Weekend Reading – June 27, 2015

happyweekendIt’s hot, humid, and extremely rainy down here in SW Florida in the summer. And that sure makes it easy to save money. Who wants to spend the day outside and spend any money when it feels like you’re going to melt?

Of course, we generally get about seven months of absolutely gorgeous weather from October to April which more than makes up for the hot summers. And it’s 90 degrees right now in Boise, Idaho (same as here),Β but they also have to deal with ice, snow, and cold in the winter.

But we are going to brave the temps and go downtown a little later this evening. There’s this great Thai spot that serves up some amazing stuff. And then we’ll probably grab a coffee and chat for a few hours. Not the cheapest way to spend a Saturday night, but also not the most expensive. It’s really just a matter of getting a good value for your money, not going overboard with it, and maximizing happiness.

In other news, I just today received my first royalty payment from my book, which is incredible. Really looking forward to sharing what that looks likeΒ and maybe even writing a post on my experience with writing a book and everything else that went into it. I have to thank everyone out there that purchased a copy and/or spread the word on it. It was purposely priced low so that as many people as possible could buy it and hopefully benefit from the content. Like I’ve said many times now, it’s not going to radically change my life in terms of how much money I’ll make from it. But if it can change even one life out there for the better, that’s a huge win for me.

There are two more posts coming for this month. And they’ll both be about stock purchases I made with the money I received from the Lorillard Inc. (LO) acquisition by Reynolds American, Inc. (RAI). Keep an eye out for those posts.

I’m also very excited to get some great content out in July. I want to review my goals for the year, update the dividend growth numbers, and cover a few new topics that have long been on my mind. Another really busy month ahead. In addition, July’s netΒ savings rate is shaping up to be one of the best in years. Life is very good and I’m so fortunate. I sincerely appreciate all of your support out there and I continue to put out the best content I can.

In that regard, I’m including a collection of great articles I’ve come across recently.Β Hope you all enjoy the articles and have a great weekend!

These 34 Dividend Growth Stocks Go Ex-Dividend Next Week
A little self-promotion, but only because I think there’s a lot of value here. This post includes 34 stocks that go ex-dividend next week. And every single stock you see listed here is culled from David Fish’s Dividend Champions, Contenders, and Challengers list. The ex-dividend date is basically a cutoff date – it separates the haves from the have nots. If you want to collect the next scheduled dividend from any stock, you’ll have to own or buy that stock at least one business day before the ex-dividend date.

Take a Spin on the Wealthometer!
J. Money shared a fun post here. Plug your numbers in and you might be surprised at just how far ahead of the average you are. I came up in position #66 which while solid is somewhat low because there are three members of our household (I’m including Claudia’s son). Take a spin!

Special Report: The war on big food
Fortune has been putting out some great stuff lately. This article is especially relevant to many of us dividend growth investors that invest in food companies. I recently invested in Hershey Co. (HSY), and I found this exchange with Will Papa, head of Hershey’s global R&D, really interesting:

This relatively new notion that a treatβ€”which by definition is something that gives pleasureβ€”should also be good for you, coincides with what Papa calls the β€œunreasonable consumer.” Explains Papa, who spent close to 30 years at P&G before coming to Hershey: β€œIt used to be I could have great cellphone coverage and pay a premium for it, or I could have slightly lesser coverage and get a deal,” he says. β€œNow consumers want great cellphone coverage all the time and the deal. Because they’re getting it many places, they now expect it everywhere.” Translation: If we’re going to eat something bad for us, we want to know it’s the best kind of bad we can get.

PepsiCo’s CEO was right. Now what?
Keeping with the food theme, Fortune covered PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) and some of the challenges facing the beverage and snack food company. Another great exchangeΒ here:

So while Nooyi was right to anticipate the health trend, her fun/better/good distinction may no longer make sense. For example, the company once viewed Diet Pepsi as β€œbetter for you”; few would agree with that opinion today. Nooyi herself was astounded by a recent encounter with a $9 bag of fried kale chips, which she called a β€œfat bomb.” β€œThe consumer has turned the definition [of healthy] upside down,” she says. β€œIf it is non-GMO, natural, or organic, but high in sodium and high in sugar and fat, it’s okay.”

