With 2015 coming to a close, I would like to review the status of my goals I set out for the year.
These are the goals for 2015:
- Invest at least $35,000
- New investments in December amounted to $1,500.00. I did not make any purchases other than the weekly purchases.
- Total investments in 2015 so far equals $26,969.30 which amounts to about 77.05% of my goal.
- Verdict: Failed
- Analysis: In hindsight, I think that I set out a lofty goal to begin with for the year. In 2014, I set out a goal of $20K, but ended up bumping the goal twice during the year and by the end, I had invested over $33,000 in 2014. I thought I could maintain that pace during 2015 as well, but I was probably wrong. A main reason for investments in 2014 to be very high was because of the backlog in cash from prior years. I will keep this in mind when setting the goals for 2016.
- Receive at least $2,500 in dividends
- I received $351.88 in dividends in December. So far I have received $2,822.72 in dividends this year. This represents 112.90% of my annual goal.
- Verdict: Achieved
- Analysis: This was a good year for dividends. I received over $1,200 more compared to 2014 and that represents an increase of over 77% YoY. I am really happy of this progress and I am hoping to continue this success in 2016 as well.
- Achieve at least $3,200 in projected annual dividends
- At the end of December, my projected annual dividends stood at $3,275.85. This includes the dividend cut announced by KMI.
- Verdict: Achieved
- Analysis: I achieved this goal, though only barely. I wanted to build a cushion in case more stocks announced dividend cuts in the last couple of months. Like I expected, KMI cut its dividend by 75% and I barely managed to stay above my goal. Another dividend cut or two and I would have failed in this goal. There are several stocks that are on the brink of dividend cuts in 2016 and I would have to keep that in mind when setting up my 2016 goal.
- DO NOT have a portfolio of more than 45 stocks/ETFs
- Currently hold 44 stocks/ETFs. This is one more than November due to my new position in EMR.
- Verdict: Achieved
- This is just an ancillary goal to ensure that my portfolio doesn’t get too messy. I still would like to drop the count of stocks/ETFs from the current levels, but not sure which ones to get rid off.
The goals page will be updated to reflect the progress.
Dividend Growth Journey 
Great job on the hard cash earned last year! How much % of the expenses does it cover already? FIP
Thanks FIP. I don’t calculate the dividend as a % of expenses since my aim is not financial independence like I have mentioned in my about page. Being a single earner for my family of 4, I am not sure if financial independence is feasible anytime soon. I am looking to grow my networth by investing in solid dividend companies that pay consistent dividends as well as grow their dividends. But I would like to grow my portfolio so that this provides a regular stream of added income.
Thanks for stopping by
DGJ
hi DGJ,
Congrats on a great year! Beating three out of four goals is great and puts your further along your journey. What did you mean by trip the count of stocks?
Best wishes,
-DL
Thanks DL. Meant to say “… drop the count of stocks. “Not sure how I got “trip” in there.
Thanks for pointing it out. It has been fixed.
Cheers,
DGJ
After I wrote my comment I guessed you meant trim. Anyway, I’m certainly interested in which ones you decide to reduce. Personally I’d consider exchanging XLK for SCHD but that’s because I’m more income focused, it’s cheaper and I don’t think the tech sector is all that reliable for long-term dividends; XLK is probably more volatile with the chance of greater growth though.
Thanks for your thoughts. SCHD’s dividend is definitely higher than that of XLK. The expenses are almost comparable (0.07% and 0.14%). MY YOC on XLK is reasonably higher at over 2.5% compared to SCHD’s YOC of 3.15%.
Actually, I might end up adding to SCHD since it has dropped a bit recently and is close to my purchase price from 2 years ago.
Couple of stocks that I might sell are BAX and BXLT since the dividend was drastically cut after the spin-off and BXLT is higher due to the purchase by Shire. Let’e see.
Thanks for your thoughts.
DGJ
Great results, DGJ! You’re making excellent progress and an increase of 77% YoY is a great achievement. Sorry about KMI — as you point out, late dividend cuts could derail your accumulation of projected annual dividends. Fortunately you had enough to make your goal despite the cut.
I owned TGH until the company cut its dividend… so I cut the company from my portfolio!
Best of luck in 2016 and keep up the good work!
Cheers
FerdiS, DivGro
Thanks FerdiS. KMI was a disappointment and I am not sure how many are to drop bombshells like that this year. We will have to wait and see.
Regards,
DGJ