Since selling the cabin, we’ve got to work on a lot of the house renovations we said we were going to do. New roof – done. New floors – done. Rip out old fireplace – done. We also picked up some new furniture. One of the last things is to get the place re-painted. We’ve started this and the whole job should be done this week!
The kids had a school concert – it was Isaac’s first ever and they both did great.
Holland had her first ever sleepover party at a friends house last weekend, everyone survived and had a great time!
Took two of my oldest friends (I’ve known them since grade 1) out for their 40th birthday dinners. We went to Nola and it was great!
We have one curling game left before the season ends – and just a couple soccer games before the winter/indoor season comes to an end. I guess spring is actually around the corner!
My little man got glasses(photo above)! Apparently he has a slight astigmatism in one eye. He loves them so far, and sounds like the issue could correct itself.
Financial Highlights for February:
Maxed out both TFSA’s in January! I am still sitting on some cash in the TFSA’S, and I made a couple more purchases in February: – Added 400 shares of First National @ $38.43 – Added an additional 100 shares of Fortis @ $53.90 These 2 purchases add an additional $1186.00 to my forward annual dividend income.
I also decided last minute (like VERY last minute, on the final day) to dump an extra $6500 into my RRSP. I know I said I was going to start investing LESS, but due to the capital gains on the cabin sale and potential tax liability, I decided this one year it would make more sense to dumb some additional money into the RRSP. I haven’t invested it yet – but will most likely just add to my position in XAW.
Received dividends from 6 companies and funds. Dripped an additional 38 shares/units. Dripped shares by year: 2023: 144 (so far) 2022: 733 2021: 603
February is my lowest dividend month each year – but I was able to increase my dividends by 12% vs last February.
The new year is here, the holidays are behind us, and we are back into the normal routines (school, dance, soccer, curling etc).
I played in the Ironman Curling Bonspiel over the weekend, which was a ton of fun – although nothing like real curling. Basically you curl on the river, in -30 weather and the conditions are insane….no sliding out, just hucking the rock as hard as you can and hoping it lands somewhere in play. It was still lots of fun though, they had beer inside, everyone had flasks outside, and everyone is just there to have a great time.
Most of our house renos we wanted to get done are complete – we still have a few small things to do before spring, and we still need to get a painter in, but so far we’ve been happy with how things are looking. I also grabbed a chair I’ve been wanting for years, as well as a couple vintage teak lamps.
The kids both had field trips with school to the Aki center. This was Isaac’s first ever field trip with school and it sounds like he loved it. Holland is back in skating lessons with school as well every Monday.
Had a work trip to Vegas in January – so I spent 4 nights there. The work part was good, the food was great, and best of all, I could sleep through the nights without a kid (or wife) snoring or punching me in their sleep…
Two of my oldest friends (I’ve known them since grade 1) are turning 40 in the next 2 weeks(this year there will be a lot of us turning 40), so I am taking them out to a nice dinner this weekend to a place I’ve been wanting to try for quite some time – so definitely looking forward to that.
Here are some pictures of the new chair and lamps I picked up in December/January:
Financial Highlights for January:
Maxed out both TFSA’s in January! I am still sitting on quite a bit of cash in the TFSA’S, although I did make my first purchase of the year. I picked up 200 shares of Fortis.
Received dividends from 10 companies and 3 funds. Dripped an additional 106 shares/units. Dripped shares by year: 2023: 106 2022: 733 2021: 603
Portfolio reached an all time high- cracked 600k for the first time!
Back to back months of over $2000 in dividends for the first time ever as well!
Artis Reit: $82.88 (dripped 8 shares) *Special Dividend*
Artis Reit: $51.80 (dripped 5 shares)
European Residential Reit: $23.55 (dripped 7 shares)
RBNK: $92.25 (dripped 4 shares)
Algonquin Power: $259.45 (dripped 27 shares)
Nexus Reit: $15.79 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $10.81
TFSA’s Total: $636.61
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $400.04 (dripped 11 units)
Equitable Group: $248.16 (dripped 4 new shares)
XAW: $295.60 (dripped 9 new units)
GoEasy Financial: $395.85 (dripped 3 new shares)
Transcontinental: $220.95 (dripped 14 new shares)
RRSP Total: $1560.60
Total Passive Income January 2023: 2197.21* *29% of this was 100% Tax Free!
