* Weekly Carnival and Article Review - Feb. 29, 2008

Each Friday I highlight the Carnivals I participated in over the past week, along with any notable articles that I come across. For those readers not familiar with carnivals, it's where personal finance bloggers submit their best articles of the week with one blog serving as the host. The entries are separated into various categories such as Investing, Credit, Debt, Budgeting, Frugality, Wealth Building, Money Management, Financial Planning, Insurance, Taxes, The Economy, Real Estate, et. al.

* My Dirty Little Secret

What is your single largest asset?

* Tracking Yield On Cost

As noted in my articles Yield on Cost: Measuring for Success and Investing Goals, I consider Yield on Cost (YOC) an important metric. As such, I track it on each of my individual dividend income investments.

* Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index

Recently a reader left a comment noting that I should consider First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index (FDL). My initial review of it was promising. Below is a description from Morningstar's FAQ web page:

* Stock Analysis: Procter & Gamble Co. (PG)

Linked here is a PDF copy of my analysis of Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) (alt.1, alt.2). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

* Coming Up on the D4L Channel - Feb/24/08

We've seen Rocky and the Johnson boys rise up and prevail against insurmountable odds. Could another comeback kid step into the limelight and claw his way back to prominence? Only one way to find out... Stay tuned.

* Stock Analysis - Additional Information

In the past, I have described in depth how many of the items in my stock analysis are calculated. In some instances, such as the dividend growth rate, I have provided models that allow the reader to see and duplicate the calculation found in my stock analyses.

* Weekly Carnival and Article Review - Feb. 22, 2008

Each Friday I highlight the Carnivals I participated in over the past week, along with any notable articles that I come across. For those readers not familiar with carnivals, it's where personal finance bloggers submit their best articles of the week with one blog serving as the host. The entries are separated into various categories such as Investing, Credit, Debt, Budgeting, Frugality, Wealth Building, Money Management, Financial Planning, Insurance, Taxes, The Economy, Real Estate, et. al.

* Investment Dating Before Marriage

What is the best way to begin accumulating a new security? There are probably as many approaches as there are investors. I have seen where some people jump in and immediately purchase the entire block needed to complete their asset allocation. While others use a more gentle approach of buying-in at predetermined amount and time. As an example, I have seen where some will buy 1/3 of the desired weightings every four months, so that they are fully invested in one year.

* Rev-up Your Portfolio With Asset Allocation

Asset allocation describes how an investor distributes their investments among various classes of investment options (e.g., stocks and bonds). Most successful investors will tell you that asset allocation is the most important decision you make in determining how well your portfolio performs. As noted in my recent article Charlie Munger's 10 Rules for Investment Success, he pointed out "Allocate assets wisely: Proper allocation of capital is an investor's No. 1 job."

* Dynamic Dividend Investing - Feb/08 Update

Back in December, I posted an article titled "Dynamic Dividend Investing" that discussed a strategy that allows you maximize annual dividend income while taking into account the effect it will have on your taxes. In the article I focused on Alpine's Total Dynamic Dividend Fund (AOD), a closed-end fund that employs this strategy.

* Stock Analysis: American Capital Strategies, Ltd. (ACAS)

Linked here is a PDF copy of my analysis of American Capital Strategies, Ltd. (ACAS) (alt.1, alt.2). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

* Up Next on The D4L Channel....

Some are born to live life on the edge. This high-flyer knows no fear! He can be as steady as the old masters, yet still produce a chest-thumping, testosterone-laden, double-digit adrenaline rush. You better check your fears at the door, because this is not for the faint of heart. But for those willing to strap it on... prepare for the paradoxical ride of your life!

* Updating the MMA Rate

You may have noticed the Money Market Account (MMA) rate that I am using in my stock analyses has been dropping. It ended the year at 5.11% and is currently 4.61%. As noted in my Dividend Income vs. MMA post, I have historically used the highest rate of the MMAs that I personally own (realistic opportunity cost).

* Weekly Carnival and Article Review - Feb. 15, 2008

Each Friday I highlight the Carnivals I participated in over the past week, along with any notable articles that I come across. For those readers not familiar with carnivals, it's where personal finance bloggers submit their best articles of the week with one blog serving as the host. The entries are separated into various categories such as Investing, Credit, Debt, Budgeting, Frugality, Wealth Building, Money Management, Financial Planning, Insurance, Taxes, The Economy, Real Estate, et. al.

