Milestones

A milestone is either a stone functioning as a milepost – which this post is not about, or a significant event or point in development – which this post is about. 

I wrote my first post on January 10, 2013, some 284 days ago. Since then, I've written 58 posts, many of them taking several hours of research and preparation time. In the process, I've learned a tremendous amount about blogging, dividend growth investing and, especially, how to value dividend stocks. 

Reporting on one's investment decisions is an interesting thing. It requires discipline and perseverance. It inspires and invigorates. It establishes a kind of accountability – demanding clarity of thought; openness; even obligation and vulnerability. 

I find it fascinating to read other dividend growth investing blogs, to learn what motivates other bloggers, and to see what they're willing to share. Some share details about their financial situations that I wouldn't dare to share. Some are motivated by a desire to retire from jobs they don't care about. Some even monetize the popularity of their blogs for additional income. 

It is an exciting community to be part of. By sharing ideas, others are inspired to share also. By peeking at what others do, you learn. And soon enough, others start to learn by peeking at what you're doing.

I've set some goals for 2013, and I'm happy to report that I've reached three of those. My first goal was to own 10 dividend growth stocks, which I reached on June 4 when I bought BHP Billiton (BBL). On September 30, I reached my second goal, namely to earn at least $750 in dividend income with DivGro stocks. And on October 6, when I posted my quarterly review for the third quarter, I reached my third goal: to average one blog post per week (52 posts). 

Other milestones I've discovered along the way. With August's monthly review, I started tracking DivGro's expected dividend income not for the current calendar year, but for the next 12 months. A useful way to express this idea is as a monthly average, as illustrated in the graph on the left. It answers the following question: What can I expect to earn from DivGro every month, on average, for the next 12 months? 

On July 26, with my purchase of China Mobile Ltd (CHL), I crossed the $100 per month threshold. And On October 21, when I bought Vanguard Natural Resources (VNR), I crossed the $200 per month threshold. 

Another milestone was crossing the $50,000 portfolio threshold, which I reached with my third bonus deposit on October 16. Originally, I had planned to start DivGro with $12,000 and to add $1,000 per month, along with any earned dividends. At that pace, I would not have hit the $50,000 mark until late in 2015. As explained in my first bonus deposit post, for various reasons, I've decided to boost DivGro's available capital occasionally through bonus deposits.  

A final milestone I'd like to report on, is the number of page views of my blog. As I write this, it stands at "only" 10,978. Based on available statistics, I crossed the 10,000 page view milestone on October 17. Compared with other blogs, such as the popular Dividend Mantra with more than 1.5 million page views, my blog is still a baby. I'm not phased, though. In fact, I'm very happy that DivGro is generating 38 page views per day, on average! I wonder what this average would be on August 2, 2014, another 284 days from today...

Thanks for reading! If you've reached a special milestone recently, please share it in the comments below!