Thursday, February 7, 2013
Jan 2012 Options
Review of all my options for the month of Jan. For the month I brought in $2872.00 of passive income from stocks I already own and/or using margin to cover puts on stocks I'm waiting for the price to come down on.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
2012 Q4 Dividend Total
Q4 continued the trend of 8 quarters of continued dividend growth for me. During the last 3 months, I had 4 stocks increase their dividend (noted by white cell). My 2011 Q4 dividend total was $122.05, so as you can see the $393.51 collected last quarter was quite a jump. New capital and the corresponding stock purchases and dripped returns all played a part in the increased rate of dividend return. Looking forward to seeing what the Q1 total will look like.
1/14/2013 Weekly Options
Here are my weekly option trades for this week:
Results:
BAC calls:
With BAC price dropping last week, the $12 calls expired worthless so that is money kept. I am still very bullish on BAC, so any dip in capital is not too concerning for me. The biggest decision to be made tomorrow is to resell these at $12 or go for a $11.50 call to colllect more profit for the week. Will have to see how the market opens tomorrow and decide.
F puts:
F made it interesting on Friday, hovering at $14, but in the end these expired worthless as well, so profit taken. I'm also very bullish long term on F, so even if assigned I wouldn't have been concerned.
BAC puts:
Took somewhat of a gamble and were assigned these. I will definitely sell $11.50 weekly calls on these tomorrow. Entry price point for these 500 shares is $11.31.
Monday, January 7, 2013
1/7/2013 Weekly Options Trades
Going to start sharing the weekly options I'm doing as well. I have set up all my dividend accounts with margin and use that margin money to try and drive weekly, passive income, without having to touch my dividend "base" stocks. As you will see, these are still well known stocks, some have dividends, others do not.
So this week so far, I've brought in $793 in passive income.
Results: AA expired worthless, although capital dropped, will resell $9.50 calls or sell stock and move to a new position, cost basis is sub $8.50 from prior call expiration's on this one.
BAC - took a gamble on this 12.50 put, the stock dropped capital as well, I will be assigned stock at $12.11 on Monday. I will most likely sell $12 weekly calls and only take out the differnce of the premimium. Ie if I can get .16 cents for the call, will only take out .05/share to get the costs basis down to $12 in case BAC raises to $12 by end of week and I'm forced to sell.
Ford puts expired worthless, so money in the bank.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Q1 2012 Progress and Options/Day Trading
So I've been horrible about updating this bad boy, but hopefully will find more time now. I know most of the bloggers seem to do a monthly review, but I don't think that will work for me. Being a husband, a father of two and trying to hold down a job and train for an Ironman all that same time eats up a lot of my "free time".
To sum it up, this past quarter was a good one. 5 of my stocks raised their dividend amounts, bringing my quarter total to $161.55 of dividends received, which I'm very happy about. Considering Q1 of 2011 I brought in $17.94, you can see it's around a 1000% increase. Obviously additional stock purchases played in here, but none the less, the train is heading in the right direction. I still firmly believe that dividend growth stocks are the most sound way to invest and continue to plan on using this as my A1 strategy for my retirement.
That being said, I have really become interested in options, some day trading, and even riskier, hold your breathe, --- penny stocks. Although I realize these investments are definitely more risky, it adds an element of "fun" to my days, almost like I'm going to Vegas from the comfort of my office, lol. Not to mention, I try to set a limit of $1K per transaction, so if I do get burned, the loss isn't that great, relatively speaking.
I've become pretty well read on covered calls as well as puts, and now that I have my feet wet so to speak with a few trades, I think both strategies can provide a nice little enhancement to overall return. Covered calls can almost be viewed at as "dividend enhancer" if played right, and puts you can use to sit and wait, while collecting a premium, until a stock you want gets to a price you like. Both are win/win in my book. Even if a covered call gets called you away, just simply re-initiate in the stock and it's like you never lost it in the first place.
