February Passive Income Progress

I started tracking my passive income summer 2014.

My June passive income was $261.00
My July passive income was $209.67  
My August passive income was 235.62

My September passive income was $212.97

My October passive income was $140.37
My November passive income was $207.05
My December passive income was $377.91
My January passive income was $167.44

In February I bought shares of Bank of Montreal(BMO) and more shares of Centerpoint Energy(CNP).

In February I received dividends:

T	$12.89
NE	$11.06
KMI	$29.45
PETS	$18.07
DRI	$18.70
PG	$16.22
Total	$106.39

Here you can see my progress for 12 months

2014	Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
	$48.61	$12.44	$63.58	$90.04	$65.67	$126.98	$122.68	$118.36	$166.28	$93.18	$123.70	$263.68
									Year to date		$1,295.20
2015	Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
	$78.69	106.39
									Year to date		$185.08

I earned an interest of $20.72
$114.06 in points on my Amex card*

$7.81 in points on my Discover card

I received $5.00 gift card from Sears
               $10.00 from Kroger card
               $15.31 from Ebates - where it pays to shop online :)

*As you might noticed I've got $114 in points from Amex. It was 10000 signed up bonus. In regards to monthly 20% in points, it looks to me that they have a different system from Discover card. But I will check it again on my next statement and then decide.

My total financial passive income for the month of February was $279.29

At this moment my goal is to have $1k in monthly passive income from dividends and other financial institutions.

Thanks for reading and please share your thoughts and progress.

My weekly stock list (2/22)

Finally I am back to stock market.

Last week I finished my taxes and transferred money to invest into my IRA account.

I bought shares of Bank of Montreal(BMO) and more shares of Centerpoint Energy(CNP).

Here is my list for upcoming week

SYMBOL	NAME	PRICE as of 2/22	YIELD	52-WK LOW	52-WK HIGH	1-YR TRGT PRICE	EPS	P/E	Dividends Paid
GE	General Electrics	$25.21	3.70%	$23.41	$27.53	$28.50	1.5	16.82	>15 years
AUY	Yamana Gold	$3.96	1.5%	$3.45	$10.72	$5.61	-1.46		9 years
MSFT	Microsoft	$43.85	2.8%	$37.19	$50.05	$47.97	2.48	17.69	10 years
BCE	BCE inc	$44.59	4.6%	$41.00	$48.27	$56.95	2.37	18.79	>15 years

Which one do you like the most? 

My complete Watch List of Dividends Stocks here. 

My stock picking strategy here. 

Please share your thoughts and watch lists.

Healthy Gums and Teeth

This month my mom went to the dentist office because she thought one of her crowns was getting loose. It turned out it was not actually her crown but entire tooth got loose.
So her dentist sent her to periodontist.

We went to periodontist and he performed deep cleaning and some antibiotic treatment on my mom's tooth and said that for now they will just watch and see if it gets better. Since I was there I scheduled my appointment as well because I have receding gums.

On my appointment  periodontist told me that I actually need gum craft on 4 of my teeth. This procedure sounds too painful to me and so I want to try use natural ways to improve gum health and hopefully slow down or maybe reverse the process.

While waiting on periodontist appointment for my mom I did research on natural ways to treat periodontal problems.

So here are steps we are taking in order to keep gums and teeth healthy:

1. Vitamins and Supplements

This article from Institute for Optional Nutrition discusses how nutritional factors affect teeth and gum health. I learned that actually using certain vitamins can help gum health as well.

So  I ordered and added these Vitamins and supplements to my daily routine:
Vitamin C (2-4g)
Vitamin A (100,000 i.u.)
Vitamin E (200-400 i.u.)
VItamin D
Calcium
Coenzyme Q10 (50-150mg)
Bioflavonoids (500 mg - 1g)
Selenium (200 mcg)
Folic Acid ( 2 mg)
Zink (15-30mg)

2. Sea salt mixed with warm water. I use it as often as I can.
Read here about sea salt for your teeth.

3. Coconut oil pulling. I wrote about oil pulling here and now I make sure I swish my teeth every day for 20 minutes.

4. Natural toothpaste and mouthwash. I switched to all natural toothpaste and mouthwash. We also use baking soda and xylitol for teeth cleaning. 
Here you can read more about benefits of brushing your teeth with xylitol.
You have to be careful though when you use herbal toothpaste or mouthwash. I believe one herb was actually irritating my gums. 

P.S. if you use invisalign make sure your retainer doesn't touch your gums. 

Thanks for reading and please share your thoughts.

                          Here is beautiful smile for you! :)

January Passive Income Progress

I started tracking my passive income summer 2014.

My June passive income was $261.00
My July passive income was $209.67  
My August passive income was 235.62

My September passive income was $212.97

My October passive income was $140.37
My November passive income was $207.05
My December passive income was $377.91

I didn't have any sales or purchases of stocks in January, because I was super busy calculating projected taxes for FAFSA, filling out FAFSA and Profile for my daughter's colleges, applying for medical insurance, paying property taxes and doing some repairs on rental property. Plus I am finally done on one of my work projects, so hopefully I will be able to go back to my regular trading schedule. I am looking forward to it! I miss all my daily/weekly stocks watching and purchasing/selling stocks. :)

In January I received dividends:

PEP	$14.34
PM	$10.94
NKE	$1.56
WFT	$2.99
GSK	$37.39
UFS	$11.47
Total	$78.69

It was not so much comparing to my previous months but a little better than January 2014.

