Weekend Reading – August 29, 2014

happyweekendA long, holiday weekend is upon us!

Anyone out there have some cool Labor Day plans?

I’m personally going to be helping my parents move some furniture around before commencing on some painting. Not real fun, but I’m happy to help out. They’re renovating their master bedroom. So it’s old furniture out, and new furniture, carpet, and paint in. They’re also redoing their whole master bathroom, but that’s being left to professionals.

We might do a Labor Day barbecue after all that moving and painting. At least, I hope so. Moving and painting is probably going to leave us mighty hungry!

I’m including some great weekend reading in the meanwhile. I was interviewed by Mint recently, and that just went live today. So I’m very happy to share that with you readers. It was a pleasure, and the questions were all really great.

I hope everyone out there has a wonderful holiday weekend. Spend some time with family and friends, and enjoy every minute!

Below, you’ll find a compilation of articles I recently read, wrote, or participated in. I hope you readers find them as enjoyable as I have!

Expert Interview with Jason Fieber on Dividend Investing and Financial Responsibility for Mint
Mint contacted me recently and asked me to answer some questions about who I am, how I stumbled upon this journey, and what living frugally is like. Of course, I was happy to participate. Some of this information is fairly basic knowledge, but they also covered some topics I haven’t discussed before. Check it out!

These 5 Dividend Growth Stocks Are Increasing Their Dividends
I published this article over at Daily Trade Alert. I discussed five dividend growth stocks that recently announced dividend increases, and then wrote short notes about each stock. I also listed 23 dividend growth stocks that go ex-dividend next week. Finally, I discussed a dividend growth stocks that has paid dividends for the last 77 years and raised their payout for the last 20. The stock discussed in that last article really has my attention after taking a good look at it.

Dividend Paying Companies I recently added to my income portfolio
Dividend Growth Investor lists where he has been putting his capital to work recently. I’m long a few of those stocks myself, and am happy to be a fellow shareholder!

The Future Of Anheuser-Busch’s Dividend
Tim wrote this solid post exploring the dividend growth potential of Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (BUD). I agree with his conclusion. BUD is saddled with a lot of debt and organic growth might be hard to come by. Furthermore, it appears to me that craft beers are becoming more and more popular, which may carve a little out of BUD’s bottom line, one sip at a time.

‘Mad Men’ star Vincent Kartheiser lists tiny bungalow
I came upon this story a little while ago, but forgot to share it before. I always find it fascinating when relatively wealthy individuals choose to live a life of less on purpose. It’s just really refreshing to see others not necessarily max out their lifestyle in pursuit of happiness and keeping up with the neighbors. Apparently, Vincent has been renovating and living in this 603-square-foot bungalow that sports one bedroom and 1.5 bathrooms while working on the hit television show. He recently got engaged, so he’s looking for a little more room. The place isn’t cheap, but I’m quite confident he could have lived larger if he wanted to. In addition, I read elsewhere that he would take the bus to/from work, instead of driving. Nice!

8 Tips to Help You Live Within Your Means
Joe put together this list of great tips if you’re looking to save and get ahead. I consider these basic fundamentals that anyone looking to retire early – or retire at all – must strongly consider and implement in their own lives.

Canadian Dividend Stocks to Buy and Mostly Forget
Mark put together this brief article that that lists a number of Canadian stocks that have been paying dividends for substantial periods of time. Some have records dating back to the early 1800s. I’m personally invested in two Canadian companies, and happy thus far.

Who wants to be average?
This post by Richard Branson was particularly relevant to me. I recently faced resentment from some of my family members, and this made me think about what I’m doing and this journey I’m on. After contemplating the situation, I have become more resolute than ever. I left Michigan five years ago very average, and have come back a far different and more extraordinary person. Sometimes that’s hard for others to accept, especially if they choose a path more traveled. Some people might want to be more average to “fit in”, but I encourage you not to accept that fate. Spread your wings and fly!!

The $7,000 Baby
Jeremy and Winnie recently announced they’re expecting. Congratulations to them. It’ll be fun to see how they manage their globetrotting with a little one in tow!