2023 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio increased 12.02% to a new all time high $610,029.29! I’m still holding cash for the coming months to try and scoop up some great companies. A few I have my eye on: Brookfield, Interrent Reit, CP/CN Rail, RBNK and XAW.
Dividends in January were up were up 25% YoY compared to last January! This was also the first time ever I’ve had back to back months with over $2000 in dividends!
Update on Goals for 2023:
Max out TFSA’S – DONE
Read 1 book a month – Finished Soccernomics in January
Pay an additional $10,000 on mortgage. – Haven’t started this yet. Though I have upped RRSP contributions.
Bring wife on at least 1 work trip & do at least 1 family trip – 0/2
Finish house renovations – Mostly Done
Crack $20,000 in passive income – Current forward income is $16,441
As I mentioned in last months post – going forward, the plan is to actually invest LESS. I will continue to max out both TFSA’s each year and put a bit of cash bi weekly into our RRSP, but now that I’ll be FORTY this year, I want to start working on getting the house paid off, and slowly getting portfolio built more for retirement in the 5-10 years. I also want to start spending a bit more on things like travel, and entertainment, nights out with the family and friends, and other cool experiences. As of September 2023 the kids will also be out of daycare which will free up an additional $12,000 a year to either invest or pay down mortgage.
We made it! 2023 is upon us, and holy shit was it a busy December to cap the year off. Here are a few highlights….
Holland had her winter dance recital. This was her second ever recital – last year she did 1 routine, this year she is in 2 classes (Acro & Jazz) so she performed two different dances. She killed both of em of course….
Like complete idiots, we decided to do a bunch of renovations in December (right before we were scheduled to host 2 Christmas dinners and a New Years Party). Somehow, we managed to get almost everything done in time. We ripped up the old floors, and put new luxury vinyl planks down, we ripped out our old ugly gas fireplace and patched up the wall, we got a new 75″ tv and mounted it, and got a new area rug delivered just in time. We still need to do a few small things and paint, but the house is looking much better these days.
Holland had her 7th birthday party, unfortunately I had tonsilitis so I had to miss it, but I was told it was great. I also missed a friends bachelor party – but did recover in time to make it to the wedding!
Lots of parties & events in December including: Jets game with the work team, Work Christmas party, Curling Christmas Banquet, friends annual Christmas potluck, hosted New Years Eve dinner for my family and boxing day dinner for Amber’s family, Dinner @ Amber’s dads, brunch at my cousin’s and lastly a New Years party at our place that went until 4:30 AM!
One of my favorite things about hosting dinners/parties besides getting together with everyone is sharing some exceptional cocktails and pours. Here are a few highlights from Xmas Eve:
Made it our good friends wedding on December 30th. Isaac stole Amber’s phone and was snapping selfies & photos of us all night. Here are a few. 1) Wifey being cute 2) Isaac and our friend Mitch being goofs 3) Mom & Isaac 4) The bride & groom 5) Holland & Isaac lounging at the wedding
Lastly, Christmas was great – the kids got spoiled, and we will probably be opening new toys for months:
Financial Highlights for December:
TFSA’s are maxed out – so no new contributions were made. The plan is to max out both TFSA(s) on January 3rd. I am still contributing $200 bi weekly to a spousal RRSP which I might increase a bit in 2023. Besides that I don’t plan on contributing much more this year – instead excess cash will probably go towards paying down the mortgage.
I didn’t make any stock purchases in December, but I did receive new shares of the newly spun out Brookfield Asset Management.
We are currently sitting on around $63,000 cash in our TFSAs, waiting to scoop up some more great companies at discounted prices over the coming months.
