Monthly Review: April 2012

Here is a review of what happened in April:

Dividends: I received a total of $169.13 in dividends from the following stocks:

• CNI: $6.37
• GPC: $24.75
• ITW: $14.40
• KO: $15.30
• MDT: $13.34
• NVS: $56.47
• PM: $38.50

This is my highest monthly total thus far this year, thanks in part to my annual dividend from NVS. I now have a year-to-date total of $454.50, which puts me 35.0% of the way toward my goal of receiving $1,300 in dividends for 2012. Thus, I am currently on track for meeting my dividend goal.

Dividend Increases: I was pleased to see dividend increases announced for three of my stocks (click on the stock to see my post about the increase):

• CVX: 11.1% increase, $7.20 more in annual dividend income
• JNJ: 7.0%, $5.60
• PG: 7.0%, $7.40

At this point, 12 of my 22 dividend growth stocks have increased their dividends this year. (In case you're wondering why I have posted about only 9 dividend increases: CNI increased its dividend on the day I bought the stock, and HRL and T announced their dividend increases for 2012 back in late 2011.) The average increase has been 9.1%, which is great.

Savings: This month I saved $1,702 (58.3%) of my net income, which is my highest monthly total thus far this year. Quite frankly, I don't think I can do much better than that. It was nice to get over the 50% mark for the third month in a row. This results in year-to-date savings of $6,164, which puts me 51.4% of the way toward my goal of $12,000 in savings for 2012. Thus, I am ahead of schedule for meeting my savings goal.

Transactions: I bought just one stock this month (click on the transaction to see my post about it):

• 50 shares of HRL

This purchase will increase my annual dividend income by $30.00. I did not sell any stocks for the fourth consecutive month. My portfolio now has 22 stocks with a market value of $52,106.60 (including cash), which is a 4.1% increase over last month's value of $50,046.40. Most of the increase reflects the addition of new capital, but a sizable chunk came from dividends and capital gains.

Seeking Alpha: In April I started contributing articles to the investing website Seeking Alpha. The following three articles were published (click on each title to go to the article):

• The Psychology Of Dividend Growth Investing: Defining Success
• Dividend Growth Investing Strategy: Benefit From "Other Persons' Mistakes"
• Dividend Growth Rates: Using The Past To Estimate The Future

I have found that writing these articles has helped to clarify my thinking about investing. In addition, the positive reactions to my articles from various commentators have motivated me to write more in the future. Another motivator is that I actually get paid for these articles based on the number of page views. In April I earned a total of $215.16, which was far beyond my expectations. (The amount is not included in this month's income because payments are made quarterly, so it will be reflected in my income for July.) It looks like writing about investing -- which is something I enjoy doing -- might be a good way to earn a bit of extra income.

Looking Ahead: I expect to receive less in dividends in May than I did in April, but that's okay. As we head into the summer months, my savings rate will take some major hits due to a few large annual and semi-annual expenses that will be incurred primarily in May and June. I will likely do some traveling to visit family and friends during the next few months (though I have not made definitive plans yet), which would result in additional expenses. Thus, my summer savings will not be great (at least when compared with my spring savings), but I can take solace in the fact that I have already made great progress toward my annual savings goal. Given that I may not have much new capital for investment this summer, I won't be making many purchases, but I will still likely be able to make one purchase per month.