Weekend Reading – April 25, 2015

happyweekendWhat a weekend!

Claudia and I had our wedding yesterday. It was a super private event with just the two of us. We then – also just the two of us – went out to dinner to celebrate. We originally invited her two sons, but both declined. Her oldest is two hours away right now and was busy. And her youngest son has autism and doesn’t often like to be in public places. So it was just us.

We did something a bit unique in terms of our wedding/marriage, but Claudia wants me to keep mum on some of that (she thinks I share too much sometimes). However, I can share that I spent less than $330 on everything, including the paperwork, wedding band, and dinner. The only thing I didn’t pay for was my wedding band, but I picked out a pretty cheap tungsten carbide ring that doesn’t easily scratch. Frugaltastic!

Then there was a birthday party today. Claudia recently turned 50, so we hosted a little party here at our small apartment. Mostly just her closest family and friends, so it also was an intimate affair.

Anyway, life is good. It’s weekends like this that remind me what all of the saving and investing is for. It’s really all about ownership of your time. And the whole reason to own your time is to spend it however you see fit. Meanwhile, I can’t think of many more meaningful ways to spend that time than with the important people in your life, which is certainly more rewarding than spending your precious, valuable, and dwindling time at work.

Other than that, we’re gearing up for our trip out to Omaha next weekend. I’m very much looking forward to being in the same room as Warren Buffett, even if it is a really, really big room.

I’ll be dropping a post this coming week about a possible meetup with any interested readers that might also find themselves in Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) annual meeting.

In the interim, I hope you enjoy some great reading material that I’ve compiled. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

These 20 Dividend Growth Stocks Go Ex-Dividend Next Week
Check out 20 dividend growth stocks that go ex-dividend next week. This may be an opportunity for you to buy in before the next dividend is paid out. In addition, I took a quick look at one of the stocks in particular to see if now’s a great time to pick up shares. Check it out!

Why Passive Income Is Worth More than Active Income
My recent article on comparing active and passive income was picked up by Lifehacker. I love when my stuff is picked up by a large site like that. And that’s really because it gives me an opportunity to potentially reach a whole new audience.

Jason Fieber’s “The Dividend Mantra Way” book review
Some of the reviews are in! Steve kindly reviewed my book, which I thought was a very accurate and balanced look at what it offers. In addition, I was interviewed by my good buddy, Kraig, after he invited me to show up on his podcast and talk a bit about the book and what I’ve been up to since I last popped in over there. So if you’re interested in hearing me blab for almost an hour, check that out.

Dividend Income Report; The Good… and the Bad
Mike put out an article that basically discussed why he doesn’t understand the importance of tracking his dividend income on a regular basis. You obviously know where I stand on this issue, but, in the end, many investors look at their investments differently. I’ve found a ton of success and motivation tracking my dividend income on a regular basis and actually seeing myself become more financially independent all the time, but some investors only care about total return or wouldn’t mind selling off assets to sustain themselves. Different strokes for different folks. An interesting read, nonetheless.

This Stock Has Raised its Dividend for 42 Years in a Row
I highlighted this high-quality dividend growth stock that has been increasing its dividend for more than four straight decades. If that doesn’t already tell you a lot, you’ll find that the fundamentals across the board are pretty solid. In addition, this company has huge competitive advantages. However, the stock isn’t particularly cheap right now.

Fun Facts About Money I Bet You Didn’t Know
I thought this was a fun article. But this particular stat might make you jump out of your seat:

If you have $10 in your pocket and you have no debt, you are wealthier than 25% of Americans.

Yikes! Food for thought.

How This Couple Retired In Their 30s To Travel The World
Forbes featured fellow bloggers Jeremy and Winnie over at Go Curry Cracker! not too long ago. This article basically tracked their story and asked them key questions on how exactly they were able to accomplish what they did. Really good stuff.

Here’s how Warren Buffett sees the stock market
Just another reminder to keep your eye on the long term, regardless of short-term volatility and noise.

Being Happy = Being Happy
J$ reminded us that it doesn’t take much to be happy. I think this article deftly encapsulates hedonic adaptation and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Recent Buys: April 20th, 2015
Ryan decided to average down again on a high-quality business he believes in. With solid fundamentals across the board, it’s easy to see why. I may end up as a fellow shareholder here at some point.

This Too Shall Pass: Investment in the Integrated Oil Majors
JC took a look at how Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) and Chevron Corporation (CVX) fared during peaks and troughs in the cyclical energy industry going back to 2002. I agree with his assessment that both are some of the lowest-risk plays for long-term dividend growth investors in energy due to their operational records, spectacular balance sheets, and loyalty to shareholders. I also agree that it’s unlikely we’ll see particularly large dividend raises from either one here when they declare their respective dividends at the end of the month. Both are due for a dividend raise, so it’ll be telling and interesting in what they announce.