The way I use the profits from the options/day trades/etc.. is to include that into my core reinvestment that I make each month, so essentially it helps me to build more capital (faster) to invest in DGI stocks.
Below are the options and trades I have made so far, as you can see, I've had some hits (and the biggest one AUMY, was a impulse buy without even thinking or taking a quick look at the stock chart, lesson learned). But even with my losses, overall I'm up close to $1200 in just 3 months.
Well that's all for now, be back in June at the latest, but I hope to try and post more.
-The Dividend Addict
To sum it up, this past quarter was a good one. 5 of my stocks raised their dividend amounts, bringing my quarter total to $161.55 of dividends received, which I'm very happy about. Considering Q1 of 2011 I brought in $17.94, you can see it's around a 1000% increase. Obviously additional stock purchases played in here, but none the less, the train is heading in the right direction. I still firmly believe that dividend growth stocks are the most sound way to invest and continue to plan on using this as my A1 strategy for my retirement.
That being said, I have really become interested in options, some day trading, and even riskier, hold your breathe, --- penny stocks. Although I realize these investments are definitely more risky, it adds an element of "fun" to my days, almost like I'm going to Vegas from the comfort of my office, lol. Not to mention, I try to set a limit of $1K per transaction, so if I do get burned, the loss isn't that great, relatively speaking.
I've become pretty well read on covered calls as well as puts, and now that I have my feet wet so to speak with a few trades, I think both strategies can provide a nice little enhancement to overall return. Covered calls can almost be viewed at as "dividend enhancer" if played right, and puts you can use to sit and wait, while collecting a premium, until a stock you want gets to a price you like. Both are win/win in my book. Even if a covered call gets called you away, just simply re-initiate in the stock and it's like you never lost it in the first place.
The way I use the profits from the options/day trades/etc.. is to include that into my core reinvestment that I make each month, so essentially it helps me to build more capital (faster) to invest in DGI stocks.
Below are the options and trades I have made so far, as you can see, I've had some hits (and the biggest one AUMY, was a impulse buy without even thinking or taking a quick look at the stock chart, lesson learned). But even with my losses, overall I'm up close to $1200 in just 3 months.
Well that's all for now, be back in June at the latest, but I hope to try and post more.
-The Dividend Addict
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
My Story
Well it's been a while since I've been able to touch this, but things at work have finally settled down, so let's get back to it.
I figured for my first real post, it's probably best to start at the beginning. I have been gainfully employed since May of 2000, luckily all this time at the same company. My early investing days were nothing special. I participated in not only our employee stock purchase program, but as well as in our 401K program. Long story short, we eventually went private to reorganize our company, so we got compensated for our public stocks, which was not much to write home about for me. Throughout this I continued to put money away into my 401K however.
As the years went on and I became more and more interested in the market and strategies, especially since 2000 to current is being called the worst 10+yrs in the history of the market, I was looking for a way to generate returns without having to "guess" on which stocks would give you a capital gain. Almost by accident I had an account (I have 3 currently. 401K, "Fun Money" and my "Self Run 401k" - which is my dividend portfolio) that just happen to have MCD and PEP in it. I kept noticing every quarter that these stocks would not only give me back some money, but every year or so, the amount seemed to go up. Not being a finance major, or ever really being taught on economics, I went to research why I was getting this money back. Low and behold, the word "dividend" was something I became very interested in and read up on it as much as I could.
This was around 2008 and I decided to create my "Fun Money" account. I was still throwing as much money as I could into my 401K and pretty much that was it. I decided to explore these dividend stocks a little more and create the account thinking I'll see what kind of returns I can create with it. Even through the rough market times of 2008 until now, the account consistently was throwing off increasing dividends (and since I got in at some of the lows of 2008, some nice capital appreciation as well). I thought to myself, "Wow, there is something here behind this strategy."
So after playing with the "Fun Money" account for 3 years, I decided to change my retirement strategy as well. In Jan of this year, I decided to cut my 401K contributions to the amount where the company matches it fully and take the rest and run my own "401K" account. There were a couple of reasons I felt this was a good move.