Goal Accomplished! Crossing $1,750 Projected Dividend Income
Looks like Bert exceeded his goal early, even after cranking up the difficulty by changing his goal earlier this year. Saving substantial portions of your income and regular investing has a way of providing incredible results. Congrats!

Money Lessons: Part 4 – Don’t be jealous
See a theme here? I agree with Brian’s take here. Instead of comparing ourselves to others, we should only be comparing ourselves to ourselves. Are we happy? Are we fulfilled? And if we are going to compare ourselves to others, why is it so uncommon to compare our situation to those in less fortunate circumstances? On the rare occasion I perform a comparison of my life to others, it’s with people in much less fortunate circumstances. I try to never forget that having access to basic necessities like electricity, plumbing, refrigerated food, and heating/cooling is still uncommon in many parts of the world.

I just bought $152,669 in REITs on margin
Gutsy move here! Not a strategy that’s in my wheelhouse, but I’m rooting for it to all work out for him.

One Year Of Tracking My Expenses
DividElephant tracked his budget for an entire year and spent just a tad over 23,000 euros. Not too shabby at all!

Ask J. Money Anything Day!
J. Money put this great hodgepodge of questions and answers together. He covered a wide variety of topics, including budgeting, blogging, saving, and giving. I may try this out at one point or another as well.

Full Disclosure: None.

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: gubgib/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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66 Comments

  1. Thank you for including my article on the list and the kind words DM! As you said, you would be shocked at what pushing your savings goals can accomplish. I am working through some kinks with putting together a tracker to watch my expenses for the last quarter. It is something I have never done before and I figured now is the best time. I have to beat Lanny’s goal of 60% somehow, right?

    I am looking forward to sitting down with my coffee and reading through the rest of the articles this weekend. Enjoy your long Labor Day weekend! Thanks again,

    Bert

  2. Bert,

    Keep up the great work, bud. It’s amazing what a high savings rate can accomplish. It buys freedom and flexibility much quicker than you would have ever thought possible. Even just saving 40-50% of your income for ONE YEAR can change the rest of your life. Make it a regular habit and you’re really talking.

    Have a great holiday weekend!

    Best regards.

  3. Have a good weekend! We don’t have Labor Day in the UK so it’s just a normal weekend for us 🙂 I love that tiny bungalow – thanks for sharing that post 🙂 just shows you that having lots of money doesn’t equal massive house!

  4. Ah labor day, it will feel like a good weekend nonetheless. I say that because my wife and I have had that whole week off already =). It feels strange =).

    I look forward to reading your interview with Mint. Good job spreading the word!

  5. When you said you were going to do some painting, at first I totally thought you meant painting as an art form. Startled me for a second! Hahahaha!

    …unless, you’ve been hiding your amazing artistic skills from all of us.

    Have a good weekend!

  6. Great job on the MINT interview, Jason. I use MINT all the time, so I’ve been wondering how to get the opportunity to be interviewed. Good luck with the painting! Doing it with other people promises to be a bit fun. Doing that kind of thing on your own… not so much. So there will be lots of LABOUR for you on LABOUR day weekend … or LABOR, in your case. 😉

  7. Just interviewed and been accepted for a new job, so I expect a weekend of (cheap) celebrations and maybe another crack at fixing my bike.

    hope you have a great holiday weekend Jason!

  8. Nicola,

    Thanks so much! I hope you have a great (non-holiday) weekend too. 🙂

    I thought that bungalow was really nice. I guess he spent a lot of time renovating the place. But I read some other stories on the guy where he appears to live quite frugal, relative to his income and his peers. Always cool to see frugality being represented well. Sounds like he’s very responsible with his cash.

    Best regards!

  9. Bryan,

    Usually we do big barbecue bashes or hit local festivals. Not sure this year with my parents renovating part of the house. But I’m happy to give a hand! 🙂

    Hope you’re staying cool and dry down there. I know how this time of year can be.

    Have a great long weekend!

    Cheers.

  10. Whoa, buying REITs on margin? That could cause a margin call if interest rates rise and REIT stock prices fall.

    On a personal note, I have a small painting job to do. Above the garage door there is a black accent that hasn’t been painted since the house was built in 1974. Could use a refresh. Probably take me an hour, weather permitting.

