Bought: CL, HRL, MDT, VFC

Today marks the end of 2016.  While there seems to have been many celebrity deaths this year and an "interesting" presidential election, this was a good year for me.  I paid off my mortgage, welcomed a second child into the family, and was still able to invest a decent amount of capital into dividend stocks.  With the increase in interest rates and a new president elect, it will be interesting to see where the stock market goes in 2017.  Either way, I'm looking forward to the new year.  Cheers!

Below is a summary of my recent purchases for the month of December:

Monthly Report: November 2016

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of November 20, 1016:

Bought: CL, CLX, GIS, MDT, UL

Things have been crazy hectic recently as we just welcomed a new child into the family.  With the first child, everything's all new so the challenge is learning everything for the first time.  With the second child, the challenge is learning how to juggle two children simultaneously while being sleep deprived.  It's definitely been a blessing having another child; I'm just extremely tired and running on a few hours of sleep every day.

In any case, I've made some recent purchases for the month of November which I'll quickly summarize below:

Monthly Report: October 2016

Donald Trump's victory at the polls on 11/9 was quite a surprise, especially since the majority of all the polls were showing that Hillary would win the election.  Whether it was Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, the president-elect would make history.  First reality TV show star as president or first female president.  It will be interesting to see how Donald Trump's presidency will play out.  For the sake of our nation, I hope he succeeds as the next president.  Let's see how his presidency will affect our economy, the stock markets, and foreign relations.

Now onto talking about my progress towards financial freedom!

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of October 31, 2016:

Bought On Loyal3: DPS, K, KO, MCD, PEP, TGT, UL, VFC, WMT

It sucks when there are buying opportunities in the stock market and you don't have the capital to invest in everything you want.  If I had more cash on hand to invest with, I'd be buying up stocks left and right the way the stock market has been recently.  Unfortunately, since I don't have enough capital on hand to invest in everything I want, I have to invest in smaller amounts across different companies.  And that's one of the reasons why I love Loyal3.  It allows me to invest in companies with as little as $10.  Given that I don't have enough capital to invest in different stocks that I want without the commission taking a decent hit, I've decided to invest in stocks offered on Loyal3.

Monthly Report: September 2016

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of September 30, 2016:

Bought On Loyal3: KO, PEP, TGT, VFC, WMT

After paying off my mortgage, from that point forward, my strategy to attaining financial freedom as quickly as possible is by investing aggressively and consistently in dividend growth stocks, regardless of how the stock market is doing.  There have been studies that show that it is better to put all your capital in the stock market in one lump sum investment rather than spreading it evenly across 12 months.  And since it is impossible to time the market perfectly, that is what I plan on doing - investing as much of my savings as possible into dividend growth stocks.

Bought: ADP, CLX, PEP

The stock market has been really interesting these past few days... There was a huge pullback where many companies saw a drop in their share prices.  But then in just a couple of days, the prices are pretty much back where they were.  During the slight market sell off, I made a few more purchases to my Roth IRA account, maxing out my Roth IRA contributions for the year.

On 9/16/2016, I invested in three companies in my Roth IRA.

Monthly Report: August 2016

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of August 31, 2016:

Bought: TGT, VFC

I have been contemplating back and forth recently about whether or not to max out my Roth IRA and my spouse's Roth IRA since I am aiming to achieve financial freedom as soon as possible.  Financial freedom is the point in which my passive income can cover my living expenses.  In terms of retiring, I believe I won't be able to retire (quit working in corporate America) until I'm 56 years old.  The main reason for this is because I would like to pay for my children's undergraduate education, or help out as much as I can so they don't graduate with a ton of student debt.

For this reason, I had considered maxing out only my Roth IRA account and investing the rest to dividend growth stocks in a taxable account.  After weighing out the pros and cons further, I think I am going to max out both our Roth IRA accounts before investing in the taxable account.  Why?  Because of the tax advantages.  Lord willing, I will eventually turn 59.5 year old so I'll still need money from that age and onward.  All the dividends coming out of my Roth IRA account at that time will be tax free.  Another important factor is that my beneficiaries will be able to take out distributions tax free until the money runs out.  So from a legacy planning point of view, the Roth IRA is an excellent tool.

Bought On Loyal3: TGT, VFC

Now that my mortgage is paid off and my emergency fund is rebuilt, this month marks the beginning of my plan to invest in dividend growth stocks aggressively.  My plan is to consistently invest every month in dividend growth stocks, regardless of how the stock market is doing.  I plan to invest when the stock market is at all time highs, and when the stock market is at all time lows.

