Weekend Reading – July 26, 2014

happyweekendThis past week was really wonderful.

I’m an uncle for the first time!

My first niece, Avery LynnAnn, was born this past Thursday morning. And I couldn’t be more excited. I’m pretty convinced I’m going to be the best uncle ever.

So this entire weekend is going to be devoted to spending as much time as possible with this gift to the family. I’m greatly looking forward to it. She’s a big reason I moved back home to Michigan, so I’m going to completely smother her with attention.

In the meanwhile, I also got some reading in. And, as always, I like to share some of that material with you readers here. I’m in the process of putting together a couple of articles for this coming week, and I’m excited to share that content with you guys.

I’m sharing some articles I enjoyed reading over the last week or so. I hope you all enjoy some of these articles as well. Have a great weekend, everyone!

This Stock Has Raised its Dividend for 52 Years in a Row
I wrote this article for Daily Trade Alert, and it was published this past Monday. Took a look at one of the best possible companies to invest in, which just so happens to my largest position. I also published an article listing 18 dividend growth stocks that go ex-dividend next week, and an article on recent dividend raises!

This Cookbook Teaches You How to Eat on $4 A Day
I was actually informed of this cookbook through a reader. I was emailed about it and promptly took a look. I don’t see how you go wrong with this FREE e-book that focuses on not just eating cheaply, but eating healthy as well. I’m not a big fan of cooking, but I thought this was a really great product. And the price is obviously right.

Should I invest in AT&T and Verizon for high dividend income?
Dividend Growth Investor pondered this question, and concluded that he isn’t interested in these companies due to the fact that future growth will likely be limited. He does have have a small position in Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), as he received shares via Vodafone Group Plc (VOD), but has no position in AT&T Inc. (T). I have relatively small investments with all three of these businesses, but I can also agree that future growth is somewhat limited. However, I balance that out somewhat with investments in businesses with much better growth profiles, like Visa Inc. (V).

4 Reasons to Keep Buying Stocks Now, in a Big Bullish Market
The Dividend Guy gave us four reasons to keep investing in stocks, even as the broader market continues to trade near all-time highs. I certainly don’t disagree, as I continue to invest month in and month out, as capital allows. I have no crystal ball, and thus have no idea when stocks will become cheaper. But I know that continuing to acquire equity in wonderful businesses means my snowball will roll downhill at ever faster rates, and when/if a correction does come, the passive income my portfolio throws off will buy even more new shares than before.

How’s Life 2 Years After Early Retirement? 
Joe gives us an update on what early retirement looks like two years after he pulled the trigger and left his day job. I think it’s really great how he advises that it’s a lot more than the nuts and bolts, which is easy. A large part of the challenge is actually to find your purpose in life, as many of us identify ourselves by our job. I’m lucky in that, like Joe, I wasn’t happy at my last job and never identified myself by it.

Why Warren Buffett Built A Perpetual Income Machine
Tim put this really great post together, and it points out how important it is to produce a portfolio that can consistently produce prodigious cash flow through all market conditions. Having access to regular cash flow through all of life’s ups and downs can put you in a wonderful spot, and give you access to capital for opportunities when others are running for the hills. This is a cornerstone of my strategy, and I really enjoyed this one.

“Cash In a Box”  – My SNL Parody Debut
J. Money put this hilarious video together. I don’t even know if words do it justice. You just have to watch it.

July Buy: Lockheed Martin (LMT) and McDonald’s (MCD)
Dividend & Whisky shared his recent buys with us, and they’re a couple of dividend growth stock stalwarts. I’m long McDonald’s Corporation (MCD), and it’s actually a fairly large investment for me. However, I think the company needs to make changes. I think the customer service policy needs a revamp, and I also think their marketing could use improvement; specifically, I think displaying the quality of the food should be a focus. It seems to me that there is this pervasive negative perception on Mickey D’s food quality, and the recent Chinese food scandal isn’t helping the matter. I’m not selling, but I do think complacency could hurt this company. It pains me, because I’m a huge fan of this business. Their long-term record speaks for itself. But we don’t invest in the past.

Why Carlos Slim’s three-day working week idea could work
Richard Branson rightly advised that we should be working smarter, not longer. I couldn’t agree more. Although Slim’s ideas focus on the elderly, I agree with Branson that flexible schedules should be available to all. In fact, it was the 50+ hour workweeks that primarily drove me to quit my job in the auto industry and pursue full-time writing. There has to be an appropriate work/life balance for people, and allowing flexibility in a work schedule could prove to shift that balance favorably for many.

