My First $10,000 Investment

milestoneJohnson & Johnson (JNJ) closed above $100 today – $100.18 to be exact. As I own 100 shares, this means my current investment in Johnson & Johnson is worth $10,018.00. Although, my cost basis is significantly lower – at $6,478.24.

This is a bit of a milestone for me, since I’ve never had so much invested with one company before. For perspective, this is almost twice as much money as I paid for my used 2006 Toyota Corolla.

And although I don’t really emphasize the value of my portfolio at any time since the passive dividend income is what will ultimately buy me my financial independence, I won’t dismiss the fact that having five figures invested in one company is somewhat psychologically satisfying. And while I’d prefer the value of my Freedom Fund to actually decline, or at least stay stable, in any given time period so that I can purchase high-quality stocks for less money, if it’s a rising tide that I’m investing in then so be it – my boat will get lifted with the rest.

But I think what’s particularly exciting about this event is that when I was first starting out as a young investor with very little knowledge of what I was doing, I had run into multiple articles and quotes where writers and other investors would point to what an investment of $10,000 in a blue chip company, say, 10 or 20 years ago would look like today.

Let’s take a look at Johnson & Johnson specifically, since I now actually have this much invested in the company today.

If you had invested $10,000 in Johnson & Johnson 20 years ago you’d have…drumroll, please…an investment now worth $144,475.88. That’s a total return of 1,347.36%. This is assuming $9,982.00 invested on April 22, 1994 which would have garnered you 248 original shares. Those 248 original shares have now turned into 1,444 shares, including stock splits and assuming dividend reinvestment along the way.

I don’t often go through calculations like this on Dividend Mantra because I don’t believe in picking out a couple of huge winners and backtesting them to prove some future theory that may or may not come true. This blog is instead about taking theory to reality – where the rubber meets the road, if you will. As such, I track current dividend income and transactions as they occur. However, it’s still just plain fun every once in a while to look at eye-popping numbers like what JNJ has been able to post over the last 20 years! Really incredible stuff.

I don’t know if JNJ is going to produce results like this over the next 20 years, and frankly it doesn’t matter to me. If they can grow dividends by 6-10% per year like clockwork then that’s all I really need to succeed and reach my goals.

However, what this post should really be about is the power of persistence and pennies. I didn’t invest $10,000 in Johnson & Johnson just this morning. No, this investment was accumulated over the last four years. You can see that my cost basis is significantly below the current value, and that’s because I painstakingly invested in Johnson & Johnson over the years. I purchased 20 shares in June 2010, 16 shares in January 2011, and 17 shares in February 2011 – all transactions that went through before this blog went live on the internet. Since I’ve been blogging, I purchased 17 shares in March 2011 and 30 shares in January 2013.

You can see that this five-figure investment wasn’t made in one swoop. It took patience, persistence, and perseverance. It took time. And it took willpower and a belief in what I was doing. And I still believe in what I’m doing to this day.

Castles aren’t built overnight. They’re built one brick at a time. As such, my freedom castle will be built one investment at a time. However, it’s days like this when I see that the bricks are definitely stacking up in my favor. Stick with your strategy, work hard, stay persistent, and you’ll also see a castle sprout up in front of you.

Full Disclosure: Long JNJ

How about you? Hit any major milestones lately? 

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: digitalart/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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120 Comments

  1. Ha, 10K is a lot of money – for a cashier working at Wal-Mart this means 8 months worth of spending 40 hours/week behind a cash register. But for JNJ, the stock has gone up up and up.. I still remember though, when everyone had written the company off in 2010-2011, when it was selling for $60.. Of course, earnings and dividends would likely keep going up over the next decade.. I am very confident dividends will rise by at least 6% through 2024..

    Anywho, in a few years, you will also get to your first $10K in annual dividend income.. I think that is the time when compounding would really start doing the heavy lifting for your financial freedom.

    Good luck in your dividend investing journey!

    Dividend Growth Investor

  2. DM,
    Congratulations on that great milestone! You’re right, all those long term calculations use $10,000 as a starting point and they grow from there. JNJ is a solid DG companies. I don’t own it yet. Been waiting for a better dip to pick up in my Roth. My top three holdings have all reached $9000 and then fallen back under. That doesn’t feel great, but its bound to happen. Now my top 3 are all back up in the $9000 range, and one, CVX is approaching $10,000. When it hits, I’ll be pretty darn excited.
    -RBD

  3. great stuff!! Next thing you know you will be posting your first $15k investment because JNJ will continue to grow EPS and grow its dividend.

  4. Congratulations!! This is awesome! Since most of us are not born into money, the best way is to build block by block. My first $10,000 investment was purchased Feb 28, 2014. It is the 2 bedroom/2 bathroom condo my husband and I bought as our 1st place. Hopefully in the next 2 years we will purchase our actual house and use this as investment/rental income.

    The $10,000 was saved during our college years as we worked and invested in 401K’s from those jobs. We then used those accounts for the down payment.

    Again, congrats!

  5. DGI,

    As someone who grew up poor in Detroit, the fact that $10,000 is a lot of money is definitely not lost on me. It’s taken a lot of hard work and a dash of luck, but I’m glad I stuck with it. 🙂

    And I definitely can’t wait to hit $10k in annual dividend income. Now that will be a milestone surely worth celebrating! I may even spend a dollar or two in the process. 🙂

    Keep up the great work. I’m sure you’re far ahead of me in terms of dividend income and investments, but we’re all in this together!

    Best wishes.