  11. Spoonman,

    I guess the “labor” in Labor Day takes on a new meaning for us. 🙂

    I thought the interview went well. The questions were pretty unique, all in all.

    Have a great weekend…for the rest of your life!

    Best wishes.

  12. Seraph,

    Hahaha. I can’t paint to save my life. My girlfriend is a wonderful painter. I tried to paint her something one time and it turned out to be a disaster! 🙂

    Hope you have a great weekend as well.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Take care.

  13. Debs,

    Thanks so much. I personally thought the questions were really nice and unique.

    Mint actually contacted me, so I’m not sure how to go about getting interviewed. Wish I could help more there.

    Lots of labor, indeed. Not really looking forward to painting, but I’m glad I can help my parents out. I know they’d do it in a heartbeat for me.

    Enjoy your weekend over there!

    Cheers.

  14. ERG,

    Congrats on the new job! Awesome!!!

    I definitely hope you celebrate a little. I usually celebrate milestones with pizza. I’m weird. I just love pizza, I guess. It’s cheap and tastes good. 🙂

    I hope you have a great weekend as well. And I hope you get off to a great start with the new job.

    Take care.

  15. KeithX,

    Not something I would do, but I suppose it’ll be fun to watch. 🙂

    Good luck with the painting. I personally don’t find the idea of painting exciting, but I also know it’ll be nice to see the finished product.

    Have a great holiday weekend over there!

    Best regards.

  16. Thanks Jason, I hope you have a great weekend, too. The weather prediction is for thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday. Oh well, looks like I won’t be painting after all. 🙂

  17. Very nice interview with Mint Jason! I like your list, I think there are a couple I did not see, I will have to check em out. Have a great long weekend!

  18. Hey Jason, my wife and I got invited to the Governors box at Orioles park for tomorrow night. We’ll probably have to pay for parking, but I love free (or nearly free) outings! Hope your holiday weekend is terrific. Thinking about T, BP, MCd, and GSK these days.

  19. Kipp,

    Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the interview. 🙂

    I definitely hope you find some value in some of the articles!

    Have a great holiday weekend over there.

    Cheers.

  20. Hi Jason
    I am a brand new fan of yours. I started investing late (late 40’s), made several mistakes and then realized that DGI is the ONLY way to invest (other strategies are no better than LAS VEGAS vacation). Me and my wife save more than 40 K an year and thus have generous cash flow. We read your blog everyday and wish to build up similar portfolio as yours. Recently purchased MCD and BHP in my RRSP.

  21. After installing a new window for my neighbor in the morning it will be time for some Iowa Hawkeye’s football and then a pile of games after that. Also be spending time this weekend on my finances and making a specific plan for the next year or so accounting for medical procedures done and one last one in Dec. Also my wife got a new job which will pay her an equal pay as her old one but only about half the time, in 2 years it goes full time ( double pay) and our savings rate will skyrocket. Hope to be totally debt free in 8-10 years.

  22. DD,

    Now, that’s a great time right there! And for basically free, no less. I hope you guys have a great time!! 🙂

    I like your list. I’m also looking at T right now. It’s still a pretty small position for me, so I could easily double it here. We’ll see.

    Happy shopping.

    Best regards.

  23. RAJ,

    Thanks so much for writing!

    You might be starting late, but you’ll catch up quickly at that rate. I’ve often said that it’s less about one’s investment returns and more about their savings rate if you’re looking to retire early, and the same goes for those starting late. And that’s simply because you have less time with which to allow compounding to do its magic. Saving $40k/year puts you guys in a pretty good position 10 years from now, as long as you can limit your expenses and focus on time over money.

    Stay in touch! And best of luck moving forward. 🙂

    Take care.

  24. josh,

    Sounds like you’ve got a great weekend ahead of you! 🙂

    And congrats to your wife for her new job. Sounds like she just earned herself a ton of flexibility. I’m sure you guys will both enjoy the benefits of that.

    Keep up the great work!

    Best wishes.

