerich & Payne, Inc (HP)
• by Sure Dividend
8. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
• by Dividend Growth Stocks
9. Kellogg Co (K)
• by Sure Dividend
10. Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT)
• by Dividend Vet
11. McDonalds Corp (MCD)
• by Dividend Developer
12. Microsoft Corp (MSFT)
• by Dividend Growth Stocks
13. Nucor Corp (NUE)
• by Dividend Growth Stocks
14. Omega Healthcare Corp (OHI)
• by A Dividend Dream!
15. Qualcomm, Inc (QCOM)
• by Roadmap 2 Retire
16. Realty Income Corp (O)
• by Reuben Gregg Brewer
17. Realty Income Corp (O)
• by Dividend Growth Stocks
18. W.W. Grainger, Inc (GWW)
• by Sure Dividend
19. W.W. Grainger, Inc (GWW)
• by Dividend Growth Stocks

 Links now provided directly in this post!

Please feel free to leave me a message if you prepared a stock analysis that I did not include in my post.  I would be more than happy to add your stock analysis to both this post and our collection of stock analyses.  Please make sure to confirm that it is a dividend paying stock and that it is a individual stock analysis.

  

My goal is to make this collection become the centralized source where one begins their research on a particular dividend stock company or at the very least, a source to confirm if a company stock is worth buying. Whether your a beginner or a veteran, I want this list to become an invaluable reference tool for you all. Best part, unlike other subscription based sites, I plan to keep this completely free for everyone to enjoy and benefit from.

Feel free to share with all of your friends and family! 

Click on Link Below

Complete Collection of Stock Analyses

Also don't forget to check out our:

NEW!! Collection of Recent Buys

RECENT BUY - (NYSE : EMR)

WE RECENTLY PURCHASED THE FOLLOWING

EMERSON ELECTRIC (EMR)
Purchased 9 shares of EMR on 7/07/2015 at $55.00
Total Spent: $495.00
$16.92 added to annual dividends

With the China and Greece in the news, technical issues in the NYSE that halted trading for 3 hours, and further drop in oil prices (unfortunately not at the pump), Mr. Market provided everyone with additional opportunities to pick up shares or in our case average down our cost basis on a few long term holdings. 

Back in October of 2014, we picked up 9 shares of EMR at $61.00.  On Tuesday (7/7), we decided to pick up 9 more shares of EMR (Emerson Electric) to average down our cost basis. With our recent purchase, we now own 18 total shares of EMR in our family's dividend stocks portfolio.  The cost basis for our EMR shares went from $61.00 to $58.00.  Our estimated forward dividends grew another $16.92, putting our yearly dividends at approximately $2,372/year (excluding our Edwards Jones account) and $2,754/year (including our Edward Jones account).

Tuesday's purchase, however, did not add a new holding to our family's dividend stocks portfolio, which remains at a total of 40 different dividend paying stocks/ETFs in the portfolio

Our family's dividend stocks portfolio may be found

by clicking on the link below:

DIVIDEND STOCKS PORTFOLIO

We also maintain an extensive list of stock analysis

that can be access through the link below:

COLLECTION OF STOCK ANALYSES

We also just started a list of Recent Buys by other bloggers

that can be access through the link below:

COLLECTION OF RECENT BUYS

HERE IS A QUICK FACT SHEET FOR THE STOCK I JUST PURCHASED:

EMERSON ELECTRIC (EMR)

P/E: 14.26
Payout Ratio: 47.49%
Dividend Yield: 3.50%
58 consecutive years of dividend increases
Last Ex-dividend date: 5/13/2015

Next Ex-dividend date: approx. - 8/13/2015
Have paid a dividend since: 1947 (68 years)
Pays a dividend 4 times a year.
Market Cap: 35.9 Billion
52-week high: $68.23
52-week low: $53.76
Purchased Price: $55.00

What are your thoughts about my recent purchase?

What are you buying?

RECENT BUY - (NYSE : CVX)

WE RECENTLY PURCHASED THE FOLLOWING

CHEVRON CORPORATION (CVX)
Purchased 5 shares of CVX on 7/06/2015 at $95.00
Total Spent: $475.00
$21.40 added to annual dividends

For our last purchase in June (on 6/26), we ended up picking up a few shares of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM), which was our readers 2nd pick from our recent ASK THE READERS post. 

On Monday (7/6), we decided to pick up a few more shares of CVX (Chevron Corporation) to average down our cost basis. With our recent purchase, we now own 10 total shares of CVX in our family's dividend stocks portfolio.  The cost basis for our CVX shares is now $97.50.  Our estimated forward dividends grew another $21.40, putting our yearly dividends at approximately $2,928/year (excluding our Edwards Jones account) and $3,310/year (including our Edward Jones account).

Monday's purchase, however, did not add a new holding to our family's dividend stocks portfolio, which remains at a total of 40 different dividend paying stocks/ETFs in the portfolio

Our family's dividend stocks portfolio may be found

by clicking on the link below:

DIVIDEND STOCKS PORTFOLIO

We also maintain an extensive list of stock analysis

that can be access through the link below:

COLLECTION OF STOCK ANALYSES

We also just started a list of Recent Buys by other bloggers

that can be access through the link below:

COLLECTION OF RECENT BUYS

HERE IS A QUICK FACT SHEET FOR THE STOCK I JUST PURCHASED:

Chevron Corporation (CVX)

P/E: 10.249
Payout Ratio: 46.76%
Dividend Yield: 4.57%
29 consecutive years of dividend increases
Last Ex-dividend date: 5/15/2015

Next Ex-dividend date: approx. - 8/15/2015
Have paid a dividend since: 1912 (102 years!)
Pays a dividend 4 times a year.
Market Cap: 176.3 Billion
52-week high: $135.10
52-week low: $93.26
Purchased Price: $95.00

What are your thoughts about my recent purchase?

What are you buying?