* Progress Update - Feb. 2008

It is the first Saturday in March, so it is time for the February 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.

Description	Dividend Income Annualized	Yield on Cost
2027 Goal	110,000	20.00%
2017 Goal	30,000	10.00%
2008 Goal	4,000	4.90%
Feb/2008	3,557	5.13%
Purchases	357	0.10%
Div. Changes	13	0.02%
Sales	(93)	0.02%
Jan/2008	3,280	4.99%
Purchases	212	-0.11%
Div. Changes	41	0.06%
Sales	(27)	0.04%
Dec/2007	3,054	5.00%
Net Changes	228	0.12%
Nov/2007	2,826	4.88%

For the month dividend income increased $277, and Yield on Cost (YOC) increased 0.14%. These changes were driven by new purchases, divided changes and sales. Let's examine each of the these categories:

Purchases: The $357 increase in annual dividend income and 0.10% increase in YOC related to the following purchases (yield at the time of purchase):

• $36 VYM (3.56%)
• $50 SDY (4.92%)
• $152 SFI (13.oo%)
• $26 JNJ (2.62%)
• $45 NNN (6.24%)
• $48 HCP (6.03)

The SFI, NNN and HCP purchases increased the YOC and more than offset the decreases from the other purchases. I continue to expect YOC to drop monthly since most new investments will yield less than my current YOC, and dividend increases will not be sufficient to offset it. Though the drop will likely not be as pronounced as I first anticipated due to the occasional purchase of a high-yield security.

Dividend Changes: The $13 increase in annual dividend income and 0.02% increase in YOC related to the following dividend changes (a=dividend stated in annual terms, q=quarterly, m=monthly):

• $10 RY (0.429q>0.4903q - 0.02%)
• $2 HCP (0.445q>0.455q - 0.00%)
• $1 PGN (0.61q>0.62q - 0.00%)

Both HCP (a REIT) and PGN (a utility) are relativity high-yield companies (both 5%+) with relatively low dividend growth rates (both less than 2%).

Sales: As discussed in my It Was An Odd Odyssey article, I was fortunate enough to sell DHI at a significant gain. This resulted in a decline of dividend income of $93 and increased my YOC by 0.02%. There have been more sales this year than I had originally anticipated. There will likely be some more.


Related Articles:

• Goals/Progress
• Investing Goals
• Yield on Cost: Measuring for Success
• It Was An Odd Odyssey
• Is It Time To Upgrade Your Portfolio?

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