Lanny’s Recent Purchase – JNJ
Lanny recently picked up a few shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) just in time for the recent dividend raise of 7.1%. Probably my favorite long-term stock of all, which is why it’s my largest holding. Captain Dividend also recently bought shares. I’d personally be interested in buying JNJ right now as well, but I already have more than enough. Great stock to build a portfolio upon, however.

Retirement is not an extended vacation
Joe reminded us that (early) retirement isn’t all about sitting on the couch and watching TV or going out and playing golf all day. I happen to think that anyone who has the energy and drive to achieve financial independence fairly early in life is also the type of person to continue taking on interesting projects and hobbies; however, I do think it’s important to plan out your life after full-time work. Make sure you clearly define your expectations, goals, and purpose.

Full Disclosure: Long CVX, XOM, and JNJ.

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: gubgib/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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132 Comments

  1. Congrats on getting married!!! That trip to Omaha sounds exciting! All sorts of great stuff going on in your life these days sir. Keep fighting the good fight.

    Jason

  2. Hey Mantra, long time no talk! Been always visiting your blog though so don’t worry! A long overdue congrats on your wedding (and engagement), book, and continual hit after hit each month with the dividends 🙂 Been following you since the beginning and you haven’t stopped inspiring me. I aspire to have my own blog…one day. Take care and send my regards to Claudia. She is one lucky woman!

    Take care,
    Mike

  3. Congrats on the wedding Jason! I hope married life will treat you well!

    Man, I wish I could go to the Berkshire Hathaway meeting in Omaha; definitely on my bucket list. You better write a blog post about how it was next week! 😀

    Cheers

  4. Exciting times for the DM household! Congrats and enjoy sitting at the feet of the Oracle.

  5. First, congratulations on your wedding and especially how frugally you went about it. Well done indeed.

    Second, thanks for the mention with the book review. I hope that it’s selling well…something tells me that it probably won’t be your last published work. 🙂

  6. Jason,

    Thanks so much. Really appreciate it!

    Life is good. I can’t really complain at all. 🙂

    Definitely looking forward to the Omaha trip. I’ll finally see Buffett in person!

    Thanks for dropping by. Hope you’re having a great weekend over there.

    Best wishes.

  7. Mantra,

    You’re a married man my friend, the best event one can have – I am jealous and happy as heck for you at the same time. You have found your soul mate and perfect companion who understands you and how you two want the best for each other, phenomenal! Also – nice job making it very frugal – I bet it was very intimate through and through.

    Next weekend = going to be ridiculous for you. Let me know if you’d recommend going after you visit, excited for a post about it.

    Great reads and I appreciate you posting my latest purchase, LOVE JNJ. Talk about a legendary dividend stock, one of few, but possibly of many? Depending on how we think about it.

    Excited to dive in to the articles above – congrats and pumped for what’s to come for you DM, as always.

    -Lanny

  8. Mike,

    Yeah, been a long time! Hope all is well over there. 🙂

    I’m really fortunate. I continue to just work hard and put my heart into everything. We’ll see how it all turns out.

    Glad to see you stop by. Sounds like you’re still on the journey. Keep at it!

    Cheers.

  9. Dividend Mantra,

    Congrats on the wedding first of all. I listed to the podcast you did with Kraig also. You are so passionate about this stuff that Kraig could barely get a word in .

    Derek Foster is likely going to the meeting in Omaha. I think he still a shareholder in class B stock. For the readers of this blog, Derek escaped the rat race at the age of 34. He is now 44 or 45 and he has 5 or 6 kids .

  10. ZTZ,

    Thanks! It was definitely a small gig. Just how we like it.

    I hear you on Omaha. Definitely a bucket list type of thing for me as well. So glad to be in a position to where I can head over there and see it all for myself. I’ll probably post something for those going to see if we can meet up, and then I’ll likely post something afterward about what it was like. Very excited.

    Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

    Best regards.

  11. financialsubstantial,

    Thank you. We’re definitely looking forward to seeing what the annual meeting is all about. Not sure how many more years Buffett will be able to do these things, so I’m glad to get this one in.

    Cheers!

  12. wes,

    Thank you so much. 🙂

    Glad the positivity and optimism shines through. I have so much of it, that it just kind of spills out.

    Hope all is well over there with you as well!

    Best wishes.

  13. Congrats Jason,

    You are rocking man… Record high dividend, first book in became Amazon best selling, wedding and going to meet Mr. Buffet next week.. Wow wow!! Enjoy ma!

    Keep up your good work and wish you all the best!

  14. Steve,

    Thanks. Yeah, we definitely kept the costs in check. And not even really purposely, but just because that’s what we really wanted. Neither of us wanted a big ceremony or party. I couldn’t be happier with our choice there.

    Appreciate the review very much. I think you did a great job capturing the essence of the book and its intentions.

    Thanks so much. Have a great rest of your weekend over there!

    Best wishes.