How To Get Started With Investing

I recently had a reader ask if I could write about how to get started with investing, which I gladly accepted.  I love helping others, and if there's anyone reading this that is new to investing, I hope you find this useful.

Below are some tips that I believe is important if someone wants to get started with investing:

Bought On Loyal3: TGT

On June 28, 2016, I had paid off the mortgage on my home.  As a result of that payoff, I had pretty much depleted all of the cash in my savings account and needed to rebuild my emergency fund.  By the end of this month, I should have enough cash in my savings account after paying off my monthly expenses.

With many dividend stocks trading at higher prices, I don't feel like I've really missed out on any big opportunities.  However, once my cash in my emergency fund is rebuilt (which should be by the end of this month), I will begin investing aggressively.

Thankfully though, Loyal3 allows investors to invest with as little as $10, which is pretty sweet.  So I decided to invest a small amount of capital when I saw one of the companies recently have a pullback of around 6%.

Monthly Report: July 2016

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of July 31, 2016:

Monthly Report: June 2016

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of June 30, 2016:

I Paid Off My Mortgage!!

On August 18, 2015, I had made two big decisions: to pay off my mortgage as quickly as possible and to contribute $3,000 per year to my Roth IRA account.  On that same day, I also set a goal to pay off my mortgage by the end of 2019.  It has now been a little under a year and I have done it!  I have officially paid off my mortgage today!  I can't even describe how wonderful the feeling is... it's like this weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  I feel this sense of freedom and joy I never imagined I would feel.  I now can sleep better knowing that if something were to happen to me or I were to lose my job (God forbid), at least my family would have a roof over their head.

Monthly Report: May 2016

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of May 31, 2016:

Bought On Loyal3: TGT

I purchased the following stock in my Loyal3 account on 5/23/2016:

Monthly Report: April 2016

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of April 30, 2016:

Monthly Report: March 2016

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of March 31, 2016:

Monthly Report: February 2016

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of February 29, 2016:

I Refuse To Sell Stocks At A Loss

In my years of investing, I have always refused to sell stocks at a loss.  Now I know some people may think this is foolish since many investors sell at a loss to harvest capital losses or to cut their losses.  Personally, I would rather hold a stock with huge unrealized losses on paper than to sell them and realize those losses as a reality.  If you don't sell the stock at a loss, you don't actually recognize the loss; you just have an unrealized loss on paper.  Once you sell it, that money is lost and gone.  I know people say you sell to cut your losses, but for me, if I'm a long term investor, then I plan on sticking around for the long haul.  Most people forget that when you purchase a stock, you are essentially purchasing a business.  Every business will have its ups and downs; you just have to be able to stick with them through the good times and the bad times.

Bought On Loyal3: AXP, TGT, VFC

I purchased the following stocks in my Loyal3 account on 2/9/2016:

Monthly Report: January 2016

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of January 31, 2016:

Bought On Loyal3: DNKN, YUM

I purchased the following stocks in my Loyal3 account on 1/11/2016:

2015 Goals Progress

On my 9/8/2015 post, I had written that the point I can retire is when my passive income I receive exceeds my expenses.  And that amount is $3,000 per month in passive income.  Therefore, my goal at that time of the post was to receive $36,000 in dividends by 2041.  I had also posted a breakdown of target dividend income goals for each year from 2015 to 2041, which can be found here.

2015 Annual Summary

Now that 2015 is over, it's time to take a look at my results for the year from a big picture standpoint.

2015 Passive Income Coverage

My ultimate goal is to be able to retire by the age of 56, which will be in 2041.  As I've mentioned from the very beginning and in the "About Me" page of my site, my strategy to reach early retirement is to have multiple streams of income from interest, dividends, and rental income.  The point at which I can retire is when my passive income exceeds my expenses.  Therefore, I plan on posting at the end of every year the amount of expenses that is covered by the passive income I have received.

Since interest income can easily change with changes in interest rate and the principal balance in a bank account, I will only consider for purposes of my "Passive Income Coverage" posts my passive income from dividends and rental income.

Below are my dividends and rental income for 2015:

Monthly Report: December 2015

I post an update every month on the taxable dividend income I receive in my brokerage accounts, the non-taxable dividends I receive from my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my taxable brokerage accounts, the market value of my Roth IRA accounts, the market value of my 401(k) account, and my savings rate.

Below is the monthly report as of December 31, 2015: