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Dividends | July 2018

 

I am finally passing the $400 mark towards my goal of $750 in annual dividends and I feel as though I am in the home stretch.

Here is my takeaway for not making June and July purchases.

It’s okay. The world will not end, and I still get paid. My account still grows even if I am unable to add new money. I still get pay raises (as my dad would say), even though I do not technically work outside the home for a salary. And lastly, I got a bigger pay raise this month than my husband, hahaha. Thank you RBC! (I hold RBC in another account which I will post on later in September)

TFSA

BCE – $9.82
TransAlta Renewables – $6.66
Inter Pipelines – $11.48

RRSP

As always, Plaza Realty REIT brought in $6.67.

July Dividend Total

2018 Dividend Total: $417.65
2018 RRSP Dividend Total to $32.46

Only $332.35 to go! (not including my RRSP… In my mind RRSPs don’t count.)

Happy Investing,
Heather

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My First Youtube Video | In Memory of my Dad

I made this video in memory of my father. He started investing young but didn’t focus on dividend reinvestment until later in his life. He retired at 51 when I was just 12 years old.

I count myself lucky to have been able to come home from school and have a parent there to greet me. It kept me out of trouble!

My dad was a Scottish Quebecer and enjoyed the fact that descendants of Scottish ancestry are 3 times more likely to be millionaires.

From a young age he taught me the basics of saving and investing. To live within one’s means and not spend more than you make. He loved compounding interest and wanted all of his kids to start investing young. (Money burned a hole in my pocket for quite a while…) Lastly, he knew the benefits of dollar cost averaging, buying more when prices were low and less when prices were high.

He was a great guy and taught me and my siblings a great deal. He would have been tickled pink to hear about Royal Bank’s 4% dividend increase today.

Happy investing,
Heather

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Dividends | June 2018

Non-Registered

May ended with my 2018 dividend goal at $234.77. However, my June dividends brought me a huge boost! My Enbridge DRIP brought in $135.93  which was then reinvested, purchasing 3.45 shares at $39.37. Bringing my total holdings to 204.041 (Love that third decimal point!)

TFSA

My TFSA had three dividend payers – Fortis, Inter Pipeline and TransAlta Renewables, which paid as follows:

Fortis – $0.85
Inter Pipeline – $11.48
TransAlta Renewables – $6.66

RRSP

Trusty ole’ Plaza Retail REIT dividends brought in $6.67.

June Dividend Total

2018 Dividend Total: $389.69
2018 RRSP Dividend Total to $25.79

Halfway to my 2018 goal of $750!

Happy Investing,
Heather

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Article Share | The High Cost Of Special Needs Programming | The Globe and Mail

Read the Globe and Mail Article here.

Anything special needs related, especially the high cost of therapy hits home. Back when our oldest was 3 until the age of 5 1/2 he was in ABA or Applied Behavioural Analysis, one of the therapies mentioned in the Globe and Mail article. And yes, it did cost $5000 per month for only 4 1/2 days a week of therapy. In fact, the price has increased since then due to the minimum wage hike in Ontario forcing the per hour cost of junior therapists to go up to $15/hour. (If you were wondering if the therapy works. Yes, emphatically yes, the therapy did help our son tremendously as you can see here in this video).

In total, for 14 months of ABA therapy we dished out roughly $75,000 CAD. No small change when you are in your twenties and not established in a career. We stopped only because we ran out of money and decided to move so our son could attend a public school with ample support instead of spending more on private education. You gotta’ do what you gotta’ do.

However, I would say this experience is one of my huge motivators for saving. The possible future costs associated with our son’s condition are unknown but not unplanned for.

More reason for me to keep investing.

Happy Investing,
Heather

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Purchases | June & July 2018

Sometimes life happens and sadly, I did not make any purchases for June or July. June was a busy month with spring colds, school IEP meetings and the inevitable end of school year madness. July was the start of summer camp and I took a nice trip to the UK and Germany to visit friends and family. However, now that we are in August I am looking at doubling up my purchases this month to make up for missing June and July. I am currently researching which companies to buy and maybe top up a few I already hold, so stay tuned I should have it posted in the next week!

 
Heather

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Dividends | May 2018

I am slowly but surely moving up! Lately I’ve enjoyed looking at how other dividend bloggers started off in their first year. Each month they slowly increased their dividends to what they are today and it shows me that anyone can do it. Even a stay-at-home mom!

TFSA

Laurentian Bank of Canada $3.15
Emera Inc $23.17
Inter Pipeline Ltd $11.48
Transalta Renewables Inc $6.66

Total : $44.46

RRSP

Plaza Retail REIT $5.48

Bringing my dividends to…

2018 Dividend Total: $234.77
2018 RRSP Dividend Total: $19.12

This is definitely motivating me to keep investing and slowly increasing my dividends. The $44 is enough to pay for a coffee almost every day of the month 🙂 Now I just need to double it so I can buy my husband a coffee as well! Hahaha…

Happy investing!
Heather

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What I’m Reading | August 2018

After my father passed last year, I asked my siblings if I could inherit two things; my father’s investment books and his coffee machine. They graciously agreed and I am forever grateful. The boxes of books had been sitting in my little Québecois home for the past few months. Finding time to unpack and then read with four little kids is a challenge. Hats off to any parent who can achieve this!

However, this month I was able to crack open a book. I picked a classic, Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits by Philip A. Fisher (This is an affiliate link). I had flipped through this book before but never got around to reading it in detail. With the help of an audiobook, I will hopefully be done reading it by the end of this decade. Wish me luck!

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Purchases | May 2018

Back from a lovely holiday visiting friends and family in the UK. A bit behind my postings, so now I am playing catch-up!

With my $1000 monthly TFSA deposit and some leftover dividends in my cash account, I topped up my holdings in Fortis by adding 24 shares at a cost of $41.73 each this past May. This brings my total holdings in Fortis to 26.

Also, in my RRSP I purchased 51 extra shares of Plaza Retail REIT at a cost of $4.28 per share. Bringing my holdings to 286.

I am so glad to top up my Fortis. It is one of the top 15 North American utility companies and we always need power and heating. I am happy to have more of it in my portfolio.

More to come soon!
Have a lovely summer.

Heather