August literally flew by. And it seems when you are committed to doing a monthly progress report, it goes by even faster. I’ve decided to break my financial goals down into quarters, which allows me to know if I’m on track to meet the larger annual goals that I’ve set for myself.
One of my biggest goals is to build a substantial passive stream of income via dividends and interest. Interest of course is paid monthly but dividends are paid quarterly (most of the time) a few companies like Realty Income Corporation, NYSE: O, pay a monthly dividend. While small, my dividend payment for each of the three stocks that I own has risen. I’ve done whatever I needed to do to increase the number of shares I own each quarter. This quarter is a little different because I’m a little bit behind on maxing out my IRA for the year, so I can either buy the stock or build on my IRA.
I must make my decision to buy the stock (PEG) soon because the last day to purchase new stock and have it included in this quarter’s dividend payout is Sept. 8th. That means all the owners of this stock will be paid for the number of shares that they own as of Sept. 8. Any shares purchased after that date will be not be counted until the fourth quarter.
I’m not totally satisfied with CD rates right now, but I plan to make CDs a part of my portfolio in the first quarter of next year when hopefully the rates will have gone up a little more. For now, the rates are entirely too close to a good online savings account rate for me to lock up my money in a CD.
Things have continued to head in the right direction for me financially, thanks to the stock market, which continues to hum along and my automatic investments. I did notice that the current rate on savings bonds has dropped to 1.96%. The rate changes every six months from the date you purchased. My interest rate is scheduled to change on Oct. 31st. I hope the rate goes back above 2%, but 1.96% is still a decent rate in this financial climate.
I was very disciplined paying down my debt this month. I managed to bring my credit card really, really, close to single digits and I paid the IRS off in full. I was going to pay the IRS off in a couple of more payments (it was due October 5th), but I decided to bite the bullet and wipe it from my ledger this month.
I hope that you are continuing to make progress in your personal economy, Bootstrappers…one small step at a time.
August Net Worth Update:
Assets:
SEP IRA: $4,211.49
IRA: $6,136.81
CASH: $3,527.42
MM: $1,911.15
Stocks (taxable): $1,817.81
I-bonds : $5,865.03
Liabilities:
Credit card: $10,200.00
IRS: $0.00 (PAID IN FULL!!!!)
