We've just returned from a wonderful vacation in South Africa, where I hiked the Otter Trail with two of my sons. It was an amazing experience, despite some difficulty we experienced crossing the Bloukrans river. I took the photo to the left on the morning of the last day of our hike.After our hike, one of my sons bungy-jumped off the Bloukrans bridge, the world's highest commercial bungy jumping site! We also had day visits to two national parks, Addo Elephant National Park and Kruger National Park. At Kruger, we were fortunate to see Africa's Big Five game animals in a single day, which is quite rare!
|
|
|
|
|
Over the 10 days I didn't have internet access, DivGro has performed rather nicely. Only two of the 32 holdings are currently in the red, PNNT at -0.55% and TGT at -3.98%. Overall, I think that's a remarkable performance!
The best performer is GD, up 79% since I bought it in March of 2013. Second place goes to INTC, up 61% since January 2013. On an annualized basis, though, the best performer is DLR, up 19% in only three months (or 77% annualized).
The market value of DivGro is now about $106,000, which means capital gains and dividend income totaling $16,500 since January 2013. Those statistics are great, but for a dividend growth investor, there are more important performance statistics to monitor.
DivGro's overall Percentage Payback stands at 3.26%. Percentage payback refers to the percentage of an investment received back as dividends. The percentage payback of some of my individual holdings in DivGro are nearing 10%: ETP is at 9.5% and PNNT is at 9.6%.
Another important number is Projected Monthly Dividend Income, which is the dividend income I can expect to receive every month in perpetuity. Of course, that amount will grow over time as I deploy more capital in DivGro and when companies announce dividend increases. This income is passive income, meaning I have very little to do to maintain that income stream. It is money earning money...
For many dividend growth investors, a stated goal is to reach a point where monthly dividend income can (more than) offset monthly expenses. When that happens, you are free to choose not to work anymore. You can retire from the daily grind. You can take a permanent break from work...
This is not my goal. I love work. It makes me feel good to create, to collaborate, and to innovate. I don't want to retire from work. But, once in a while, I love to take a break from work and to experience something new... to enjoy life in a different way... to smell the roses...
Enjoy your work and your pursuit of replacing active income with passive income. But, once in a while, take a break and spend quality time with loved ones...
Full Disclosure: Long DLR, ETP, GD, INTC, PNNT, TGT
Thanks for reading!
Hi DivGro,
ReplyDeleteThose are some very nice pictures.
They could have been taken at any zoo, but you have taken them in the open fields of Africa. That must've been an amazing trip!
Thanks for your thoughts.
I love my job as well (I'm 30 year old), but will I still enjoy it once I'm 60 years old?
Keep up the good work. Seems to me you're in a great position.
Best wishes, DfS
Thanks for your comments, DfS!
DeleteIt is great that you love your job. I love mine, too! To me, work is more than doing a job. Work could be (and should be) something you do for fun. For example, gardening is work. Researching to invest in dividend growth stocks is work.
Zoos sadden me, though I understand there are certain benefits to having them. The national parks in South Africa and other African countries try to provide natural habitat for animals to roam in freely. Kruger is the size of the state of Massachusetts.
Take care!
Completely agree...It's so important to take a break for the routine things in life! No internet for 10-days sounds like a true break in this digital reliant society we all live in now. But sounds like you had an amazing and likely unforgettable time in South Africa.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to reality...look forward to future posts. AFFJ
Hi AFFJ -- thanks for stopping by!
DeleteYes, we did have an amazing and unforgettable time in South Africa! Certain times in the past I've worked too hard for too long, thinking that I'll make up for it later on... unfortunately, you don't always get the chance to do so! Now I try to do things in a more balanced way -- its more fun, anyway!