  6. Hi DM,
    Do you always pick individual stocks? Have you considered dividend ETFs? And if you have considered them, why not use them? Stock picking seems like the tough part of your current process. I would think an ETF such as a dividend aristocrat index would add diversity to the holdings…

  7. RBD,

    Nice job there with your big holdings. CVX is one I’d love to have north of $9k invested in! I actually thought PM would be my first investment to surpass this level, but JNJ snuck up from behind. I’m not exactly complaining about it. 🙂

    Have fun watching those holdings all eventually surpass five figures. Exciting stuff!

    Best regards.

  8. FFdividend,

    Thanks!

    Yeah, I expect JNJ to continue performing well over the long haul. Anything could happen over the next year or two, but looking out over the next decade or so I expect great things from Johnson & Johnson.

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Cheers.

  9. fiveoh,

    Thanks so much! I’m really glad to be hitting milestones like this. It just goes to show the power of hard work.

    Hope all is well with your journey as well!

    Best wishes.

  10. Jacque,

    Nice job on the condo there! Hopefully, it turns out to be an excellent rental property for you and your husband. I haven’t purchased property yet, but I’m not against eventually buying a place. It would likely be a condo as the idea of cutting grass, raking leaves, doing repairs, etc., totally turns me off. 🙂

    And you’re right: For most of us, wealth is built one dollar at a time. Of course, it’s much more enjoyable that way! Working hard for your wealth makes you realize just how difficult it is to save that money, and so you’re not in a big hurry to spend it once it accumulates into a large sum. You can actually appreciate it. Being given money doesn’t have that same effect.

    Best wishes.

  11. Another great post…..Who ever said Buy and Hold is dead??? If the company is a well run company with a “moat” around, it will pay “dividends” in more ways than one..

  12. Investing Pursuits,

    Thanks!

    And I think the buy-and-hold strategy is alive and very well, assuming you’re continually monitoring your investments.

    I like to think of this blog and the dividends themselves as the “proof in the pudding”, if you will.

    Thanks for stopping by. I do appreciate it. And thanks for the support. 🙂

    Cheers.

  13. ILG,

    Thanks so much. I certainly hope you’re right!

    And I can only wish you the same exact success. We’re all on the same team here. 🙂

    Best regards.

  14. Jason:
    LOL! I also have 100 shares of JNJ with an ever so slightly different cost basis of $6,037. As with you, it’s my first individual stock holding to reach the $10K level. It’s a good feeling indeed. Not really a DGI issue, but my wife and I also just reached a significant milestone with regard to total net worth (due in part to dividend investing). I love progress, don’t you?

  15. DM,

    Good stuff! Like you, I accumulated my shares a few years ago in the midst of all the product recalls. I remember reading all kinds of articles about how JNJ was stale, how it ran out of gas, how it was dead money. And it was for a while… yet it kept on raising dividends every year. JNJ is pretty much firing on all cylinders at the moment, especially for a large cap company.

    Keep your eyes peeled for a dividend raise the next week or so!

  16. Congratulations,DM!!

    A great achievement!!! You’re such an inspiration to me that I’m planning to begin a blog in spanish about dividend investment. I’m only in my first year of investing, so I’m a rookie :). Keep the good work!!

    Homi

  17. This is an important milestone, if only to give you a nice psychological boost. These are the things that we have to look for along the way to stay motivated. Of course, the dividend income is the supreme metric to follow, but it doesn’t hurt to get a kick out of some of the other metrics.

    I’m glad I doubled down on JNJ a couple of years back. I knew they would come around at some point and overcome their near term challenges.

    Right now RTN is my highest position, due in large part to doubling over the past year or so. I’ve thought about selling part of the position and investing that money elsewhere, but I don’t feel like doing that at all. Why rock the boat?

  18. I’m a baby boomer, therefore my investment strategy is totally different than you young dividend bloggers. I recently receive $1248.56 monthly dividend, based on $153383.74 in funds I am still adding more money to funds a little by little. At the end of year, half of funds that I own will give a chunk of sweet special dividend on top of monthly one. Dividend life couldn’t be more sweet than this. Now, here is my dilemma. I couldn’t find one blog just like yours, but written by baby boomer generation. I guess that senior citizens usually don’t want to reveal their financial situation to the public. Maybe, I should start one. What do think Mr. Mantra? Anyway, I noticed that you are writing blog more often recently, thank you for that. I could tell that you were very happy with dividend growth. Think of your dividend growth more often. It will make your long day short.

  19. Hi dividend mantra, I only began my ff journey about a year ago in my last yr of grad school. Your blog has been great in helping me lay the groundwork and I am owning seven great companies. For my next purchase may I ask your opinion on Microsoft and teva? Thanks.

  20. Congrats on that milestone, Jason.
    With that cost basis, looks like you got in at a really good price. I am waiting for a better price to add to my position.

    Best wishes
    R2R

  21. DM!

    Thank you for all the content these last few days 🙂

    Wowzers!! Congrats on reaching 10K in a single company, and what a great pick in JNJ. It’s wild that this is only a few years into the journey… Amazing progress already. Great work !!

  22. Congratulations! 10k is an awesome amount, though I bet you’re secretly hoping the stock price drops again so you can buy more at a cheaper price. (I am too!)

    Times will get really fun when the dividends that your account is pulling in are approaching what you initially invested. Passive Income Pursuit calls this the payback period. While it doesn’t really mean much, it is still fun to follow.
    http://www.passive-income-pursuit.com/2012/02/payback-period.html

    The data comes out slightly different (for what reason I don’t know), but there is a site called longrundata.com that can calculate similar 20 or more year scenarios for any number of stocks. It is fun to play with. It also gives historic dividend growth rates and split adjusted 30 year dividend histories. Quite a useful website!

    Keep up the great posts!

