Embracing Winter in New Brunswick: A Chilly Forecast and Exciting Dividend Growth

Winter is settling in quickly here in New Brunswick, and it's starting to feel like it’s knocking at the door. The weather forecast predicts an exceptionally cold weekend, with temperatures plunging to a bone-chilling -26°C on Saturday morning. For me, a "very cold weather" is anything below -20°C, and even -10°C is enough to make outdoor walks uncomfortable. To make things a little more challenging, the days are getting shorter, with darkness setting in as early as 5 p.m. I finished work at 6 p.m, New Brunswick time. Despite this, I make an effort to get outside daily, even if it's just for a quick walk, to stay active. I must admit, winter is not my favorite time of the year.

On the financial front, my margin debt is now reduced to just $353.50. Although the TSX didn’t close with extraordinary gains today, it remained steady at 25,641.18 points, which I find encouraging. My stocks portfolio had a solid day, gaining over $1,300 in value. Here's a snapshot of how my portfolios are performing:

Non-registered portfolio: $156,394.28

US portfolio: $6,172.40 USD

RRSP stocks-only portfolio: $75,031.30

TFSA portfolio: $156,062.11

November has been an exceptional month for dividend income, with several of my holdings announcing exciting dividend increases. These boosts have brought my monthly dividend income to $961, excluding the dividends earned in my RRSP portfolio. Slowly, but certainly moving toward the 1k.

Today, two major announcements caught my attention. Royal Bank of Canada (RY) announced a 4% dividend increase, and National Bank of Canada (NA) announced a 3.6% dividend increase. But the good news doesn't stop there. Yesterday, Enbridge Inc. (ENB) announced a 3% dividend hike. November also saw several other notable dividend increases:

Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD): Dividend raised by 11%

Element Fleet Management Corp. (EFN): Dividend raised by 8%

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU): Dividend raised by 4.6%

Telus Corp. (T): Dividend raised by 3.4%

With all these increases, I’m now very close to reaching the coveted milestone of $1,000 in monthly dividend income. If BCE Inc. (BCE) doesn’t decrease its dividend in the near future, I’m confident that I’ll hit that milestone soon. 

One of the most exciting personal milestones on the horizon is becoming completely debt-free. By next week, when I receive my next paycheck, I’ll officially clear the remaining $353.50 of my margin debt. I haven’t been debt-free for years, and it’s thrilling to see this goal within reach. Finally!