  15. Lanny,

    Thank you. Very kind of you. Claudia’s been very understanding and supportive since the beginning. And I’ve done my best to be a great partner in return. All in all, we’re really happy. 🙂

    Yeah, next weekend should be nuts. I hope to be able to meet up with a few people while we’re there. Of course, it’ll be awesome just to check out Omaha as well. I’ve heard great things about the city, and it wins awards all the time. Then there’s the ultimate prize of being in the same room as Warren. Just crazy stuff. One of those things I’ll probably never forget.

    JNJ is definitely a fantastic company. Just clockwork stuff over there. Won’t make you rich overnight, but it will very likely make you wealthy over a long period of time if you contribute a nice chunk of capital there.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  16. IP,

    Ha! Yeah, Kraig gave me some pretty open-ended questions there. Wind me up and watch me go, right? I get pretty excited about this stuff, but it’s hard to not get excited about financial independence, entrepreneurship, and living off of dividend income. 🙂

    I didn’t know Derek was going. Maybe I’ll run into him. I interviewed him for the blog a while back, and he was great to chat with. He has his detractors (don’t we all), but I admire his positive attitude.

    Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

    Best wishes.

  17. FJ,

    Man, I’m just in a great spot right now. Life gives you gifts sometimes, and it seems like I’ve been receiving more than my fair share lately. I just hope to continue working hard so that I don’t feel too guilty about it.

    Looks like things are going great for you as well over there. Keep it up.

    Thanks so much for stopping by. Really appreciate the support!

    Hope you have a great weekend over there.

    Take care.

  18. Thanks so much for the mention. Congrats on making it official and I hope yall had a great time. Lots of interesting articles that I happened to miss this past week. Hope you and Claudia have a great rest of the weekend.

  19. Jason,
    Congrats on the marriage! I can imagine that you and Claudia enjoyed every moment. Frugal does not mean that you can’t have a good time 🙂
    I’m happy you can make your Omaha visit next week. It should be wonderful to hear Warren and Charlie. I hope one day to go there as well. I’m a great fan of both. In the mean time I’m looking forward to read your post on this experience 🙂
    Have a great weekend.

  20. Congrats on your wedding weekend, Jason! And also, thank you!
    Even in such important weekend of your life, you still spent some time sharing and updating your blog.
    Cheers,
    Selena

  21. Jason,

    Congratulations to you and Claudia. I wish both of you the best.

    Looking forward to your post on “Woodstock for Capitalists!”

    -Mike

  22. First off, much happiness and best wishes to you and Claudia. I know both of you have been looking forward to this day for a while. Looks like 2015 had many big life changes for us. You two will continue to make each other happy which is all that counts. Have fun in Omaha too. Look forward to reading your report from the field. Thanks for the weekend reads… the Fun facts about money was a fun read.

  23. Congratulation to you both! What a busy weekend.
    We did the same thing when we got married 15 years ago. 🙂
    Thanks for the mention.

    Best wishes,
    -Joe

  24. Hello, nice to meet you from Japan. I have been a reader of your blog, but I hesitated to leave a comment here in part because I am not a native English speaker. I recently set up my own dividend income blog. Therefore, I decided to leave the comment this time. Thank you for valuable information.

  25. Congratulations Jason. I’m so pleased for you. I hope you had an awesome day!

    What a fantastic time for you right now. First book out, married, hearing Warren Buffet in person. Love is pretty sweet!

    I hope you have a wonderful time!

    All the best
    Huw

  26. Many congratulations and may you both have plenty of happy years ahead.

    Regards

    Louis Gunn

  27. Congrats on the wedding, and on the trip to Omaha! I’d love to do that some day too- guess I’d better get on that, since as you say, Buffet won’t be doing this forever!

  28. Congratulations on your wedding! Love that it was very private and special to you, and so in the face of the commercial and expensive weddings that you hear of all the time.

  29. Congrats on getting married!! I hope you will both have a long and happy life together. Thanks for the extra reading links. I am learning about dividend investing all the time and these really help me.

  30. Congratulations! P.S. The Weekend Reading section of your site is one of my favorites. ^_^

  31. Congratulations!!! Private weddings are the way to go. I’ve never understood making such a spectacle of weddings. It’s a commitment between two people that we blow way out of proportion way too often. And keeping the list small is obviously more frugal 😉

    Best wishes!

  32. Congratulations Jason! Looking forward to hearing your reporting from Omaha! Going to grab a copy of your book now too!

  33. Hi Jason,

    Congratulations to you and Claudia! Have a nice trip to Omaha, I wish I could come too. Where can I listen to your podcasts? Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I’ll be looking forward to your next articles.

  34. Congratulations on your wedding! Very exciting, you get your soul mate and a big tax deduction!

  35. JC,

    No problem at all. Happy to include you.

    Definitely been a busy weekend. Spent some time today cleaning up our apartment. I love having a small space – easy to clean. Couldn’t imagine having a huge house!

    Thanks for dropping by. Hope all is well with Luke.