The railroad with better profit margins than Google
Fortune also took some time recently to cover Union Pacific Corporation(UNP), which just so happens to be another company I’m buying a stake in. This is a great read if you’re a UNP stakeholder or just interested in the company and/or railroads in general. Check this out:

The railroad’s superior strength in Mexico isn’t lost on Buffett. During his presentation alongside Berkshire vice chairman Charlie Munger at the company’s annual meeting in April, Buffett remarked, β€œUnion Pacific’s rail network is much better positioned for Mexico than BNSF.” Buffett might have picked the wrong railroad to buy, but he knows a great business when he sees it.

Union Pacific: A Good Bet for the Long Haul
Morningstar also recently covered Union Pacific, which is another great piece. In addition, Morningstar recently discussed why railroads in general have incredible competitive advantages.

Investment Plan Island Interview with…. Jason from Dividend Mantra!
Jason from Islands of Investing took some time out of his day to interview me. Really appreciate this opportunity and I enjoyed answering some great questions. No surprises here for anyone that’s been following me for a while now, but it was interesting to think about what would happen if the market were to absolutely tank all of the sudden.

Recent Buy
JC picked up some shares in Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM). I wouldn’t mind a chance to average down on XOM at some point here, but it’s trading not far below my cost basis. I initiated my position in the company at $86/share when oil was about $100/barrel. So I find shares less attractive now at $84/share with oil at $60/barrel. Nonetheless, XOM is one of the premier companies in O&G.

Adding CVX To My Portfolio
Dividend Dreams made a similar move by buying up stock in Chevron Corporation (CVX) recently. Another great O&G play here. Similar situation to the one above, it’s trading not far below my cost basis. And that cost basis was locked in when oil was a lot higher. But a great long-term play if you’re looking for long-term energy exposure.

Recent Buy – Bank of Nova Scotia
Roadmap 2 Retire decided to add to his Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) position. I continue to like the Canadian banks here. Solid valuations, high yields, and a very favorable competitive environment.

Recent Buy: June 17th, 2015
Ryan initiated a position in T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW) not long after I added to my own position. Great company with excellent fundamentals across the board. The stock could prove volatile if the market severely corrects, but short-term volatility is just a long-term opportunity, in my view.

Recent Buy – Boeing (BA)
American Dividend Dream decided to pick up shares in Boeing Co. (BA) with cash from the LO acquisition. Not a bad play at all. BA has performed exceptionally well over the last few years.

What version of the β€œtruth” do you believe?
Steve wrote a great piece on finding your own truth/belief system. Everyone thinks they have the right solution for problems, but the reality is that truths can be highly subjective. And they can change over time. Don’t be afraid to discover new truths and ways to think about life and happiness. Attempting to rigidly quantify everything in life and then sticking to that rigidity might not beΒ in your best interest.

Coca-Cola’s 20 Billion Dollar Brands & Future Growth
Ben went over Coca-Cola’s 20 different billion-dollar brands, future growth potential, and the valuation of The Coca-Cola Co. (KO) shares right now. Although this is still primarily a carbonated soft drink company, they have incredible diversification both in terms of the beverages they offer and the geographies in which they operate and sell those beverages. I remain a very long-term shareholder here.

Why I Gave Up a $95,000 Job to Move to an Island and Scoop Ice Cream
Not quite sure how I even ran into this article (I promise I’m not a regular reader of Cosmopolitan), but it’s a great piece. I love it when people decide to shift gears and live a new lifetime. And Noelle decided to let a journalist lifetime in New York die to live a new lifetime of living a more leisurely and enjoyable lifetime in the Virgin Islands. Even better, she may be living a totally new lifetime in a few years, as she alludes to. Inspiring stuff. Reminds me a little bit of letting my lifetime of being a full-time service advisor die off only to be reborn as a blogger/writer. Except the whole tropical island thing. But I already live in Florida (after moving here years ago in similar fashion to the author), so that counts a little.

I Quit My Job and Built a Tiny House so I Could Travel
Another person pursuing a totally new and different lifetime, this is a pretty interesting story. Not sure of all the economics involved, but those tiny houses sure can pack a lot of punch in a small space. I continue to be surprised at just how robust and beautiful they can be.

This Unique Fund Has Beaten the Market for 40 Years
Looking for proof that buy-and-hold investing works if you stick with it for the long term? Here you go.

