Celebrating a first 3 000$ in dividend income for 2011

Here I am, now exceeding 3 000$ in dividend income for 2011! I am currently at 3 140.95$.

I received some interesting dividend today:

Data Group Income Fund (DGI.UN): 33.27$
K-Bro Linen Inc. (KBL): 9.16$
New Flyer Industries Inc. (NFI.UN): 6.72$
Pembina Pipeline Corporation (PPL): 57.33$
Corby Distilleries Limited (CDL.A): 14.42$
Westshore Terminals Invest Corp (WTE.UN): 19$

I should received shortly another dividend distribution for New Flyer Industries Inc. (NFI.UN) really soon. Increasing my dividend income is what I had been into for the period of January to May 2011. Until May 2011, I had extended my investment portfolio using a mix of my own financial resources and money that was available on my margin account, among other. The adventure had been fun until recently.

Now that the Toronto stock market had faced some serious corrections, it’s adding stress to the whole thing and I saw the value of my margin account decrease. This situation adds extra stress on my shoulders, a stress that I could easily go without. It’s not something that keeps me awake at night, but it’s something I need to monitor on a daily basis.

I have the chance to have this very over diversified non-registered portfolio. The portfolio is not perfect, but it’s been strong enough to survive recent correction. I previously used the term “crash”. True it’s more a correction than a crash but in my delicate mind, I was in front of a crash and a major one. It’s been difficult to see the darling TSX hitting below the 13 000 points. This week had been quite chaotic.

The TSX is reacting really badly to the debt situation in Europe. Europe never been very good financially, so why is it something what matter now? Greece had problem for years, it’s just this year that we are getting hit by the monster, feeling the result of incapacity in term of management.

However, all this results in some positive stuff for me.

First of all: no more day trading. My first couple day tradings shot had been successful. But remember that I am currently stock with HOD and HZD that I am now desperately waiting to sell at profit... Despite the TSX droping in points, it wasn’t enough for me to be able to sell HOD and HZD at profit. After selling those 2, there will be no more day trading, at least not the way I had initially experience it.

Problem being that I am working at a night shift and that is giving a lot of time in my hand, so I started day trading. It’s something I wanted to try. I try it, made a couple of hundred dollars. Fun. But a turnover can happen very quickly, even on the Canadian exchange and that’s how I had remained with HOD and HZD without having the capability to sell at profit. I am still holding HOD and HZD on date of today. Whenever a new trading day begin, I am always hoping that it will be on this day that I will be able to sell HOD and HZD. Day trading had handicapped my life, in such way. It’s not everyday that I feel good about spending the day in front of my laptop. There’s no way I can possibly take a break from it until I can achieve the selling of HOD and HZD. Day trading involved a lot of stuff I was not necessarily aware of and like I wrote to a reader, I am happy to have lived this while being 30. I will look smarter and sexier when I will be 31, I guess.

Second of all: never invest too much on margin account money ever again. So far, I had that big thing as portfolio. Very good portfolio that work well for me, but gees, at only 20 000$ more or less available in margin account money, this is making the whole thing a bit more crispier than I would like. Once my sell order of HOD and HZD will be perform, I will be more careful when it come to investing using margin money. I will make sure to have much more than 20 000$ available on the margin account.

Third of all: the importance of an emergency fund. As my family members are getting older in New Brunswick, the difficult it is. I never had to live some difficult situation before too much. But in February 2011, my uncle deceased of Parkinson diseased and it started a whole bunch of problems. I was able to spend 2 weeks in New Brunswick when it happens, I got my vacation pay. Also, my mom had spent some time with me in Montreal a couple of times and each time I took off from work. Whenever she wants to come now I never refused her, knowing the pain that left the death of her brother.

From 2007 until now, I had been living paycheck to paycheck, packing up my investment portfolio with my savings, credit line and other. Nice. But that’s not of any good to cover me in case of an emergency situation. I need to leave more money on my credit lines or leave money in my banking account so I can be safe in case something else happen. Also, when my mom when to come and visit, I need to be able to take off. This is not something that happens on a regular basis, but I need money to cover when I don’t work.

That’s what my life is about to be for now.

It’s not looking good for HOD and HZD. The market is about to recover from the previous corrections, it seem. Day trading had brought in a couple of hundreds of dollars, some learning stuff and the discovery of First Majestic Silver Corp (FR). I may be able to generate a good profit from First Majestic Silver Corp (FR) in a close future.