    Scott

  23. Congratulations on the milestone. My first $10,000 happened two years ago when MCD ran up to $100. It’s basically the same price now as it was then after falling back, but has payed dividends along the way and remains a solid company. Hopefully JNJ doesn’t fall back like MCD did, but if it does, it’s dividends are just as assured.

  24. DM, congrats on the milestone. JNJ was one of my first purchases when I started my DGI journey as well. Funny thing, both our initial JNJ purchases were in June 2010. That was a good buy for both of us.

    cheers,
    AA

  25. Congratulations DM!

    Awesome milestone there, and hugely inspiring and motivating for us newbies for DGI. I recently hit a milestone of having a portfolio of over £10,000 this month, which I’m delighted with too.

    I have a lone way to go as you can see, but reading the progress of what you’ve been able to achieve in 3 years is very exciting. Keep up the good work my friend!

    Cheers
    Huw

  26. Great news! “ER/FI” = 50% buy and hold + 50% DGI
    “The SnowBall” is getting faster and faster.

  27. Congrats! I too watched my 100 sh holding of JNJ cross the 10K mark this past week. My original purchase was for 64.32 in October of 2005. I sat and watched for years as the value of JNJ bounced very near my purchase price. Then, in the spring of 2012, the value started rising and has not stopped. I thought of using this as a bellweather telling me we are definitely in a bull market. Time to sell? 🙂

  28. Excellent achievement. Hope the $$$ keep rolling in. I recently sold the last of mutual funds in my Roth and purchased a few dividend pay stocks with the proceeds. Even through I’m comfortable with Dgi, I never focused on an entire porfolio of DGi stocks and was nervous about the new plan. However, a few weeks ago I received my first dividend payment from my new addictions. It’s still the early stages but that helped take the edge off. Hopefully by year 3 of continuous contributions and dividend growth I’ll start to see the effects of the plan. In the mean time I’ll take the $1200 in annual dividend income from the Roth.

  29. Great news! I hit $4k in T late last year and it was a good feeling. Then again, I do plan on taking some gains once it hits $5k.

    I like the idea of taking periodic gains from the ones that run up a lot. It forces a little discipline on my strategy and also ensures that you sell high and buy low(er). Given your 50%+ run in JNJ, any consideration of selling into a new position?

  30. I love JNJ! Def don’t have $10K invested in them though 😉 I don’t have $10K invested in anything.. though glad my overall portfolio is well above that amount 😉

    No milestones for me lately. Really lagging on the savings front now that I’m a full-time student again.

  31. Wow! That’s awesome! I’m purchasing ETF funds right now through Vanguard. I’ll allocate a couple thousand at the end of the year to plunge into a DRIP holding. I haven’t decided which stock to buy.Still a newbie, but hoping I can grow my net worth. This is so motivating!

  32. Congratulations on the milestone! My greatest takeaway was in the third from the last paragraph. It takes patience to purchase shares at valuations that fit one’s plan.

  33. Really insightful analysis, Jason. Like you noted, the big figures aren’t acquired overnight, but piece by piece over years and sometimes decades. It’s a slow build, but it’s better that way. You learn more.

  34. DM,

    Congrats on passing the 10k mark with JNJ. At some point in time, I hope to add this company to my portfolio. Like you mentioned castles truly are built one brick at a time, although I would consider JNJ more like a cornerstone than a brick. Best of luck in your future construction plans!

  35. Steve,

    Wow, isn’t that awesome! And you have a great cost basis on your shares there. That makes the value investor in me proud. 🙂

    Congrats to you on all of your success. Sounds like you and your wife are definitely moving in the right direction!

    Best regards.

  36. CI,

    Yeah, I remember everyone putting JNJ down back then. I was a novice investor, but even then I knew that JNJ was going to be around for decades to come. It was a no-brainer investment, and I’m glad I bought when I did.

    And I’m definitely excited for a dividend raise from JNJ. That should provide a nice little bump in my yearly dividend income. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  37. Homi,

    Thanks so much! I’m really grateful for everything I’ve achieved thus far. And I hope to continue reaching ever higher!

    And I wish you the best of luck on your new blog. I hope you find as much success in blogging as I have. It’s very time consuming, but also incredibly rewarding. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by from Spain. Good luck on your journey over there!

    Take care.

  38. Spoonman,

    Nice! RTN has indeed been on a tear over the last year or so. Good for you for riding that wave. I certainly wish I would have bought more RTN, GD, and HRS, but we can’t win them all. I also missed out completely on LMT. I was concerned about cost overruns and pension obligations, but I guess Mr. Market disagrees. We’ll see how it turns out over the long haul, but the dividend increases have been very nice lately.

    And I’m with you. This isn’t much of a DGI milestone, but it’s satisfying in certain respects. It’s nice to acknowledge stuff like this every once in a while, and then it’s time to get back to the grindstone. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  39. Young,

    I think you have a wonderful idea there. If you decide to start a blog do make sure to let me know so I can stop by. I think that’s certainly a nice niche to fill.

    And you must have a really high yield on your funds based on what you’re receiving and how much you have invested. Unless that’s a really high month? Either way, that’s really fantastic if it’s sustainable and rising. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by. An best of luck with both your investments and your newfound interest in blogging.

    Take care!

  40. Sam,

    Thanks so much! I’m glad you’ve found some inspiration here in what I’m doing. I write to inspire others, so it means a lot to me when people stop by and share their experience. 🙂

    Of your two stocks, I would go with MSFT. It’s not even a question for me. You’ve got a stable, blue chip tech company there with cash cow businesses. The yield is attractive and the valuation is very reasonable. TEVA, on the other hand, has a yield and valuation that is much less attractive right now. I haven’t followed TEVA closely, but I’d make sure to look at patents – last I knew, they were facing a patent cliff with one of their big drugs.