The one lesson about Warren Buffett’s success that no one wants to hear
DGI is correct in that Buffett has worked incredibly hard all his life to be in the position he now enjoys. Of course, Buffett doesn’t really view it as work (I probably wouldn’t, either) – he says he “tap dances to work”. Now, maybe Buffett wouldn’t be the multibillionaire he is today without the structure of the early partnerships or the insurance float he’s enjoyed. But there’s no doubt he was destined to be incredibly successful and wealthy, regardless. Work hard, live below your means, and invest intelligently and you almost can’t lose. It’s a formula that almost anyone can copy and do well with. Besides, nobody needs billions of dollars to be successful and/or happy.

What Do Bodybuilding And Investing Have In Common?
Zero to Zeros made a really interesting and apt comparison between bodybuilding and investing. And they have a lot in common. I actually speak from some experienceΒ hereΒ as I was a competitive bodybuilder in my teens and won a state championship in Michigan way back in the late 90s. One needsΒ to stay patient, consistent, and persistent, whether it’s in the name of building muscle or building wealth. I would say that they have one major difference in that if you quit working out, your muscles will disappear somewhat; quit investing new money and your current investmentsΒ will very likely still continue to grow over time. So I do like the fact that money doesn’t atrophy like muscles!

Full Disclosure: Long RAI, HSY, PEP, UNP, XOM, CVX, BNS, TROW, and KO.

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: gubgib/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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57 Comments

  1. Some great set of links here, Jason. Thanks for compiling the list – I will be sure to check some of the articles that sound interesting.

    Thanks for the mention.

    Have a great wknd
    R2R

  2. Thanks for the mention DM!

    Theres always at least one thing wrong with any location. California has great year round weather but it’s prohibitively expensive. Florida gets got but you also get great weather and beaches for 2/3 of the year.

    Lots of interesting articles that I happened to miss this past week. Looking forward to reading through them. Enjoy your weekend!

  3. Hi Jason,

    Thanks for the selection! Excellent articles, as usual.

    Keep up the great work.

    Cheers,
    IndependentBunny

  4. Dividend Mantra,

    It is the opposite hear in Western Canada. In the summer you have to get out of the house or apt because it gets to hot sometimes. Right now, we are in a heat wave here, so I visited a Tim Hortons today for some AC. Spent 2 hours instead of 20 minutes and soaked up the AC while supporting a company I own a piece of (QSR – Restaurant Brands International).

    I tried to write a blog post there but the WIFI kept cutting out LOL. I was just thankful to have the AC.

    Congrats on receiving your first royalty payment from the book. I contributed to the royalty payment a while back.

    Thanks for posting the articles.

  5. Great list here DM. I have had the chance to read some of these during the week and the definitely deserve to be on your list. Looks like I still have some more reading to this weekend, so I have to run over the the coffee pot right about now. It seems that others are noticing or picking up some shares in stocks you have added over the last few months, so maybe it is time I add them to one of my watch lists!

    Keep up the great work DM. Who knows, maybe one day the Indians will figure out how to beat the Tigers. Miguel Cabrera just kills us! Have a great weekend.

    Bert

  6. hi Jason this is some interesting links to go to. Most definitely gives you something to think about. I just added PAYX to my regular account last week. also looking to add O to my wife Roth IRA. I am getting ready to add some more AAPL to my 401K. Keep the articles coming.Cheers

  7. Congrats on a great month of investments, it’s been awesome to watch. I’m excited that the rewards are finally coming in for your book too, it was such a great read.
    Aaahhhh… Thai and coffee sounds like an amazing evening, enjoy it you two πŸ™‚
    These links all sound awesome and thanks for the mention. I’m eager to dig and and I love seeing all the support for UNP.

    Cheers!
    ~Ryan

  8. Thanks again Jason for sharing your personal investing plan and philosophy with us on the Islands of Investing, really appreciated your thoughtful and thorough responses. No doubt some great inspiration there for other aspiring dividend investors!

    And congrats on the royalty payment from the book! Even thought your main goal is helping others, I hope you do earn plenty of money from this which you can continue to reinvest in your portfolio, giving you even greater freedom to keep creating great content.

    Cheers,

    Jason

  9. R2R,

    No problem at all. Hope you find some value in some of the articles. The Fortune pieces in particular were really interesting.

    Have a great weekend over there, too!

    Cheers.

