Saturday, January 10, 2009

* Pocket Change Portfolio - December 2008

On the second or third Saturday of the month I update the Pocket Change Portfolio (PCP). The table below reconciles the PCP from beginning of period to end of period for December 2008, Year-To-Date (2008) and Life-To-Date. The Portfolio Returns line provides the calculated return for the three displayed periods.

Description Dec-2008 Year-To-Date Life-To-Date
Beg. Portfolio Value 2,765.38 - -
Online Cash Receipts 677.54 3,548.35 3,548.35
Online Expenses (74.40) (94.40) (94.40)
Gross Profit 603.14 3,453.95 3,453.95
Dividends 25.16 25.16 25.16
Interest Income 1.74 6.15 6.15
Subtotal 630.04 3,485.26 3,485.26
Gain/(Loss) 0.20 (89.64) (89.64)
Ending Portfolio Value 3,395.62 3,395.62 3,395.62
Portfolio Returns 0.80% (7.30%) (7.30%)
Online Cash Receipts are the collected earnings from my online endeavors. Most of which is advertising on the my various blogs. The $94.40 Online Expenses relates to registering 2 domains (dividends4life.com and thediv-net.com) for $20 and $74.40 for one years hosting. I am in the process of moving my blogs from Blogger to a self-hosted WordPress platform. The Dividends line is for dividends earned in the PCP. The Interest Income line is interest earned on cash balances in an ING account I set up for the PCP. The Gain/(Loss) line is for market changes to the PCP (realized and unrealized).

During the month of December, I received a $16.80 dividend from BP and an $8.36 dividend from KO. I ended 2008 with $1,464.88 in cash. This will allow me to purchase my third stock in the PCP during the month of January. It is my goal to have sufficient earnings to purchase a stock at least once a quarter.

My PCP holdings are always available by selecting the Holdings option from the menu in the header. The next PCP update will be in early February.