Portfolio Value Update - November 2020

Portfolio Value
In November, my stock portfolio value increased by $11,858 and closed at $100,535. That was the biggest month-over-month increase of all time. All of the gains came from stocks appreciation. I did not add any new funds to my account. It feels good to finally hit a new milestone.


Dividends
Dividends received in November 2020: $418.76
Dividends received in November 2019: $370.01
Year-Over-Year Dividend Growth: $48.75 or 13.17%
Year-To-Date Dividend Income: $4,544.21

The dividend income came in slightly lower because I wasn’t paid by Northview Apartment REIT. The company was sold in November and I reinvested the money. It will take a few months for new dividends to properly reflect in my account. I wrote about this transaction in my previous post.

New Stock Purchases

Hey guys, today I will share my new stock purchases. I already mentioned in my previous post that I was waiting for funds to be deposited in my account following a bought deal of Northview Apartment REIT.

Northview Apartment (NVU.UN.TO) was purchased by a private company on November 3, 2020. I had 125 shares of NVU and received $4,531 from this transaction. The profit is $1,131 in 16 months, not including the dividends.

I had about $5,000 to buy new stocks; $4,531 from the sale and $500 from dividends that were accumulated in my account. I decided to invest in beaten-down energy stocks and one REIT.

As for energy stocks, I bought Pembina Pipeline (PPL.TO) and TC Energy (TRP.TO) and for the REIT I chose Artis REIT.

 

Portfolio Value Update - October 2020

Hey guys, welcome back to my blog. It’s time to report my October progress. October was a great month on all fronts. The stocks are doing just fine. My portfolio is flat month over month. Let’s dive into my numbers. 

Portfolio Value
In October, my stock portfolio value increased by $19 and closed at $88,677. So it’s pretty much flat month over month, but at least it’s not in the red. On the other hand, when stocks are down I just buy more. I did not buy any stocks in October, but I plan to move money around in November.


Dividends
Dividends received in October 2020: $434.91
Dividends received in October 2019: $416.73
Year-Over-Year Dividend Growth: $18.18 or 4.36%
Year-To-Date Dividend Income: $4,125.45

My dividend growth rate of 4.36% looks very small, but I can explain why it’s only 4.36%. Last year in October I received a special dividend of $58. This year I did not receive any special dividends, only the regular dividends. On an adjusted basis, excluding the special dividend, the growth rate would have been 21.23%. Now that looks better!

 

Portfolio Value Update - September 2020

Portfolio Value 

In September, my stock portfolio value increased by $528 and closed at $88,658. The stock market was volatile in September due to uncertainties about the second wave of the pandemic and the possibility of another lockdown. But, overall my portfolio came out on top, generating a slight growth. I did not add any cash, but I’m saving for next year’s TFSA contribution.


Dividends

Dividends received in September 2020: $428.27
Dividends received in September 2019: $363.00
Year-Over-Year Dividend Growth: $65.27 or 17.98%
Year-To-Date Dividend Income: $3,690.54

I couldn’t be happier about the dividend growth rate. My TFSA account is maxed out; therefore I only reinvest the dividends every three months. I’ve reached a level where I reinvest $1,200 every quarter from dividends alone.


AdSense Earnings
Adsense earnings from the blog: $0.52
Adsense earnings from YouTube: $623.24
Total AdSense earnings: $623.76

My AdSense earnings increased by 366% compared to last year from $133.74 to $623.76. My YouTube channel is now making more money than my stock portfolio. In September, my videos got 491.5K views and the channel gained 1.6K new subscribers. But it does come at a cost! I’m working on my channel pretty much daily. I film once a week and then I edit my videos every night when kids are in bed.


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That’s it for September update! Let me know what you think of my progress. Feel free to share your progress in the comment section below. Thank you for reading and take care!

I Spent All My Money on Bank Stock and now I'm Poor

Hey guys. A quick update on today’s purchase. The markets have been selling off lately so I decided to look for some deals, especially that I had over $1,200 accumulated from dividends in my TFSA account.

During the pandemic, it’s important to buy defensive stocks to be able to sustain any potential downturns. Generally, consumer staples, banks, utilities and tesla would be your best bet. Well, today I decided to beef up my banking sector.

I own most of Canadian bank stocks, but CIBC is my smallest holding compared to other banks. Therefore I decided to add to my CIBC position. I blew all of my cash ($1,200) on CIBC stocks. I bought 12 shares for $99.67 per share. My total position in CIBC jumped from 8 shares to 20 shares. How terrific is that. I feel like I can walk to any CIBC branch, tell them who I am, and ask for my dividend money.

And speaking of the dividends, since the stock price dipper under a $100, the bank is paying out a whooping 5.73%. This purchase will add $17.52 per quarter or $70.08 per year of passive income.

