Saturday, March 13, 2010

* Pocket Change Portfolio - February 2010

Each month I update the Pocket Change Portfolio (PCP). The table below reconciles the PCP from beginning of period to end of period for February 2010, Year-To-Date (2010) and Life-To-Date. The Portfolio Returns line provides the calculated return for the three displayed periods.

Description February-2010 Year-To-Date Life-To-Date
Beg. Portfolio Value 25,987.33 21,411.36 -
Online Cash Receipts 6,267.18 11,076.37 31,132.39
Online Expenses - (4.95) (238.58)
Gross Profit 6,267.18 11,071.42 30,893.81
Dividends 46.26 63.46 365.98
Interest Income 0.87 1.89 19.53
Subtotal 6,314.31 11,136.77 31,279.32
Gain/(Loss) 352.87 106.38 1,375.19
Ending Portfolio Value 32,654.51 32,654.51 32,654.51
Portfolio Returns 1.24% 0.67% 14.10%
Online Cash Receipts are the collected earnings from my online endeavors. Most of which is advertising on the my various blogs. The Online Expenses relates to various web related expenses such as registering 3 domains (DividendsValue.com, Dividends4Life.com and TheDiv-Net.com) and paying my annual hosting fee. 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). February Dividends of $46.26 included:
  • $9.60 Sysco Corp. (SYY)
  • $8.19 Vanguard Intermediate Bond ETF (BIV)
  • $4.80 Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (BLV)
  • $9.36 Nucor Corporation (NUE)
  • $8.80 Procter & Gamble Co. (PG)
  • $5.51 PowerShares Emerging Mkts (PCY)
The portfolio was up in February, for the year and since its inception. Online earnings in February surpassed the $6,000 mark for the first time. A large portion of the increase is a result of offering one-year subscription option for D4L-Premium Services. In addition to several new one-year subscriptions, many monthly subscribers moved to the annual plan. Traffic on Dividends Value was lower in February, compared to the January record volume.

During the month of February, I purchased the following securities:
  • 98 shares AT&T, Inc. (T) providing $164.64 in annual dividend earnings
  • 38 shares United Technologies Corp. (UTX) providing $64.60 in annual dividend earnings
Including the above February purchases, my annual PCP dividend income is now $1,041.86 at the current dividend rates. I ended the month with $6,332.48 in cash, enough to purchase several stocks in March. I have purchased at least one stock each month since May 2009. I believe the current cash balance and recent earnings will continue to support the purchase of at least 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-April.

(Photo: sanja gjenero)

The Coca-Cola Company