2020 GOAL UPDATE - MARCH

Back in December, I posted some lofty goals for 2020.   Both financial and personal.

In the past I would claim some New Years' resolutions, but would just forget about them or feel it is too late to achieve after a month or so.  I would put them off and put them off and not have anyone or anything to keep me on track.

Posting them on this blog forces me to stay true to my word.

With this awful Coronavirus plague going around, most everyone is suddenly living a much different life.  Locked in.  Possibly no work.  Have a huge T. P. stash.  Lots of called foods.  Movie/show binging.  And cabin fever.   It could really throw a wrench into the goals

Here are the goals and my progress so far:

FINANCIAL PROGRESS:

GOAL	AMOUNT	SO FAR	REMAINING	%
$5,000 to Fidelity	$‎ 5,000.00	$‎ 1,100.00	$‎ 3,900.00	22.00%
Save $16K for bills	$‎ 16,000.00	$‎ 5,000.00	$‎ 11,000.00	31.25%
BBBY	$‎ 270.14	$‎ 280.32	$‎ (10.18)	103.77%
COST	$‎ 1,395.80	$‎ 1,522.07	$‎ (126.27)	109.05%
HD	$‎ 754.01	$‎ 712.08	$‎ 41.93	94.44%
SBUX	$‎ 172.63	$‎ 175.19	$‎ (2.56)	101.48%
T	$‎ 3,006.81	$‎ 858.37	$‎ 2,148.44	28.55%
TGT	$‎ 4,085.92	$‎ 347.11	$‎ 3,738.81	8.50%
	$‎ 30,685.31	$‎ 9,995.14	$‎ 20,690.17	32.57%

Been doing good in this aspect!   I have no bills at all, so all of my income has been going into savings and Fidelity.  I have not bought any shares for the past 4 weeks, so it have a nice fat stash to go shopping with once the markets settle a bit more.


PERSONAL PROGRESS:

1. Take a spring road trip.  Yellowstone would be ideal.  I AM THINKING THAT THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN THIS YEAR.  THANKS COVID-19...THANKS A LOT

2. Exercise more.   I was doing well until my right knee and left achilles acted up.  Fell out of routine.  BEEN REAL GOOD! ESPECIALLY WITH THE STAY AT HOME ORDER.  LOTS OF DUMBELL WORKOUTS, BIKING, AND WALKING.  

3. Drop about 20 lbs.   6 LB DOWN SO FAR

4. Drink more green tea. HAVE AT LEAST 2 CUPS PER DAY UNTIL THE STAY AT HOME ORDER.  I WOULD HAVE THEM AT WORK.  GOT TO MAKE IT AT HOME.

5. Sell off some of my record collection.   It was a long term goal to sell eventually.  Well, I have run out of room.  I think I would rather sell than keep some of the ones I rarely listen to.  NO ONE IS BUYING ANYTHING ON EBAY DURING THIS PANDEMIC.  TAKING  A BREAK FROM IT FOR A WHILE.

6. Improve piano skills and improve guitar skills. LITTLE AT A TIME.

7. Blog more. I WILL POST MORE NOW THAT I AM NOT WORKING AS MUCH. THIS PAST MONTH HAS BEEN ALL ABOUT CLEANING UP STUFF AT WORK, STOCKING UP FOR THE STAY AT HOME, CLEANING HOUSE, AND WORKING OUT.  I WILL FIND MORE TIME.

8. Enjoy more oysters like these.  AFTER JANUARY, I HAVE NOT HAD THE CHANCE.  I AMY HAVE TO GET SOME AT THE GROCERY STORE THOUGH

LOCKDOWN LIFE

Well well well.  This has been a completely unforgettable month.  But one that we'd all like to forget.

My kid has been out of school since the second week and my job basically shut down this last Wednesday after the Governor declared a stay at home order for everyone and all non-essential businesses.   That means everyone is now locked up with their giant packages of toilet paper.

Cabin fever?  Actually no.  Maybe it's the Gen X in me.  Maybe it's the fact I was an only child and found ways to entertain myself.  In fact, it's a bit of a recharge so far after the stressful last few weeks not knowing what will happen.  The CoVid-19 stress created too many distractions at work to be able to full focus on my duties.

To stay entertained, we have been pulling out the old video game consoles and gave them a whirl. 
Like Wii  and the Fit 2 game.

Peanut did not fully approve.

And the old Nintendo NES

Wow.  Fun.  Simple, corny fun.   CoVid free fun..

I also get to focus on parts of my life that I struggle to fit in.   Fitness and gardening. 
I've been really hitting the "home gym" over the past 5 days.   Actually, it's the Sworkit app on my AppleTV.   Pulled out the dumbbells and now I am so sore, that I have discovered muscles I never knew I had.    Done quite a bit of biking with my daughter too.