    Best regards.

  36. Jos,

    Thanks! Frugal definitely doesn’t mean miserable. We had a lot of fun. 🙂

    I’m very much looking forward to seeing Buffett in person. And Claudia’s looking forward to seeing a new city (she’s never been to Omaha). So it should be a great time!

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  37. Selena,

    Thank you!

    Yeah, this is something I really love. So I’m happy to share what’s going on in with you readers, while also including some solid reading material. 🙂

    Appreciate the support very much.

    Take care!

  38. Mike,

    Ha! I’m looking forward to both going and posting about it. Should be just an incredible time. One of those events that I’ll probably never forget.

    Thanks so much for the kind words. 🙂

    Cheers!

  39. DH,

    Yeah, it’s been a big year for the both of us. That’s what life’s all about, right? It’s about improving, changing, family, and spending time with those you really care about. 🙂

    Definitely looking forward to the Omaha trip. Wish I had a better camera for pictures, but I’ll still be able to get the job done. Hopefully, I’ll be able to meet up with a few people while we’re there. Should be fun!

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Best regards.

  40. Joe,

    Thanks so much!

    You guys did the same thing, huh? Nothing wrong with that at all. I recently read the average cost of a wedding is about $30,000. Crazy! We spent approximately 1% of that and had a great time.

    Hope you’re having a great weekend over there.

    Best regards!

  41. dividendsamurai,

    Hey, I’m glad you decided to stop by and comment. There are a lot of readers from other countries where maybe English isn’t native for them, and I get a lot of comments from readers from all over the world. Don’t worry about that. Your English is just fine. 🙂

    I wish you the best of luck with your blog over there. Blogging is really great in that you not only keep yourself accountable, but that you can inspire others in the process.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Take care.

  42. Huw,

    Thank so much. We did have a great day. Exchanged rings and then had dinner at the beach. 🙂

    Life is really great right now. I’m fortunate. Not only do I have all that, but I also have the blog and the support of all you readers. Just really incredible.

    Hope all is well on your side of the pond. Thanks for dropping by.

    Best wishes.

  43. Louis,

    Thank you very, very much. I wish you the same for you and yours. Life is what we make it, and we have an opportunity to make it wonderful. 🙂

    Take care!

  44. colormefrugal,

    Thank you! 🙂

    Yeah, I would highly suggest sooner rather than later if it’s something you really want to do. Maybe Buffett will still be rocking along at 100 – I hope so. But you never know.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Take care.

  45. weenie,

    Yeah, it was extremely private. I couldn’t imagine spending $30k on a wedding. And I mean that not just from the standpoint of cost, loss of income, and what that money could eventually compound into, but also from the standpoint of it basically just sounds like a miserable time. All the planning, people, and waste. Not my thing, regardless of money.

    Thanks so much for the support! 🙂

    Best regards.

  46. Hi Jason,

    as many of us I have read your book. It is easy to read and full of worthwhile information. Thank you for this!
    I stumbled upon a passage in which you claimed that you enjoy reading analysis reports, income & cash flow statements, balance sheets, annual reports and the like. Yes, I surely believe this is a hobby of yours, just like Warren Buffet, who likes to read one or two 10k reports for bedtime reading.
    With your 50+ investments in individual stocks, do you actually read those 10k reports? Should I do it with 15 individual investments in american stock securities? You also claim that investments should follow the KISS paradigm which means to keep it simple and stupid.
    Reading 10k’s, apart from my daily job routine, is quite the opposite of keeping it simple. Every page on the internet about stocks quote the “do your own research” argument, and I fully understand that.
    My question is: ‘what is good enough to be informed’ for my next investment? Or keeping track of my existing ones? Just pop over to 4-traders.com and compare numbers against competitors in the same industry? Relying on Morningstar? Or make 10k’s my usual bedtime reading?
    (english is not my mother lingo)

    Thank you again for your book,
    Stef

  47. Laura,

    Thank you! Really appreciate that. 🙂

    Glad you’re enjoying the reading material. I try to include material that’s not only educational and thought-provoking, but also fun.

    Hope you’re having a great weekend!

    Best regards.

  48. Jim,

    Thank you very much. I can only wish you and everyone else out there the same – many years of profitable investing and happiness in personal relationships. 🙂

    Cheers!

  49. Lila,

    Glad you like these posts! I’ll try to update these more often. 🙂

    Thanks so much for the congrats. Hope you’re having a great weekend over there.

    Best regards.

  50. Sorry, totally skipped your marriage, shame on me!
    Of course: Congratulations to you and Claudia for your wedding. I wish you all the best for the future of you TWO.

    Stef

  51. kirsten,

    I couldn’t agree more. I don’t have a problem if someone wants to spend $30k or whatever on their wedding, but it’s definitely not for us. I think it’s not only an incredible waste of money, but also a waste of everything else they come with (food, decorations, etc.).

