February 2017 Portfolio Summary

I did not post this back in March. So I am filling this post out today (Apr 12 2017) so that my future self can have records of my past months. This report will just contain data.

This is the snapshot of my portfolio as of March 1, 2017:

Name	Ticker	Sector	Value	Weight	Divies	Yield	S&P Fin	VL Fin	VL Safety
Altria Group Inc	MO	Staples	$49,578.75	16.15%	$1,600.80	3.2288%	A-	B+	2
Philip Morris International Inc	PM	Staples	$17,542.61	5.71%	$662.17	3.7746%	A	B++	2
Home Depot Inc	HD	Discret	$14,000.33	4.56%	$337.20	2.4085%	A	A++	1
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	Health	$12,159.37	3.96%	$314.32	2.5850%	AAA	A++	1
Realty Income Corp	O	REIT	$11,824.41	3.85%	$495.79	4.1929%	BBB+	A	2
Visa Inc	V	Financial	$11,220.37	3.65%	$83.40	0.7433%	A+	A++	1
Ross Stores Inc	ROST	Discret	$10,976.77	3.58%	$88.38	0.8051%	A-	A	2
Starbucks Corporation	SBUX	Discret	$10,563.35	3.44%	$166.50	1.5762%	A	A++	1
PepsiCo	PEP	Staples	$8,502.64	2.77%	$231.48	2.7225%	A	A++	1
Kraft Heinz Co	KHC	Staples	$8,466.07	2.76%	$222.06	2.6230%	BBB-	A	2
Kimberly-Clark	KMB	Staples	$8,393.97	2.73%	$243.69	2.9031%	A	A++	1
Becton Dickinson and Co	BDX	Health	$8,081.41	2.63%	$127.77	1.5810%	BBB+	A++	1
General Mills, Inc.	GIS	Staples	$7,845.84	2.56%	$248.05	3.1615%	BBB+	A+	1
McCormick & Company	MKC	Staples	$7,347.42	2.39%	$138.92	1.8908%	A-	A+	1
Church & Dwight	CHD	Staples	$7,018.63	2.29%	$101.37	1.4443%	BBB+	A+	1
3M Co	MMM	Industrial	$6,627.38	2.16%	$164.54	2.4827%	AA-	A++	1
Mastercard Inc	MA	Financial	$6,376.38	2.08%	$50.22	0.7875%	A	A++	1
The Coca-Cola Co	KO	Staples	$5,202.83	1.69%	$181.27	3.4840%	AA-	A++	1
Dominion Resources, Inc	D	Utilities	$4,546.79	1.48%	$179.35	3.9446%	BBB+	B++	2
Automatic Data Proc, Inc	ADP	Tech	$4,484.62	1.46%	$97.85	2.1818%	AA	A++	1
TJX Companies Inc	TJX	Discret	$4,258.23	1.39%	$56.19	1.3195%	A+	A++	1
McDonald's Corporation	MCD	Discret	$4,135.68	1.35%	$121.58	2.9398%	BBB+	A++	1
Xcel Energy Inc	XEL	Utilities	$3,964.75	1.29%	$130.59	3.2937%	A-	A+	1
NextEra Energy Inc	NEE	Utilities	$3,957.58	1.29%	$118.91	3.0046%	A-	A	2
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc	APD	Materials	$3,957.08	1.29%	$107.78	2.7236%	A	A+	1
Procter & Gamble Co	PG	Staples	$3,784.11	1.23%	$112.06	2.9613%	AA-	A++	1
Stryker Corporation	SYK	Health	$3,442.16	1.12%	$44.94	1.3057%	A	A++	1
AT&T Inc	T	Telecom	$3,121.86	1.02%	$145.65	4.6656%	BBB+	A++	1
Southern Co	SO	Utilities	$2,872.84	0.94%	$127.76	4.4471%	A-	A	2
Abbott Laboratories	ABT	Health	$2,723.02	0.89%	$63.79	2.3425%	BBB	A++	1
Colgate-Palmolive Co	CL	Staples	$2,623.52	0.85%	$55.61	2.1199%	AA-	A+	1
Medtronic plc	MDT	Health	$2,317.28	0.75%	$48.69	2.1011%	A	A++	1
Verizon Communications Inc	VZ	Telecom	$2,227.75	0.73%	$102.74	4.6117%	BBB+	A++	1
Clorox Co	CLX	Staples	$1,974.36	0.64%	$46.14	2.3371%	A-	B++	2
The J. M. Smucker Company	SJM	Staples	$1,937.41	0.63%	$41.37	2.1354%	BBB	A++	1
Bard (C.R.) Inc	BCR	Health	$1,778.63	0.58%	$7.53	0.4231%	A	A+	1
WEC Energy Group, Inc.	WEC	Utilities	$1,440.25	0.47%	$50.53	3.5082%	A-	A+	1
Aqua America Inc	WTR	Utilities	$989.62	0.32%	$24.08	2.4329%	A+	A	2
Misc	Type	………..	Partial Totals	Weight	Yrly Dividends	Avg Yield	…..832	…..9	…..82
Equity	Stocks		$272,266.07	88.68%	$7,141.04	2.6228%
Investable	US Dollars		$7,283.77	2.37%
House Savings Cash	US Dollars		$22,951.66	7.48%
Miscellaneous	Assets		$4,524.75	1.47%
.	..	…	Equity + Misc	Weight	…..2	…..	…..222	…..2222	…..223
Total			$307,026.25	100.00%