Received dividends from 9 companies and 3 funds. Dripped an additional 107 shares/units. Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares. In 2022 I ended up dripping 733 new shares.
With this months drips & dividends I surpassed last years total of each. There are actually a few big year end distributions coming as well which won’t hit the account until January as well, so 2023 should start out nicely!
Finished 2022 with $16,282.99 in dividends, a 16% YoY increase. I was expecting to crack 18k, however I never ended up putting all my cash to work, so once I invest the cash in our TFSA’s our forward income should go up quite a bit.
Artis Reit: $51.55 (dripped 5 shares) *Should be an additional $165.76 hitting account soon from a special dividend*
Western Forest: $26.65 (dripped 23 shares)
European Residential Reit: $23.32 (dripped 7 shares)
RBNK: $92.25 (dripped 4 shares)* Note there should be an additional $800+ special year end distribution coming in January*
Nexus Reit: $15.73 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $10.64
Manulife: $351.45 (dripped 14 shares)
TFSA’s Total: $666.95
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $1019.61 (dripped 28 units)
Couch Tard: $84.98 (dripped 1 share)
RBC US Index Fund: $410.93 (Dripped 12 units)
RRSP Total: $1515.52
Total Passive Income December 2022: 2182.47* *31% of this was 100% Tax Free!
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio decreased 5% to a new all time high $544,579.13! I’m still holding cash for the coming months to try and scoop up some great companies. A few I have my eye on: Brookfield, Interrent Reit, CP/CN Rail, RBNK and XAW.
Dividends in 2022 were up 16% YoY compared to last Year!
Here is a breakdown of the last 8 years:
Going into 2023 I plan to put the money in our TFSA(s) to work, investing mostly in XAW, and a couple other stocks. A few other goals for the year:
– Max out TFSA’S (this will be done tomorrow) – Read 1 book a month (minimum) – Pay an additional (on top of regular payments) minimum $10,000 on mortgage – Bring wife on at least 1 work trip & do at least 1 family trip – Finish house renovations (painting, a few new pieces of furniture and some backyard work) – Crack $20,000 in passive income
Going forward, the plan is to actually invest LESS. I will continue to max out both TFSA’s each year and put a bit of cash bi weekly into our RRSP, but now that I’ll be FORTY this year, I want to start working on getting the house paid off, and slowly getting portfolio built more for retirement in the 5-10 years. I also want to start spending a bit more on things like travel, and entertainment, nights out with the family and friends, and other cool experiences. As of September 2023 the kids will also be out of daycare which will free up an additional $12,000 a year to either invest or pay down mortgage. I hope everyone had a great 2022, and I wish you all a wonderful 2023!
Well, the waiting is finally over, I got to see Canada play 3 games in a World Cup, and although I would have loved to see them get a win, or advance from the group – it was always going to be a challenge. This World Cup should give them some experience for 2026 when we co-host the tournament. It should also lead to a few (more) of our players signing contracts over in Europe which will definitely help.
I finally bought one of the chairs I’ve had my eye on for years. I haven’t had it delivered yet, but here is a picture. It’s a R.Huber Scoop chair w/ottoman made by R.S Asscociates in the 60’s:
On the house front – we got our roof done right before the snow came, and I’ve already paid the deposit and materials to get our flooring ripped up and replaced. I don’t have an install date yet – but they assured me it would be completed before Christmas 🙂
Holland & Isaac have both been in swimming. Holland is also in dance, and has her winter recital coming up this weekend. We are all very excited – probably much more than her.
My soccer season went from bad to worse – besides barely winning any games – last week I got smashed into by the goalie on the other team and ended up with a deep bone bruise on my rib – so I’ll be out for a few weeks. On the plus side – our curling team is still undefeated 🙂
Lastly – like the rest of Canada, the flu has ravaged our house this month. Holland turned 7 and had 2 birthday parties planned, but of course both her and Isaac got sick right before and we had to cancel them. Both kids are better now, but it was pretty rough for a few days. Isaac had a fever up to 104.3.