  10. JC,

    Indeed. Tough to find perfect weather, and when you do it generally comes with extremely high COL. Hawaii and Southern California comes to mind pretty quickly for that. But Florida offers really solid weather for most of the year, a summer that’s not much hotter than many other parts of the country, a fairly attractive COL, and no state income taxes. I’m digging it. πŸ™‚

    Hope you enjoy some of the articles up there. They stretch the gamut from stock purchases to industry pieces to inspiration.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  11. IB,

    My pleasure! These articles can actually be among my most time consuming to write, surprisingly enough. But I’m happy to share and provide value. πŸ™‚

    Thanks for stopping in. Have a great weekend!

    Take care.

  12. IP,

    Ouch. Air conditioning or Wi-Fi, but not both, huh? Sounds like a rough day. Air conditioning is about as common as oxygen down here. Ha! πŸ™‚

    Appreciate that support very much. I’m really fortunate to have such a great and supportive readership.

    Hope you’re having a great weekend over there!

    Cheers.

  13. Bert,

    Cabrera is a beast. I went to a Tigers game last summer and he can definitely crack that ball.

    Yeah, I’ve noticed the likes of UNP, TRV, and WPC being bought up by some others after I pulled the trigger and shared the analysis. Great companies there, so I’m glad to have some other long-term shareholders on board. Very exciting to see how it goes there. And I’ll probably be adding to those names once again in July.

    Thanks for stopping by. Hope you and Lanny are enjoying the summer weather up there.

    Best wishes!

  14. Michael,

    Keep saving and investing. The future you is already benefiting. πŸ™‚

    Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed some of the articles!

    Cheers.

  15. Ryan,

    Thanks so much. It looks like I can’t compete with your July over there, however. You’re killing it. πŸ™‚

    Morningstar is all over UNP lately. I’m not surprised. I wrote my first article on UNP a few months back and was completely impressed with everything. The large pullback seems to be offering just the opportunity long-term investors look for. Happy to own shares here and looking to pick up more soon.

    Appreciate all the support very much. Let’s keep rocking!

    Best regards.

  16. Jason,

    Thanks so much for the opportunity. I was more than happy to stop by the Islands and share what I’ve learned. Every opportunity to share and inspire is something I really cherish.

    Appreciate the kind words. I’m hoping for the same. I obviously want the book to be a massive success so that I can do just that – continue creating content, inspiring, and growing the community. We’re all in this together and every additional member adds value to the collective.

    Have a great weekend over there!

    Best regards.

  17. Hey! I am visiting my parents here in Ft Lauderdale for about a week. You’re right, the weather is hot, humid and thunder and lightning! Chillin in my hotel readin my dividend mantra fix.

  18. Steve,

    Hey, hope you’re enjoying your time in Fort Lauderdale! πŸ™‚

    Yeah, the summer is really hot down here. The absolute temps aren’t so bad, but what hits you is the humidity and the fact that it doesn’t cool off much at night. So it’s just that sustained heat.

    Thanks for taking the time to stop by and read the site. Hope the articles keep you company in the hotel room.

    Take care.

  19. Hah.. You would pick on Boise. Any connection there? Actually it was 104 today and expected to hit a record of 108 tomorrow. Actually most of the time it is quite mild here especially compared to the upper Midwest. Very little snow in the valley where Boise is located.

  20. trostock,

    Ha! No connection at all, but I was just pointing out that Florida’s summer isn’t quite as hot as it’s made out to be. It’s mildly hotter than what a lot of people up north get, but the big difference is that the humidity is a bit higher and the heat is more sustained (doesn’t cool off at night).

    Though, Boise is quite a bit hotter than FL right now: its next seven days top out at: 109, 102, 98, 101, 102, 103, and 104. That’s HOT! And it looks like wintertime brings about highs in the mid-30s with about 20 inches or so of snow. Not real sure if that’s a compromise I’d want to make. Maybe something like the Pacific NW where you get warmer winters and almost no snow (but plenty of rain), but cooler and more enjoyable summers. All in all, I was just pointing out that a lot of places in the north get really hot, too… but they don’t get that great trade-off of six or seven months a year where it’s absolutely gorgeous.

    Cheers!

  21. Hi Jason!

    Thanks for the weekend reading! I just finished your book yesterday and I can say it was worth every cent (I could have paid a little more too). I will definitely recommend your book to anyone who is intrested in dividend growth investing. Most of the things on DGI were already familiar to me as I have read your blogs recent and some of the older stuff but it was good to read the stuff again. As I’m hungry for more, can you recommend some book that’s on amazon for me to purchase and read next? Would like to read a book in english to brush up my language.

