Sunday, February 22, 2015

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

SYMBOLNAMEPRICE as of 2/22YIELD52-WK LOW52-WK HIGH1-YR TRGT PRICEEPSP/EDividends Paid
GEGeneral Electrics$25.213.70%$23.41$27.53$28.501.516.82>15 years
AUYYamana Gold$3.961.5%$3.45$10.72$5.61-1.469 years
MSFTMicrosoft$43.852.8%$37.19$50.05$47.972.4817.6910 years
BCEBCE inc$44.594.6%$41.00$48.27$56.952.3718.79>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.




Tuesday, February 3, 2015

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

2014JanFebMarchAprMayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovDec
$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
2015JanFebMarchAprMayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovDec
$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.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

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!

Friday, January 2, 2015

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


JanFebMarchAprMayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovDec
48.6112.4463.5890.0465.67126.98122.68118.36166.2893.18123.7263.68

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.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

My weekly Stock list (12/14)

It looks like my portfolio is shrinking, but as long as I don't sell anything I have hope for future recovery of stocks.

At least one of my "mistake" investments finally moved to a green zone for me.

BBW - Build a Bear Workshop. I bought this stock back in 2008 for $16.00 and then at some point it fell down to $5.00 but I still kept it and finally now it's back to $20s. I hope their after Christmas sales report will be really good. Well, I learned my lesson"why you should not invest into non dividend stocks".  Imagine, if this stock would pay even 1% dividends through all these years and I reinvested it while stock was selling at $5.00 or $7.00?

Last two weeks were kind of identical for me, so I didn't post last week.

I bought more shares of BBL though, apparently not at their best price. 

Here is my list for upcoming week. 

SYMBOLNAMEPRICE as of 12/14YIELD52-WK LOW52-WK HIGH1-YR TRGT PRICEEPSP/EDividends Paid
TAT&T, Inc.$32.165.7%$31.74$37.48$35.673.279.84>15 years
WINWindstream Holdings$8.4710.9%$7.18$13.30$10.132.9212.1810 years
VZVerizon Communications$45.584.80%$45.32$53.66$52.984.639.85>15 years
AVPAvon products$9.592.5%$9.32$18.09$12.192.5-0.29>15 years
AUYYamana Gold$3.961.4%$3.45$10.72$6.721.4-2.079 years

My favorite is WIN. I used to own shares but sold them sometimes ago and I miss my nice dividend income from them. :)

My complete Watch List of Dividends Stocks here. I update this watch list at least once a month.

My stock picking strategy here


Please share your thoughts and watch lists.