1. Late last year, my normal 401K account had grown luckily to over 6 figures. I am very lucky/fortunate in finding the job I have, I realize this every day. That, along with my desire to have financial stability, has lead me to be a very prudent saver. The amount in there at such a relatively young age, at least in regards to investing, had given me a sense of security so to speak to explore other options.
2. One of the biggest flaws I see in the 401K is the minimum age before you can touch the money. Say you are fortunate to retire at 45, or even 50. Well guess what? You can't touch the 401K without paying "penalties" before 59. Personally I'm hoping to retire before 59. So this presented a problem, how would I support myself before 59 if I'm retired? I needed a way to "fill in that gap" so to speak. And dividends spoke to that need loud and clear. (Yes I realize on the flip side that dividends are taxed, etc, etc, to me the trade off of having the money when I want it without penalty and being able to do with it what I want is worth it to me). On top of this you have to actually sell the mutual funds in your 401K to get your money, yes some mutual funds pay distributions, but they can be inconsistent and can go up and down themselves. So eventually, your 401K goes from it's full amount on the day you retire to zero (well in theory at least). To me it seems there has to be a better option than that.
3. It's fun, it's really a hobby to me now. This stemmed from my "Fun Money" account. Checking the different company links when you know the general time of announcement dates, seeing the dividends increase year after year, watching your personal dividend paybacks going up quarter after quarter in the numerous spreadsheets. To me it's really exciting and an enjoyable way to pass some time.
4. It's not only setting up me, but my children and their children for future generations. I'll go into this in another post, but with dividends, it's all about having time to let the dividends grow. Eventually my plan is to roll my dividends into my estate plan, so when the reaper gets me, I have set up parameters to where my children (two girls), will not be able to sell any of the stocks I acquired (unless certain parameters are hit where a stock is tanking), but rather will continue on receiving the dividends I had established. (And hopefully in 50+ years, some of those might be throwing off 30-40% annually for them)
So that's my story for now. Currently, like I said, I have 3 accounts. My normal 401K, my "Fun Money" account, and the "Self Run 401K" account that I started in Jan 2011, that this blog will focus on. I plan to very transparent with the amounts I have invested, returns, etc. Also if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. As the disclaimer states, I'm no trader, financial adviser,etc. Just a normal guy who has done a lot of reading on dividend stocks and who really likes this strategy to investing. I'll leave you with my current returns, and in the next post go over the different stocks I have right now, why I chose them, and the margin strategy I am currently engaged in as well.
I figured for my first real post, it's probably best to start at the beginning. I have been gainfully employed since May of 2000, luckily all this time at the same company. My early investing days were nothing special. I participated in not only our employee stock purchase program, but as well as in our 401K program. Long story short, we eventually went private to reorganize our company, so we got compensated for our public stocks, which was not much to write home about for me. Throughout this I continued to put money away into my 401K however.
As the years went on and I became more and more interested in the market and strategies, especially since 2000 to current is being called the worst 10+yrs in the history of the market, I was looking for a way to generate returns without having to "guess" on which stocks would give you a capital gain. Almost by accident I had an account (I have 3 currently. 401K, "Fun Money" and my "Self Run 401k" - which is my dividend portfolio) that just happen to have MCD and PEP in it. I kept noticing every quarter that these stocks would not only give me back some money, but every year or so, the amount seemed to go up. Not being a finance major, or ever really being taught on economics, I went to research why I was getting this money back. Low and behold, the word "dividend" was something I became very interested in and read up on it as much as I could.
This was around 2008 and I decided to create my "Fun Money" account. I was still throwing as much money as I could into my 401K and pretty much that was it. I decided to explore these dividend stocks a little more and create the account thinking I'll see what kind of returns I can create with it. Even through the rough market times of 2008 until now, the account consistently was throwing off increasing dividends (and since I got in at some of the lows of 2008, some nice capital appreciation as well). I thought to myself, "Wow, there is something here behind this strategy."