    Good luck and keep on building that portfolio. 🙂

    Cheers.

  41. Dave,

    Thanks for dropping by. I noticed that. However, I’m not real surprised or concerned. They are facing some high costs for expansion this year, and they’ve had some dilution recently. As such, this is probably a prudent move for them. I actually wouldn’t mind a static dividend for the rest of the year as they continue the expansion efforts, but a dividend cut would highly concern me and probably force me to sell, or at the very least reevaluate my position in the company. I would hope for continued dividend growth next year either way, however.

    Best wishes!

  42. R2R,

    Thanks so much! It’s nice to celebrate a milestone every once in a while. 🙂

    I got lucky and bought JNJ when it was much cheaper. Although, I don’t think it’s a particularly bad purchase right now. The growing EPS and dividend has supported the increasing stock price, so it’s not simply a P/E ratio expansion. The recalls hurt the company temporarily, but they’re extremely resilient.

    Best regards.

  43. Ryan,

    Hey, thanks for noticing and appreciating it. 🙂

    I’d love to post a new article every single day, and would if I had the time. Maybe one day….

    And thanks for the support. It’s been an amazing journey thus far, and it feels great to share it with so many like-mined individuals.

    Hope all is well!

    Take care.

  44. Scott,

    The $10k milestone is nice, but I absolutely would love to see the stock price fall significantly so I can pick up even more. 🙂

    And the payback period takes a long time to get to, but that’s when you’re really rolling a huge snowball down hill. At that point, you’re doing very, very well. I hope to get there one day! 🙂

    And thanks for the website. I’ve run into it before, but haven’t stopped by in a long time. Always fun to play with some numbers and drool!

    Take care.

  45. Adam,

    Thanks so much!

    And congrats to you too on your milestone. I wouldn’t mind $10k in MCD at all, and I think most people would agree with that. That’s another fantastic company that appears to be going through a rough patch right now. I’m confident they’ll figure it out.

    And rising dividends is really the name of the game. Milestones like this don’t really matter in the long-term scheme of things, but it’s nice to raise a toast every once in a while. Keep up the great work!

    Cheers.

  46. Accumulating Assets,

    That was indeed a very nice buy back then. Of course, many stocks were. So many stocks, so little cash! 🙂

    And thanks for stopping by. You’re killing it over there with dividend income. Keep it up!

    Best wishes.

  47. Huw,

    Don’t worry, my friend. You’ll get there one day too. Just keep working hard and sticking to the plan. I’m nobody special, and you can see what I’ve done. I started in your shoes not long ago, and while the road appears long you’ll soon enough not be able to look back and see where you started. 🙂

    Best regards.

  48. Under The Money Tree,

    Thanks so much. And I can only hope that I’m still healthy and able to write 20 years from now. If so, I can assure you I’ll be updating this. 🙂

    Hope all is well with your own journey!

    Best wishes.

  49. Charles,

    Haha. I don’t really drink, but I’ll do something fun this weekend for sure. My girlfriend and I are actually driving a few hours south to celebrate her birthday this weekend, so I suppose the celebration will have to be rolled into that.

    Thanks for stopping by! I know you’ve hit milestones like this a long time ago, but I hope you still enjoy them when they happen. 🙂

    Cheers!

  50. Trader,

    The snowball is definitely rolling downhill now, and I’m really fortunate.

    And the buy-and-hold strategy is definitely not dead. I’m proof of that!

    Take care.

  51. Dave,

    Congrats to you too! Feels good to be in this boat, doesn’t it?

    And I definitely don’t plan on selling here. If JNJ is more and more profitable, and continues to share that increased profitability with me as a shareholder then I’m a happy camper! 🙂

    Best wishes.

  52. I have 64 shares of JNJ; started purchasing it 4 years ago, 10 shares at a time. Im also amazed at how the price has just gone up and up and up…but geez, it makes it frustrating to buy more of it, because its always more expensive! I guess thats the good news and the good news. Congrats on having $10,000 worth. Im still awaiting that milestone with one of my stocks (I have 31)….getting close, but not there yet.

  53. Sunny,

    Thanks for the support. Much appreciated!

    And great job moving away from the mutual funds and buying high-quality companies direct. You’ll be happier and richer for it! 🙂

    Cheers.

  54. Ravi,

    I would take gains if I thought a stock was massively overvalued or couldn’t support future growth. As I don’t believe either scenario currently exists for JNJ I’m happy to continue holding. Furthermore, I expect share prices to rise in time as rising profitability supports a higher share price. Selling now might mean I miss out when JNJ is $200/share, and then I’d be kicking myself.

    Best wishes!

  55. Bridget,

    This all takes time and plenty of patience. And if I were a student again I definitely wouldn’t have the capital necessary to invest like I do. So stick with what you’re doing and you’ll get there. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  56. SFL,

    Thanks for the kind words and support. Much appreciated! 🙂

    And don’t worry about being a newbie. We all have to start somewhere. I was once a newbie myself, but the key is to learn every single day and stick with it.

    Appreciate you stopping by! Hope you stay in touch.

    Cheers.

  57. DGI sent a few of us over here to check things out a few days ago, and I’m glad he did. First off, congratulations on hitting a major milestone. I’m a Michigander (Troy) and my wife is from Florida, so it feels like we have a few things in common. I am a little bit older than you (57), but you have a much better start on investing than I did at your age. If it gives you any encouragement, I will have 19 stocks over $10K if MCD goes up 5 cents per share. By the time you hit 57 you could have more than 19. Or, you could be relaxing somewhere thinking how great it was to retire at 40. Me, I’m planning on retiring at 58. Like I said, you have a much better start than I got. Great, great job. Be blessed!

