Investing Pursuits: October 2013

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Signs of an Improving Economy

Just a few years ago, there was a major recession. It was the biggest financial melt down since the Great depression that started in 1929. The chart below represents some of the major markets over a 5 year span.

              Blue Line    = S&P 500 (Up over 80%)
              Red Line     = DJIA (Up over 60%)
              Green Line =S&P TSX (Up over 30%)

Markets Over Last 5 Years

For stock market year to date as seen big increases in the major Indexes. The major indices are as follows:
                 Green Line    = S&P TSX up 6.85%
                 Red Line      = DJIA up 16.09%
                 Blue Line    = S&P 500 up 20.33 %

Major Markets YTD

With the markets doing as good as they are, it is difficult to find stocks of good companies trading at attractive yields. They are a few gems out there but they require more work to find them. Currently as I wait to find a company to invest in and building my cash position. I would like to see a minor pullback before I pull the trigger on a buy transaction.

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Monday, October 21, 2013

A New Record..

Recently on Oct 15, I had my highest one day total of dividends and distributions (as I own a few REITs)..

I received a total of $149.26 in dividends and distributions. Of this $149.26 total, $56.00 is from a swing trade I have which will not be counted in my monthly dividend update. That is $149.26 I got paid for just being an owner of high quality companies.

Also, Emera recently increased its dividend to 1.45 per share. This represents a 3.57 percent increase in the dividend which is equivalent of a 3.57 percent raise for doing little to no work. Gotta love it and other companies I own will likely have a bigger dividend increase.

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Monday, October 14, 2013

Income Streams

Often, people have only one source of income. That is often an income from a job. If a person is married, the couple often has only two incomes coming in from their jobs. As an employee, an individual if taxed at the highest rate, which is commonly referred to as earned income or marginal tax rate. When an individual makes more money this way, they get taxed even more as they get put in a higher tax bracket.

                                             (image courtesy of www.bmichellepippin.com)

      A person can have multiple streams of income. These other streams of income can come things such as businesses ( 100 % owner or partial ownership), rental properties, network marketing, bond interest, interest from savings accounts, and peer to peer lending. Interest from bonds, savings accounts and peer to peer lending are taxed as earned income, there is no extra taxes like CPP and EI in Canada or like the extra taxes in the United States.
      Income from businesses and investments are taxed less and some of these incomes can be done with little to no effort. There is only 24 hours a day so the amount of money a person can earn from his job depends on his wage and the amount of hours he or she works. If you own a dividend paying stock, then the company will pay you on a monthly, quarterly or semi-annual basis for being an owner in their company. This is like clockwork as along as the company continues to be profitable. The dividend can be increase, cut, and stay the same year to year.
        If you own a rental property that positive cash flows after the expenses of the property are paid, that money is extra money that you have to pay your own bills or do whatever you like. There are four types of income with a rental property that show up on a financial statement. Rental Income, Depreciation, Appreciation and Amortization

The biggest benefit of multiple streams of income is that it can make your life a lot less stressful as you will still have money coming in if one of the income streams is eliminated. Currently, my main income is from a job and is supplemented by dividend income from the companies that I am a part owner of.

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Thursday, October 3, 2013

Portfolio Update

Another month has come and gone and time to an update of my portfolio.

I made one investment directly though the transfer agent. I purchased 1.752 shares @ $42.80 for a total of $75.00. When dealing with the transfer agent in most cases there is no commission.

I also DRIP a few stocks and acquired a few more shares though this avenue.
   - 6 shares of Just Energy (JE.TO) @ $6.64
    - 2 shares of Enerplus (ERF.TO) @ $17.38
    - 0.037 shares of Enbridge (ENB.TO) @41.94

I have updated my investment tab spread sheet.

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