Financial Highlights for November:
Regular readers will know I’ve been really focusing on maxing my TFSA out this year. As of January 1st, I had $29,614 contribution room available. Last month I was able to finally max out both my TFSA & Amber’s. The plan is to contribute the full $13,000 to our TFSA’s in January so that I don’t need to contribute anymore through the year either. I am still sitting on about 50k in cash in Amber’s TFSA waiting to make some purchases. Most likely XAW will account for the vast majority of that with another 2-3 stocks on top of it.
I didn’t make any stock purchases in November, but I did receive dividend raises from RBNK, Equitable Group, Telus, Diversified Royalty & Couche Tard!
We are currently sitting on around $55,000 cash in our TFSA, waiting to scoop up some more great companies at discounted prices over the coming months.
Received dividends from 6 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 40 shares/units. Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares. So far this year I have dripped 626 shares in the first 11 months!
With this months drips & dividends I surpassed last years total of each. December is always a big month as well, so I am hoping to smash last year’s record for total dividend income.
European Residential Reit: $22.11(dripped 7 shares)
RBNK: $91.96 (dripped 3 shares)
Nexus Reit: $15.68 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $10.64
TFSA’s Total: $347.92
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $394.57 (dripped 10 units)
RRSP Total: $394.57
Total Passive Income November 2022: 742.49* *47% of this was 100% Tax Free!
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio increased 5% to a new all time high $577,270.66! This is very misleading, as we injected over $50,000 cash into the portfolio last month, but still cool to see. I’m still holding some cash for the coming months to try and scoop up some great companies. A few I have my eye on: Brookfield, Interrent Reit, CP/CN Rail, RBNK and XAW.
Dividends in November were up 16% YoY compared to last November!
Last year (2021) I received $14,022 in dividends. So far in 2022, I have received $14,100.52. My forward 12 month dividend income is sitting at $16,013.84*. *That doesn’t include any year end/special distributions.
I am still hoping to crack $18,000 by year end. 35% of my dividend income this year has been completely tax free. Last year – only 25% of my income was tax free – so it’s nice to see the focus on the TFSA has been paying off!
Another busy month! My soccer season started, the kids are in dance & swimming, and I started my curling “career” with a win!
The cabin has officially sold, the money has cleared and we’ve begun spending it/investing it and making plans for the rest of it. The first thing we did was we each took a bit of money to “treat ourselves”. Amber bought a bunch of new clothes, spent some money on a girls trip and got a new Christmas Tree. In typical Jordan fashion – I got an XBOX One Series X and some booze…hah. A bit of what I bought:
Some of the other cabin sale money will go towards: Maxing out Amber’s TFSA(done), redoing our roof (starting next week), renovating the floors in living room/dining room & upstairs (hopefully finished in November). We are also contemplating finishing the basement – but undecided at this point.
The kids had their first school dance which was a blast. We also went to “Boo @ The Zoo” which is like a mini halloween carnival at the Zoo.
We hosted a large Thanksgiving dinner (about 30 people) and it was so much fun seeing all the kids/cousins running around playing together.
We had our civic election last week in Winnipeg. It ended in a much expected disappointment. We re-elected a bunch of councillors with no vision and a new mayor whose main vision is to build more roads…meh. We had 11 candidates running for mayor. Voter turnout was so low, we almost had more candidates than voters…haha
Financial Highlights for October:
Regular readers will know I’ve been really focusing on maxing my TFSA out this year. As of January 1st, I had $29,614 contribution room available. I am happy to report, I have officially maxed out both my TFSA & Amber’s TFSA (thanks to the proceeds of the cabin sale). This means now I can drastically reduce the amount I was contributing every two weeks, or invest in a non registered account OR double up our mortgage payments.
In October I added 128 shares of Brookfield Asset Management to my TFSA. I also added 440 shares of European Residential Reit. These two purchases will add an additional $360.20 to my annual dividend income (100% Tax Free).