* Charlie Munger's 10 Rules for Investment Success

Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's friend and partner, is quite an investor in his own right. A recent Motley Fool article "Charlie Munger's 10 Rules for Investment Success" details Munger's 10-step investment checklist from his book Poor Charlie's Almanac. Here are the steps:

* It Was An Odd Odyssey

Snake-bit, Jinxed. Murphy's Law, et al. Our language is full of terms to describe bad fortune and things that continue to go wrong. Ironically, I couldn't think of a lot of descriptive words or phrases to described a series events when things just went right. This post is about the latter.

* JNJ vs. JNJ

In yesterday's Stock Analysis on JNJ, I stated that for some time now, I have been looking for an entry point to purchase JNJ. The overall rating of two Stars has not changed since my first review on 11-21-2007. However, many of the metrics I look at have changed and here's a break-down the differences between now and then:

* Stock Analysis: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Linked here is a PDF copy of my detailed analysis of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

* This Week on the D4L Channel...

It looked like he was down. It looked like he was out, washed up, never to be seen again. This week on the D4L Channel it is the epic story of the steady old master trying rise again, while the faddish construction worker refuses to move out of his way. It's a war of wills. Who will win? Lose? Or could everyone come out ahead? Stay tuned...

* Like Milk, Stock Analyses Have a Shelf Life

What is the shelf life of a stock analysis? It can be anywhere from a few seconds to days, months or even a year in some extreme circumstances. Dividends4Life has been up and running for a little over 3 months with my first stock analysis posted on 11-03-2007. I considered just deleting the old analyses after they reached a certain age, but decided it might be interesting to see how a stock's metrics change over time.

* Weekly Carnival and Article Review - Feb. 8, 2008

Each Friday I highlight the Carnivals I participated in over the past week, along with any notable articles that I come across. For those readers not familiar with carnivals, it's where personal finance bloggers submit their best articles of the week with one blog serving as the host. The entries are separated into various categories such as Investing, Credit, Debt, Budgeting, Frugality, Wealth Building, Money Management, Financial Planning, Insurance, Taxes, The Economy, Real Estate, et. al.

* The Winning Score - Part 2 of 2

As discussed in yesterday's post, one of the metrics that I use to score an individual stock's performance is Internal Rate of Return (IRR). In simple terms, IRR is the interest rate you would need to earn to make the same money off of an interest bearing account assuming the same investment.

* The Winning Score - Part 1 of 2

In this week's celebration of winning and champions, I thought it would be appropriate to see what one of the NFL's most inspirational coaches had to say about winning:

* Stock Analysis: LOW-Lowe's Companies, Inc.

Linked here is a PDF copy of my analysis of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (LOW) (alt.1, alt.2). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

* Stock Analysis: HD-The Home Depot, Inc.

Linked here is a PDF copy of my analysis of The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) (alt.1, alt.2). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

* Stock Analysis: RY-Royal Bank of Canada

This article originally appeared on The Dividend Guy's Blog on February 17, 2008 as a guest post.
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Linked here is a PDF copy of my analysis of the Royal Bank of Canada (RY) (alt.1, alt.2). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

* The D4L Channel Celebrates Champions...

It may be Super Bowl Sunday on that other network, but here on the D4L Channel we plan to crown our own champion and celebrate winning all week...

* Progress Update - Jan. 2008

January has come and gone and that means it is time for a goals/progress update. My goals were defined in this December 1, 2007 Investing Goals post. Below is an updated version of the table found in the original post.

* Weekly Carnival and Article Review - Feb. 1, 2008

Each Friday I highlight the Carnivals I participated in over the past week, along with any notable articles that I come across. For those readers not familiar with carnivals, it's where personal finance bloggers submit their best articles of the week with one blog serving as the host. The entries are separated into various categories such as Investing, Credit, Debt, Budgeting, Frugality, Wealth Building, Money Management, Financial Planning, Insurance, Taxes, The Economy, Real Estate, et. al.