Portfolio Value Update - December 2017

I would like to wish everybody all the best in the New Year! May you all be healthy, happy and surrounded by the loved ones. May 2018 bring us new investment opportunities.

Portfolio Value
As of December 31, 2017 my investment portfolio balance stood at $52,597.91. That’s an increase of $1,977.55 from last month. December was the best performing month in 2017.

Dividends
In December, I received a total of $348.19 in dividends vs $201.06 for the same period a year ago. That's an increase of $147.13 or 73% on year-over-year basis. My cumulative dividend income for this year is $2,709.82.

It wouldn’t be fair to compare my dividends to previous year because last year I did not receive any special dividends in December. First National (FN.TO) paid me a special dividend of $106.25. If I exclude the special dividend, I would have received $241.94 which represents a 20% increase in dividend income compared to last year.

Contributions
In December, I added $800 of fresh capital to my TFSA account. As of January 2018, I will contribute $700 per month into my TFSA account. This way I will max it out by December of next year.

My Investment Account (TFSA)
My portfolio consists of 30 Canadian dividend paying stocks. Most of my stocks pay dividends on monthly basis. This allows me to collect dividends and reinvest them into dividend paying stocks more rapidly.

Transactions
My recent and the last purchase of the year is RioCan. I decided to double my position in RioCan by purchasing another block of 45 shares. I paid $24.95 per share. This purchase will add $5.29 to my monthly dividend income. More details about this purchase in my previous post.

Online Income
December’s online income from side hustles.

Neobux: $29.97
LegerWeb: $3.50
Adsense: $12.20

Total income from online sources is $45.67. The biggest increase in online income came from NeoBux. I have about 150 referrals in my downline and I earn a small commission from what they earn. So Neobux is making me a buck a day on autopilot. By the way, I created a separate page to track my online income.

Recent Purchase: RioCan (REI.UN.TO)

RioCan Highlights

• RioCan is Canada’s biggest REIT with enterprise value of $13.9 billion
• They own 294 properties, including 16 under development
• They lease to reliable tenants such as Walmart, Canadian Tire, Cineplex and Metro

Stock Purchase
My recent and the last purchase of the year is RioCan. I decided to double my position in RioCan by purchasing another block of 45 shares. I paid $24.95 per share. This purchase will add $5.29 to my monthly dividend income.


Potential Risks

You may have mixed feelings about my purchase, since it’s a retail focused REIT and is sensitive to interest rates. So why invest in this name if retail space is challenging and interest rates are slowly going up?

Time Change

A few years ago I had a different opinion about RioCan. I did not want to buy it because it was losing big tenants including Future Shop and Target. But that is in the past. They were able to lease most of those locations to other retailers.

Property Consolidation
A few months ago they announced that they want to sell 100 properties in smaller Canadian cities. After the sale, they plan to focus mainly in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal. I like their plan because it will help them cut operating cost by focusing on fewer locations. They will capitalize on areas that are heavily populated. They also plan to buy back shares and develop mix-used properties for residential, shopping and offices.

My biggest reason to be bullish on the stock
The main reason why I decided to invest more money in this company is because they want to develop residential units around their properties. So it’s a win-win situation. RioCan will be able to benefit from residential towers and increase traffic to retail outlets. If more people live around those outlets, there’s more chance that those residents will shop locally. RioCan can use some parts of the empty parking lots to build residential buildings. They don’t need to buy land. It can take 3 to 5 years to realize their plans, but with their 5.6% dividend yield, I’m willing to wait.

Portfolio Value Update - November 2017

Welcome back, my friends! I can’t believe how fast November passed by. It seems like I wrote my October update just yesterday. Anyway, I’m happy to report that I finally reached my goal of $50K portfolio. It wouldn’t be possible without my new contribution, dividend reinvestment and stocks appreciation. Without further ado, let’s get straight to the numbers.

Portfolio Value

As of November 30, 2017 my investment portfolio balance stood at $50,620.37. That’s an increase of $1,215.34 from last month. A year ago, at the end of November, my portfolio value was $37,745.91. You will find my last year’s update here.

Recent Purchase: Medical Facilities (DR.TO)

Today I doubled my position in Medicial Faciliaties. I started to buy this stock last month and was looking to add more this month. Now it’s trading a few bucks cheaper so I picked up another 80 shares of DR.TO for $12.83 per share. 

My plan is to hold them until they reach $20 again and then I will trim my position in half. While I wait I will collect 7.5% dividend. Usually this stock yields 5% when it trades at $20, but because the stock price is low, the dividend yield looks high. The current payout ratio is 70% so the dividend looks safe.

2018 TFSA Contributions

My monthly contributions towards my TFSA account will be reduced from $800 per month to $700 per month, starting next year.

Here’s why

My cumulative TFSA contribution is almost maxed out. At the end of 2017 I will have $3,800 of unused contribution room that will be carried over to the next year. If the annual TFSA contribution limit will remain the same, then next year I will put $700 per month in my TFSA account. This way I will reach my maximum at the end of 2018 and will have an equal amount of capital to invest every month.

What is TFSA?

