I thought my experiment would have a setback with the downturn in the market, but surprisingly, since my last update, it’s still up.

It’s been two months since my last update, and I after some passive thinking, I’ve come to the realization that my goal for the experiment has change on me.  I no longer want to spend much on lunch, and going out once a week would be just fine with me.  My lunches are now a production time where I work on blogging.

So the question is, should I continue to use the dividends on spending?

I’ve decided yes I should, but instead of lunches, I’m going to spend the money better foods for my family.  I will use the money to make more nutritional food at home.  I’ve been wanting to expand into this area for a long time, and this money will help both me and my family (at least at a nutritional level).

 

Dividend Stats.:

	Dividend Stock’s Lunch Experiment
	Stock Name	Anworth	EV Energy	Chimera
	Stock Ticket	ANH	EVEP	CIM
	# of Shares	260	45	600
	Orig. Price	$7.84	$23.25	$4.01
	Curr. Price	$7.20	$54.04	$3.94
	Orig Cost	$2,038.14	$1,046.25	$2,404.80
	Curr Value	$1,872.00	$2,431.80	$2,364.00
	Annual Yield	12.22%	5.63%	17.26%
	Act. Div/Qtr	$57.20	$34.20	$102.00
			Total Dividends	$773.60
			52 weeks	52
			Dividend / week	$14.88
			Total Gain in
			Stock Apprec.	$1,178.61
			% Change	21.47%
			Amt Loaned to myself:	$1,726
			Amt paid back to date:	$1,726
			Amt Still Owned:	$0
		Totals
		Cumulativie Stock Value:		$6,667.80
		Dividend Payout / Yr.:		$773.60
		Dividend Payout / Qtr:		$193.40
		Dividend Payout / Wk.		$14.88

 

On with the Update:

• Overall, the “Total Return” of my investments since investing in 2009 is up 21.47%.  Note, the change is not per year, but simply the percentage gain of what was originally invested vs the current value.
• The ”Cumulative Value” of my investments equal $6,667.80!  This is money that would have went to the restaurant owner and to the waiter in tips.  But now it’s sitting in my brokerage account earning me a dividend!
• With a dividend of $14.88 a week, it appears nice, but it’s based on dividends that may not be sustainable.

 

Since I’ve change the goal of this experiment, I don’t think I will need as much as I use to need on a weekly basis.  So, I’m thinking about shifting some (if not all) of my investments into less risky (from a dividend perspective) stocks.  I’ve had a great ride, so I’m not in a rush to do this, but since the goal is more serious, I think that my investments should be too.

As far as the experiment goes, it’s been a great success and exceeded my expectations.  The change in my lunch rituals was an unexpected surprise and one that will get me one step closer to a purer state of frugality.

Cheers,

MR