    Great news from DIS by the way. Chainging the dividend to semi-annual is nice although I didn’t mind the annual payment. Do you think there is another raise coming in december? Enjoy the rest of the weekend and let’s see if the debt crisis in Greece gives us buying opportunities next week.

  22. Jason,

    Nice reading articles you have selected for us. Great to have different and new inlightment.

    Looking forward to see your book benefit and how you are going to spend this cash.

    Cheers, RA50

  23. Jason,

    I’ve been here in Boise for many decades and I can tell you I have never seen 20 inches in the valley. The mountains close by are another matter. Snow in the valley lasts about 3 days on average before it melts off. The weather is gorgeous this morning as I type this. The hot weather is also out of character. But it is hot now for a few weeks off and on. If you get out in the morning… it’s simply fantastic.

    Usually the weather here is great about 9 months of the year. Just replying because I don’t want people to get a distorted view. But then again, I like the fact there are not as many people here so it’s best kept as “our little secret”

    Have a great day.

  24. Thanks for the mention, Jason. Definitely appreciate your weekend reading lists. Here’s to continued success with your book, my friend. Cheers. πŸ™‚

  25. I have to laugh at all these comparisons of heat between Boise and Florida: summer has finally begun in the Valley of the Sun and we’ve enjoyed several 115+ days in the past week or so. That said, I’d rather be at 115 degrees with 4% humidity than at 100 with 85%.

    Considering what to do with June dividends, and looking at KO, XOM, EMR, or PG. All great companies, and none would overweight me in a sector. For trading cost reasons, I’d prefer selecting one rather than splitting funds between all 4. EMR and PG concern me a little because of recent earnings slowdowns, but the effect is to make their stocks a bit more attractive in terms of valuation than KO or XOM. Should add that I’ve been looking at UNP, which seems like a screaming value, but I simply don’t understand the significant drop it’s been experiencing or what will be the catalyst to halt the decline. Thoughts?

  26. Great list of articles Jason. Corrections to the price of some of the stocks many of us own has created a lot of buying opportunity. I want every stock you highlighted on this post, I just wish I had more money. Thanks for adding my post to your list.

  27. Hi Jason — I’m excited that you mention the idea of sharing your experience with writing and publishing a book. Please do so! Any lessons learned and observations about what you would do differently, upon reflection, would be very informative. Congratulations on receiving that first royalty check!

    Cheers
    FerdiS

  28. That Fortune UNP article was really nicely written and incredibly insightful. As a shareholder, it made me feel good to see it was even a better pick than I originally thought. Sure I’ve “lost” money in share price, but since I’m not selling anytime soon, this really doesn’t matter. In fact, I’ve been considering averaging down my cost basis, and this seems like a good time to do so. We’ll see. Thanks for the list.

    – HMB

  29. Have you ever looked into viab? I’ve been watching it for the !last several months and its now 30% off its highs with great fundamental and good div history. Wondering your thoughts

  30. Sampo,

    Thank you. Really glad you enjoyed the book and found a lot of value there. I wanted to make sure the price was right. I didn’t want anyone walking away from the book feeling like they didn’t get their money’s worth.

    As far as other books go, I’ve read the books here and recommend them all:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/getting-started/

    All of the books specifically focused on dividend/dividend growth investing are pretty easy reads.

    Yeah, the DIS news was really fantastic. I doubt we’ll see another raise in December since this one came quite early with the news of the switch to the semi-annual payout. But you never know. I would certainly welcome something like that. As it stands, I’m going to receive a big boost to the DIS dividend income this year because of the raise and switch. Some people questioned the valuation of DIS when I bought it back in December, but I really felt it wasn’t expensive there. Still doesn’t appear expensive now.

    Let’s indeed hope we get some more opportunities next week. I’m expecting the cash pile to get built back up again and I’ll be ready for another shopping trip. πŸ™‚

    Cheers!

  31. RA50,

    I always try to include some diverse articles. They stretch from lifestyle inspiration to stock buying. πŸ™‚

    Appreciate the support. Hope to put some of that royalty money to work as early as next week!

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Best regards.

  32. trostock,

    “I’ve been here in Boise for many decades and I can tell you I have never seen 20 inches in the valley.”

