My First Vehicle Purchase

After 5 years of taking public transit, I finally caved and got a car. 2008 Acura TL-S from Acura dealership. I like to think of it as no more toughin it out on public transit. Let's face it, YRT transit sucks if you want to go anywhere besides the Viva routes.

(not actually my vehicle, but same color/make/year)

I think I could have lasted a couple more years if the Viva drivers didn't go on strike this year for 3 months, but that was the last straw.

While I complain about gas prices as much as the next person (will probably cost ~$100 for a tank of 91 octane), deep down I really don't mind the gas prices. My motto has always been, if you can afford the car, you can afford the gas. While probably not true for very old vehicles (10+ years), Edmunds True Cost to Own estimator agrees and indicates that for most cars under 10 years old, the average annual cost of depreciation is similar to the average annual cost of fuel.

Dividend Growth Portfolio, End of 1st Half Update

As we roll into July, it signifies the end of the 1st half of the year! I typically do a more in depth analysis of my progress this year at this time, so here goes.

1. Activity Review
First, there was no activity in June, so my annualized dividend remains the same, about $20 short of the full year goal.

New Purchases
There were no new purchases this month


Sales
There were no equities divestitures this month.

Intrinsic Dividend Changes
None

Back from Vacation

Well, I'm finally back from my 2 week vacation in China. My flight was supposed to land at Pearson International (YYZ) in Toronto yesterday, June 21, at 6pm. We ended up getting diverted to Ottawa due to a major storm in Toronto that closed Pearson for a bit. We ended up spending 3 hours in Ottawa sitting on the tarmac, refueling, and waiting to take off. After getting back to Toronto around 10pm, we had to wait another 30 minutes for an available gate, due to the massive backlog. After all was said and done, I got my luggage around 12:45am June 22.

Nothing too exciting happened in China. I mostly spent time with my grandparents. I did get a chance to look around Beijing and from the looks of things, the economy in China is humming along, and inflation is somewhat in control now.

Dividend Growth Portfolio, June 2012 Update

As May comes to a close, it's that time of the month again. It is time for a review of my Dividend Growth Portfolio! Here is the June 2012 update for my Dividend Growth Portfolio.


New Purchases
I made one purchase this month. I added 25 shares to my existing MCD position, which adds $70 to my annual dividend income stream based on current quarterly payments

McDonalds - $70.00


Sales
There were no equities divestitures this month.

Intrinsic Dividend Changes
Bank of Nova Scotia - $4.40 (DRIP reinvested shares)
Intel - $30.30 (quarterly div raised from 21 to 22.5 cents)