One Hundred Entries; Looking Back and Forward

     While logging on Wednesday to draft my Good Value vs Bad Value post, I was somewhat shocked to see it would be my 99^th entry.  So much has changed since December 9, 2012 when I sat down one night to write about my Investor Profile and Philosophy.  Moving to a different province, getting married, having a child, and changing roles at work have altered me on a personal level. Although my investing philosophy has remained pretty steady, this blog has evolved from a trade journal to an actual investment blog.

     Instead of droning on about change being inevitable, I thought I’d provide two fun stats instead. Afterall, as an accountant, finance professional, and investor…I love numbers. Without further ado, here are two numbers of which I’m extremely proud:

-          In the 2.5 years I’ve been blogging, I’ve managed to increase my expected forward dividend income by 103% (insanity!)

-          During that same blogging period, my total portfolio value rose by 98%

     Although I’ve learned a lot through blogging and made some incredible contacts, there are certain aspects of the process that still puzzle me. For instance, the most popular entry I’ve ever written judged by page views was a now dated, and somewhat bland comparative analysis I did when considering whether to buy Emera Inc or H&R REIT. I have no idea why this entry garnered so much attention, whereas some entries I put a lot of time into, and that still remain quite relevant, never garner many specific views. That said, I still find the main value of having this blog is to be able to monitor my trading decisions, in order to improve my investing process over time. Driving page views has never, and will never will be the goal of my writing.

     The obvious question is what’s next for this blog? After beautifying it earlier this spring, and even creating a Twitter account under the Dividends in Hand handle, I don’t have any huge plans.  My hope is that my blog continues to be a fun outlet to write about my own personal journey to financial independence through dividend growth investing.