The garden got going a tad early for the Seattle area.  I did not know if I would be able to find any tomato starts later on, so I got 9 of them with the idea that some may not survive the cool spring.
I put them in pots to keep the soil warm in the sun and put a black planter pot around them for that insulation effect.

I also planted 41 lettuces and over 100 sweet onions for the green onions.  Six Lacinato kales, a few new lavenders for the vacant spots, and sowed some radish seeds.

Now I need to finish up weeding the area behind the raised bed.  Actually can't wait.

Financially, I made sure all credit card debt is gone.  Well, all but the $100 for some stuff for my mom and new parts for my barbecue. No big deal.  Life with employment being in question is much less stressful with no debt whatsoever.  We'll get back to work someday, but is it 2 weeks?  A month?  Two months?   It's good to know I have no debt cloud over my head.

In the investment world, I've been holding back on purchases until I feel we won't have another giant free fall.  If I miss some deals, so what.   Investors took a huge hit over the past month. I'm down about 35% since the free fall.  But I am still earning dividends and hanging on.  Of the 98 companies, 4 suspended their dividend.  They will return and I am confident this will only be a blip in the big scheme of things.

 I'll be posting soon on what I am looking at.  There are some great deals out there.  Some companies are fairly recession proof.

The world will definitely be a different place after we pull through this plague.   Whole industries will emerge.  Others may fade away.  There is no way we can predict this with any accuracy, or we would be gajillionaires.

Until then, please stay safe.  Hunker down and enjoy home life.  You will have the cleanest home with the greatest garden in a month!

Toodle-Oo.

CORONAVIRUS STOCK OPPORTUNITIES

Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen an unprecedented shake up on Wall Street.  Whole sectors, like restaurants and airlines, implode.   The world changed when the decade began.  Completely.

This is the cleaning product isle at a Target in Seattle.  Need I say more?

The next isle with the toilet paper was also empty.

There is a huge sense of panic that resulted in enormous swings.  Up 25 one moment, down 30 the next.  Kind of like my college football team, the Washington State Cougars...

I am on the side of holding on and riding this thing out.  If I had sold once it cratered, my paper losses would become real cash loss.  Future buying power would be 20% lower than before.  I'd rather keep my current cost basis. 

But not all is bleak.  There are some opportunities out there that are sort of immune to the pandemic.  

When the market crashed, many investors cashed out and went into hiding, opening up some opportunities 

 So I've been looking at companies that have minimal impact from this pandemic, as well as some that seem to be able to take the body blows of this instant recession. 


AT&T (T)

Since the new fad activity here is social distancing, people are hunkering down, going online, and binge watching. 

AT&T has taken a hit and dropped to the $31 dollar range.  Their current dividend rate is a whopping 6.33% at the time of this writing.  I would not be surprised if the stock hits 29 or 28 soon and then begin a slow climb back.

The debit is a bit high.  But they are not going anywhere.

People are still using their phones. Most likely more than ever to stay in touch.  I feel that T is a great opportunity.  Once I have some more money to invest, I think I will pick up a few shares


HORMEL FOODS (HRL)

With nothing open  (I'm in Seattle), people are avoiding restaurants and staying home with the groceries they hoarded.  This is where Hormel can be a great opportunity.

One thing that will help them ride this out is the fact that they have low debt.

Not a big dividend at 1.93%, but they are a Dividend Aristocrat.  It will be be a good place to start up a position and let them raise that dividend like they have for many years.


KIMBERLY CLARK (KMB)

A major player in Consumer Staples, KMB is in a good position to rake in the dough while America hoards 25 years of toilet paper.   They make Cottonelle, Wondersoft, Viva towels, Scott towels, and Kleenex.   Their dividend is currently at 3.19%


PROCTOR & GAMBLE (PG)

Another Consumer Staple giant.  The maker of Tide, Cheer, Downy, Bounce, Charmin, Bounty towels, Gillette, Comet, Cascade, Crest, Ivory, Old Spice, and many others.

The thing to do is stay home and clean everything like crazy.  Proctor and Gamble is in just about every home in the first world.

The numbers are not the best for them, but is about the safest company out there.


Stay safe everyone, and remember to wash your hands and quit touching your face!

MARCH 2020 WATCH LIST

With the extremely fluctuating markets over the past 10 days, I decided to revisit my watch list.

I'm always looking for good value and to add a company to my stash to add more stability to my portfolio.   The more companies you have, the safer it is overall. 

With 97 companies in the portfolio, if one  goes down the tubes, I have merely lost small percentage of my portfolio.  Having all your eggs in one basket is opening up yourself to potential catastrophe. 

Imagine having only 10 companies and see one go tits up?  10% of your portfolio is gone.   Having 97 companies and not allowing any one of them to be disproportionally owned, I'd only lose about 1% of one goes to hell.

My watch list is a list of companies I do not yet own.   I actually keep tabs on the ones I already own and will also add to them if it becomes a great value. 

