October Dividend Increases, Money Experiment and Goals

As October draws to a close, and I hope to break my record of two trick-or-treaters visiting our house tomorrow, here’s an update on the dividend increases in my portfolio, the results of my money experiment, and my progress on non-financial goals.

There were two companies in my investment holdings that announced dividend increases in October.

-   Kinder Morgan boosted their payout by 4%, raising the quarterly dividend from $0.49 to $0.51 per share. However, Kinder’s quarterly earnings release contained more tricks than treats for its shareholders, as management revised their forward dividend growth guidance down from 10% to between 6% and 10% for 2016. Additionally, management mentioned some “alternative funding sources” to finance growth initiatives at a lower cost than equity financing. It’s worth noting that distributable cash flow per share was only $0.51 during Q3, barely enough to cover the dividend.

-   In a much more boring and straight forward press release, Omega Healthcare Investors announced their 13 consecutive quarterly dividend increase, boosting their quarterly payout from $0.55 to $0.56. I’m interested to hear Omega’s Q3 results on November 2^nd.

After buying a poppy from a veteran this morning, and with only a tip to grocery store baggers planned tomorrow, I’m officially calling my October money experiment a success.  As per the picture below, today I have $7.25 left of my initial $100. My largest expenditures in the second half of the month were treating my wife and son to chocolate dipped ice cream cones ($8.05) and a work team breakfast ($8.00 including tip). Not only did I get to test my frugality muscle, I also have a better idea of where my cash goes to over the course of an average month. I’m planning on starting another money experiment in November, so stay tuned to hear more about it.

Each month, I track three non-financial goals. I’m happy to report that I remain under my maximum weight of 160 pounds, weighing in a shade over 154 this morning. With a bronchial infection and cold knocking me out for a few weeks in October, I was happy to meet this goal. Going to the gym at work has really helped me in weight maintenance. As this is my ninth post this month, I’m well ahead of my goal of averaging a blog post each week. That said, the quality of my posts has not been high lately, and I promise to put more effort into improving this next month. Lastly, I made a donation to the Canadian Mental Health Association, so I’m tracking well against my giving back goal as well. Mental health is an important issue for me, and I hope my gift helps others connect to resources when they are in need.

All in all, October was a hectic, but great month. Bring on November!

What was your high-light of October?