* Second Anniversary Post

October 31, 2009 marks my second full year of writing as Dividends4Life. It is hard to believe another year has passed. Like the first year, it has been a wonderful and eventful year. Looking back so much has changed since last year's post. Below are some of the more notable changes:

*10 Stocks Taking Their Dividends Up A Notch

Throughout history there have always been great companies that stand head-and-shoulders above their peers and the competition. They are loved by their shareholders, hated by the competition and known by all. Just as all great companies have have something in common, great dividend companies also have something in common.

* 3 High-Yield Telecom Dividend Stocks

Adding a degree of risk to your income portfolio can not only keep things interesting, but potentially boost your returns. Obviously, this needs to be kept in check because many (most?) risky investments never pan out. So instead of a boost in return, the risky investments end up being a drag on your portfolio's return.

* Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Dividend Stock Analysis

This article originally appeared on The DIV-Net October 19, 2009.

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Abbott Laboratories (ABT). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

Company Description: Abbott Laboratories is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of a diversified line of healthcare products including: drugs, nutritional products, diabetes monitoring devices and diagnostics.

* Weekly Links: October 25, 2009

Each Sunday I highlight the Carnivals I participated in over the past week, along with any notable articles that I came 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.

* 2009-Q3 Progress Review

After each quarter-end I review my asset allocation and year-to-date total returns by category. The attached PDF contains my actual asset allocation as of 2009-Q3. Below is a high-level summary of the information contained in the PDF:

* 15 Hot Dividend Increases

Dividends from a quality, well-diversified portfolio are much more predictable than capital gains and best of all, they are passive. You don't have to do anything, they just show up in your brokerage account each quarter. Inflation? Not to worry, the good companies routinely raise their dividends well in excess of the inflation rate.

* 8 Dividend Stocks With The Right Stuff

What makes a good dividend stock? Every dividend growth investor is looking for a stock that will increase its dividend each and every year at a rate that makes the stock a better investment than fixed income alternatives. I have found that stocks that are able to do this share some common characteristics.

* International Diversification Begins At Home

With the recent decline in the U.S. dollar, investors are thinking more about international diversification. This can be accomplished by many different means such as buying a foreign stock, buying an ADR of a foreign company or investing in an international fund. However, one method that is often overlooked is buying a large U.S. multi-national company.

* Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) Dividend Stock Analysis

This article originally appeared on The DIV-Net October 12, 2009.

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

Company Description: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the largest retailer in North America. The company operates retail stores in various formats worldwide. It operates through three segments: Wal-Mart Stores, Sam's Club, and International.

* Weekly Links: October 18, 2009

Each Sunday I highlight the Carnivals I participated in over the past week, along with any notable articles that I came 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.

* Pocket Change Portfolio - September 2009

Each month I update the Pocket Change Portfolio (PCP). The table below reconciles the PCP from beginning of period to end of period for September 2009, Year-To-Date (2009) and Life-To-Date. The Portfolio Returns line provides the calculated return for the three displayed periods.

* 3 Dividend Stocks Rewarding Their Shareholders

Investing in dividend stocks provides the investor with continuous feedback. As time passes dividend investors see their income steadily grow. You do not have to wait five to ten years to determine if the strategy is working. Each dividend and dividend increase provides the investor with reassurance that the strategy is working.

* Dividend Payout vs. Free Cash Flow Payout

I am a firm believer in keeping things simple. However, you can simplify things to the point they no longer have value. In my opinion, a lot of the commonly used financial metrics can be very misleading unless you understand what is behind them. I would put EBIT, EBITDA and Dividend Payout in this category. As an investor in dividend stocks, I see Dividend Payout used a lot, so let's take a closer look at it.

* High-Yield Dividend Stocks: A Safer Approach

When people learn that I am an income investor, the reaction is often a desire to discuss high-yield investments. The uninitiated commonly confuse income investing with high-yield investing. The two are not the same.

* Genuine Parts Co. (GPC) Dividend Stock Analysis

This article originally appeared on The DIV-Net October 5, 2009.

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Genuine Parts Co. (GPC). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

Company Description: Genuine Parts Co is a leading wholesale distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts and supplies, and office products.

* Weekly Links: October 11, 2009

Each Sunday I highlight the Carnivals I participated in over the past week, along with any notable articles that I came 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.

* Progress Update - September 2009

Once again it is time for a goals/progress update. I am pleased to report that annualized dividend income rose in September, extending the streak to 7 months after February's decline. Since I began publicly tracking annualized dividend income in November 2007, it has increased in 21 of the last 22 months.

* 3 Big Names, 3 Big Dividend Increases

Much has been written in the media about the "record numbers" of companies cutting or failing to raise their dividends. Even with a large number of companies not increasing their dividends this year, there is still an abundance of companies that have. For those companies that fail to increase their dividends, it is one less stock dividend investors have to track and analyze.

* Instant Access To Premium Services Now Available

The D4L-Premium Services consist of 1.) The D4L-Dashboard that provides relevant information on the 110+ dividend stocks that I track; 2.) Analytical Reports that provide detailed quantitative analysis on each of the tracked companies and 3.) D4L Premium Alerts that are sent whenever I buy or sell a security in my income portfolio, relevant news such as a dividend cut and when new premium content has been posted.

* 10 Best U.S. Dividend Stocks

In everything we do, we always want to be the best or be associated with the best. You never hear fans yelling, 'We're number 2, we're number 2', while holding two fingers in the air. The same is true when selecting dividend stocks.

This is an article that I started to write several times, but would always stop after getting mired in the details. My natural tendency is make every question an analytical exercise and solve it by modeling and crunching numbers.

* Three Dividend Stocks With A Perfect Risk Score

A good system continues to improve itself. I maintain an extensive database with a minimum of 10 years of information on each of the 110+ stocks that I track. This data is gathered from various sources deemed reliable. Most data is generic and can be pulled from various sites. That is except some S&P risk and quality information (RQ).

* Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) Dividend Stock Analysis

This article originally appeared on The DIV-Net September 28, 2009.

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

Company Description: Automatic Data Processing Inc. is one of the world's largest independent computing services companies, provides a broad range of data processing services.

* Weekly Links: October 4, 2009

Each Sunday I highlight the Carnivals I participated in over the past week, along with any notable articles that I came 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.

* 7 Dividend Stocks Paying More Cash

When selecting income investments, the three most important questions to answer are : 1.) Is the investment increasing its dividend each year, 2.) Is the increase likely to continue into the future and 3.) Are you being compensated for the risk you are taking? When you answer yes to all three of the questions, you just might have found an excellent income investment.