Made it Home!

I returned home from my former overseas job two weeks ago and I have to say I’ve found a renewed appreciation for life in the U.S. and with my family.  I’m now working a standard 40-hour week with weekends off.  While overseas, I’d typically work 6 days a week ranging from 60-80 hours.  Although 40 hours is a far cry from the retirement schedule, it is an improvement from my last work schedule.

Since I’ve returned I’ve been busy with family, my new job, and catching up with work on our house.  Once life settles down a bit and I have a routine established I should be able to focus more time on my blog again.  For now, I just wanted to pop in with an update.

On the investing side I added PM and CLX to my Roth IRA.  I’m getting closer to maxing out my Roth which is one of my goals.  Also, I’ve had an opportunity to play with the OptionsHouse app for Android-based smartphones and so far it is fairly decent.  I even used their app for my CLX purchase.  I promise, I’ll provide an OH review in the future once I feel like I’ve had enough experience with their services to provide an objective review.  So far, I’m pleased with what I’m getting from OH for $4.75/trade.  I’m also occasionally making smaller buys using my LOYAL3 account.

Until next time…

DD’s July 2014 Dividends – Personal Record!

For those of you keeping score, you might have noticed that I haven’t posted my monthly dividend returns since May. The reason for this is because June’s returns were lower than May’s and didn’t deserve a post in my opinion. But now I have some good news to share once again with July’s dividends. I hit a personal record for monthly dividends with ($11.91). This is more than all of my dividends combined from January through June. Most of the heavy lifting was done by a boost to MORL’s dividend this month and the decent, steady yield of KRFT.  While I’m nowhere near retiring on $11 a month, it feels good to see a new personal best.

Here’s a breakdown of my July dividends:

LOYAL3 ACCOUNT

– PEP = $0.07

– KO = $0.23

– NKE = $0.03

 

ROTH IRA

– MORL = $5.80

– KRFT = $5.78

 

Grand total for July = $11.91

 

Although I’m pleased to see my dividend income growing, I’m far from satisfied. I’m looking forward to reporting my next dividend record. Thanks for stopping by.

 

I’m on My Way…Home Sweet Home!

As I talked about in my last post, I’m starting a new job soon. But first I have to travel halfway around the globe to reach home. I’ve spent more than a year working overseas while only seeing my family about 45 days during the last 17 months. Needless to say, I’m excited to reunite with my family and be able to return to an active role as a father and husband. While my time overseas allowed me to handle some financial responsibilities and experience a different part of the world, it is time to return home. I’m going to try to keep the blog going during my transition but no promises. Between traveling, catching up with my family, and preparing for my new job I have a feeling that the next few weeks will be busy. I’ll try to check in along the way though. To celebrate, grab your hairspray, blow dryer, eyeliner, tight pants and chaps and jam to some Motley Crue. I’m on my way home, sweet home.