  25. Hey man. Thanks for the mention as I never expect it. Grats on the Mint article. Great to see you receiving some more promotion and accolades as they are well deserved. I found it really kool that the madmen guy lives well below his means. I always have a soft soft for frugal stars and I always point it out to people whenever certain shows or movies come up.

  26. Hey man new to blog and enjoying it started recently dividend investing I’m 22 years old and have same goals as you i saw that you put into your brokerage account about 1,000$ at a time was this monthly or like how often ?

  27. Hi Jason,

    thanks for linking to one of my blogposts. I think I did pretty well regarding my expenses albeit there’s still room for improvement. 😉

    Best wishes,
    DividElephant

  28. One thing, anyone knows T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW)? according to you it is recommended for long-term low?

    Thank you, Vincent

  29. I’ve got a question. Remember how you talked about resentment the other day. How did you deal with your own jealousy or envy before you had a great portfolio? I think everyone deals with jealousy/envy but some people deal with it much better than others. How did you deal with yours?

  30. Hey Jason,

    What do you think of the Alibaba IPO next month? If you look at their numbers, It is nothing but spectacular.

  31. Jason, I’m also thinking about AFLAC. You picked it up at an amazing price, but what do you think about initiating a position right now? It still seems cheap at pe below 10.

  32. Great set of articles Jason, thanks for providing. As for the prior poster comments on alibaba, i’m going to wait until the IPO frenzy relaxes, i’d love it to do a Facebook equivalent i.e. sell off aggressively initially but not sure the investment bankers would allow that debacle to happen again. Have a great long weekend. cheers T

  33. A-G,

    Thanks. I really enjoyed the interview. And I’m always interested in trying to inspire others into action through explaining my own mistakes in life.

    Yeah, he’s living small, but that place is probably the nicest bungalow of its size you’ll ever see. He obviously did a great job. I guess he lived without a toilet for a while while he was renovating. I think a lot of people made a big deal about it, but he was pretty nonchalant. Seems pretty down to earth.

    Cheers!

  34. Alex,

    Congrats on starting your journey so young! Time is on your side. 🙂

    I started off by investing around $1,200 or so per month early on and scaled up as I could. The key isn’t to achieve a certain number per se, but rather to focus on saving as much of your income as you possibly can and investing what you have left. There were some months I was able to invest $4,000 or more, and some months where I only had $500. But I was consistently saving and investing as much as I could straight through.

    Best of luck. Keep in touch!

    Take care.

  35. DivHut,

    Appreciate it. Glad you enjoyed it. I was really glad they approached me about it. Hopefully a few people out there find value in it.

    Have a great weekend yourself. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  36. DividElephant,

    Always room for improvement, but you’ve got to enjoy today while also saving toward a brighter future. As I noted in my interview, I sometimes have a hard time spending money. Knowing that $1 today could be $2 or $3 many tomorrows from now sometimes makes it tough to part with cash. But I always try to find the value in what I’m spending money on, whether it’s $1 or $1,000. If the value is there then I’m likely to spend the money, even knowing that I’m giving up that much more progress toward my goal. The good news is that much of what I enjoy is free or costs little. So I don’t run into these issues too often.

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Take care!

  37. Vincent,

    TROW isn’t one I track. But their performance lately has been impressive. However, one would have to consider how they would fare if the broader market pulled back significantly. Would money pull out? How would that change their ability to generate earnings and dividends? I honestly don’t like the idea of investing in an asset management firm, but they have done very well lately.

    Best of luck!

    Cheers.

  38. Lila,

    I don’t want to make myself out to sound like an angel or anything, but I’ve honestly never been like that. If I would see someone with something that I wanted I would figure out a way to get it for myself. Unfortunately, my efforts were turned toward nice cars and clothes when I was younger, which left me broke in my mid 20s.

    I then realized that while my efforts were great, my desires weren’t fulfilling me. So I eventually discovered the problem and turned my attention elsewhere. I’ve just always been the type of person to figure out how someone else got to where they’re at, and design a path to follow that would get me there as well. This usually requires basic reverse engineering.

