Pocket Change Portfolio Update: October 2009

Each month I update the Pocket Change Portfolio (PCP). The table below reconciles the PCP from beginning of period to end of period for October 2009, Year-To-Date (2009) and Life-To-Date. The Portfolio Returns line provides the calculated return for the three displayed periods.

Description	October-2009	Year-To-Date	Life-To-Date
Beg. Portfolio Value	11,622.04	3,395.62	-
Online Cash Receipts	2,164.18	9,696.57	13,244.91
Online Expenses	-	(30.00)	(116.23)
Gross Profit	2,164.18	9,666.57	13,128.68
Dividends	34.03	187.62	212.78
Interest Income	1.05	10.47	16.62
Subtotal	2,199.26	9,864.66	13,358.08
Gain/(Loss)	(56.76)	504.26	406.46
Ending Portfolio Value	13,764.54	13,764.54	13,764.54
Portfolio Returns	(0.16%)	12.29%	10.33%

Online Cash Receipts are the collected earnings from my online endeavors. Most of which is advertising on the my various blogs. The year-to-date $30.00 Online Expenses relates to registering 3 domains (DividendsValue.com, Dividends4Life.com and TheDiv-Net.com). October Dividends include $4.21 from Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (BLV), $9.02 from The Coca-Cola Company (KO), $11.20 from Genuine Parts Co. (GPC), and $9.60 from Sysco Corp. (SYY). The Interest Income line is interest earned on cash balances in an ING account I set up for the PCP. The Gain/(Loss) line is for market changes to the PCP (realized and unrealized).

The portfolio was down slightly in October, but is up for the year and since its inception. Online earnings in October once again surpassed the $2,000 mark for the second time. A large portion of the increase is related to the strong interest in D4L-Premium Services. The premium service continues grow each month. The subscriber retention rate is stays between 85-90%. Traffic on Dividend Value was at record levels in the month of October.

During the month of October, I purchased 26 shares of Emerson Electric Co. (EMR). This will provide me $34.32 in annual earnings at the current dividend rate. Including EMR, my annual PCP dividend income is now $432.62 at the current dividend rates. I ended the month with $2,964.06 in cash, enough to purchase my 11th and 12th PCP stock in November. Through October I have purchased eight stocks this year, including six in consecutive months since May 2009. I continue to believe the current cash balance and recent earnings will support the purchase of one stock each month.

My PCP holdings are always available by selecting the Holdings option from the menu in the header. The next PCP update will be mid-December.

Comments

[Stargazer:]

I enjoy reading your progress with, as you say, "pocket change" portfolio. The biggest thing that I get out of reading this is motivation. It helps remind me that even small amounts of income invested into the right dividend stocks still leads to growth.

The saying goes how the companies will "nickel and dime" us for our wealth. Well, for me, your PCP proves that as a dividend investor I can "nickel and dime" the wealth in the "right" direction.

Looking forward to future installments of the PCP.

Long KO.

Nov 16 10:18 AM