    Hmm, that’s strange. I find that the internet somewhat mitigates the importance of anecdotes because hard data is so easy to come by.

    Boise, Idaho’s Wikipedia page shows an average of 19.2 inches of snow at the Boise Airport over the last 30 years:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise,_Idaho#Climate

    I double-checked that with a few other websites around the internet and they all seem to include the same numbers. Looks pretty accurate.

    But it also looks like the winters are much milder than, say, most of the Midwest. Depends on the comparisons, though. Compared to Florida, those winters are brutal. And then the summer temperatures aren’t much cooler (and can actually be hotter), though your period of really hot weather doesn’t last as long. I think that’s really where Florida can be thought of as hot – it’s just a sustained heat that lasts all night and goes on for about four months straight. But, again, the trade-off is some of the best weather in the country for about seven or eight months.

    In the end, I wasn’t really interested in getting into a debate about Boise weather. I was just pointing out that people sometimes develop perceptions that aren’t really true. Florida has this reputation of being much, much hotter than other areas of the country, and it’s not necessarily true. Depends on where you’re comparing it to. The NE Atlantic area, for instance, can be pretty brutal in the summer. So can the Midwest and Southwest. And it’s often hotter in Atlanta than it is here due to our coastal winds.

    Cheers!

  33. Jason,
    Some good stuff here. I liked the wealthometer as a measure of how you stack up to the rest of the folks here in the States. Also liked the Morningstar analysis of UNP. DivHut would like the video that followed that which was about banks, including some of his favorite Canadian firms. Too much to read on a beautiful summer day (it’s 72 degrees). I need to get on the bike and get some exercise. See y’all later!
    Keith

  34. EvenKeel,

    “That said, I’d rather be at 115 degrees with 4% humidity than at 100 with 85%.”

    Not even close, actually. It’s right now 83 degrees with 76% humidity here in Florida. It’s currently 93 degrees with 25% humidity in Boise. And you guys are a couple hours behind us, which means it’s going to be a lot hotter. The “feels like” temperature is the same right now at both locations: 91 degrees. But, again, it’ll be hotter today there than it will be here today. And that looks set to continue for at least the next week. Although, again, it wasn’t my intention to debate Boise weather. I was just pointing out the fallacy of Florida’s summer being somehow substantially hotter than many other areas of the country. Lastly, it’s almost never 100 degrees here. I’ve never seen it, though that exact number is our all-time high (which happens to be a lot lower than Boise’s all-time high).

    As far as UNP’s recent drop (and catalyst to stop it), the answers are in the content I just provided above. The long answers are there for you. The short answer is that they’ve been experiencing a recent drop in volumes/traffic, specifically relating to coal.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Take care.

  35. DD,

    I wish I had more money as well. Too many stocks, never enough capital. One of those great first world problems to have! πŸ™‚

    Hope you’re enjoying your weekend over there.

    Cheers.

  36. Ferdi,

    I’d be happy to share. It was really a lot less challenging than I initially thought it’d be, but I think that’s true for a lot of things in life. We sometimes imagine things to be a lot harder than they really are. Writing the book was actually quite easy once I put my mind to it. Started and finished it one evening.

    Hope to be able to put something together on that here pretty soon. πŸ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  37. HMB,

    I agree. Fortune has been putting together some really solid stuff lately. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying their articles. Sometimes they focus too heavily on new tech, but it’s been a lot of the blue-chip stuff lately.

    Glad you enjoyed it and found value in it. πŸ™‚

    Best wishes.

  38. took2summit,

    Another reader asked me about VIAB a few days ago. I’m somewhat familiar with it after writing the Buffett articles – Berkshire has been a net buyer of media companies like VIAB for a while now.

    This was my response:

    “Viacom is a solid company. Really great fundamentals across the board and robust growth since being spun off. In addition, Berkshire has been a net buyer of media companies like (and including) VIAB. However, I do remain a bit concerned over the long-term trends regarding content consumption and how the [distribution] channels are changing all the time. Viacom owns some excellent content production properties, but that’s just something to be mindful of. DIS is personally my favorite media and entertainment company, though. But VIAB is a lot cheaper and sports a much higher yield (and probably rightfully so).”

    Hope that helps. Interest in Viacom will largely depend on your view of the long-term consumption of some of their traditional cable channels. Nickelodeon is a big play there.