    Appreciate the support. Hope all is well for you as well!

    Best regards.

  52. Welton,

    Thank you! Really appreciate that. And I hope you enjoy the book. Please let me know what you think after you’re done. 🙂

    I can’t wait for Omaha. Hope to put a nice little report together for you readers!

    Best wishes.

  53. FF,

    Definitely. The money is just one piece of the puzzle. And important piece, but it should just be complementary to everything else. For me, the money just buys the freedom, time, and flexibility necessary to enjoy and maximize those personal wins. 🙂

    Hope you’re having a great weekend!

    Cheers.

  54. Sampo,

    Thanks so much! 🙂

    I wish you could come, too. I wish everyone could come. It’d be awesome to have some big group meetup or something.

    I don’t actually have a podcast. Kraig will invite me to pop on over for his every once in a while, but that’s it. We at one point ran a podcast together, but only did a few episodes. It was way too time consuming. I may try to do one again at one point now that I don’t have the full-time auto job holding me back, though I’m still fairly busy with all the writing. I’d probably have to scale something else back in order to fit in a podcast. We’ll see.

    Cheers!

  55. liveoffmydividends,

    Thanks so much!

    Should be a lot of fun. We’re keeping the trip pretty frugal as well. Two cheap round-trip tickets and a budget hotel. 🙂

    I’ll be posting some more information over the coming days. Hope a few readers can meet up while we’re there.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Take care.

  56. Love those dividends,

    Thanks so much! 🙂

    Claudia’s been so understanding and supportive. I’m really fortunate.

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Take care!

  57. Congratulations to you and your wife! I love the sound of that mrs dividend mantra! God bless your family and marriage. Financial freedom is much more enjoyable with someone you love to share it with!
    Fon, Fon

  58. Stef,

    Great questions there!

    I think the answer is somewhat subjective, as it depends on how involved you want to be, how much time you have for involvement, the size of your portfolio, and how enjoyable you find that involvement.

    That said, I did my best to answer these questions in this post:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2014/11/is-managing-a-large-dividend-growth-stock-portfolio-time-consuming/

    As I said in the article, most of my time is spent before ever investing in a company. Once I have a good idea of their business model, how they make money, how the business is diversified, how fast they’re growing, and how friendly they are to shareholders, it’s really a matter of just scanning over updates as they come down the line. Like I said in the article, email updates on quarterly results take literally seconds to read and understand. You can be more involved than that, and I certainly am with some of my larger positions. Again, really depends on how much you want to get into. However, I don’t think it’s necessary or even necessarily helpful to read 50+ annual reports every single year.

    Hope that helps! 🙂

    Take care.

  59. Fon fon,

    Thank you so much. That’s funny you mention that, as Claudia calls herself “Mrs. Dividend Mantra”. She can be silly sometimes. 🙂

    Appreciate the well wishes and all the support. I wish you and yours all the same health and wealth moving forward!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Best wishes.

  60. Hey, nice to see you finally get IT done! Congratz!

    Have you ever though about your own podcast? You were doing really well in Kraig’s podcast!

  61. Jason,
    Sorry for another message.
    I read your suggested links and know that I lost the JNJ day to get the April dividends. From your experience, do stocks get higher after the dividends are distributed? Meaning, if it is a bad week to buy JNJ (@101). I am between JNJ and WMT (just started my portfolio!). I would like to by WMT, but they are at $79. I read at Barrons that a good price would be $73.
    Thanks for any insights and comments!

  62. Congrats Jason on getting married! Now, will there be a baby Mantra coming? 🙂
    Thx for the mention, I’m very happy to see how the discussion evolved on my blog in regards to tracking dividend income or not. It was very interesting!
    Cheers,
    Mike

  63. Tauri,

    Thanks! I guess the wedding was a long time coming – we’ve been together for more than five years now. 🙂

    Glad you enjoyed the podcast. Kraig and I used to have a podcast together. I think we did five episodes in all. The issue really was that it was extremely time consuming, and I didn’t have enough time with the job, the blog, and everything else. I may try to get one going again at some point here, though it’d be hard even now because I write so much. We’ll see. I’d love to expand my presence via video or podcast.

    Cheers!

  64. Stoic,

    Hey, good to hear from you. Thanks so much for dropping by.

    Hope all is well for you. I’m sure you’re just loving life over there. Keep it up! 🙂

    Best regards.

  65. Selena,

    Well, a stock’s price is manually adjusted downward by the dividend’s amount on the opening of the trading day on the ex-dividend date. However, I haven’t really run across anything that indicates this has any long-term impact on a stock’s performance, since stocks’ prices are driven by earnings power. That said, there really is no way to time anything. I will attempt to buy a stock before the ex-dividend date if it’s a stock I’m already interested in so as to capture that next payout, but it’s also not something I purposely aim for all the time.

    As far as WMT goes, I included a link to an article about that stock as well (an article I wrote). I don’t think it’s particularly cheap right now, but I’m sure others would disagree on that.