So after playing with the "Fun Money" account for 3 years, I decided to change my retirement strategy as well. In Jan of this year, I decided to cut my 401K contributions to the amount where the company matches it fully and take the rest and run my own "401K" account. There were a couple of reasons I felt this was a good move.
1. Late last year, my normal 401K account had grown luckily to over 6 figures. I am very lucky/fortunate in finding the job I have, I realize this every day. That, along with my desire to have financial stability, has lead me to be a very prudent saver. The amount in there at such a relatively young age, at least in regards to investing, had given me a sense of security so to speak to explore other options.
2. One of the biggest flaws I see in the 401K is the minimum age before you can touch the money. Say you are fortunate to retire at 45, or even 50. Well guess what? You can't touch the 401K without paying "penalties" before 59. Personally I'm hoping to retire before 59. So this presented a problem, how would I support myself before 59 if I'm retired? I needed a way to "fill in that gap" so to speak. And dividends spoke to that need loud and clear. (Yes I realize on the flip side that dividends are taxed, etc, etc, to me the trade off of having the money when I want it without penalty and being able to do with it what I want is worth it to me). On top of this you have to actually sell the mutual funds in your 401K to get your money, yes some mutual funds pay distributions, but they can be inconsistent and can go up and down themselves. So eventually, your 401K goes from it's full amount on the day you retire to zero (well in theory at least). To me it seems there has to be a better option than that.
3. It's fun, it's really a hobby to me now. This stemmed from my "Fun Money" account. Checking the different company links when you know the general time of announcement dates, seeing the dividends increase year after year, watching your personal dividend paybacks going up quarter after quarter in the numerous spreadsheets. To me it's really exciting and an enjoyable way to pass some time.
4. It's not only setting up me, but my children and their children for future generations. I'll go into this in another post, but with dividends, it's all about having time to let the dividends grow. Eventually my plan is to roll my dividends into my estate plan, so when the reaper gets me, I have set up parameters to where my children (two girls), will not be able to sell any of the stocks I acquired (unless certain parameters are hit where a stock is tanking), but rather will continue on receiving the dividends I had established. (And hopefully in 50+ years, some of those might be throwing off 30-40% annually for them)
So that's my story for now. Currently, like I said, I have 3 accounts. My normal 401K, my "Fun Money" account, and the "Self Run 401K" account that I started in Jan 2011, that this blog will focus on. I plan to very transparent with the amounts I have invested, returns, etc. Also if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. As the disclaimer states, I'm no trader, financial adviser,etc. Just a normal guy who has done a lot of reading on dividend stocks and who really likes this strategy to investing. I'll leave you with my current returns, and in the next post go over the different stocks I have right now, why I chose them, and the margin strategy I am currently engaged in as well.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Welcome!
Hello All! (Well at least those unfortunate to have stumbled upon this by mistake somehow, ha). As stated in my profile, I think about investing ALL. THE. TIME. If they had a twelve step program like AA for investors, I would definitively have been through it several times already and lined up ready to go through it again. As I tell my wife, there are worse things to be addicted to.
This blog will be my ramblings in regards to my investments, some of the different "techniques" I use, my portfolio progress, and my dreams of grandeur.
I will post as time permits, hope you enjoy whatever small nuggets of info I can provide.
--The Dividend Addict
(Disclamer: I am not a professional investor, nor do I pretend to be. All ramblings are representative of my thoughts and are opinions only, I don't need any of you trying to sue me off of things I post on this site, haha)
This blog will be my ramblings in regards to my investments, some of the different "techniques" I use, my portfolio progress, and my dreams of grandeur.
I will post as time permits, hope you enjoy whatever small nuggets of info I can provide.
--The Dividend Addict
(Disclamer: I am not a professional investor, nor do I pretend to be. All ramblings are representative of my thoughts and are opinions only, I don't need any of you trying to sue me off of things I post on this site, haha)
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