Saturday, April 11, 2015

2015 1st Quarter Goals Review

I have seen some up and downs this year and I continue tread lightly. I am going to review each goal in order to see where I am at.  
  1. Have a net worth of $50,000 (includes Savings, Checking, 401k, and broker accounts) 
This one will be tough because on January 1st, my net worth stood at $19,102. The goal is to bring this amount all the way up to a solid $50,000 by the end of the year.
Where do I stand?
I am excited to announce that my net worth is currently $29,331 which gives me an increase of 34.87% in just 3 months. This is some pretty solid results so far. However I still have a long way to go.
Conclusion
I still need to increase my net worth by $20,669 in order to accomplish this goal. This means I am going to have to increase my net worth by $2296 for each month left of the year. This won’t be an easy task but I think it is achievable.

  1. Receive $1000 in dividends from stocks during the year of 2015
This will be the hardest goal among all three because I set the bar real high. In 2014 I earned only $205 in dividends and now I am hoping to achieve 5 times that amount.
Where do I stand?
So far I have earned a total of $134.83 in dividends for the first quarter.  It looks like I have a lot of catching up to do. My main concern is that I have been adding to companies that have a low dividend but high growth rate. I am talking about companies like DIS, AAPL, and SBUX. These companies will surely help increase my net worth, but will not do much for my dividend goal.
Conclusion
I still need to increase my dividends earned this year by $865.17 in order to achieve this goal. This means I will have to earn an average of $96.13 for each month left in 2015. I am not counting myself out here because we have plenty time left in the year, but surely this one will require putting some serious capital to work in higher dividend paying companies. 

  1. Save 37% of my net income from all sources. (Annual Average)
I have been reducing my expenses this year in order to increase my average annual savings rate. So far I have decreased my grocery bill to $180/month, decreased my cable bill by 50%, and cancelled my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu membership.
Where do I stand?
My main concern is all of the car expenses that have been piling up this year. This has been a huge drag on my progress to achieve the 37% savings rate. What’s worse is that my car was overheating on the highway to work this morning due to the ac compressor belt snapping off. So yet again my car is in the garage this morning and the total cost for a water pump, belt, and pulley will be an astonishing $859. My full two week pay check is going right into the car. It really sucks when I don't have much of a choice here. I am avoiding the temptation of buying another used car because I have already put a ton of money into this one. At this point it would probably be cheaper to finance a newer car on a monthly basis compared to the monthly repair I am having to eat up on my current vehicle. This will certainly be the lat time I own a Cadillac.
Conclusion
Currently my average savings rate is sitting at 32.18%. I am not too far off from my goal of saving 37% of my monthly income, but I really need to figure out how to cut the cost of car repairs. I don't want to finance anything at this time because I don't want any liabilities, but having a $100/month car loan might make sense in my situation. 

13 comments:

  1. You are heading in the right direction, DM. Keep it up and I wish you the best in achieving your goals.

    R2R

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. R2R,
      Thank you very much for your words of encouragement. I can't wait to see how far along I get in Quarter 2. Thinks seems to be progressing at a reasonable rate. I may have to cut a few more expenses along the way but that is just one of the many sacrifices I have to make in order to achieve FI at an early age.

      Delete
  2. Not bad Dividend Mongrel. You've managed to increase your net worth a pretty sizable amount in just one quarter. That should make reaching your goal a bit easier. As for the other two, I think they are somewhat related. The closer you reach your savings goal, I think the closer you'll be to reaching your dividend goal.

    Keep saving and investing buddy...one month at a time, you'll get there eventually. :) AFFJ

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    Replies
    1. AFFJ,
      Thank you very much for stopping by. Once my car is free and clear from repairs, my savings rate should get back up to at least 40%. I am also thinking of looking at my expenses again to see if I can cut anything else. The other thing is I have been focusing a lot on companies with lower dividend yields which is not a bad thing but it could prevent me from clearing $1,000 in dividends this year. Either way the progress has been above average.

      Delete
  3. DM

    You are on the right way to achive your goals this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FF,
      Thank you very much. I am hoping I can continue on the same path in order to get real close to achieving all these goals. The goals have helped me stay in check every month. I look forward to visiting your blog.

      Delete
  4. Ever consider a DIY approach on the car? Not necessarily yourself, but perhaps coworkers to aid you? Do you get a second quote on repairs?

    WE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WE,
      I am somewhat handy and fixed the window regulators on my car last year. I can do things like that, but the water pump and pulley is well beyond my knowledge. I did get two quotes for my brake repairs and unfortunately the first quote was $1,100 and I knew that was way too high. The second quote was for for half that amount which was reasonable. I use RepairPal as a gauge to find out of I am getting ripped off at the garage. Hopefully the vehicle won't need as much maintenance for the rest of the year. Thank you very much for stopping by.

      Delete
  5. Sometimes life just gets in the way! I'm sure you'll catch up in the coming months. You're already heading in the right direction anyway.

    I understand what you mean about your dividend income goal, but focusing on growth rate will definitely pay off on the longer run. Will be posting about my strategy on that next week!

    Cheers!

    Mike

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DivGuy,
      I am looking forward to reading your post on that strategy. I couldn't agree with you more on focusing on growth rate. Companies like AAPL, VFC, SBUX, and DIS are taking my portfolio to new heights every month. I am sure if I added to these every month that I would to just fine in the long term.

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  6. You sold MAT just about to the penny at the bottom. I was very surprised when you did not buy more,

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  7. Mattel +7.9% after Q1 sales beat expectations

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    ReplyDelete