Weekend Reading – April 19, 2013

I’m greatly looking forward to this weekend. As I write this it’s Friday evening and I’m worn out. Unfortunately, I also have to put in about 5 hours tomorrow morning at work. I’ve already logged 50 hours, so it’s been a long week. And people actually wonder why I’m pursuing financial independence/early retirement?? Anyway, once I’m done with work at about 1 p.m. tomorrow I’m ready to live it up this weekend!

I’ve actually rented a room at The Helmsley Sandcastle for one night. This is a hotel right on the beach on Lido Key, FL. This hotel is located about 14 miles from our apartment. My girlfriend and I check in Saturday afternoon and check out Sunday morning. It’s her birthday and so I wanted to do something different and fun. It’ll just be the two of us, so we’re both greatly looking forward to staying right on the beach for the night and grabbing some grub at a nice restaurant for dinner.

Have I gone crazy? What about living frugally?!

Well, this is the cheapest beach side hotel in the entire area, and I paid just over $130 for the night all-in. Plus, we can get there by bus so there is no need for a big taxi bill. We’re basically doing a little ‘staycation’ for the weekend. It’ll be fun, different and relatively inexpensive. Plus, my girlfriend has been incredibly supportive of my journey to financial independence and I think she deserves a special little treat for her birthday.

But, enough about me. I hope all my readers out there have a wonderful, safe and very enjoyable weekend!

Here are some excellent articles from fellow dividend growth investors, frugalists and personal finance bloggers from the past week.

5 Dividend Stocks Trading at Appealing Valuations
Dividend Monk put a nice list of five dividend stocks that he believes are trading at attractive valuations. Interestingly enough, I recently purchased two on the list: BBL and APD. Good stuff!

Six Dividend Paying Stocks I Purchased for my IRA
Dividend Growth Investor shared some recent moves, as he publicized some recent investments and why he decided to put some capital to work inside a tax sheltered account. I love the list, and all six are large holdings for me.

Recent Buy: Teck Resources and Barrick Gold 
Dividend Ninja highlights some recent investments in commodity-based companies. I guess he and I were on the same wavelength as I recently deployed fresh capital into the aforementioned BBL and APD investments. Way to go, Ninja!

Reader Question – What stocks have paid dividends for generations?
My Own Advisor answered a reader question when he listed numerous companies that have paid dividends for many, many decades. Many of these companies have been paying dividends since the 1800’s! Simply mind boggling when you really sit down and think about it. WWI, WWII, Vietnam, The Great Depression, the end of the gold standard, the fall of the Berlin Wall have all occurred during this time and  yet these companies kept sending dividend checks to their investors. Wonderful!

Proctor & Gamble Dividend Stock Analysis
Passive Income Pursuit analyzed Procter & Gamble (PG) and decided it was currently overvalued. This is a very high quality company, and just recently raised its dividend for the 57th year. But as always, one shouldn’t overpay even for high quality. It would probably be prudent to wait for a pullback in PG shares before buying.

How I Lost $1,400 Today and Why That’s Okay
Kraig talked about being greedy when others are fearful, as he decided to deploy $5,000 worth of fresh capital into an index fund he is currently long on after the recent broad market drop this past Monday. Great long-term vision and good move. I also deployed capital on the same day in BBL after it dropped over 5%.

An Amazing New Prescription Medication
MMM had a fantastic post on an “amazing new prescription” that is guaranteed to increase your overall health and lead to an almost immediate impact on how you feel. It’s called – wait for it – walking. Great stuff, as always.

Why Do People Hate Their Jobs?
Think you really love your job? Think I’m crazy for actually wanting to retire by 40 years old? Read this fantastic and humorous post by James Altucher. Funny, but unfortunately truer than one would like to believe.

Retire by 40: What’s wrong with this goal?
Integrator wrote a thought-provoking post on why so many people have so much vitriol for people like me who want to retire at a young age. Is it ignorance? Jealousy? I’m not totally sure what it is, but I think there are a lot of people out there chained to their jobs, mortgages, car loans, credit card bills and the like…and so anyone like me who pursues freedom is like a leper. I’m generally supportive of all kinds of lifestyles. As long as you’re not hurting anyone and you’re happy I say live and let live. It’s unfortunate that there aren’t more people out there that are generally supportive of other ideas and lifestyles. Close-mindedness is very unattractive.

Portfolio Update Q1
The Dividend Guy reviews his portfolio for the first quarter and the performance of it thus far. Great list of stocks there. I own many of those myself and I’m generally happy with how the first quarter has gone. I wish there were more attractively valued stocks, but I haven’t been afraid to deploy capital as April was one of my biggest months in a long time in regards to new purchases and capital deployment.