TFSA or Tax Free Savings Account is a flexible savings account designed for Canadians. Investment income such as capital gains and dividends earned inside a TFSA is not taxed, even when withdrawn. TFSA contributions are not tax deductible, therefore cannot reduce your taxable income. Investment losses are not tax deductible either. The current annual contribution limit is $5,500. Any unused contributions are carried forward to the next year.

TFSA Contribution Limit

Year	Annual Limit	Total Limit
2009-12	$5,000	$20,000
2013-2014	$5,500	$31,000
2015	$10,000	$41,000
2016	$5,500	$46,500
2017	$5,500	$52,000

TFSA Cumulative Contribution Room since 2009

$52,000 – meaning any Canadian who was at least 18 years old in 2009, can open a TFSA account and fund it with $52,000 and start earning income – tax free!

Portfolio Value Update - October 2017

Welcome to my monthly portfolio update. The month of October just passed by and it’s time for me to report my progress. To my surprise, October was a very good month because some of my stocks have appreciated very well. The biggest influencers were Magna (MG.TO) and Diversified Royalty (DIV.TO). These stocks have added significant value to my portfolio while rallying to their all-time highs. Let’s see for how long they can keep up with momentum.


Portfolio Value
As of October 31, 2017 my investment portfolio balance stood at $49,405.03. That’s an increase of $1,779.29 from last month. So far, it was the best performing month of the year. I’m getting very close of reaching my goal of $50K portfolio value.


Dividends
Dividend income is a passive income for which I don’t have to work for. I simply invest in different corporations and collect dividends for owning the stock. In October, I received a total of $219.73 in dividends vs $190.03 for the same period a year ago. That's an increase of $29.70 or 15% on year-over-year basis. My cumulative dividend income for this year is $2,138.92. That’s more than total dividends received in 2016.


Contributions
In October, I added $800 of fresh capital to my TFSA account. The maximum amount that I can contribute in 2017 is $5,500. Since I have contribution room from prior years, I will continue to add $800 per month until I reach my maximum contribution.


My Investment Account (TFSA)
My portfolio consists of 30 Canadian dividend paying stocks. Most of my stocks pay dividends on monthly basis. This allows me to collect dividends and reinvest them into dividend paying stocks more rapidly.


Transactions
On October 19, 2017 I purchased 80 shares of Medical Facilities (DR.TO) @ $14.15 per share. Medical Facilities is an interesting surgical company. They own controlling interest in five surgical facilities in the US.

I used to own this company in the past. Usually, I buy this company at around $14 and sell at around $18. So for me, this is a trading stock, rather than a long-term investment. The growth is limited, but it pays a nice monthly dividend.

A year ago, the stock was trading at $21 per share. Then it started to decline and when it reached $14 level, I got interested in it again. So I bought my first tranche of shares and plan to hold them until they reach $20 again. If the stock price goes down even more, I will buy a second tranche.

Medical Facilities is paying out a monthly dividend of $0.0938 per share. With my addition of 80 shares, I will be getting $7.50 per month in dividends.


Online Income
Here’s the break-down of other online income during the month.

• PTC Sites: $16.07
• Surveys: $7.00
• Adsense: $5.49

Total income from online sources: $28.56

My earnings from PTC sites and surveys are slightly higher compared to last month. My adsense revenue is lower this month because I uploaded fewer videos for my YouTube channel.

First National announced a Special Dividend

If you’re the shareholder of First National Corporation (FN.TO), you probably know that you will get a juicy dividend in December. The company announced this Tuesday that they will pay a special dividend of $1.25 per shares on December 15, 2017. They generated excess capital and have decided to distribute that between the shareholders like you and me.

First National is Canada’s largest non-bank lender. I started to invest in FN.TO a few years ago when they had $80 billion of mortgages under administration. Back then, the shares were trading in low twenties, offering a dividend yield of around 7%.

Today, the corporation has $100 billion of mortgages under administration and still pays a decent dividend on monthly basis. Since I have 85 shares in my portfolio, I will receive a special dividend of $106.25. That will be a great boost to my dividend income.

Portfolio Value Update - September 2017

Portfolio Value

As of September 30, 2017 my investment portfolio balance stood at $47,625.76. That’s an increase of $1,614.58 from last month. It was the best performing month of 2017 in terms of capital appreciation. We have three months until the end of the year and I think I will reach my goal of $50K.

Portfolio Value Update - August 2017

Portfolio Value

As of August 31, 2017 my investment portfolio balance stood at $46,011.18. That’s an increase of $1,198.94 from last month. A much better performance compared to the previous month. New contribution, dividend income and capital appreciation helped my portfolio value to climb above 45K threshold. The rebound of the Canadian market in the last 3 days of August, has helped a lot in terms of capital appreciation.

Recent Purchase: Smart Reit

Welcome back everybody! Here's my recent purchase update. On August 24, 2017 I bought more shares in Smart Reit (SRU.UN.TO). Smart Reit is one of my favourite Canadian Reit for many good reasons. They own great shopping centres with reliable tenants like Wal-Mart and have interest in many residential developments.

