The TSX had quite of a strange problem today. Something about stocks from M to Z... Whatever!! I didn’t trade today... But tonight is pay night! So what am I going to do with those couple of hundreds of dollars?
I had talked before about the difficulties I am living now as a “stock addict”. Truly, I don’t know if I am a stock addict, but what I know for sure is that I really like to trade, I absolutely love to be 100% fully invested, even if it come with some risk. I think I had been very honest about my financial situation. I couldn’t explain what a margin account is better than I did in my last post. Now, you know once for good what margin is really is.
Ok, this is all very interesting as always, but I still don’t know what I am going to invest in! This is tragic. Especially knowing that my non-registered portfolio section is EXTREMELY close to the 112k! Yeahhhhh!
I always wanted to add new stuff in my portfolio. I once wanted ENB, TRP, CNR, SFI.UN and all the other ones. All of what I ever wanted and dream of is now in my portfolio. I feel completed, financially speaking. Nothing new really appeals me. And what about Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT)? And Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC)? I really don’t know. I don’t feel it.
In a desperate act, I may, for once, put the money aside to pay off some debt. But I really try to seek for something that will get my interest. I didn’t get a buzz over POT or CTC or any other thing. To invest in a stock, I need to be completely emerge, be excited over the stock I will be investing in. Right now, I am not having a love affair with anything and I find it quite scary, actually. This is the first time that it’s happening to me in the 7 years that I had been investing (since 2005).
Is it the beginning of the end for the Dividend Girl?
Am I going to pay off my debt from now on?
Stay tune, because we are going to find out!
This blog is going to be reallll boring without new lovers! Sorry if I am slow at falling again for a stock.
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7 comments:
Sunny: I don't claim to have a real handle on what ur doing. I've gained the impression u have been collecting the dividends as cash & re-investing them in buying new companies. Looking at your divi income for 2011 it appears that the lowest income u have per month is $300.00 It would make sense to put at least that much per month towards your debt. If I'm wrong & u've been Dripping maybe its time to stop & pay the bills.
HI Sunny...stock markets are for gamblers..that is why i do it as i don't run to the casino ( anymore) this is a great substitute. Don't leave us..you will get a buzz on the stocks that jump ahead...your blogs are fun...i enjoy your honesty and ideas. ps...paying some debt down is always a good idea..
I am enroll on a DRIP for everything that is in my portfolio. Some companies are giving away a discount when you enroll to their DRIP, like Just Energy (JE) to name an example. So I won't ever cancel my DRIP just to pay debt because dripping is way more cash efficient than paying off debt.
you pay debt when you don't know what to do with your money. And for the first time ever, I am in this situation where I don't know what to do with my money, so I am just going to pay off debt. I will be receiving 2 other paychecks this December, so I am definitively going to pay a good portion of my debt. That will probably be a good 1 600$ alone, on top of what I pay today.
I won't suggest to anyone to stop the DRIP to pay off debt. the DRIP is way too much of an interesting system and it add in extra stocks each month. And more stocks mean even more dividend. So retail investors win all the way.
Hello Ruth!
I am not going to stop blogging, I am just going to stop investing for a little while and make some serious payments on debt since I don't feel the inspiration to invest in stock at this point.
And I guess it's a good thing. I am going to add money to that 10k credit lines of mine that I have at a bit of 7%. On the long run, I will be able to pay it all.
These days, the stock market is more for gamblers than it is for investor but we have to deal with that.
Paying debt is definitively a good idea :)
Sunny, paying down debt is a great idea now that your portfolio has grown in size. Give us an update next week on how much debt reduction you've made !
Sunny: Let me be more precise. Paying down non-tax deductible consumer debt guarantees an increase in ur net worth. The market doesn't. Therefore, Dripping doesn't either.(Remember ur buddy DF talks abt being frugal as his best advice...that ultimately translates into a decreased debtload.) Why not have ur divi income service ur debt?- greater net worth, found $ essentially, bonus if stock prices go up. Otherwise what u gain or might gain in the market is constantly eroded by interest payable. Lets say ur circumstances change...u meet a guy, want to buy a house. The banks not interested in how many stocks u own or what companies, what divi's u DRIP, They're interested in net worth (assets-liabilities) & positive cash flow (income)ability to service the future debt, value of property & % downpayment (in case they have to get their money back). Just MHO. Maybe I'm just too conservative & old fashioned. Cheers!
This might sound crazy but why don't you continue to DRIP stocks that have a higher dividend then your debt interest rates and not drip stocks that have a lower dividend rate. I know that dividend growth and capital appreciation are not factored into this suggestion.
For example, if it costs your 4.5% to maintain your margin and you drip fortis which is at 3.5%, you are falling further behind by dripping a share then taking that money and having it compound at 4.5%. Wheras, if you have BCE at 5.5%, then DRIPping a share makes more sense.
Also, you should have a system so that you know when to reduce debt and when to invest. The market seems depressed now so it would make sense to invest (if you weren't so leveraged) and when the market races ahead, it might be time to pay down debt.
Cheers,
James
Hi James,
You make a good observation, it's a good idea of course, thanks for sharing.
It's good to invest when the market is down of course, but at this point, I don't feel like investing. I have basically what I ever wanted as stocks for my portfolio.
I could try maybe BA. I had that one once in my portfolio but I sell to trade on silver :0)
Maybe Canadian Tire.
Or POT.
I don't know.
See, I don't feel it quite well.
It's getting harder and I don't want to add to the existing stocks I hold. But maybe investing would be better.
Anyway, at this time, I only have something like 500$ bucks left as I paid 600$ on my credit card.
I may continue to think on what to do.
It would be stupid not to take advantage of the low market to invest more knowing I build my portfolio in period of low market.
It's something I need to think of.
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