______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wed. Mar. 23, 2011

Don’t Touch These 5 Dividend Stocks! *

Has someone near and dear to you responded with a ‘I was only trying to help’ after royally messing something up? Have you ever tinkered with a computer, smart phone or something else only to learn it no longer works and you are not sure how to fix it? Our dividend stock investments can suffer the same fate if we provide them with too much of the wrong type of attention. Here are some things to remember to keep your income investments on the straight and narrow…
Read more…

Tue. Mar. 22, 2011

February 2011 Pocket Change Portfolio Performance Update *

The Pocket Change Portfolio (PCP) was first introduced on September 13, 2008 as a real money dividend income portfolio funded by the “pocket change” earned from my various online endeavors. Each month I report on the portfolio’s progress and update its holdings.

Read more…

Wed. Mar. 9, 2011

List of 195 Dividend Stocks Every Income Investor Should Know About *

In 2009, I introduced the Stock Ideas list and it has proven to be immensely popular. The list consists of Dividend Aristocrats, US Broad Dividend Achievers and U.S. Dividend Champions. Duplications in the above lists are eliminated and stocks are crossed out when I learn that they have either cut their dividend or fail to raise it. Here is some information on each of the constituent lists and some highlights on this year’s changes:


Read more…

Wed. Mar. 2, 2011

These 11 Dividend Stocks Could Make You Wealthy *

It seems the older I get the more I fight with my weight. I know how to lose weight – I have done it several times. The formula is not difficult, eat less and exercise more. My problem, like many others, is in the implementation. In much the same way, the formula to building wealth is rather simple – spend less than you earn and invest the difference. Once again implementation is where many people come up short. With the right focus and some positive feedback, building wealth can be much easier than shedding the spare tire around your mid-section. Here’s how to do it…
Read more…

Wed. Feb. 23, 2011

13 Dividend Stocks Headed In The Right Direction *

A photograph captures a moment in time. Seconds after the flash dims a tree could have fallen on the object of the photo or the sad looking man in the photo could have been told he just won a million dollars. In much the same way a dividend stock analysis is a snapshot in time, but the real question for the savvy dividend investor is ‘where is the stock headed?’ Here are four important directional metrics that I look for when updating my stock database…

Read more…

Wed. Feb. 2, 2011

Building Yield: 15 Consumer Goods Dividend Stocks *

Over the next several weeks I plan to look at different sectors that have traditionally been very friendly to dividend investors. Each of these sectors have attributes that make the companies in them potentially desirable to long-term buy-and-hold dividend growth investors. Understanding these attributes will hopefully help us to select the very best companies for our income portfolios. First up the Consumer Goods Sector
Read more…

Wed. Jan. 19, 2011

What Will Your Dividend Income Be When You Retire? *

We all want a secure retirement where we don’t have to worry about making ends meet. After spending 30 or more years in the workforce, its time to kick back and enjoy our golden years. Unfortunately, many people don’t plan for retirement and just assume that their company pension, 401(k) or Social Security will take care of them. That’s a dangerous assumption and a recipe for disaster.


Read more…

Wed. Jan. 12, 2011

Who Owns The Top Dividend Stocks? *

The internet provides investors with so much useful and interesting information. I could not imagine going back a decade or so and trying to analyze stocks without the internet – waiting for quarterly reports to be mailed for owned companies and calling the investor relations contacts for information on unowned companies. One of my job responsibilities is the statutory reporting for the corporation I work for. Filing 10-Ks, 10-Qs and other such required reports is often tedious, but it gives me a great appreciation of what information is available, including who owns some of the top dividend stocks…


Read more…

Wed. Dec. 29, 2010

Dividend Stocks vs. a Safe Distribution Rate *

One of the most interesting questions that often comes up is “How much can you safely withdraw each year from your retirement portfolio?” In 1995, Peter Lynch wrote that a 7% annual withdrawal rate would be prudent for an all-stock portfolio. He later retracted his analysis when financial columnist Scott Burns proved that a 7% withdrawal rate could put you back into the work force just to make ends meet.


Read more…

Wed. Dec. 15, 2010

The 2011 Dividend Aristocrats *

The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats is the most prestigious list of dividend stocks. The Dividend Aristocrats index is designed to measure the performance of S&P 500 constituents that have followed a policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. This index is a member of the S&P Dividend Aristocrats index series.

Read more…