Here you can see my progress for 12 months

2014

Jan

Feb

March

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

$48.61

$12.44

$63.58

$90.04

$65.67

$126.98

$122.68

$118.36

$166.28

$93.18

$123.70

$263.68

Year to date

$1,295.20

2015

Jan

Feb

March

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

$78.69

Year to date

$78.69

I earned an interest of $28.05

$10.52 in points on my Discover card
$  4.82 in points on my Amazon card
I received $5.00 gift card from Kohls
               $40.36 gift card from TXU

I can't wait to see my points on my new AMEX card. It takes 4-6 weeks after statement to see them. As I mentioned in my December update I I finally accepted AMEX offer to get their credit card because they are offering 20% back if I used the card 20 times per month.

My total financial passive income for the month of January was $167.44

At this moment my goal is to have $1k in monthly passive income from dividends and other financial institutions.

Thanks for reading and please share your thoughts and progress.

December Health Progress

Last month I decided to post a monthly update on our health progress, which includes interesting books I read and some new things we did or try.

You can read about our Health progress in November here

In December I read book about Health:

The Immune System Recovery Plan by Susan Blum, MD

This is a must read book if you have any autoimmune disorders, such as MS, lupus, celiac disease, crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Thyroid problems, etc.
This book gives you interesting information about how exposure to chemicals, heavy metals and certain diet choices can trigger your autoimmune symptoms. By removing these triggers you actually can stop suffering from your symptoms.
"Dr. Blum masterfully presents the latest scientific information and gives patients practical, natural, and safe ways to help the immune system heal" - Joel M. Evans, M.D.

While reading this book I learned that when we are shopping for Vitamin E, there are two different forms - synthetic form, which usually listed as dl-alpha-tocopherol and is not good, and a good-quality vitamin E, which contains d-alpha, or mixed tocopherols. 

Also I plan to add Selenium as our daily supplement. Selenium is a mineral which is important for our immune system and most of people are usually low on this mineral.

Health Updates this month:

1. I drink green smoothie every morning for my breakfast. I finally came up with my own combination which contains:

 2-3 leaves of kyle, one banana, lemon juice, coconut milk and water. I add pineapples pieces or cranberries when we have some. 

2. I added Vitamin E to our daily supplements.

3. I received my first order from Vitacost. If you follow this link, you supposed to get $10 of your $30 order. I ordered Buckwheat honey, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Noni Juice and pure Eucalyptus oil.

4. We finally completed our first parasite cleansing/detoxing this month. 

Here is a great article, which will convince you that everyone has parasites and you probably need to do this cleansing. I did my own research and found very gentle herb pills on Amazon, which my kids, my mom and I took for 10 days. My 18 y.o. daughter was very unhappy in the beginning, because she didn't want to take any "unknown herb pills" but at the end even she said her stomach feels much better now. My 13 y.o. son just believed me that after kissing dogs and cats, fishing, swimming and exploring woods, he needs some parasite cleansing. Overall I am very happy with this experience and plan to do it every 6 months. I noticed that my level of energy increased, I wake up much easier every morning and I am less irritable after I completed this cleansing.

5. I discovered that Marshall's/TJ Maxx has a nice section with organic food as well as soaps and creams. 

Thanks for reading and stay healthy and happy!

December Passive Income Progress

I started tracking my passive income this summer.

My June passive income was $261.00
My July passive income was $209.67  
My August passive income was 235.62

My September passive income was $212.97

My October passive income was $140.37
My November passive income was $207.05

In December I bought more shares of BBL and also WIN. I used to own WIN but then sold it and now I own it again. 

My December dividend income was the best out of all months of this year!

In December I received dividends:

FTR	$25.83
ARCP	$18.75
RYN	$12.96
KO	$15.47
UL	$18.09
MCD	$28.90
WU	$7.67
MAT	$30.61
EXPE	$1.81
CNP	$7.13
PFE	$13.38
TGT	$10.40
ESV	$22.50
RIG	$30.00
F	$19.00
RYAM	$1.18
Total	$263.68

Here you can see my progress for 12 months

Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
48.61	12.44	63.58	90.04	65.67	126.98	122.68	118.36	166.28	93.18	123.7	263.68

I earned an interest of $31.23

$34.04 in points on my Discover card
$  1.00 in points on my Amazon card
I received $3.00 gift card from Sears, 
               $10.00 gift card from Best Buy
               $10.00 gift card from LL Bean
               $15.00 gift card from Kohls
               $10.00 gift card from Palais Royal

Gift cards were perfect for Christmas Shopping!

I finally accepted AMEX offer to get their credit card because receiving 20% back if I used the card 20 times per month was the offer I could not pass by. So next month Discover points will go down and I will see how Amex points will work for me.

My total financial passive income for the month of December was $377.91

I was very impressed with this month!

At this moment my goal is to have $1k in monthly passive income from dividends and other financial institutions.

Thanks for reading and please share your thoughts and progress.