  58. Greg,

    Thanks for adding that. You’re absolutely right: It takes plenty of time and patience to see a plan like this through. This is definitely no get-rich-quick scheme, that’s for sure! But it’s definitely a get-wealthy-and-become-financially-independent-one-day plan. Works for me! 🙂

    Best regards.

  59. DB40,

    Absolutely. I think that’s what’s approachable and easily replicated about my plan. This is possible for anyone to do. It just takes plenty of persistence and patience.

    But like you said, you enjoy it more that way. I know I definitely appreciate my wealth way more now that I’ve worked for every penny of it then when it was given to me when I was younger.

    Cheers!

  60. Dividend Pipeline,

    That’s a great point. JNJ is definitely no ordinary brick; I suppose it’s actually a whole wing to the castle! 🙂

    And I appreciate the support. The construction of the castle wouldn’t be nearly as special without others to support me who are building their own castles. So best of luck with your freedom castle as well! May the moat be wide.

    Take care.

  61. Anne,

    I hear you. It’s tough to keep buying when the stock price goes up, but remember that the stock price is usually a reflection of the fundamentals of the business. A higher stock price usually means the fundamentals are improving. While this isn’t ever 100% accurate and isn’t even always the case, as Mr. Market allows emotions to run rampant sometimes, the stock price generally follows earnings. The price will oscillate a bit above and below that fair value line, but steadily rising profits usually means that, sooner or later, the stock price will follow suit.

    In the meantime, keep at it! 🙂

    Take care.

  62. KeithX,

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing. And it sounds like we do indeed have a lot in common.

    I miss Michigan and I’m currently contemplating moving back. Not looking forward to state income tax again, or winters for that matter, but I miss my family. Troy is a very nice area. My family lives a little ways away from that area, but I would sometimes go through Troy if I was in the Metro Detroit area.

    And congrats on your success. Having 19 stocks that have crossed this milestone is very impressive! I wish you the best of luck as you near retirement in less than a year. 58 may seem late if you’re reading all of these early retirement blogs, but you’re retiring really early if you compare yourself to the averages. You still likely have decades of enjoyment ahead of you, so it sounds like we’re both blessed! Keep up the great work. 🙂

    Cheers.

  63. Good point. I suppose you can also diversify some through new purchases which will lower the proportion of your portfolio that is JNJ (and every other holding that is growing). I do still see upside in T over the next two years (through 2015) as landline phone eventually dies and Uverse and wireless continue to poop cash in my portfolio. 🙂

  64. Hi Jason,

    Congratulations on your first single position $10K; that’s great news! I couldn’t help but chime in to this thread since I’m in Troy also.

    I have a small position in JNJ also that I originally started back in 2012; even that is up more than 40% now. And this is probably just me, but when I take Tylenol to fight a headache, a (really) tiny part of me is happy that it’s helping sustain my dividend payment 🙂

    Here’s to the next $15K milestone!.

  65. Congrats Jason! Way to go JNJ! Yea!!!

    I remember back in March of 2011 when JNJ was going thru those trials and it was absolutely scary to click on that buy for 100 shares! People…I had never spent that much money on anything…not a car , not a boat, motorcycle and especially not on the internet! My heart was just racing!

    But like you now I am glad I did. I appreciate your advice and thoughts over the last few years. Your generosity is appreciated from my end! I am sure I am not alone!

    Oh..one more thing for you to chew on. Possibly an idea for a future post? If you were to start over today with a blank slate which 3-5 stocks would you buy first? I think it would be fun for all of us to chime in with our top picks and reasons based on today’s prices and realities. I don’t know if anyone out there is like me but I have a hard time paying $100 for JNJ when my initial purchase was at $58? Why is that ?

    New readers would benefit and the rest of us would have fresh food for thought regarding which positions to start to add at very different valuations.

    Your thoughts?

  66. Nicely done!

    I own some shares in JNJ as well, but KO is my biggest individual US stock holding besides VTI.

    I wonder when JNJ stock will split?

    I’m guessing around $110. Just a hunch.

    Mark

  67. Congrats on hitting $10K!! I love reading all of the comments and excitement about dividend growth investing! JNJ is our biggest individual stock holding and it’s dividend history is incredible. It’s always nice to see the cha-ching every quarter. 🙂

    Our cost basis is about $63 and we just keep plowing the dividends back into purchasing more shares. I know I have posted this before but I think it paints such a great picture. If you purchased 1000 shares for $76,750 on January 1,1980 and reinvest the dividends and you would have almost 72000 shares today and $7.2MM. The turtle wins again!

  68. woo hoo! Congrats Jason on passing 10K milestone on just 1 stock. You plan to have 50 stocks and what if when all 50 passes 10K milestone, that will be some serious money: 1/2 Million Bucks! That would be be something to celebrate with champagne 🙂

    Keep up the progress. I enjoy watching your growth!

  69. DM – Well done…Congrats on the achievement! Celebrate every milestone as they are reminders that you are heading in the right direction. Use them as motivation to push to the next one.

  70. DM, have you ever considered investing in P2P lending, which has almost daily payments (if you diversify enogh). Lending Club and Prosper should averagely give 8-10% return annually.

  71. Hi!. This is my first post here after several months reading. I’ve also had a couple investments reaching a point that led me to rebalance my portfolio. Mainly because I did not properly diversify back in 2009-2010 so an increase of 25-30% in any of my few positions was a problem. But it is great to have such problems.