    Hope that helps! 🙂

    Cheers.

  66. Mike,

    Ha! No baby Mantra. I decided a long time ago that I wasn’t going to have children. Claudia’s on the same page there.

    Glad to include you. Always good to see what other investors are interested in. Many roads lead to Rome. As long as you’re on track for your goals, that’s really what matters.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best wishes.

  67. Oh wow, the wedding happened already? Congratulations! I hope you enjoy the trip to Omaha. Maybe you’ll get to interview Warren Buffett!

    Sincerely,
    ARB–Angry Retail Banker

  68. DM,

    I could care less about the articles included, I just read that you were married and immediately scrolled down to make a comment. haha Congrats on the weeding and the major milestone in your life. I hope the night was everything that you and Claudia wanted it to be. Cheers to you for the beginning of a new journey and make sure you enjoy every second of it. I can’t wait to follow along and read about all the memories you two will make over the years!

    Congrats again. Now, it is time for me to scroll back up and begin reading the articles you enjoyed this week.

    Bert

  69. Congrats on the wedding to Claudia! And have fun at the BH shareholder meeting, DM.

    I enjoyed these articles, although I’m concerned about WMT. Specifically, I’m concerned that they have only increased their dividend a cent per share per quarter the last couple years. I think it’s been three years in a row where the increase has been so out of kilter with their norm that I am worried about establishing a position there.

  70. ARB,

    Thanks so much!

    I don’t have the clout (or media access) necessary to interview Buffett, but I hope to get within a few feet or so. But just hearing him speak in person is really just a dream come true. Looking forward to it. 🙂

    Hope you’re having a great weekend.

    Cheers.

  71. Bert,

    Ha! Thanks so much. Really appreciate it. 🙂

    Some pretty solid reading up there. I really enjoyed the fun facts about money.

    Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

    Best wishes.

  72. DE,

    Ha! No reason to share your number. As long as you did what you guys wanted and it worked for you, that’s all that matters. 🙂

    Appreciate the support. Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  73. Mike,

    Thanks so much. Appreciate it. Definitely looking forward to the meeting. Really can’t wait! 🙂

    I hear you there on WMT. Not only have the dividend increases been a bit lackluster over the last couple years, but the stock doesn’t appear to offer a lot of value right now. I don’t really see the kind of margin of safety that I’d have to see in order to buy the stock. I’d like to pick up more shares at some point, as I have some room in the portfolio for it. But it doesn’t make sense from where I’m standing.

    Best regards!

  74. Congrats Jason & Claudia, this was such great news, and we’re so happy for you guys 🙂

    Hope the birthday party was lots of fun and happy belated! Enjoy Omaha. I grew up about three hours away, and it’s a pretty awesome place. Back then, I didn’t know anything about Warren Buffett, but I wish I had gone to some of those earlier BH meetings. I can’t wait to read about your honeymoon weekend there!

    I’m pumped to dig into this weekend reading list. Thanks for sharing and for including me.

  75. Congrats Jason! Please do write about your visit to Omaha. Personally, I have only but deligently watched Mr. Buffet’s interviews on YouTube. I like the way the man seems to have stuck to his principles. Jealous as I am not sure if I could see him in person but please do blog about your experience 🙂 anyway congrats again.

    BTW, I meant to ask earlier what do think of WYNN here?

    Andy

  76. Congrats! The honey moon in Omaha should be fun. We went there at least once a year to see the zoo with the kids. Back then it was grand! Omaha has many great place to eat. It’s really not a bad place for a honey moon, council bluff is just a river away. 🙂

  77. Ryan,

    Thank you. I’m so fortunate to be a part of such a great and supportive community. 🙂

    I’ve heard so many great things about Omaha. It’s usually on the top 10 for all kinds of lists relating to quality of life, so it’s great to finally check it out in person for myself. And, of course, it’s incredibly exciting to be in the same room as Buffett and see him do his thing. Really can’t wait!

    Hope you had a great weekend over there.

    Best wishes.

  78. Andy,

    I’ll definitely write about my trip there. I’ll probably include some information about the city itself as well as the BRK meeting. I’m almost as excited to see Omaha itself just because I’m such a fan of checking out new cities, but Buffett is obviously the big draw. Very excited!

    WYNN is interesting. The industry is very, very cyclical and competitive, which is something to be mindful of. I think the volatile FCF is perhaps one of the most concerning things about the company. In addition, they’re quite leveraged for a company their size. I like the special dividend, and the stock has come down quite a bit lately. Still not quite sure I like what I see there.

    Cheers!

  79. Vivianne,

    I hear the zoo is pretty amazing. They’ve got a lot going on, especially for a city its size. I’m looking forward to checking out the scene there, including the Old Market area. Omaha routinely shows up on reports extolling the quality of life there, so I can’t wait to see it for myself.

    Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you had a great weekend over there!

    Take care.

