Ladies and gentlemen, I have good news to report. The monthly contribution to my dividend portfolio has increased. There is still a lot going on this year, and so far the year has been extraordinarily expensive. Inflation is high and my main source of revenue is down. Specifically, bookings from my vacation rental properties are down. Moreover, I expect a significant income drop after I officially leave my job in a few months. So, I am clearly not out of the woods. In fact, I am still significantly in credit card debt. But notwithstanding all the above, I’ve decided to increase the monthly contributions to my dividend portfolio, for now. Let’s discuss.
Monthly Contribution Status
The current monthly contribution for my dividend portfolio is $220 per month. Specifically, I do $60 the first of the month, and $160 the 15th of the month. However, I’ve decided to contribute $160 the first of the month and $310 the 15th of the month, for a total of $480 for the month.
Truthfully, it makes financial sense to focus on paying off my credit card debt, which has a 20% interest rate and over a $11,000 balance. Ouch!!! But, I realize that it’s going to take me several months to payoff my credit card debt. The current balance of my dividend portfolio is just shy of $3000. I hate seeing my balance low.
It’s All About Behavior
If I focused on paying off my credit card debt only, I certainly would get out of debt faster. That would make a lot of financial sense. But, I also recognize that I waste money ALOT!!! So, it just makes sense to limit the amount of money I waste.
It would have been nice to say that my spending habit is perfect and that it 100% aligned with my financial plan. But, that’s not the case. I can’t begin to tell you how much money I waste playing bingo, buying Starbucks coffee and food, eating out everyday, over tipping, etc. I definitely have a spending problem.
But, I also try to ensure that I am also saving and investing.
Because I recently purchased a property, my cash reserves are a bit low, if not depleted. So, I am actively working on rebuilding my cash reserves, saving, and investing, as well as paying off debt. The good news is that I have stopped using my credit card!!! So, even though I spend a lot of money now, it’s all cash.
Increasing the contribution to my dividend portfolio now forces me to live my lifestyle on less money. It’s a form of conscious spending taught by Ramit Sethi. When I lose my job and primary source of income, I hope to maintain this increased contribution level at that time.
The good news is that I have stopped using my credit card!!!
Final Thoughts
As indicated in earlier posts, I am super committed to getting my dividend portfolio back to where it was prior to the most recent sale of my stocks. This decision to increase my contribution is in line with that promise and my commitment.
Of course, the future is uncertain, and when I lose my job (which is for sure coming), there is also the small possibility that I might be forced to reduce my contribution again. However, I think what’s more likely is that I will be able to maintain this level of contribution and even increase it a bit more in the future – especially when I fully get out of credit card debt.
What did you think of this post?
Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.
I’m really intrigued that for someone so well aware of his own spending you don’t seem to be able to get that part of your life under control.
If I look at old posts, even years before, the pattern stays the same. I wonder how much further along you would be if you’d be able to cut that credit card in half.
That being said, great to see you increasing your monthly contribution!
Did you quit your job or fallen victim to layoffs?
Interesting point Mr. Robot but in fairness, I’ve pretty much been debt free from 2020 to about 2022. Debt really blossomed in 2023 due to expenses associated with new condo (and of course poor spending habits).
I have been remarkably consistent though in wasting money…although of all the gurus I hear about, I really subscribe to the notion of conscious spending. That is, I can spend money on whatever I want, so long as the fundamentals are taken care of (contributing to IRA, 401K, etc). In my case, despite the fact that I waste a lot of money, the fundamentals ARE taken care of.
Finally, with regard to your question about my job loss, the answer is neither. The reason I’m losing my job is because of my health concerns, which I previously posted about, and the need for me to focus on my treatments.
I hope that helps.
Thanks as always for your support.