Monday, July 27, 2020

Wallet Friendly Stocks

A line you'll often hear is that the stock market is only for the rich people and the working class joes and janes out there can't do anything about it.  Looking at the stock prices for some of the companies, you can see why people get that impression.  Some companies have shares going for hundreds,if not thousands of dollars.  From a distance, it's a tad absurd.

However, if you start to do some digging, you'll start to see that not every company stock has such a lofty price tag.  There are plenty of companies out there with share prices that are much more friendly to the working class.  Now, a low price tag can be a warning sign that the company is in dire straits; this is true, but smaller companies can have a lower price tag and still deliver strong returns.  I thought it would be a good idea to throw some names out there to get people started.

Now, I should note that these aren't "picks" in the traditional sense.  I'm still a relative rookie and there are plenty of other bloggers who are much more well versed in the mechanics.  These are, however, stocks that I own and have worked out in my favor so far.  Could things change? Of course, especially in this environment, but they've held up pretty well so far despite the headwinds.  In any event, let's get to them.

1. Flowers Foods (FLO)

At $22 bucks a share as of this writing, this company is a very easy buy.  They make and deliver a variety of breads.  I see their crates in my store all the time. Not only is the stock higher than where I bought it, but I've seen a couple of dividend increases since I first bought in.  Even in the age of Corona, the payments have held steady, which is always a welcome sign.

2. Franklin Resources (BEN)

Another company who's stock is currently sitting in the low $20 area.  They offer financial services and are a dividend aristocrat.  While the pandemic is unlike other bouts of economic turbulence, the record gives investors a degree of confidence that they are built to withstand such things.


3. Wendy's (WEN)

For such a big name, this stock is in the same range as the two companies listed above.  It's surprising to some extent, but if jimmy wants to crack corn, I don't care.  They did recently cut their dividend due to Corona based challenges, but they were one of the stronger raisers before the madness started.  In any event, the stock price is higher than when I bought it, so it still seems like a strong buy in my neophyte opinion.


4. Kroger (KR)

At $35 a share at the time of this writing, this company is a little bit more expensive, but still very much attainable.  Not only has Kroger held up, but it seems to have thrived in the new age we live in.  Grocery stores are critical, so it makes sense.  Not only have they kept their dividend increase streak alive, but the stock is higher than it was when I bought it.  Growth is always good. 



5.  AT&T     

This one has been very popular among the DGI community as of late.  This dividend aristocrat sits at around $30 a share.  They not only have a long record of increases, but also a pretty strong yield to go with it. 



So, there you go.  5 companies may not seem like much, but it's enough to get the ball rolling on a new portfolio for the rookie investor on a budget.  Not only that, but reinvested dividends have that much more power as they get you more fractional shares to get that snowball rolling. 

Monday, July 20, 2020

'JLA' Volume 3: 'Rock of Ages'

You can read my review of the comic book trade paperback here.








Pros


- Story with epic scope

- Very well written Lex Luthor: cunning, charming, and humanity focused.  While his conflict expands to the League, his focus is still squarely on Superman

- While he's a bit player, even the Joker has some highlight moments, like forcing J'onn and Superman to go through a maze of his own making and later having J'onn temporarily restore some sense of order to the chaotic villain's psyche

-Both meta and regular human heroes get moments to shine and contribute



Cons

- The League's decision at the end doesn't make a whole lot of sense and feels hollow given that there are more issues to come.

-Darkseid is given some great dialogue, but doesn't have much else to do.


Overall


This was a strong collection that managed to provide great moments for both heroes and villain alike.  It raises the stakes with a large scale story, but still manages to plant the seeds for something even bigger to come.











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Saturday, July 11, 2020

Brad Thor Bibliography: 'Path of the Assassin'

In a "behind the scenes" video, Brad Thor brings up the notion that the hardest book for an author to write isn't the first, but the second.  He ascribes this to fear of what is known as the "sophomore slump", where an author's second entry just doesn't live up to what the first delivered.  Considering how "meh", I came away from his initial outing, "Lions of Lucerne", the idea of a slump did not entice me.

Thankfully, Thor's efforts to avert the trope paid off in spades, as this is a marked improvement over what came before.

The writing is stronger and tighter, the plot is more complex, and the stakes feel higher.  Even the villains feel more capable.  The Lions were a solid concept, but lacked in execution.  Here, we see the titular assassin confront Harvath a few times and actually get the drop on him more than once.  There's more tension as a result and it makes for a much more engaging read.

Harvath himself is also better depicted.  He still butts heads with superiors, but the fact that they're from other departments helps.  Sure, that's been done before too, but it still worked better.  He's also more in line with how he is in the latter half of "Lions", where his schmuckish tendencies became more subdued.  Really, the only scene where he came off as unlikable to me was when he accosted a CIA courier for no discernible reason.  The biggest problem I had with him here was the fact that a lot of his smart-aleck remarks weren't particularly funny.  He has a couple, but a lot of them fall flat; which is made worse by the fact that surrounding characters all react as if he's really pulling them off.

Harvath is joined by a new female compatriot.  His partner/love interest from "Lions" is sent off to make way for her.  Thankfully, while there is some flirtation/attraction, the two don't necessarily become a thing.  The book does end with Harvath thinking that he intends to keep her in his life, but it's a bit more ambiguous.  I think it works better this way.  If Harvath is going to have a rotating cast of sidekicks, it's better that they don't all become love interests.  It would get repetitive really quickly and harder to buy later on down the line.