Portfolio Value Update - July 2017

The month of July have passed and it's time for me to report my dividend investing progress. The month of July was one of the worst performing month for my portfolio. The Canadian stock market continued to decline and dipped bellow 15,000, but it's now showing a sign of bottoming. Hopefully stocks will recover in August and will give my portfolio a boost. Meanwhile, let's see how my portfolio performed in July.

Three More Income Sources to Grow my Portfolio

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about exploring new income sources to increase my earnings and potentially increase my contributions towards my investment portfolio. Even earning $100 or $200 a month from other sources can make a big different in portfolio growth. Once the online income is on auto-pilot, it can grow on its own. Let's explore those options.

So far there are three sources that I'm working on.

1. PTC (Paid-To-Click)

2. Surveys

3. Adsense

Recent Purchase: Plaza REIT

I usually make one purchase per month. One of my key principles of investing is value and stable dividends. Before I buy something new, I like to analyse my own portfolio to see if there are any stocks on sale.

Setting a Target Price
I kept on eye on Plaza REIT since the March of 2017 when it started to drop below $5 dollars. I set myself a target price. If it drops below $4.50 I will be a buyer. PLZ became very attractive when it dropped below $4.50 and I took advantage of it.

Exploring Online Income Streams

What’s going on guys?

I just wanted to drop in and announce that I will be exploring online income streams to increase my earnings.

Side hustles are important to have more income.

I will use the extra cash from online sites to increase my portfolio contributions.

Portfolio Value Update - June 2017

The month of June have passed and it's time for me to report my dividend investing progress. I'm pleased with my June report even though we experienced many volatile days on the TSX. Despite the ups and downs, mostly down days, my portfolio performed very well. I also received a record dividend income from my stocks.

Residential REIT With Yield Over 4%

Real estate is one of the world’s most popular investments, but buying and managing a rental property is simply not for everyone. Fortunately, there are real estate investment trusts (REITs) that offer the benefits of owning residential properties without the hassles that come with purchasing a property or managing tenants. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the following residential REIT with yield over 4% that you could buy today.

Recent Purchase: Morguard (MRT.UN.TO)

On June 16, 2017 I initiated a new position in Morguard. Morguard is a well diversified Canadian REIT. I purchase 70 units at $14.80 per unit. The REIT pays a monthly distribution of $0.08 per unit, representing $0.96 per unit on an annualized basis, giving it a yield of about 6.4% at today's levels. This purchase will add $5.60 per month or $67.20 per year in dividend income.

Get Yields of 4.9% from These 2 Restaurant Stocks

Did you know that you could earn passive income from some of Canada’s most popular restaurant brands by investing in public entities that own their trademarks? Let’s take a closer look at two that you could buy now.

2 Stocks Yielding up to 7.4% to Buy for Income

Many investors are turning to monthly dividend stocks to supplement their monthly income, because traditional sources of income, such as GICs, term deposits, and bonds, yield next to nothing these days. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at two great income stocks you could buy today.

Portfolio Value Update - May 2017

Portfolio Value
What's going on, guys? Another month passed by and it's time for me to report my dividend investing progress.

As of May 31, 2017 my investment portfolio balance stood at $43,611.13. That’s an increase of $643.64 from last month. Not much of an increase, considering new capital allocation and dividends. I'm currently behind my goal of reaching $50,000 by the end of the year. We'll see how my stocks do in June.

Portfolio Value Update - April 2017

Portfolio Value
As of April 30, 2017 my investment portfolio balance stood at $42,967.49. That’s an increase of $1,144.76 from last month. The main value increase came from fresh capital and dividends, the rest came from stocks appreciation. My current goal is to surpass $50,000 in portfolio value before the end of the year.

Portfolio Value Update - March 2017

Portfolio Value
As of March 31, 2017 my investment portfolio balance stood at $41,822.73. That’s an increase of $1,291.45 from last month. The main value increase came from fresh capital and dividends, the rest came from stocks appreciation. My current goal is to surpass $50,000 in portfolio value before the end of the year.

Portfolio Value Update - February 2017

Portfolio Value
I’m a couple of days late reporting my February update, but here it is.

As of February 28, 2017 my dividend portfolio balance stood at $40,531.28. That’s a decrease of $179.27 from last month, despite monthly contribution and dividend income. The main reason for value decrease is stocks fluctuation, of course.

7 Steps to Financial Independence

Are you looking for ways to become financially independent? That’s good! Because today I want to share with you my 7 powerful tips to help you reach your financial freedom. Financial freedom does not necessarily mean a retirement or to quit your job. I define financial freedom when you are not forced to work to pay the bills, but when you work for pleasure and have tons of time to do what you love and enjoy the most.

Portfolio Value Update - January 2017

Portfolio Value

Hello to all my fellow investors, friends, bloggers, and regular visitors! Welcome to the brand new 2017 year. I can’t believe time flies so fast. Next month it’s already spring and everything will start to bloom again. But first, let’s look how my portfolio did in in January.

As of January 31, 2017 my dividend portfolio balance stood at $40,710.55. That’s an increase of $917.90 from last month. Finally, for the first time ever, I broke the $40K barrier. Of course, that would not have been possible without my monthly contributions and dividend income. My next milestone is $50K and it should be attained by the end of this year.