I look for 6 basic things a company needs to have to make my list:

1. Good dividend yield.  I prefer to beat inflation. The green cell means it is over 3.5%
2. A Payout ratio that allows growth (under 60%)
3. Solid dividend increases.  I like looking at a 5 year average.
4. A price to earnings (P/E) under the S&P average of 22.
5. Earnings Per Share Growth over 5%
6. PEG ratio around 1.

Not all of these companies are 5 for 5.  Look at LYB.  It still makes my list because its' a solid company with a long track record of adding to its dividend.

The one I rally am digging this month is John Deere (DE).  I am a bit weary of Royal Caribbean Cruises due to the virus, but I'l  keep an eye on it.  ...That's why this is a "watch" list...

Things are going so up and down that this may be obsolete info by tomorrow.... 
but here it is. 

SYMBOL	Yield	PAYOUT RATIO (under 60%)	5 YEAR DIV INC %	1YR. P/E (under S&P 22.02)	EPS Growth (over 5%)	PEG (1 or under ideal)
AMP	2.69%	29%	10.83%	12.83	-1.69%	1.11
DE	1.86%	29%	6.23%	15.98	61.79%	0.98
LMT	2.39%	44%	9.86%	19.8	24.66%	2.25
LYB	5.58%	44%	8.45%	8.55	-19.88%	2.14
RCL	3.93%	32%	22.87%	12.58	9.45%	1.14
RHI	2.71%	35%	13.56%	15.26	39.56%	2.59
SNA	2.89%	35%	15.3%	12.72	4.55%	1.91
UNP	2.39%	46%	14.17%	21.87	5.8%	2.03

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY OF THESE.  THIS IS WHAT I AM CONSIDERING. NOT YOU..  DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH FOR GOD'S SAKE.

FEBRUARY 2020 BUYS

Ahh, shopping.  All my life I have loved shopping.   Now that I am semi responsible, I now shop for stocks to buy.  It provides me a source of passive income and a sense of accomplishment knowing I am one day closer to being financially independent. 

February was a strange month.  We started with a major challenge finding stocks of value, to seeing the market tank from Coronavirus fears.   I also made a great looking bacon burger with cheese sauce..

Most all of my buying was in the earlier part of the month, so I did not have much to spend when the bargains were available.  Oh well. 

I spent $1,734 for the shares below.  The purchases added $51.20 to my annual dividend income.  That's a 2.9% return on average.  Along with dividend increases, I gained $171.06 in annual income. 

Here's what I got.....

Ticker	Date	QTY	Price	Total	DIV INC / Yr	YIELD
HD	02/05/20	3	$237.3615	$712.08	$16.32	2.31%
TGT	02/11/20	3	$115.7024	$347.11	$7.92	2.26%
BBBY	02/11/20	1	$14.7161	$14.72	$0.68	4.76%
IPG	02/24/20	4	$23.8969	$95.59	$4.08	4.18%
WU	02/24/20	4	$25.1750	$100.70	$3.60	3.49%
MCBC	02/24/20	10	$10.5400	$105.40	$3.20	2.99%
MS	02/24/20	2	$49.7760	$99.55	$2.80	2.67%
BOH	02/24/20	1	$87.0900	$87.09	$2.68	3.00%
DK	2/28/20	8	$21.5521	$172.42	$9.92	6.09%
TOTALS				$1,734.66	$51.20	2.95%

I mainly focused on making purchases in the companies I spent money at.  That's part of my goal I posted about earlier back in August.  Get back what I spent... I want to make my purchasing power go further...

That's why I got shares in AT&T, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Home Depot.  I will continue this as the year goes on, but will balance it out with other purchases. 

I did start some positions in companies that I have had an eye on for a while:    All grow dividends at a good clip and are undervalued at this time.

IPG (Interpublic Group) is a media is a worldwide advertising and marketing company.  Their dividend is over 4% and raided it by 16% over the past 5 years.  I needed more exposure in this sector.

WU (Western Union) is the well known payment services company.  Their dividend has been rising at a 12.47% clip over the past 5 years and have a 36% payout ratio.  Room to grow.

MCBC (Macatawa Bank Corp) is a 27 branch Michigan Bank that has been growing its dividend at a 31.95% clip over the past 5 years and its payout ratio is still in the low 30% range.  Lots of room to grow!

MS (Morgan Stanley) came on my radar after it took a huge dip when it purchased E-Trade this month.  It became a great bargain and has solid numbers.  Over the past 5 years, it has grown it's dividend 28.47%.  Wow.

BOH (Bank of Hawaii) is another one at a great value with a P/E of 13.  I love everything Hawaiian...

DK (Delek Holdings) is a small cap downstream energy company that pays a huge dividend.  They refine gasoline, has some pipelines, and run 279 convenience stores in Texas and New Mexico.  They sell gas as 7-11 and Alon brand names.  Their P/E was at a bit over 5 and I could not resist.