  80. Congrats Sir! From my family to yours, I wish you both the best. I hope you have a wonderful honeymoon.

    Just finished your new book and reviewed it on amazon. Excellent material, thank you for it. I will enjoy recomending it to many other people.

    -David

  81. Congrats to you and the lucky lady! Never made sense to me to spend $30,000 on a wedding. Props to you on keeping the costs down!

    Out of curiosity – what did you guys have for dinner? 🙂

    I’m super stoked about the Berkshire Hathaway meeting as well! I wanted to spend a weekend exploring Omaha, but it turns out that that weekend conflicts with some really important commitments back home, so I’ll have to leave for California right after the meeting ends. Oh well. Hopefully I can manage to make it to a meetup before I have to leave, if only to say hello in person!

  82. Congratulations to both of you. Really cool that you kept the frugal principles when it comes to wedding. That’s the best way to do it. I always wonder why people get themselves into debt for one day of elaborated celebration. Seems silly to me.

  83. David Ward,

    Thank you so much for that. Very kind of you! 🙂

    And thank you as well for the review on Amazon. I’m so happy you enjoyed the content in the book, and even happier that you enjoyed it enough to give it a great review and recommend it to others. Means a lot to me.

    Stay in touch. And stick around. Plenty more content to come!

    Best regards.

  84. Seraph,

    I’m with you. $30,000 for a wedding sounds absolutely nuts to me. All for one night of partying. I personally couldn’t care less if someone wants to spend that on their wedding, but I realized a long time ago that it wasn’t for me. Not only have I never really wanted to get married, but I definitely couldn’t see blowing all that cash on one celebration. It’s just not at all necessary (or even helpful) to having a good time.

    We actually ate at a beachside restaurant. Turned out to not be all that great. Claudia had a seafood pasta and I ordered a ribeye steak. The pasta was good, but the steak wasn’t. I almost never send food back, but I had to in this instance. They took it off the bill, so our wedding dinner was actually pretty cheap (and not very filling for me). I ended up eating a sandwich when we got home. Not purposely frugal in that manner, but it ended up that way!

    Definitely looking forward to meeting a few readers, if possible. We’re staying at a budget hotel not far from CenturyLink Center, and I’m going to check to make sure they have some kind of meeting area. It’d be nice if a few people could stop in for a bit. Hope to see you there!

    Best wishes.

  85. Tawcan,

    Couldn’t agree more. It’s one thing to spend a little cash – and maybe more than you should – for a wedding, but quite another to go into debt over it. Not the best way to start of a lifelong partnership, in my view.

    Thanks so much. Appreciate the support. I think our wedding was pretty similar to yours in terms of its frugalness. 🙂

    Cheers!

  86. Congratulations for joining the Club!! Remember, just because you’re married doesn’t mean you don’t have to take your wife on a date every so often! There is something special about taking the step of marriage, I remember looking into my brides eyes and then the tears just started flowing for the both of us, a truly special feeling that was completely unsuspected. I knew it was a special moment, I just didn’t realize I was going to cry lol.

    Again, congratulations!!

    Raymond

  87. Congrats on all of the milestones! Way to be frugal and still celebrate those important things in your life!

    Also thanks for the reading suggestions! I have a long flight next weekend and now I have something to read! Thanks!

  88. My wedding band was $18, and my wife’s was $16. Tungsten carbide off Ebay. I had to buy her another one recently since she lost hers, and it was only $12. My size is down to $10 now, and the local big box jewelry store wanted $270 for the same thing. I’m in the wrong business! I’m glad Claudia is on the same page with you, it certainly makes for a happy marriage 🙂

  89. Congratulations and happy birthday! So happy for you on this next chapter of life.

    I heard you on Kraig’s podcast this weekend and really enjoyed it, even as a dumb index investor. 🙂

  90. Raymond,

    Thanks for sharing that!

    It’s definitely an amazing feeling to be standing there and making this promise to someone else. Claudia was very much emotionally affected by it, and so was I. It was a moment we’ll never forget, no matter what.

    I’ve never been particularly enamored with the idea of marriage, but it is great to have a partner that understands my reasoning and decided to be patient with me. 🙂

    Appreciate you stopping by.

    Best regards!

  91. Rich,

    Not only are those rings extremely durable, but they’re pretty cheap as well. I don’t know how you can go wrong there. 🙂

    Thanks so much for the support. Much appreciated!

    Cheers.

  92. klinel01,

    Can’t ever forget my frugal heritage, even for a wedding. It really came down to what we both enjoy and what we both wanted. And what we wanted just didn’t require much money at all. I find that’s true with most things in life, which is why living frugally isn’t really a bummer at all for me. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy some of the reading!

    Take care.

  93. Ken,

    Nice moves over there! Wedding rings needn’t be expensive at all. They’re a symbol of commitment, not how much money you can spend.