    Best regards.

  39. Keith,

    I actually have an article in mind that is somewhat along the lines of that J. Money post. But it takes a broader look at wealth and how we should think about it. It’s something I’ve been wanting to write about for a while now. Just a matter of finding the time and opportunity.

    The UNP articles were great. The Fortune piece was especially in-depth. Morningstar has been all over the railroads recently, which is great if you’re a shareholder or interested in buying. A ton of information out there to digest.

    Enjoy your Sunday up there!

    Cheers.

  40. Hey Jason,

    I was curious if you have kept track of how much fresh capital you have invested since you started the Freedom Fund (not counting reinvested dividends). I see your find value is just under 200k, and I could look at your cost basis totals and subtract the dividends (since I would say it’s safe to say you have reinvested all your dividends πŸ™‚ I’m just trying to get some perspective of how much capital you’ve managed to put to work on a relatively average income. It’s so great to see people like you and all the others in this community making things happen and building wealth over the long-term.

    I was also curious if you have ever discussed your student loan situation. Are you paying it off slowly to get the tax benefit? Otherwise I would have figured you would have knocked that debt out years ago!

    All the best,

    Mike

  41. Mike,

    No problem. I do keep track of that. The total amount I’ve actually contributed from my bank account is ~$135,000 over the last five years. So you could average that out and figure it’s about $2,250 per month (or $27k/year). It hasn’t been that exact amount spread out evenly across the entire time, however. I’ve scaled up and down as cash flow allowed.

    Appreciate the support. If it’s possible for me to do this on what was car dealership income, then I think it’s possible for just about anyone else out there to do something somewhat similar. We all have unique situations, some better and some worse. But, overall, the capabilities and opportunities for the average American are tremendous, which means there’s a lot of wasteful spending and blown opportunities occurring out there. Doing what I can to change that by showing the real-life climb here. πŸ™‚

    Best regards!

  42. Ok, I promise this is the end of the Boise weather discussion. πŸ™‚ I now realize the miscommunication. I was thinking 20 inches all at once on the valley floor. In reality it is three inches at a time with a quick melt. That is accurate with Wikipedia…

    “Snowfall averages 19 inches (48 cm), but typically falls in bouts of 3 inches (8 cm) or less”

    Just got back from a 12 mile fantastic morning bike ride that ended at about 11:00 AM. It really was not hot at all since most of the green belt is protected by trees. It’s just now starting to heat up to where some might object to a bike ride.

    To each their own.. but I like the dry heat better than humid.

    Take care.. now back to investing..

  43. trostock,

    Yeah, I can’t imagine anyone would think that any city’s annual snowfall occurs all at once. There are big cities up in Michigan that get around 60 inches or so per year. But it doesn’t all come at one time. We’d get three inches here, one inch there, and sometimes big storms dropping a foot at a time. Weather isn’t exact or linear. But 20 inches of snow is 20 inches more than we get down here. πŸ™‚

    I was actually outside myself just a little bit ago to grab some lunch (all out of bread for sandwiches). It was quite pleasant, actually. And, like was mentioned elsewhere in the comments, both Boise and Sarasota have almost exact “feels like” weather today, which is somewhere just north of 90 degrees. Whether or not that’s comfortable, however, is up to the individual. I don’t particularly mind heat, to a point.

    Cheers!

  44. Hey now, even tho we have to deal with snow and ice in Boise, it’s still a great place to live in! πŸ˜›

    Thank you so much for the mention Jason, I really appreciate it! I was wondering why I got such a huge traffic spike on my blog the last 2 days, now I know why, haha.

    I love these kinds of posts, it’s a great way to discover other DGI blogs and even just to keep up those you already know. I follow so many that it can become difficult to read all the content that gets published all the time, so these recaps are wonderful.

    Keep up the great work man, as usual.

    Cheers!

  45. Jason – Thanks for taking the time to compile the list of weekend reads. Lots of interesting articles so thanks for sharing. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

    Happy 4th in advance. AFFJ

  46. ZTZ,

    Happy to share, man.

    There are definitely a lot of blogs out there now. When I first started, there were only a few. Now there are dozens upon dozens. It’s awesome to see the community grow and expand like that, but it’s also tough to keep up with everything. I just try to spread the love around, get the word out, and include a diverse and interesting set of great articles.