Recent Stock Purchase II – July 2014
DivHut shared some of his recent purchases. I’m happy to have him on board as a shareholder in a couple of these companies, though as I mentioned above, I do have concerns with one of them.

Recent Buys 
JC added to his positions in two fine companies. I find myself a fellow shareholder in these businesses as well, and a happy shareholder at that. Great stuff!

Chevron Corporation: Is a Cash Flow Boom on the Way? 
Dividend Ladder took a look at Chevron Corporation (CVX), which is one of my largest investments in the energy space. He concluded that shares aren’t a steal here, but it’s still a very solid company.

Full Disclosure: Long T, VZ, VOD, V, MCD, and CVX.

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: gubgib/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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61 Comments

  1. Congratulations, uncle Jason! You should add a best uncle ever goal to you Goals page! 🙂

    Great picks again this week. Hadn’t read the Richard Branson article yet! A three-day work week sounds awesome. I currently work at a very flexible office and it totally boosts my productivity. Fitting together work and personal life is something the employees should be able to do, not the company.

    Have a great weekend with your family,
    NMW

  2. Congrats Jason! Enjoy the time with your niece, this is what you’ve been saving and investing for! Children are wonderful, although I’ve been up since 4:45am with my 4 month old son. Wouldn’t change a thing though. Have a good weekend.

  3. Congrats on being an Uncle. The best part is you now have the time to truly enjoy the experience. Have a great weekend. By the way, I went ahead and dumped my Intel shares after yet another dividend freeze.

    MDP

  4. Congrats on becoming an uncle Jason!

    I like the idea of a 3 day work week.. Or more like no work workweek, although I am not there yet.. I think Carlos Slim is talking about 4 day workweek, but as someone who has worked in other businesses, I wonder how staffing will work..

    Anyway, thanks for highlighting my article on telecom companies. Besides the high yields, I don’t think there is anything that would make me build those out to large positions. I have been following VOD for 15 years.. It was a highflier, and media darling during the dot-com/technology bubble. Now it is a stable and mature company.. How things change over time, don’t they? Either way, I think VOD is undervalued, since the assets it owns are worth more than the cap the way I see it..

    DGI

  5. MCD “positives” in a nutshell:

    Earnings Yield vs 30 year Treasury

    Dividend yield versus 30 year Treasury(combined with earnings yield analysis)

    35,000 locations (including the largest real estate portfolio on Earth)

    Scale of operations to be selling MORE of ANYTHING they wish, into the future

    Cash flow and balance sheet perfection

    Stock float of common shares that is shrinking yearly

    and on, and on, and on…

    (peeps, just sit down in a quiet place, with a glass of iced tea, and try to picture the future of the MCD company 5, 10, and 25 years from now… yes the stock price could be a bit lower, but you dont have to “back up the truck” all at once)

    just sayin…

  6. Congratulations Jason!
    I became uncle for the first time when I was 4 years old, so I don’t remember what it was like, but giving them attention is still time well spent.

    Thanks for the interesting posts you bring to our attention. I’m long JNJ myself and I’m still considering MCD.
    Have a great weekend.

    Best wishes,
    DfS

  7. NMW,

    Ha! That’s an excellent suggestion. That’s the most important goal of all now. 🙂

    I’m with you on the three-day workweek. It was primarily due to the lack of flexibility and long hours that I was so miserable at my last job. The work/life balance was tilted way too strongly toward work, and it just can’t work like that for me.

    Appreciate the warm wishes. And congrats to you too on your recent Liebster Award! Keep up the great work.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  8. A-G,

    Haha! I actually already use earplugs at night. I’ve been using them for years, so I’ll sleep like a baby…next to the baby. 🙂

    Appreciate you stopping by. Try to get some time to relax in over there. I know you’re busy grinding away.

    Cheers.

  9. Nicola,

    Thank you so much! It’s awesome. She’s just the cutest baby ever. 🙂

    And congrats again on your recent nomination.

    Hope you have a great weekend over there!

    Take care.

  10. DivHut,

    Thank you! It’s very nice to be back near family. It would definitely sadden me to be so far away from my little niece.