Recent buy: PM

I added 31 shares of Philip Morris (PM) today. That is around $3379 invested which adds $128 annually in dividend income. I am investing in PM based on my belief in the success of the new iQOS and HeatSticks Marlboro brand which is in line with the upcoming generation's focus towards healthier alternatives. People who smoke want to still smoke, but they don't want the tar and chemicals associated with burning tobacco. iQOS provides the satisfaction of nicotine delivery from traditional smoking without the harmful effects associated with burning. If people can have a healthier alternative, smokers will be more likely to continue smoking.

PM has also absorbed most of the shock from the increase in the dollar from 2014-2016. PM compared to MO is supposed to be the higher growth company with the lower yield. Right now PM still yields higher than MO and I believe in the future, as the dollar strength becomes overshadowed by the continuous growth in PM's earnings, that PM will have a lower yield than MO.

MO and PM are getting expensive so I will likely no longer be adding more after these two buys unless earnings and dividend increases are high. Any Trump policies enacted to improve corporate taxes and repatriation of foreign cash will help MO and PM (PM being the one that has international operations). I am feeling that some changes will happen in regards to corporate taxes or repatriation before the end of this year, which will help American businesses.

For additional invest-able cash coming in a week and a half, I am considering Realty Income (O) with a 4.18% yield in my 401k and General Mills (GIS) yielding 3.15% in my taxable account.


-YD

February 2017 Dividends Received

Another month. More cash, around $300 was deployed on more stock. There was less this month than other months because February is a light month since I don't hold many companies that pay in Feb. Below are my payouts for February 2017.

Ticker	Total	Taxable	Roth IRA	401k
GIS	$61.54	$48.48		$13.06
SBUX	$46.09	$37.84		$8.25
O	$41.14		$33.77	$7.37
T	$35.99	$35.99
VZ	$25.39		$25.39
APD	$24.24	$24.24
Interest	$20.12	$20.12
PG	$17.82	$17.82
ABT	$15.85	$15.85
CL	$13.82	$13.82
MA	$12.53	$2.17		$10.36
CLX	$11.46	$11.46
BCR	$1.88	$1.88
	$327.87	$229.67	$59.16	$39.04

For March I am expecting $630 in dividends, and April I am expecting a large $800 check in dividends.

Watchlist for March

Well, most of the companies I own that I was looking to add have rallied higher. In fact, a lot of them are quite excessively valued for my taste at this moment. This makes it very hard to add. Names that I wanted to add to include MO, PM, HD, PEP, CL, PG, MKC, and V.

You can take a look at what stocks I hold and their 12 month chart on this page: http://www.youngdividend.com/p/portfolio-chart.html 

I have been accumulating a lot of cash that is sitting in a savings account. I have decided to taper off the rate at which I accumulate that cash and start to invest some more in dividend paying stocks. I am slowing down the rate at which I am looking to purchase a house due to the uncertainty of my employment situation.