    Since then I began to diversify and now, thanks in part to all I’ve learnt here and in other related sites I have 21 positions and begin to feel I can sleep better. Jason, I think you make an excellent job here at dividendmantra. I am now getting almost half of my expenses from dividends. Recently I’ve also began to publicly show my progress (in spanish, sorry about that) at http://www.dividendogma.com

  72. Jason,

    Congratulations. I LOVE reading your posts. You are a fantastic writer, honest, and inclusive to all people, both novices like myself and experienced investors. I think the dividend community is so supportive overall. I am fortunate to get ideas and learn from everyone. Congrats again. I look forward to reaching that too! Mags

  73. Hi Jason,
    I’m failry new to your blog, I’m a beginner and truly have wished I knew about this 10 years ago in my twenties!
    I don’t even know you but I’m so excited for your first $10K!
    That’s not only amazing but inspirational. Your story is amazing. I truly appreciate your transparency when buying shares and reaching your goals.

  74. Impressive! Questions:
    1. DRIPS: Did you cover, somewhere on this site, whether you get synthetic DRIPs via your brokerage, or did you actually go through the process of registering a share with each company?
    2. Soon, I will have s200k to invest, once my mutual funds and lousy shares are sold off. So, I want to set up a similar dividend and DRIP portfolio. So, I’d love to hear from everyone what my first 10- 15 stocks should be.
    Thank you.

  75. Two Thumbs UP!
    Wicked Job Mr. Mantra.
    ” In order to receive, You have to give first. ”

    Look at all the love and support you have bud.

    Ill leave you with John Rockefeller’s favorite quote.
    ” Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It’s to see my dividends coming in. ”

    Isn’t that just awesome… ? We can all relate to that huh? 🙂
    Take care bud.

  76. Dividend Life,

    Another Michigander! That’s fantastic. We’re representin! 🙂

    And I’m completely with you. I wrote an article a while back on why I love to use the products and/or services that many of my own personal investments provide, and do so even though I live frugally. It feels great to drink a Propel, shop at Wal-Mart, or get gas at a Mobil station, knowing that I’m contributing to very own dividend. It’s just an awesome thought.

    And congrats to you on making a very successful investment in JNJ. I think we’ll both be very happy shareholders over the long haul!

    Cheers.

  77. Chris,

    I know exactly what you mean. When I first started out with $7,000 in my checking account and I took out $5,000 to invest everyone thought I was crazy. I thought I was a little crazy too. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I was determined to learn. It was really scary at the time, but, like you, I’m sure glad I took the plunge. Congrats on overcoming your fear and coming out much better on the other side. 🙂

    And thank you for the very kind words. I appreciate the support. The overwhelming kindness and support within this community more than make the effort worth it!

    And I actually already have an article like that in mind. I have it titled and a rough draft already written up. Obviously, the stocks change as the market oscillates, but the theme is still there. I’ve got probably 50 or 60 articles that are drafted and titled, but I just don’t have the time to write them. I hope to get this article up very soon. I think it’s extremely relevant considering that there are so many new investors just starting out and staring down a rather expensive market. It’s unfortunate, but it doesn’t mean the journey is impossible.

    Thanks for stopping by! And thanks for the idea and perspective.

    Best wishes.

  78. Mark,

    Yeah, I’m thinking JNJ will likely split soon. They haven’t split in over 10 years, which is quite a while. I would also anticipate a split around $110 per share or so.

    And I wouldn’t mind having KO as my largest individual investment. A very, very fine company. I’ve bought shares twice this year, but it takes time to build these positions up. You know as well as anyone. 🙂

    Keep up the great work.

    Best regards.

  79. itsme,

    Thanks so much!

    Glad to have you on board as not only a fellow JNJ shareholder, but a really committed one at that!

    That’s a great cost basis there. I think we’ll be very happy with buying at that price level when we look back 20 or 30 years from now. And just imagine all the dividends we’ll receive in the meantime. I get antsy and excited just thinking about it. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  80. Dave,

    I’m disappointed with the dilution as well. However, I think over the long haul this is a really strong investment. We’ll see how it turns out. I anticipate the short term to be a bit bumpy as some of their additional CapEx harms financial results, but results in better capacity over the long haul.

    Cheers!

  81. PIM,

    I think it’ll be quite a while before I have 50 stocks with that kind of capital invested, but that’ll be a sight to see indeed! And that will definitely require some major celebration, and it’ll also mean I’m financially independent at that time. I’m plenty patient, but at the same time awfully anxious. 🙂

    Thanks so much for the support and encouragement. I wish you all the same success!!

    Cheers.

  82. Frugal Family,

    Thanks so much for reminding me of that. Sometimes I stay too humble for my own good and don’t want to smell the roses. I need to remember to slow down and enjoy the milestones a bit more. 🙂

    Hope all is well with your journey, and you’re enjoying the milestones as they occur! We all need the motivation to keep going.

    Best wishes.

  83. Tauri,

    Thanks for stopping by. That’s a great question there!

    I have considered it, but I’m still a bit leery. It’s still really new, and I’m not sure the returns are commensurate with the risk. You just don’t really know who’s borrowing your money, and I’m not sure what incentive the person on the other side has to repay the loan. And I understand that the lenders that have the highest ROI typically deal with the riskiest loans. This may sound funny from someone who’s invested in 100% equities right now, but I’m not sure I have the risk appetite. Perhaps as this asset class becomes a bit more mature I might jump in. However, I’d still likely keep my allocation to P2P lending low.

    Cheers!

  84. Dividend Dogma,

    Hey, thanks for stopping by and commenting for the first time. I hope it’s the first of many! 🙂

    And congrats on your diversification and your newfound passion in blogging. I wish you the best of luck with both your investments and writing. I hope you reach all of your goals! I just stopped by the blog and had it translated. Looks really good. Keep it up!