We are currently sitting on around $55,000 cash in our TFSA, waiting to scoop up some more great companies at discounted prices over the coming months.
Received dividends from 11 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 81 shares/units. Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares. So far this year I have dripped 586 shares in the first 10 months!
European Residential Reit: $15.72(dripped 5 shares)
RBNK: $83.96 (dripped 4 shares)
Nexus Reit: $15.63 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $10.64
TFSA’s Total: $535.94
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $394.00 (dripped 11 units)
Transcontinental: $218.03 (dripped 13 shares)
NewFlyer: $37.01 (dripped 3 shares)
GoEasy Financial: $393.12 (dripped 3 shares)
Equitable Group: $231.57 (dripped 5 shares)
RRSP Total: $1273.73
Total Passive Income October 2022:$1809.67* *29.6% of this was 100% Tax Free!
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio increased 14% to $549,484.91. This is very misleading, as we injected over $50,000 cash into the portfolio this month. If we remove the big cash infusion the portfolio is up about 3.7%. The lower stock prices are a little annoying – but I’m not going to lie, I enjoy seeing the DRIPPED share numbers increase. Adding almost 20 Algonquin Power shares, 5 Equitable Group & 3 GoEasy is real nice. I plan to hold a bit of this cash for the coming months to try and scoop up some great companies. A few I have my eye on: Brookfield, Interrent Reit, CP/CN Rail, RBNK and XAW.
Dividends in October were up 34.6% YoY compared to last October!
Last year (2021) I received $14,022 in dividends. So far in 2022, I have received $13,358.03. My forward 12 month dividend income is sitting at $15,707.00*. *That doesn’t include any year end/special distributions.
I am still hoping to crack $18,000 by year end. 35% of my dividend income this year has been completely tax free. Last year – only 25% of my income was tax free – so it’s nice to see the focus on the TFSA has been paying off!
On a personal level….September was BUSY – and it looks like things are just getting started…
Summer is over, school routines are back, Holland started dance again, Isaac starts swimming right away….my soccer season starts in a week, my wife starts curling in 2 weeks and I decided to play mixed curling every second Saturday starting later this month with my brother & wife…crazy times.
I spent 4 nights in Chicago this month for a work conference, but got to see a bit of the city, had a few good meals, and even met up with an old friend from high school who moved there many moons ago. All around decent trip.
Watched a bunch of soccer (as is normal) but this included 2 Canada friendlies in anticipation of the World Cup. We beat Qatar and lost to Uruguay, but we proved we can keep up with some great teams which was very cool.
We had a wedding over the weekend, which was a great time. It was the kids first real wedding they’ve been too, and they had a blast. We even made ourselves look semi presentable!
We had our hockey pool draft yesterday. This is a dynasty/keeper league, that I have been running for FIFTEEN years. There are currently 9 teams in the league, and 6 of the 9 have been in the league for the full 15 years – which is pretty cool. It’s always fun to get together at the start of the season, have some beers, and see the boys. I’m pretty happy with how my team turned out – but I say that every year…hah
Some pretty big news….we officially sold our cabin! This is a bit bittersweet – we’ve had the cabin for 10 years, and always love going out there – unfortunately we’ve never really loved the cabin itself. We bought it before we had kids, and we’ve kind of outgrown it. We will keep an eye out for a new one in the coming months/years – but we are also kind of excited to spend a summer or two in the city – as we’ve pretty much been out at the cabin every weekend from May to September for the last 10 years. On the plus side, the cabin was mortgage free, and we got double what we paid for it, so I am expecting a nice little deposit into my account soon. The plan is to do a few house renovations, max out Amber’s TFSA with some stock purchases, and let’s be honest, probably buy some nice whiskey
I’ll do up a post on the cabin proceeds, and what stocks I end up buying, but right now the plan would be to add to my positions in: BAM, XAW, TELUS & RBNK.