    Have a great weekend!

    Cheers.

  11. ZaVodou,

    Well, I’ve never personally had a big desire to have children of my own. However, I love kids. I had a child in my life for my entire time down in Florida, and it was very nice.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  12. Kipp,

    Thank you! Really appreciate it. 🙂

    I’m enjoying it right now. She’s sleeping with her mom right now. Too cute!

    Hope you have a great weekend as well.

    Best regards.

  13. Josh,

    Thanks! I’m with you. This is why I worked so hard to get to where I’m at now. It’s fantastic to take advantage of that already and enjoy some of the benefits.

    Man, I hope you get some sleep over there! I imagine it kind of sucks to stay up all night, but I’m sure it’s completely worth it. 🙂

    Hope you have a great weekend too!

    Cheers.

  14. MDP,

    I’m really lucky. I worked really hard to put myself in this kind of position, but there was certainly some luck along the way. I’m super happy. 🙂

    Can’t blame you for selling INTC. I don’t regret selling, though I do regret the timing a bit. Didn’t expect it to pop after the sale, as it has been range bound for a number of years there. I actually haven’t followed the stock after my sale, but another reader asked me about INTC recently. So I took a quick look, and I was surprised by the recent performance. Good for INTC. No hard feelings for me. And I did well with the investments I made with the INTC capital.

    Have a great weekend!

    Take care.

  15. DGi,

    Thank you! Appreciate the congratulations.

    I’m with you on the telecoms. I do have rather small positions in T and VZ, and a slightly larger position in VOD. I like the high yield to supercharge my current income, but at the same time I don’t expect a lot of growth out of these positions. As long as you’re comfortable with that going into these investments, then you should be fine. I also try to balance my portfolio across all three stages of stocks, though I prefer the stocks with a ~3% yield and 6-10% growth the most.

    Have a great weekend!

    Best wishes.

  16. Lou,

    Oh, there are plenty of positives. That’s why I’m a shareholder. Though, many great companies that eventually fell by the wayside had fantastic qualities at one point. MCD is still the dominant force in fast food, but I also believe that complacency will eventually kill them. I don’t know of one person in my life that eats at MCD very often, or even likes eating there – other than myself.

    “Scale of operations to be selling MORE of ANYTHING they wish, into the future”

    I would disagree with that point, though. In fact, they basically conceded defeat on a number of menu items recently, most notably of which was the Mighty Wings. I agree with management that the focus shouldn’t be more of anything/everything, but to concentrate on what they do really well and increase efficiency. I just think MCD is a fantastic company, but they’re struggling right now. I hope they figure it out.

    Cheers!

  17. Dividend for Starters,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Thank you for the kind words. It’s great to be an uncle. 🙂

    And congrats to you on starting up your blog recently and starting your journey! Wish you the best of luck building up the portfolio and passive income.

    Stay in touch.

    Best wishes!

  18. Congrats on becoming an uncle! I became an uncle for the first time myself a few weeks ago, so I can relate. The week right after we quit our jobs we are going to visit my nephew for a few days down in Florida. In addition to playing with my nephew, I look forward to dipping my toes in the warm waters of the gulf!

    Have a good weekend and have fun with your family.

  19. Congrats Jason on getting a new loving title of uncle 🙂

    Besides the joy of passive dividends rolling along like a snowball, it is a lot of joy to see the baby roll by near you that you can hold in hand as well. It is a pure fun to behold!

    Enjoy your weekend!

    Best wishes.

  20. I’m just joining to the Congratulations! Buy some dividend growth stocks for the baby and watch them as they grow together year by year:)

  21. I second Gregory. What better advantage than a 529 started when they are 0 years old! Now that is an Uncle I want to have. Michigan has a decent 529 plan, used to be better when the state would match up to year 6! But, TIAA-CREFF does the investing and I like them. Sounds like a nice article or two for your down days.

    cheers on the family addition

  22. Jason:
    I agree that MCD seems to be lacking direction at the moment. I hold the stock and with my recent purchase it’s about 4.5% of our div holdings. I don’t expect to add more in the near future unless it should drop into the $80’s. I don’t expect the dividend growth rate to exceed high single digits, but i’m ok with that. On the downside, I really liked the wings. It’s hard to find wings like that in my neck of the woods. Sigh.