There was a point where said character actually harbored a grudge against Scot and vowed never to trust him again.  They make amends later, but a part of me actually wanted to see the two part on bad terms.  It would have been an interesting subversion of the usual formula.  Maybe that'll happen later, who knows?

Normally, I'd say just skip the first book and jump right to this one.  Unfortunately, the plot of this one really does pick up where the first book left off.  The events play a much bigger role in what happens here than I expected.  In some ways, it's a good thing.  The events of each book matter and there is a building continuity.  On the other hand, I found "Lions" underwhelming, and having this be more self contained could have worked to its advantage as a stand alone thriller.

Still, this was a fun read.  I think it does a much better job showing off Thor's talents as an author and I'm definitely more excited to progress through the series now than I was after the first book.




                                                       












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Sunday, July 5, 2020

'JLA' Volume 2: 'American Dreams

You can read my review here.



Pros

- The Tomorrow Woman story arc is a simple, but poignant tale.

- The second story is rather large in scope, showing the forces of Heaven attempting to destroy Earth.  It's a threat that puts even the combined might of the Justice League on their heels.

- Some interesting "elseworld" concepts are incorporated


Cons


- Rather than tell one story, this book contains several smaller stories.  It makes for a more disjointed read.

- Said point also leads to pacing problems as the stories don't have as much room to develop as ones that span 6 or more issues.




Overall


If you're collecting the series in trade, this collects the next batch of issues.  It's a short, fast read; however, the fact that it contains multiple stories makes it less immersive and results in even more pacing issues than its predecessor had.  Still, the stories each have their own benefits, so it's worth checking out.



                                                             

















Wednesday, July 1, 2020

June 2020 Dividend Income: The Taxman Cometh

After two years, we've finally come to the second half of 2020.  This year, man.  I know that January 1st is when the whole "fresh start" mentality is at its highest, but I think that in this case, we can view this as a potential turning point.  It's like those sports match ups where a team gets clobbered early on, but then they go in the locker room at half time, the coach gives a big speech, the players get their heads on straight and manage to turn things around and win.  Yeah, that's totally going to happen, right?

Speaking of two year anniversaries.  This does mark two years of investing for me.  It isn't quite as momentous as the first time around; though that could be due to this one being overshadowed by so many other things.  In any event, let's do what we do and log the dividends for June.


Kroger (KR): $0.99  Up a penny from last quarter and up $0.15 from last year
SJW: $0.32  Same QoQ, YoY doesn't apply
AGNC: $0.14 Down $0.04 from last quarter and down $0.02 from last year.  Both are due to dividend cuts.

CenturyLink (CTL): $0.28  Up a penny QoQ, Up $0.02 YoY. That's some mad growth right there.
Walgreen's Boots Alliance (WBA): $0.46  As this is a recent addition, there are no prior figures
Realty Income (O): $0.98  Up $0.25 QoQ, up $0.29 YoY. It was also up a penny from last month.

Wendy's (WEN): $0.36 down $0.50 from last quarter and down $0.34 from last year due to a recent cut

Flower's Foods (FLO): $1.04 Up $0.06 from last quarter and up $0.08 from last year
VF Corp (VFC): $0.49  Up a penny from last quarter with no YoY figure to compare


Bloomin Brands decided to sit this one out,which is understandable. Whether they resume their dividend payouts remains to be seen.

All in all, the total comes to $5.06, which is down $0.36 from last quarter, but up $1.45 from last year.

Considering there were a few cuts and a suspension, that number could have been a lot worse.  The overall trajectory is still upward, which is reassuring.

Two funds within the 401K paid out this month.  One paid $0.78 and the other paid $0.47. That total comes to $1.25, which is up $0.11 from last quarter and up $0.48 from last year.

That brings the grand total to $6.31. Up $0.79 from last quarter and up $1.93 from last year.

Interest payments clocked in at $3.73, which is up $0.47 from last month.


This month was pretty quiet on the buying front. I added two shares of Iron Mountain (IRM) and that's about it.  The portfolio has been updated accordingly.

The effects of the slowdown are starting to kick in, which means hours were cut on both job fronts and, thus, less capital to deploy.

I've been upping my side hustle to try to make up the difference. I'm both going back and using already existing ones more frequently (I'm finally using my Swagbucks account for more than just the referral link!) and even browsed around for new ones.  Interestingly, and perhaps concernedly, both DoorDash and Shipt are "fully staffed" in my area.  It's a shame that AppTrailers went down. That was a decent one, but you play the cards you're dealt.

On the plus side, I got my taxes done.  Unlike last year, where I owed, this time I did get a little something back (thank you traditional IRA contributions.)  It wasn't a huge sum, but it was better than having to write a check, especially given the circumstances we face.

All in all, June was meh.  There was modest growth, but it basically held steady.  Again, it could have been worse, but seeing some more umph would have been nice.  While I would like to see a second half rebound, I'm not sure how realistic it is.  There's a part of me that is tempted to call 2020 a bust and focus on trying to set things up so that 2021 hits the ground running. Then again, if the first 6 months were any indication, we've got a long year ahead. Things can change, whether it is for the better or worse remains to be seen.  All we can do is put our heads down and try to plow through.








                               "stock dividend" by CreditDebitPro is licensed under CC BY 2.0 


















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