Weekend Reading – November 30, 2013

Thanksgiving is now behind us, and 2013 almost is as well. Time flies by for me these days. I seem to recall time itself passing by much slower when I was a child. Days took forever, and summer break seemed to last for years. It’s exactly because time seems to tick away faster and faster as I get older that I’m choosing to chase down financial independence with such gusto. I want to slow time down to a trickle.

You know, I really love this time of year. The air is cool (even here in Florida), the trees are shedding, football is in full swing and the holidays mean more time with family. It’s also a great time to reflect on what’s come to pass and what’s yet to be. I’m greatly looking forward to ending 2013 on a high note and starting off the new year in fantastic condition.

The weekend is here. Let’s enjoy our time and be thankful for all that we have. I’m going to be reviewing the month of November next week, and it was another great month, financially speaking. December is likely going to be even better, so let’s keep fighting for every inch of freedom!

Below, you’ll find a short list of articles I’ve recently read and enjoyed. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Seattle man who wore clothes with holes, clipped coupons leaves $188M to institutions
This is a really inspiring story of a man who lived his whole life extremely frugally, all the while saving and investing his way to almost 200 million dollars only to give it all away to local institutions in an amazing act of posthumous philanthropy. Although I can honestly say I wouldn’t live such an ascetic life if I had that kind of wealth in my pocket, I admire and respect his choice. A really amazing human being. I one day hope to be able to be in a position to be philanthropic as well, although I doubt I’ll ever acheive this level of giving.

Challenge – Do Not Overlook These Future Dividend Challenger Stars – Part 3
Chuck Carnevale published another finely detailed article on current value in the market. I appreciate Chuck’s astute eye for value and quality, as many of us value-based dividend growth investors have an insatiable appetite for the same.

Why Warren Buffett purchased Exxon Mobil stock?
Dividend Growth Investor highlights some of the reasons Buffett decided to initiate a fairly sizable position in Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) recently. I like the reasoning here, as I purchased stock in XOM before the news came out. Exxon’s scale is massive and they have a rich history of rewarding shareholders with rising dividends and share buybacks.

Financial Independence: Two Years Ago (November 27, 2011)
FI Fighter shares a letter he wrote to himself two years ago. This was meant to inspire him to reach for financial independence, and escape the rat race once and for all. It seems he’s done a great job living up to his words so far.

Recent Buy
Passive Income Pursuit recently purchased shares in General Mills, Inc. (GIS). I think this is a fantastic company, and I’m hoping to one day add it to my own portfolio. I’m stalking this name continuously.

The 100% Off Black Friday Sale 
MMM shares with us a completely different perspective from the traditional “retail therapy”. While I don’t subscribe to the notion of avoiding retail spending completely (I recently upgraded my wardrobe), and especially not when it comes to exchanging gifts, I do put in great effort to live as frugally as possible and limit extracurricular spending. Of course, I do also get a big thrill out of giving and sometimes people enjoy things I can’t build with my own hands. Great article here to keep things in perspective, however.

Do You Control Your Life?
James reminds us to not let fear control our lives. There’s forces out there clamoring to derail your future and all of your plans. Fear of these forces will not help you, simply because you cannot control them. Focus on what you can control and let fear slide away.

My Venture Fund Update: BitCoins, Outsourcing, and O&G
This is a really neat update from Financially Integrated on a venture capital fund he started himself to seek opportunities for outsized gains. Although it’s a small part of his wealth, it’s an interesting strategy with a higher risk/reward relationship than traditional dividend growth investing.

November Recap
Compounding Income updates us on his performance for November, and things keep trucking along for him. He made some great purchases and had a handsome dividend total for the month.

We Can Travel Again!
Joe’s little RB40 Jr. is growing up, and now the family can actually travel again. He recently flew for the very first time – the little guy is getting big. As I mentioned at the top of the article – time sure does fly by.

Full Disclosure: Long XOM

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: Benoit Mahe

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16 Comments

  1. DM,

    Thanks for the mention! That Seattle story really is inspiring… and like you, one day I’d like to be able to give back and do some good. Post-FI I’d like to be able to spend a lot more time volunteering, teaching, and giving back… in a way, landlording allows me to do that now since I have direct control over it. Next month, I’m planning on giving small gifts to each of my tenants to show my appreciation.

    Have a great weekend!

  2. FI Fighter,

    Good for you giving back like that! I’m positive your tenants will really appreciate that.

