Saturday, December 19, 2009

* Pocket Change Portfolio - November 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 November 2009, Year-To-Date (2009) and Life-To-Date. The Portfolio Returns line provides the calculated return for the three displayed periods.

Description November-2009 Year-To-Date Life-To-Date
Beg. Portfolio Value 13,764.54 3,395.62 -
Online Cash Receipts 3,636.60 13,333.17 16,881.51
Online Expenses - (30.00) (116.23)
Gross Profit 3,636.60 13,303.17 16,765.28
Dividends 13.50 201.12 226.28
Interest Income 1.02 11.49 17.64
Subtotal 3,651.12 13,515.78 17,009.20
Gain/(Loss) 561.56 1,065.82 968.02
Ending Portfolio Value 17,977.22 17,977.22 17,977.22
Portfolio Returns 3.31% 19.91% 16.82%
Online Cash Receipts are the collected earnings from my online endeavors. Most of which is advertising on the my various blogs. The year-to-date $30.00 Online Expenses relates to registering 3 domains (DividendsValue.com, Dividends4Life.com and TheDiv-Net.com). November Dividends include $4.70 from Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (BLV) and $8.80 from The Procter & Gamble Company (PG). 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).

The portfolio was up in November, for the year and since its inception. Online earnings in November surpassed the $3,000 mark for the first time. A large portion of the increase is related to the strong interest in D4L-Premium Services. The premium service continues grow each month. The subscriber retention rate remains in the 85-90% range. Traffic on Dividend Value continues but high, but was lower than the record October level.

During the month of November, I purchased 26 shares of Nucor Corporation (NUE) providing me $36.40 in annual earnings at the current dividend rate. I also purchased 14 shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) providing me $48.30 in annual earnings at the current dividend rate. Including the November purchases, my annual PCP dividend income is now $517.74 at the current dividend rates. I ended the month with $4,398.18 in cash, enough to purchase two or three stocks in December. Through November, I have purchased ten stocks this year, including at least one in the last seven consecutive months. I continue to believe the current cash balance and recent earnings will support the purchase of at least one stock each month.

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

(Photo: sanja gjenero)

The Coca-Cola Company

Tags: [BIV] [BLV] [NUE] [PG]