In the end, even if the market is rising I will continue to add to positions. This is my principle of dollar cast averaging. Since I cannot count on myself to outsmart the market and time exactly at the right time, I just purchase stocks periodically month after month after month. Over time I average out times when I buy at the highest of highs and when the market is at its gloomiest lows. By being persistent I guarantee that my income every month can increase.

For next month I am eyeing the following stocks:

Getting wealthy is a boring process

I have only been investing for a short amount of time compared to others. I started investing in October 2013 in index funds. I was a graduate with little insight into financial planning. I spent a lot initially without giving much thought to what I should do with the extra cash sitting in my bank account. Over time my view of surplus money has changed.

Over the last 3-4 years I have learned a lot about the slow and gradual process of how wealthy people I know grew their wealth. There are a lot of stories out there about people becoming wealthy quickly. These stories usually try to sell an idea which may be enticing at first but over time one realizes that easy money is hard to come by. Statistically speaking, one would be better off leaving the get rich schemes from their financial strategies and focus on real wealth generation. From the wealthy people that I know and the strategies they employ, the real way for an average person to generate large amounts of wealth in one lifetime is to live below his or her means and continuously invest the surplus into assets that hold or grow in value. Additionally, most of the wealthy people I know receive their starting wealth from their career. And then over time that wealth creates more wealth on its own without requiring the career as a base. Finding the right vocation that pays the right value is very important in getting the right start.

Living below your means does not entail being cheap. You only live once and it's just not worth saving a nickel or two while compromising your health, living condition, or the people around you. Wealthy people I know do not skimp on what is important. They take care of their family and friends. Even if something is expensive, the purchase will be done given that the purchased item or service can provide good value. They do not save the nickel and dimes for what is important to them. Living below one's means does not mean one becomes a miser. Money needs to be spent in society for one to survive but frivolities such as a new sports car or the newest television or fancy clothes can be better spent elsewhere.

In all honestly wealth building is boring. It is unexciting. Balance sheets and financial reports and tax filing is just not most people's cup of tea. People I talk to do not want to hear about it. There may be a reason "smart" people in the technical or academic sense are not all rich. Making money or getting rich is just not as exciting as curing cancer or flying to the moon. Receiving high grades or knowing everything does not mean one will be successful. In the end, money is blind. It cares not if you are smart, gifted, talented, or where you came from.

Having a high income does not mean one is wealthy. Having a high net worth to income ratio is what makes one wealthy. Having assets that generate more income than one's main job or living expenses makes one wealthy. Real wealth building takes decades. Not months or years. Telling someone that they can be wealthy after several decades is just not sexy. They would rather appreciate the short term pleasures of buying material goods and enjoying the moment. Enjoying the results of one's investments will likely not be immediately "feel-able". The move towards wealth is so slow and gradual one's brain becomes accustomed to one's increasing net worth month after month without much thought. The numbers crawls up so slowly that there is no euphoria or appreciation for "the moment".

Compared to what we see on TV, my job is not very exciting. I wake up every morning, go to the office, sit on my desk, perform my tasks, then go home. There are no  luxurious such as free gourmet lunches, or luxury buses driving me home, or free massages or fun travels or big sales deals being made. It's just a regular cubicle desk job that simply generates a decent income. Every 2 weeks I receive a check and that gets deposited. When I deposit my check from my employer, I put a few Benjies into my checkings account for living costs. Then I put the majority of the rest in my investing accounts. Everything is on auto pilot and frankly speaking there isn't much "hoorah" going on. In fact it is much less glorious than I thought. However, every year I see my passive income increasing and increasing. My net worth may or may not increase depending on the economy, but my income continues to increase. Every month, I receive ever increasing dividend checks and my broker automatically deposits them into additional shares.

The only real way to notice I found is to look back at my old blog posts and put myself in my "old" shoes and see how much of a difference the years have been. Over time I hope I can look back and appreciate my younger self for planning ahead when most of America is too pre-occupied with the present moment.




-YD