    Yeah, that story was quite inspiring. I admire his courage and his drive. His love for fellow man and simultaneous ability to be unaffected by money is probably unrivaled. A really amazing story. And, although probably lost in the amazement of this man’s giving, the fact that his family was proud of him and not bickering over the fact that they didn’t get a piece of the pie is also refreshing.

    Best wishes!

  3. D-S,

    Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoy the upbeat atmosphere here. You won’t see me complaining about any misfortunes when I’ve already been incredibly lucky. 🙂

    I hope things are going just as well in Germany.

    Cheers!

  4. Nice roundup Jason. I really like these abstracts because you follow different blogs than I do. I also had to smile about the Seattle man who gave so much to charity. I also believe General Mills is an awesome company to hold for the long run. My valuation estimate for a factor of safety and a 15% annualized forward return is $43.5-$44. If anyone wants to see the math behind it, it’s on a post from earlier this fall. All the same, It’s on my list for a pullback. Have a great week
    -Bryan

  5. Your positive attitude makes me happy again and again!
    Many people only see the sad and bad.
    But you also see the other side and this is very important to have a good life.
    Keep it up!

    regards and have a nice weekend!
    D-S

  6. Thanks so much for the mention! I don’t think I’d have lived as frugal a lifestyle if I was sitting on a $188M portfolio, but that’s awesome that he gave it to charities/institutions. My plan whenever my time is up is to leave some money to my children to help them along in their own financial paths but to also leave a good chunk to charities. Hope you had a great weekend!

  7. Bryan,

    I hear you on GIS. I think your fair value estimate is probably pretty accurate. Certainly I always try to find a reasonable price range for a company based on intrinsic value, and sometimes that range is quite wide. I think you could make a case that today’s price on GIS is probably on the upper end of that range.

    I hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

    Best regards.

  8. Pursuit,

    No problem at all. 🙂

    I hear you. I wouldn’t be living a lifestyle that could be necessarily classified as “frugal” if I were sitting on a couple hundred million dollars, but I’d still love to be able to leave a lot of it behind to loved ones and fellow man. There is no way I could spend that much money in three lifetimes.

    Best wishes!

  9. Hi Jason,

    Like your reading recommendations, quite appreciated.

    As most of us, at the moment I’m trying to organize myself and defining my next purchases in this heated market. One of the values I have checked for some times is POT. In my opinion this industry has a bright future since it is linked to agriculture, which should experience business growth as world population increases.
    It seems to have strong balance sheet, currently fairly valued and providing good YOC. Nevertheless, I was not able to find the dividend policy followed by POT, I have seen payout below 10% for some years what is a little bit strange or not appropriate for our dividend growth strategy.
    I do not see it clear with POT, which is your view?

    Following similar reasoning, I’m following up DE. Here the dividend history and policy is much clearer and it is also at a fair value at the moment. Did you consider this company?

    Cheers!
    HB

  10. Thank you for including me in your weekend review. The story of the Seattle Man is amazing.

    I read somewhere about some guy in Sweden, who everyone believed was poor, but who left a few million.

    Have a nice week ahead!

    DGI

  11. HB,

    POT is interesting. I’d look at them like BBL – a miner of natural resources. I’m invested in BBL, and so far it’s been a mediocre investment. The problem with miners like this is that they simply provide a commodity, and so pricing power is limited. The one thing I liked about BBL is that they have a nice dividend growth track record, which is something POT lacks. Furthermore, BBL is the biggest player, whereas POT operates in a fragmented industry (from what I understand).

    DE looks pretty solid. It appears to be pretty cheap. I think that would be my preferred ag play out of the two.

    Best wishes.

  12. DGI,

    An amazing story, indeed. Very inspirational.

    There’s been a few cases like this where people think someone is poor, only to find out after their death that they were rich and they left everything to an alma mater or charity.

    You have a nice week as well!

    Take care.

  13. Love the “Any Given Sunday” reference regarding fighting for every inch of financial freedom. You mixed sports motivation with financial motivation… mind blown.

  14. Tyler,

    Ha! I remember watching that movie, and even though it wasn’t particularly realistic in any manner it was still a fun, entertaining flick.

    I love watching football, and as I type this I’m watching the Giants vs. Redskins game. So I guess you could say we’re fighting for those inches all the same.

    Hope all is well over in your neck of the woods!

    Best regards.

  15. Thanks DM, appreciate the mention. As the others said, intriguing to read the story of the philanthropist who donated $188M. I’d love to be in a position to donate just 1% of that amount some day 🙂

  16. Integrator,

    I’m with you. I’d love to one day be in the position to donate just a tiny fraction of that money. I can only continue to work hard and hope.

    Take care!

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