Starting Over From Zero

By | March 11, 2020

Dividend Portfolio is starting over from zero. Recently, I sold all my stocks. My projected dividend income was $0.00 for the year. After much consideration, I decided to stick with M1 Finance (referral link) as my broker. One of the things I did was left the automatic investment feature on. So basically, whenever my balance is higher than $10, M1 Finance will invest the funds into my dividend portfolio.

Well, I got a notification saying that I earned $70+ in dividends. Those dividends were automatically invested in my dividend portfolio into each stock. For the most part, my stocks are equally weighted. But, because the total stocks in my portfolio is 18, some stocks are at 6% allocation while other stocks are at 5% allocation. I hope to add two more stocks at some point to make the total portfolio size 20.

Forward Annual Dividends

At the time of this writing, my forward annual dividends $2.70. What is very fitting is that it’s pretty much entirely based on dividend income I’ve received.

I fully expect this number to increase in the days to come. I’ve resumed contribution to my dividend portfolio to $100 per month beginning March 15, 2020. Throughout the course of the year, I expect to raise the monthly contribution to M1 Finance. But, I fully intend on building up some cash reserves to hopefully weather the coronavirus storm or anything else that might pop up.

Stock Market Crash

The stock market crash or decline in the past few weeks has not been good for retirement accounts. But, for those with a long term horizon, such as dividend growth investors, being able to buy stocks at lower prices is a good thing because what really matters is the total number of shares owned. This of course assumes that the companies you might be interested in are able to weather the storm and still be viable in the long run.

I really hated being out of the market and not having the funds set aside to just do a lump sum investing. It’s important I think to be able to be in a position to capitalize on opportunities as they arise. But, there’s no use crying over spilt milk.

So, instead, I will be starting over from zero and begin my contributions to the market so that I can slowly build my portfolio over time. I’ll maintain (or maybe even increase) these contributions despite the coronavirus, or whatever else may come along.

Conclusion

It’s easy to repeat quotes such as “be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful” by Warren Buffet, and the like, but it’s much harder to do in practice. It’s really hard to invest your money in a declining market (unless you are shorting a stock or buying a put option). But, I truly believe that the companies I’m invested in will last for the long term and that as the market declines, I’m able to buy more shares of these stocks than I otherwise would.

As a reminder, I’m not a financial adviser or other professional you should be relying on for financial advice. Therefore, you should consult a qualified professional before you make your investment decisions. In any case, I hope that you achieve all your financial goals for 2020.

What do you think of this post about me starting over from zero? Let me know by commenting below.

2 thoughts on “Starting Over From Zero

  1. DivHut

    I know we’ll see that dividend portfolio back in action soon enough. You already know to invest long term cash in the stock market or what is known as risk capital. Never cash that you need to pay bills, mortgage, down payment or any other near term expense. Keep an eye on the market.
    DivHut recently posted…Dividend Income Update February 2020My Profile

    Reply
    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      You’re totally right about that. I can’t take my eye off the market actually! I’ve already increased my monthly contributions. It’s going to be a struggle but trying to get my portfolio back to a decent amount. First stop: crossing the $1000 threshold!

      Reply

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