    Enjoy what’s left of the weekend!

    Cheers.

  47. AFFJ,

    Absolutely. Hope you found some value in the articles. The Fortune pieces were really, really solid. πŸ™‚

    You enjoy the rest of your weekend, too. And have a great 4th!

    Best regards.

  48. Thanks for including my post on Buffett in your review. I agree with you that if you like something, it doesn’t really feel like work – which incidentally means that spending all those hours on that activity is rewarding & stimulating.

    It is telling how successful people from Gates, to Jobs to Buffett, all coming from different angles in life shared that zeal to keep doing what they truly love. When you have a passion for software, hardware or investing, you do not count time till 5pm – you live and breathe your occupation every second. That means you out-do your competition, and eventually succeed. I think that’s why you have been successful as well – you are passionate on your topic, and willing to spend a lot of time on it, though it doesn’t feel like the 50 – 60 dreadful hours at the dealership.

  49. DGI,

    I definitely agree with you there. Although I work pretty hard over here, I really enjoy the vast majority of my time. Certainly, I don’t enjoy dealing with hosting issues, advertisers, or most of the website development stuff. But the relationships are a real pleasure πŸ™‚

    What’s really interesting about guys like Gates, Jobs, and Buffett is that they’ve all lived multiple lifetimes, like I was writing about recently. Gates moved from one area of the software business to another and is now a full-time philanthropist. Jobs ran multiple companies and, from what I know of him, worked across the spectrum of tech. And then Buffett went from a guy buying stocks to running an entire company. Keeps things fresh, that’s for sure.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  50. Jason,

    Congratulations on receiving your first royalty check. I am very much looking forward to your next income and budget update post. I have a feeling your reading audience will like that update! πŸ™‚

    I know you and I had a recent conversation about us deciding to pay off our home a few months ago. It really kept coming back to our goal of not having any debt in our lives and pushing us in that direction.

    In your situation, you created your blog, left your job, became a best-selling author, and have a bunch of freelance writing business, why not just slay the last of your student loan debt now? You would have $200 freed up forever to continue with your focus on buying dividend growth stocks. (I reread your July 2014 post “Four Reasons I Haven’t Paid Off My Student Loans Yet” again today). Perhaps your reasons may have changed from then?

    I guess one more persuasive argument attempt from me: Would you borrow money now in the 2% -3% range to buy more stock?

    Either way I am impressed with your accomplishments – Take care!

  51. Bryan,

    Thanks so much!

    Really looking forward to sharing that update. Looks like my savings rate this month is going to be well over 70%, which is the first time in about a year. I used to hit that 70% mark fairly frequently, so it feels good to be hitting these kinds of numbers again. And doing it with no day job is that much better. πŸ™‚

    As far as the student loans go, the reasons haven’t changed. Like I mentioned over on your article, it’s purely mathematical. Stocks offer long-term returns far above what I’m paying in interest. And if I had a mortgage at, say, 4%, I wouldn’t be in a particular hurry to pay that off, either. With inflation, you’re even better off just paying the debt off with future dollars. But you guys might be different than me and might covet that psychological feeling of not having the debt.

    You guys are also a lot older than me, so that’s probably a factor as well. If I weren’t already on cruise control for financial independence by 40 years old, I might think a bit differently about income, debt, and psychological security.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  52. Thank you for including me in your post! I never thought I’d see the day when I was part of a DM post haha.

    Pretty sweet! Turns out should have waited a few more days on the BA purchase, but can’t win them all.. if it keeps going down, I’ll keep buying!

    You put together a bunch of good articles here. I pretty much read them all

    Thanks again!
    ADD

  53. ADD,

    Happy to include you! πŸ™‚

    Glad you enjoyed the articles. Fortune put together some great stuff and I’ve been enjoying Morningstar’s coverage of the railroads in general and UNP specifically.

    Thanks for dropping in.

    Best regards!

  54. I believe in many things, but having financial freedom and freeing myself from loans are the top two things I believe I’ll achieve one day. The articles you listed there gave me hope and morale to invest even more.

  55. Chella,

    I believe that almost anyone and everyone living in a first world country can indeed achieve financial freedom. There is so much abundance out there and so many opportunities for the taking. It’s a shame that more people don’t take advantage, but I’m doing my best to inspire. πŸ™‚

    Thanks for stopping in!

    Cheers.

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