Portfolio Value Update - August 2020

Welcome back! It’s the time to report my August progress. Guys, this report will be super short and straight to the point. So, let’s get started.


Portfolio Value
In August, my stock portfolio value increased by $757 and closed at $88,130. The increase came from stocks appreciation. I did not add any new funds in August. I’m saving some cash for new purchases. The crazy stock market must cool down. If the market remains hot, I will simply save $6,000 for 2021 TFSA contribution to max it out in January.

Portfolio Value Update - July 2020

Welcome back, guys! Wow. It’s already August. Are you kidding me? July is gone and we’re heading towards the end of summer again. That’s nuts. We’re skipping out on a lot of activities this summer because of the pandemic. Montreal is the worst hit city in the country so we avoid all non-essential travels and activities for now. Anyway, let’s see how my stock portfolio performed in July and how much dividends I received.


Portfolio Value
In July, my stock portfolio value increased by $4,003 and closed at $87,373. I added $3,000 worth of new stocks, the rest of the increase came from capital gains. I’m only a few grand away from all-time high of $91,000 that I had in January 2020. The stock market gained some traction in July. Let’s see if it will continue to do well in August. The Q2 reports are coming out. They are ugly, but I don’t think that investors will negatively react to the bad quarter reports. We all understand that the economy will rebound as soon as A: we have a vaccine or B: we have an effective treatment or C: the spreading stops naturally, just like all other pandemics in the past. 

New Stock Purchase: Telus Telecommunications

Hey guys. Today, I would like to share my new stock purchase. I started a new position in Telus by purchasing 135 shares at $22.88 per share. This is the first telco stock in my portfolio and I gave my preference to Telus instead of Rogers or Bell. Eventually, I will buy the other two companies, but for now, I believe that Telus has better outlook given the current environment.

Telus pays a quarterly dividend of $0.2913 per share which translates into a 5.1% yield. It’s a high quality blue-chip stock so 5.1% is very nice! I’m happy that I was able to lock that in. The purchase of 135 shares will add $39.32 per quarter or $157.30 per year to my forward dividend income.

 

Company’s Profile:

Telus is one of the big three wireless service providers in Canada, with its 9 million mobile phone subscribers nationwide constituting almost 30% of the total market. It is also the ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier; the legacy telephone provider) in the western Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, where it provides Internet, television, and landline phone services. It also has a small wireline presence in eastern Quebec. In recent years Telus has moved to bring fiber to the home over most of its wireline footprint as it upgrades its legacy copper network, leaving it able to compete on more equal footing with cable providers. Telus’ other businesses include international business services, health data records, and security.

Portfolio Value Update - June 2020

Portfolio Value
In June, my stock portfolio value increased by $11,398 and closed at $83,370. Most of the increase came from new stock purchases. I added $9,299 worth of new stocks. The rest of the growth came from stocks appreciation.

The Second Wave of Bargain Shopping - AQN, SRU, NFI, ENB, BNS

Today I pulled the trigger and finally bought more stocks. The last time I bought stocks was 3 months ago. I must admit that prices in March were lower due to the uncertainty about the economy. Back then nobody knew how bad the pandemic would damage the economy. Now that most places are back to business, the general sentiment about the economy has improved. Even the demand for gas has improved and gasoline prices are almost back to normal.

Not sure if now is the best time to buy stocks. We may have better deals in fall. Nonetheless, I decided to get back into stock buying and will continue to do so for as long as possible. 

Portfolio Value Update - May 2020

Portfolio Value
In May, my stock portfolio value decreased by $855 and closed at $71,972. I was expecting my portfolio to drop even more because of the shutdowns and high unemployment rate. Our economy is already starting to open so this might be a positive catalyst for the stocks in June. However, I’m not too excited to jump into stocks until Q2 reports are out in August. The Q1 was bad for most companies, but that only includes a few weeks of shutdown in March. The Q2 will reflect April – May shutdowns and June recovery. That will be interesting to read.

Portfolio Value Update - April 2020

Portfolio Value
In April, my stock portfolio value increased by $4,980 and closed at $72,827. The portfolio is recovering slowly from the sharp drop of $19K last month. I have allocated over $9,000 for new stock purchases in a regular account as my TFSA is maxed out. Please note that my portfolio value excludes the cash balance.

April 11, 2020 Update - Staying at Home, Stock Market and New Camera

Hello guys. I hope you’re doing well. I just wanted to give a quick update on what’s going on over here. We are doing fine, just sitting at home, on a mission to flatten the curve.

#StayAtHome
Next week, it will be the 7th week of staying at home. For us, the lockdown began a few weeks before an official lockdown. As of March break, we avoided going out because we knew what was coming here. The government was not acting fast enough so we started to isolate ourselves way before the shutdown.