    I also noticed those jewelry stores charge a lot of money for the tungsten carbide rings – like 5-10 times higher than what you can find online. I can see a little markup, but that doesn’t make any sense at all.

    We’re definitely lucky to be on the same page. It’s funny because we are so far apart in age, and we have very different backgrounds. But we get along pretty well.

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Cheers!

  94. Brian,

    Ha! We probably could have done it even cheaper, but I wasn’t specifically trying to break any records or be as frugal as possible with it. It just really came down to what we both wanted, which just so happened to require very little capital outlay. We like our simple life, with the simple ceremony epitomizing that. 🙂

    Thanks so much. Hope all is well over there!

    Best wishes.

  95. Very many congratulations on the wedding, hope you two had a great time. Smart move on the ring though, we both have got Titanium rings, they look great but scratch really easily.

    Cheers and have fun next week in Omaha.

  96. FSF,

    Sorry to hear about the titanium rings. I imagine they’re still much cheaper and more durable than traditional precious metal rings, however. 🙂

    Thanks for the support. Will report back on Omaha!

    Cheers.

  97. freeyourchains,

    Ha! Exactly. I’d do the math on what saving $29,670 (compared to the average wedding costs) can compound into over the coming decades, but you already know how that works out. 🙂

    Thanks so much. Appreciate you stopping by. Hope all is well over there!

    Best regards.

  98. Hi Jason,

    Congratulations on your wedding!! That is awesome! Many blessings in your wedded life!!

    Paul

  99. Jason, Congrats. I got married in 2009 and it has been great. I am on a work trip now in Vilnius, Lithuania which also included stops in Paris and Copenhagen. My work is sometimes adventurous which sets me up for only one more year syndrome but I really do want FI and freedom to be with my spouse. The good news is I’m getting there. Best, Dividend Diplomat.

  100. Good luck with the marriage. Nothing beats having someone by your side who is working towards the same goals. Good luck.

    Keep cranking,

    Robert the DividendDreamer
    AKA –Seeking Dividends

  101. Christine,

    Thank you very much. Really appreciate it!

    I’ll definitely post about the meeting when I’m back. Hopefully, I can put out a post this coming Sunday. Keep an eye out. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Take care.

  102. Paul N,

    Thanks. It’s definitely been a long, hard road to this spot. I’ve been hurt by a lot of people, especially by those I wasn’t expecting. But I suppose I appreciate the good times that much more because of that. 🙂

    I’ve come across similar studies linking high wedding/ring costs to shorter marriages. And I agree with the conclusion that it really comes down to the type of people who demand/want expensive rings/weddings and what kind of situations/stress they find themselves in down the road. Disagreements regarding money can quickly bring even the strongest relationship to its knees.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Best wishes.

  103. DD,

    Living the life over there! 🙂

    Nothing wrong with OMYS if you’re happy. That’s really what it all comes down to. If you’re happy doing what you’re doing and you largely enjoy your time at it, then there’s nothing wrong with continuing on well past the point of financial freedom. OMYS becomes a shame, however, when someone stays well past the point of what’s necessary even while they don’t really enjoy what they’re doing. Some people just happen to really like what they do, though I would argue that’s probably a very small minority of people. Perhaps you’re in that minority over there. Gotta love the travel perks!

    Best regards.

  104. Robert,

    Thank you. Couldn’t agree more. Finding someone on the same financial wavelength is incredibly important. Opposites can and do attract, but arguments over money are not fun.

    Thanks for dropping by. Hope all is well!

    Best regards.

  105. Congratulations!

    It’s funny because we haven’t spent more than 100$ on our wedding, just paid for the paperwork. 10 years later,our marriage is as good as it was the first year. People get trapped in the big fancy weddings, then complain about not having enough money for example – down payment on the house, car etc.

  106. Jollie,

    You guys did great over there. It’s not about the money, but the love between two people.

    As I’ve written about before, I don’t view how long you stay with someone as the ultimate barometer of relationship success, but starting a marriage off in poor financial condition is not a good idea. And those that want a lavish wedding might be those that also like to spend money on other things as well, eventually leading to money problems.

    Thanks for sharing. Glad to be in good company. 🙂

    Best regards.

  107. Jason,

    Congrats on tying the knot! I was about a week ahead of you on that and I went with the cheap tungsten ring as well haha. I just wanted to drop by and say thank you again for inspiring me to start my DGI journey. I just passed a portfolio milestone of $20k and I’m closing in on an annual dividend payout of $1000 (although you were right to stay away from ESV, that bit me haha). Thanks again, and keep up the awesome posts!

    Brian

  108. Irishbrian,

    Congrats! That’s fantastic news. $1,000 in dividend income is the start of something really beautiful. Stick with it!!

    Glad to hear we’re on the same page regarding the tungsten ring. I don’t know how you go wrong. Cheaper and more durable. Works for me. 🙂

    Keep up the great work over there. Can’t wait to see you turn that $1k into $2k.

    Best wishes.

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