    Take care.

  85. investingidiot,

    I’m totally with you. I wouldn’t mind a price drop either. Cheaper shares means I can buy more; however, I don’t know if I’d be a buyer right now with my allocation. Though, it wouldn’t be bad to have more long-term shareholders on board. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  86. margaret,

    Thank you so much for the very kind compliments there. I really do appreciate that. And it means the world to me to be able to write and inspire others. The fact that other people appreciate my efforts is just a dream come true to me. 🙂

    And I agree with you that this community is really unique in how supportive it is. I’ve seen other communities on the internet that have this competing nature where members antagonize each other. But we’re all here to help each other in a really genuine manner. It’s really refreshing!

    I wish you the best of luck with your goals and journey. Hope you stay in touch and keep us updated on how it’s going.

    Cheers.

  87. Mlou,

    Thank you so much! And I’m glad you found my little spot on the internet. I’m here to inspire, so I hope you stay in touch and get started on your own journey. It’s never too late to start. We’re all in this together. 🙂

    And I’m glad you appreciate my story and what I’m trying to do here. Overcoming adversity is always possible if you stay optimistic and work hard. Keep perspective as well, because someone out there has it worse than you.

    Best regards!

  88. helen7777,

    Thanks!

    And I appreciate the questions.

    First, I did cover DRIPs here:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2014/03/selective-dividend-reinvestment-vs-drip/

    Second, congrats on having some capital to work with. That’s fantastic! If I were to name 10 stocks to start out with right now I might include PM, KMI, CVX, KO, JNJ, TGT, IBM, AFL, ARCP (or O), and PEP. At that point, you’re getting a good mix of value, yield, quality, and diversification between sectors.

    I could come up with a totally different list of 10 right off the top of my head, and maybe you wouldn’t like all 10 there. But I think that forms a nice base to work off of, and none are horribly expensive right now.

    Best of luck!

    Take care.

  89. Tyler Tran,

    Thanks, man. I definitely feel the love, and it feels really wonderful. It’s amazing how much support we all give each other, and I’m incredibly proud to be a part of this community.

    And I can relate to Rockefeller 100%. Some people thought he was a heartless capitalist; I say he was just an incredibly intelligent businessman who took maximum advantage of his surroundings. And he was one of the ultimate fans of dividends. Gotta love the guy! 🙂

    Stay in touch!

    Cheers.

  90. What did you think of the JNJ dividend increase today. It seemed a little weak to me.

    Mike :o)

  91. A 6.1% increase is a little weak? I wish I got a 6.1% raise this year, or any year in the last 15. 😉

  92. mike,

    I was satisfied with this raise. Generally, anything above a 6% raise for most of my stocks – those yielding ~3% or so – is plenty enough to provide for satisfactory returns. Generally speaking, the current yield added to the dividend growth rate will give you your expected long-term return, assuming a static P/E ratio. So if you take a 3% or so yield and add in a 6% or so raise you’re getting awfully close to 10% long-term total returns. And that’s pretty solid, in my opinion.

    Best wishes!

  93. Thank you, Dividend Mantra for that list of stocks you recommended. I will look up each one. I welcome any other suggestions from readers. My goal is to invest for the long term and re-invest dividends. ( I also plan to buy a few broad market etf’s with some other money.) Thank you.

  94. Congratulations on hitting $10,000, and for having such a low cost basis. I was a bit surprised that you shared an example that would require reinvesting the dividends right back into JNJ stock. I know you don’t DriP your stocks, but an example like the one you shared, really shows the power of dripping over decades. I know there is no way to show a direct comparison, but it would be interesting to see the difference between someone who has dripped JNJ for 20 years, and someone who started with the same number of shares but decided to pool the dividends and buy other stocks along the way. I personally prefer to drip, but I see the merits of both approaches. Thanks for writing such a great blog. Best of luck to you.

  95. Congratulations on hitting $10,000.!! I am new to the blog, but I love it already. I’m debating about expanding my Roth IRA with more dividend stocks being 26 retirement seems a long way of before I can touch those juicy dividends or continue building up my regular brokerage account. I always DRIP but with the brokerage account I can get access to my account without a penalty. Also have an 401k through work so the Roth is 2nd means of retirement savings. Thanks

  96. Congrats Jason! I think my first 10k investment was INTC but I haven’t added to it in a while so the weight is finally down to an acceptable level. The persistence of your investing is really paying off. I wish I had bought more JNJ before the run to current levels. Sometimes it’s hard to add to positions at 52-week highs when your cost basis is much lower even though they are underweight. I suppose as long as I don’t deem the company overvalued, then adding shares shouldn’t be a big deal. The average weight will still be quite a bit lower.

  97. If only I had been paying attention to JNJ during the early February dip…didn’t have it on my watchlist because it’s one of those stocks I don’t ever expect to come down unless everything else is going down even more. Sigh…next time. Still got out of the dip with some quality names (KO, CVX, KR), just have to wait until the next one.

  98. jcop,

    Thanks so much! I appreciate the support. I was fortunate to see the long-term value in JNJ around the $60 mark and buy in when I had the funds.

    That’s a great question. For some reason, JNJ’s calculator did not allow me to run the calculations without dividend reinvestment. However, it would be impossible to say how it would have otherwise turned out because there are infinite alternatives as an investor could reinvest those JNJ dividends anywhere, including JNJ. Obviously, the JNJ investment wouldn’t be as large and wouldn’t be kicking out such a large income, but perhaps a portfolio of 10-15 stocks (purchased with the JNJ dividends) would have performed better with more income, or perhaps not. Impossible to say.