Full Disclosure: Long APD, BBL

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: Benoit Mahe

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19 Comments

  1. DM,

    Thanks for the mention my friend. Enjoy your stay on the beach. As you know, I booked a stay at the same place at your recommendation. I’m looking forward to it and to hanging out with you a bit.

    If people think your stay is “non-frugal”, uh oh, because I booked 3 nights. Sometimes, we need some beach time though, even if we’re on a path to financial independence. Right?

  2. Thanks for the link DM. Enjoy your time away!. The family and I are off to Australia at the end of the week for some down time. Burnt out and could use the time away and i didn’t even put in 50 hours this week!

  3. Looks like April is a good time for a short vacation. My wife and I will be heading to Nashville next weekend. I’ve never been but have wanted to go for quite a while. Plus we get to do it on the cheap since she has an old college friend that lives there and is letting us stay. No hotels for us!

    Thanks for the mention and enjoy your weekend!

  4. F the Frugal! Live it up for one night. LOL… You deserve it! I am sure you and your GF will have a great time. 🙂

    Mantra, your purchase of BHP Billition was an excellent choice. When I looked at the market cap, I was blown away. btw Thanx for the mention.

    Cheers

  5. MFIJ,

    Thanks!

    We enjoyed it quite a bit. It was a great break from the usual routines. We got to/from the hotel easily by bus and had a great 3+ hour dinner at a bar up the road where we ate, drank, talked and laughed for hours. Always good to reconnect with those closest to you.

    Hope you had a great weekend too!

    Best wishes.

  6. Kraig,

    I think you’re going to love it. The place is literally right on the sand, so you’re just steps away from the Gulf. It’s not luxury by any means, but very laid back and cool. Two pools and a nice poolside cabana/bar. We walked to and from the main drag (St. Armand’s Circle) in about 20 minutes. It’s a nice walk down the beach.

    I’m with you on having fun along the way. Life is a journey, not a destination!

    Looking forward to meeting you and the girlfriend. I hope the weather cooperates with your trip. You’re going to have a blast!

    Take care!

  7. Integrator,

    We thoroughly enjoyed the time away. Even though it’s not far up the road, it felt like a world away. Very nice.

    I hear you on being burnt out. I’ve been personally burnt out for a while now, but I’m working hard now so that I can buy freedom for decades. I’m busting my ass for a greater good, and do hope I can become free even earlier than 40. We’ll see how it goes!

    Enjoy your trip! I hope you and your family enjoy!

    Take care.

  8. Onassis,

    Thanks for the kind wishes! She had a great birthday. She had some Stella Artois and oysters on the halfshell. Right up her alley.

    I hope you enjoyed your weekend! Thanks again for the support.

    Best wishes!

  9. Pusruit,

    Haha! The hotel had no idea who I was. My 15 minutes is up, but this blog is just getting warmed up. I’m just grateful to have a platform to share inspiration even if the national media doesn’t continue to show interest.

    Enjoy your time in Nashville. I went there about 5 years ago with my family when my uncle was on a project down there and my family and I had a great time. Great town and a lot of fun. The honkeytonk bars are just as lively as ever, and the live music is spectacular. Although it comes across as a party town, it’s just a lot of fun. Pretty good food (great BBQ) and a very energetic downtown. Have fun!

    Best wishes.

  10. Ninja,

    Haha! We definitely lived it up for the night. It wasn’t luxe living, but it was right on the beach. A quaint hotel, but it was a great time.

    BBL looks solid here. The valuation is very attractive right now, especially with the 30%+ underperformance of the greater market. The yield is nice, and I hope they can grow the dividend in the mid-single digits even when the cycle is down. We’ll see. It’s very cyclical.

    Hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

    Best regards.

  11. w2r,

    Definitely! It’s absolutely possible to have fun and enjoy life while still living frugally. I sometimes think people get the impression that all I do is work hard, write on the blog and sleep. My life is much more than that, and it’s just a shame that the national media didn’t really show that.

    Thanks for stopping by! Hope you had a great weekend. Like the new look of your site, by the way.

    Best wishes!

  12. I’ve stayed there for a week. Love the Helmsley and love Lido/that area of Sarasota. What I loved most about it is the non-luxury vibe and being surrounded by people genuinely happy to be on vacation. Enjoy!

  13. Ken,

    How cool! You’ve been there? Glad to hear you loved your time there.

    Yeah, we enjoyed it. Definitely a non-luxury vibe with the 50’s look and feel. It was located right along the bus line for Rt. #4 so that worked out fantastic. And, it was a nice walk down the beach to St. Armands and all the restaurants/shops etc.

    I definitely live in paradise! I’m very, very lucky.

    Best regards!

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