    Sincere congratulations on becoming an Uncle. I have three nieces that live in a distant city. I barely know them and they are all grown up now. I envy your close contact with your niece. I’m guessing it will be a wonderful relationship over the years. Something tells me that Avery will know a lot about dividend investing by the time she gets out of high school.

  23. Spoonman,

    That’s awesome! Congratulations to you as well. Good times for us both. 🙂

    Enjoy your time down there in Florida. I miss being able to dip my toes in the warm water. Make sure to use some sunscreen, though. The sun is brutal this time of year.

    Best wishes!

  24. PIM,

    Life is just wonderful right now. My snowball is growing by the day, and now so is my niece. The circle of life continues. 🙂

    It was a great weekend. Spent a lot of time with little Avery in my arms. Glad to be an uncle!

    Hope you had a great weekend as well.

    Cheers.

  25. Henry,

    Yeah, that e-book was great. A lot of really cool ideas. I liked the banana pancakes in particular. I wish I had a desire to cook, but I just don’t.

    Thanks for stopping by. Hope you had a great weekend!

    Take care.

  26. Finance Journey,

    Thank you! I hope to pass along some investing ideas over the years. We’ll see if she has any interest. 🙂

    I had a great weekend. I hope you did as well!

    Cheers.

  27. The Stoic,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Appreciate the congratulations. The circle of life continues. Reminds me I’m getting old, but I’m definitely excited for the next chapter. 🙂

    Hope all is well over there. Life is good, isn’t it?

    Best regards.

  28. Tawcan,

    Thank you!

    Eating on $4 a day is really interesting. I was able to do it once or twice for an entire month, but it’s tough. I think if you’re okay with not eating out at all it should be relatively easy (on a per-person basis).

    Cheers!

  29. Gregory,

    Great idea right there. I might talk to my sister about that idea. It might be good to buy a share or two of a great business every year on her birthday. 🙂

    Best wishes!

  30. tuliptown,

    I’ll definitely look into this. She already has two piggy banks, and I’ve already provided a little seed capital in one of them. But I think a better idea would be to open an account for her and buy a share or two every birthday and/or every Christmas. That would turn into a nice snowball by the time she’s 18! 🙂

    Thanks for the suggestion.

    Best wishes!

  31. Steve,

    Yeah, the wings seemed like a good idea to compete with KFC and the rising popularity of BWW. But it gets away from their core competency. As such, the wait time was increased, lines were longer, and service suffered. I hope they get back on track here.

    Thank you for the warm congrats. I hear you on being distant. I was distant for five years there, and it really bothered me. Michigan has a lot of drawbacks (weather, taxes, transportation, economy), but family is family. 🙂

    And I do hope to pass along some wisdom at some point. Of course, the response will probably be a disinterested eye roll. But that’s okay.

    Hope you had a great weekend!

    Take care.

  32. Congratulations! I love the name Avery for a girl. I’m sure you’ll make a great uncle. Are you going to help with changing diapers? 😀

    I downloaded that $4 cookbook and it actually looks easy, delicious and healthy. Oh btw, I don’t know if you have seen this but I came across this article on this family of four who lives on $14,000/year. It’s an article from 2013 so its still relevant. I was impressed with them.

  33. Lila,

    I’ll definitely change diapers if called upon. 🙂

    Thanks for sharing that link. That’s really interesting. They put me to shame, that’s for sure. I laugh sometimes when people call me too frugal. I honestly feel like I splurge too often, and people like this help me keep perspective on just how luxurious my life is.

    Appreciate you stopping by!

    Best regards.

  34. Lila,

    Very inspirational link. I strongly believe frugality is a lifestyle so if You think so You will be enjoy it. It is like a sport. I’m very happy to hunt for bargain price.

  35. I’m happy that you and Jason liked it!

    I definitely think frugality is a lifestyle and like you I think its a fun game. 🙂

  36. Congratulations on the new extended family member! Best things in life are free – your sibling’s children!

  37. walletengineers,

    Thank you!

    It’s going to be a lot of fun watching this little girl grow up. 🙂

    Reminds me I’m getting old, though. Ha!

    Cheers.

  38. Debs,

    Thank you so much!

    She’s already changing. She’s lost some of that initial baby chub, and she’s opening her eyes more and more. It’s great to be here to see all of that. 🙂

    Life is good, isn’t it??

    Best wishes.

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