    Thanks for stopping by! And I’m really glad you appreciate what I’m doing here. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  99. Josh,

    Thanks for stopping by! And thanks for the kind words about the blog. I take a lot of pride in what I’m trying to do here.

    As far as your comment goes in regards to accounts, I think it’s important to identify exactly what you want and when you want it. I’m pursuing a journey that is quite extreme, and thus my strategy is extreme: I only take advantage of taxable accounts. If you’re looking for a more balanced approach I would still maximize the 401(k) (especially if you get a match) and the Roth. Whatever you have left I’d use to fund a taxable account. However, if you decide you’re looking for a very early retirement I would invest more in the taxable account, knowing that the 401(k) and Roth will still be there for later. Unless, of course, you get a match at work. In that case, I’d take the match at least.

    Hope you stay in touch. 🙂

    Best wishes!

  100. Brent,

    Thanks, man. You’re doing an incredible job over there. I can only WISH I had your income to invest with. Really inspiring stuff, my friend. 🙂

    Keep up the great work over there!

    Best regards.

  101. DM, it’s nice to recognize milestones during the long, hard road to dividend growth investing. Congrats on the 10K valuation of JNJ. I’m long JNJ as well, and wished I bought more in the 70s range.

    But for me, one thing that put a smile on my face recently, was when I got my most recent dividend payment from Philip Morris of $118. I’m not as diversified as you, as I only have 16 stocks right now. My goal is to get to 20 by year end, and 25 by end of 2015….But the fact that only ‘one’ of my holdings is paying me around $40 a month is pretty cool….

  102. Chris,

    Thanks so much. I agree that it’s nice to celebrate one’s achievements on the way to FI. It certainly makes things more enjoyable when the success is tangible in this way.

    And congrats to you on that dividend! That’s some serious passive income there from just one company. And that income gets reinvested creating even more future income. It’s really a wonderful cycle, isn’t it? Sounds like your snowball is rolling along very nicely now. Well done!

    Cheers.

  103. Hey DM,
    I would love to see an article like this (what stocks you would buy today if just starting out); it could even be an ongoing series!

    I’m pretty new to investing, and I really like the dividend growth investing strategy (and living frugally where possible) and started on my own journey last year; I have had a 401k for a few years, but I started buying individual stocks in a Roth IRA last year. With my first contribution, I bought stock in 5 companies that I believe will be around for the coming decades and will continue to increase their dividend payout- KO, MCD, PG, CVX, and of course, JNJ. So I’m glad to be a fellow shareholder!

    I have a question though. I have a 401k plan with a 50% match for up to 6% (they put in 3%). I think it’s a no-brainer to continue to make those contributions since it’s ‘free money’. Now for my dividend growth investing, I started in a Roth because of the tax free growth, and I plan on continuing to make the max contribution (currently $5500) per year. Now, with further savings, do you think I would be wiser putting more money in the 401k (saving in taxes, but I can’t buy individual stocks, just funds with expense ratios), or opening a taxed investment account (no tax advantage, but ability to invest in individual stocks and withdraw early without penalty if needed)?

    Thank you for writing this blog; you are an inspiration and provide a great service to your fellow man by documenting your journey to financial freedom! I bet when you started this you had no idea how many lives you would touch. Keep going!!!

  104. James,

    You’re absolutely right. I never thought I’d reach so many lives. It’s been truly amazing in every sense of the word, and I feel blessed every single day to be able to write and connect with so many people out there. I’m in this amazing position where I’m able to inspire people, and it in turns inspires me to try harder every single day. So I owe you readers more than you owe me. 🙂

    As far as your question goes, it all depends on what you’re really looking for. I’ve addressed the tax issue from my own perspective, and as such I don’t take advantage of any retirement accounts because I’m gunning for such an early retirement/FI. But for a more moderate approach I fully endorse maximizing tax-advantaged accounts. For you, I would definitely invest up to the match. You’re making a great choice there. Then I would definitely go with the Roth. A Roth has almost all benefits and no drawbacks. So you’re all correct here. From there, again it depends on what you’re really looking for. Maybe you’re not looking to become FI by 40 like I am. However, even so you’d still benefit from a taxable account with extra money. You can tap it without worry from the age you do decide to retire until 59.5, which would add to any funds you withdraw from your Roth in the meanwhile. How aggressively you invest in a taxable account would depend on how much excess capital you have left after the other contributions, and how early you’re looking to retire.

    And I definitely plan on going over a “Starting Over” series where I point out some stocks I would be buying today if I were starting all over again. However, as I always publish the stocks I’m buying on a monthly basis that’s always a good place to start. 🙂

    Best of luck!! And thanks for the support.

    Take care.

  105. how much of a fincial nut would you have to have invested to get to 10k a month stable dividen pay outs ? trying to decide what i can do to escape the non stability of a day job 5 to 10k a month would let me escape that would pay all my monthly bills and also allow me to auto reinvest you no the daily payday income stream dream …

  106. Mike,

    That’s a sizable monthly stream of passive income that you’d need. As such, you’d need a sizable portfolio.

    Your question really depends on what kind of yield you can achieve with your portfolio. With a 4% yield, it would take a portfolio worth $3 million. At a 5% yield, it would require a $2.4 million portfolio. For reference, my portfolio yields about 3.5%.

    You obviously must spend a lot of money, which infers that you also make a lot of money. So I’m guessing you should be able to invest a substantial amount of money regularly. If you can figure out a way to create a larger gap between the income and expenses, you’ll get there even faster and also need less passive income to sustain yourself. A win-win.

    Best of luck!

    Cheers.

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