    But I’ve just never been an envious or jealous person. However, I do probably suffer from some type of OCD where when I see something I want, I’ll do everything in my power to get it. It will kind of consume me a bit, for better or worse. And whereas some people might get burned out after a little while of pursuing something with maximum effort, I’ve found I can sustain it for extremely long periods of time. I guess I’m weird? 🙂

    Wish I could help more with your question. I’ve just honestly never felt that way toward others. I’m usually happy for others in successful positions.

    Cheers!

  39. wow,

    Could be a great investment. However, I’m choosing to stay away from Chinese companies for the time being. I prefer to invest in companies/countries where I can be relatively assured that my assets will remain my own. So this largely eliminates direct investment in companies based in countries like China, Russia, Brazil, India, etc. I know these are fast-growing economies, but the threat of government intervention is always there.

    I prefer to be safe, rather than sorry.

    Cheers!

  40. DD,

    I think AFL is a great company. It seems their heavy exposure to Japan and the yen keeps investors’ enthusiasm for the company somewhat tempered. This keeps the valuation somewhat attractive.

    I have been somewhat disappointed by their last couple of dividend increases, however. It might make sense for you to wait until mid October when the next raise is expected to see what they do.

    Best regards.

  41. Tales,

    We’ll see what happens with that IPO. Should make for an interesting show. 🙂

    Appreciate you stopping by. Hope you have a great weekend!

    Cheers.

  42. Thanks for replying. It sounds like you were raised well. My parents taught me to be happy for others. Usually if I see someone that has something I want I use them as inspiration…although these days I care less about materialistic things and more about things like freedom and autonomy.

  43. Hi there,

    To add in too, a 50% savings rate is essentially working for one year, and getting enough money to not work for another year. If you can manage to save enough to last for 20 – 25 years, then you would likely never have to work for money again. And at a 50% savings rate, this could take something like 15 years I believe, assuming some decent returns.

    Oh and Mantra, thanks for including my article. For whatever reason, when stock prices decline, I get busy buying shares. When we get a 20% correction, my posts are going to be very boring – I bought this, I bought that, I sold a kidney to buy more, I got a second job to get more money to buy more etc 😉

  44. Just read the Mint interview, that last line about the CW degree / philosophy degree — so spot on. One major problem in my country is too many graduates ( B Com, B Sc, BA) and not enough jobs.

  45. DGI,

    I hear you! I might have to get creative if we get a 20% correction. Right now, my capital is a lot more limited than it used to be. I might have to go out and get a temporary part-time job or something if we see much cheaper stocks, just to scrape up enough cash to make sizable purchases. That would be a good problem to have. 🙂

    Hope you’re having a great holiday weekend!

    Best regards.

  46. austereseeker,

    Thanks so much!

    That’s a topic I’ve never personally touched on, so it really just comes from my beliefs on the subject. Like any other investment, one has to weigh the benefits and drawbacks, as well as risk and reward. A college degree is not some guaranteed financial home run, and some majors come with considerable risk to the downside.

    Common sense and a little research goes a long way, but it’s tough to think about that when you’re 18 years old and contemplating the rest of your life.

    Best wishes!

  47. Your readers would love a Jason Fieber Day 🙂 Just be prepared to do a looooooot of typing and copying/pasting. I think I answered a little over 50 questions (some super easy, and others fairly long and in-depth) and I probably spent 6 hours or so doing so. Fun as hell to do, but prob good on a day not much else is going on 🙂

  48. J. Money,

    That looked like a lot of typing! Although, my fingers are pretty much made of steel by now. 🙂

    But it looks like you had a lot of fun!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Cheers!

  49. Syed,

    My weekend was pretty good. Helped my parents out with some home renovations. Put in some labor on Labor Day. 🙂

    I hope you had a great weekend as well! Always nice to catch those holiday weekends where everyone has more time.

    Cheers.

  50. I think Mint is an extremely valuable (and free) tool for anyone saving money, taking control of their finances, or even retiring early. I’m glad they enlisted a good example – you – for an interview!

    Thanks!
    WE#1

  51. WE#1,

    I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been using Mint religiously since I first started tracking my income and expenses. It has its glitches and bugs, but it works pretty solidly most of the time. Plus, it’s free! 🙂

    Cheers.

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