Portfolio Value Update - March 2020

Portfolio Value 

In March, my portfolio value decreased by $19,574 and closed at $67,847. This was the biggest month-to-month decline in my investing history. Basically, the portfolio value rolled back where I started a year ago. I expect the month of April to be under pressure as well however, I’m ready to invest new capital should the market continues to tank. My portfolio is 10% cash, ready for buying opportunities. 

The First Wave of Bargain Shopping – TD, Magna, Suncor

Good day, everybody. I hope you are doing well!

This virus fear have crashed the markets to the levels we haven’t seen in decades. There are many blue-chip bargains out there at the moment.

If you’re trying to time the market, then the best time to buy stocks is when it’s the end-of-the-world type situation. I think we reached the tipping point of anxiety and uncertainty. We are surrounded by so much negativity coming out from every news channel. This disease is certainly very contagious and dangerous, but I think we will overcome it.

People need to follow the guidelines and stay calm. I think the stress, the fear, and the anxiety is a lot more dangerous than the virus itself. Personal hygiene and social distancing will protect you from any viral outbreak. This is something we need to keep in mind moving forward. We will have more outbreaks in the future.

Alright, enough of this virus discussion, let’s see the stocks I bought today.

Covid-19 | Why Emergency Fund is Crucial!

Hey guys, good day. I hope you're all doing fine. Last week, I wrote up some recommendations on how to stay save during the Covid-19 pandemic. Three days later, the government came up with the same recommendations. The last and the most important recommendation is to keep distance from each other. You obviously can’t do that in the family, but keep distance from everybody else. You should be at least 2 meters away from another person at all times. Very important!!! Now let's see why emergency fund is crucial in difficult times like this.

How to Stay Safe during Covid-19 Pandemic

I usually don’t write about health related topics, but since we’re officially in a global pandemic mode, I thought I would write about some of the tips on how to stay safe during this time. Please note, that I’m not a licensed health care provider, therefore my recommendations should not be taken seriously. It’s just my logical thinking.

Portfolio Value Update - February 2020

Hey guys! Welcome back to the blog. We’re already in March, which means it’s time to report my monthly progress. Let’s see how my investment portfolio did in February and how much income it generated.

Portfolio Value
In February, my portfolio value decreased by $4,092 and closed at $87,421. So far, the fear of global pandemic shaved off 4.49% of my portfolio value. My stance towards investing remains the same. I will continue to invest in high quality businesses like banks, utilities and residential real estate.

Portfolio Value Update - January 2020

Oh boy! January 2020 is already behind us. How did you like the start of the New Year? I think we started the year on a sour note. The conflict between US and Iran; the plane and the helicopter crash; the coronavirus outbreak. I feel bad for people who lost lives to this virus. It’s terrible. The death rate among infected is very high. I’m confident doctors and scientists will come up with antibodies very soon. This needs to stop so people could go back to their normal lives.



Portfolio Value
In January, my portfolio value increased by $8,414 and closed at $91,513. The majority of the increase came from new TFSA contribution of $6,000. The rest of the increase came from stocks appreciation. In the past, I would contribute to my TFSA every month to buy stocks. This year I decided to max out my TFSA contribution limit right away.

Maxed out my TFSA, No Nore Monthly Contributions, and New Stock Purchases

Maxed out my TFSA
Hey guys! I would like to provide a few updates regarding my TFSA account and new stock purchases. If you follow my blog for a long time, you know that I make monthly contributions and stock purchases in my TFSA account. This time, I decided to make some changes and maxed out my TFSA right away. One of the main advantages is that I will boost my income and will collect higher payouts throughout the year.

The Bumpy Start of 2020!

What a rough start of 2020! The tension between the US and Iran, the killing of an Iranian general, the missile attacks on American bases in Iraq and the latest downing of the Ukrainian plane killing all 176 people on board including 63 Canadian citizens. All of this will contribute to the market downturn in the next few weeks. So far the markets were resistant to all the negative news related to the Middle East. I believe it’s the plane crash that will unleash the market selloff.

Portfolio Value Update - December 2019

Hey everyone! Welcome back. I hope you’re all enjoying the time off this holiday season. December 2019 and a whole decade is now behind us! Wow, what a journey it was. We made a lot of progress in personal and financial front. With that being said, it’s time to report my monthly update, but first, Cheers to the next decade! May the new decade give you the strength and motivation to focus on your ultimate plan towards financial independence.


Portfolio Value
In December, my portfolio value decreased by $574 and closed at $83,098.59. Not bad, considering that in November my portfolio value increased by more than $3,000. I was anticipating a greater decline in value due to the sell-off season, so as far as the portfolio value goes, I’m happy the way we finished the year.