Financial Highlights for September:
Regular readers will know I’ve been really focusing on maxing my TFSA out this year. As of January 1st, I had $29,614 contribution room available. In the first 9 months of the year I’ve been able to contribute $23,638.13. I am hopeful by the end of the year I’ll have this maxed out. Amber still has about 50k contribution room left, which I will max out once the cabin sale is processed. Aside from the obvious benefit of adding $50k into more dividend stocks/forward income, by maxing out both TFSA’s it will give us a lot of extra cash per month which we no longer need to dump into our accounts. We can use this to either pay down the mortgage, invest in RRSP or non registered accounts, or just enjoy on some trips, renovations, and fun toys.
In September, I contributed $1200 to my TFSA. I now have just $5975.87 contribution room left to max out before the end of the year!
Received dividends from 10 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 65 shares/units. Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares. So far this year I have dripped 505 shares in the first 9 months!
European Residential Reit: $15.25(dripped 4 share)
RBNK: $81.77 (dripped 3 share)
Brookfield Asset Management: $36.78
Western Forest: $26.44 (dripped 17 shares)
Canadian Western Bank: $0.31
Manulife: $346.50(dripped 15 shares)
Nexus Reit: $15.57 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $10.64
TFSA’s Total: $532.36
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $393.00 (dripped 10 units)
Alimentation Couche Tard: $66.66(dripped 1 share)
RRSP Total: $459.66
Total Passive Income September 2022:$992.02*. *54% of this was 100% Tax Free!
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio decreased 5.1% to $481,399.37. This is the lowest my portfolio has been since March 2021. Normally I’d be pretty annoyed by this…BUT with a bunch of cash about to come in from the cabin sale, lower prices is actually kind of nice right now, plus my dividend income continues to grow each month/year.
Dividends in September were up 34% YoY compared to last September!
Last year (2021) I received $14,022 in dividends. So far in 2022, I have received $11,548.03. My forward 12 month dividend income is sitting at $15,476.00*.
*That doesn’t include any year end/special distributions.
I am still hoping to crack $18,000 by year end. 37% of my dividend income this year has been completely tax free. Last year – only 25% of my income was tax free – so it’s nice to see the focus on the TFSA has been paying off!
After going over 2+ years without catching it – few members of our family caught covid in August. Somehow I managed to avoid it, and luckily the symptoms weren’t too bad. Everyone is healed up and feeling better now!
Had an MRI on my shoulder for an injury from about 10 years ago. Still waiting on the results.
I celebrated my 39th birthday. Kept it low key, no big parties this year, but we did go see The Wizard of Oz @ Rainbow Stage. The performance was great, the kids loved it, and I’ll always have a soft spot for The Wizard of OZ because I played the Scarecrow in junior high.
The Premier League season has started, and I’ve been waking up Saturday & Sunday mornings at 630 AM to watch. There’s been some great games already and Arsenal is top of the league! I know it’s only 5 weeks into the season, but I need to celebrate that while I can..hah
Started getting some quotes to redo our roof – as it is overdue for some new shingles. The first quote came in at $12,000, the second at $10,800 I am hoping this downward trend continues and we can get a couple more/push it below $10,000
Out for a walk with the kids:
Financial Highlights for August:
Regular readers will know I’ve been really focusing on maxing my TFSA out this year. As of January 1st, I had $29,614 contribution room available. In the first 8 months of the year I’ve been able to contribute $22,438.13. I am hopeful by the end of the year I’ll have this maxed out. Once this is maxed out – we will focus on maxing out Amber’s(she has 50k+ room).
August is one of the slower months of the year for dividends, but October & December are two of the biggest so I am hoping to finish the year off real strong.
In August, I contributed $1481.67 to my TFSA. I now have just $7175.87 contribution room left to max out before the end of the year!
Bought 566 shares of European Residential Reit @ 3.77/share to add to my position. These shares add an additional $89.00 to my annual dividend income and allow me to drip an extra share each month.
Received dividends from 5 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 31 shares/units. Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares. So far this year I have dripped 440 shares in the first 8 months!
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $392.17 (dripped 10 units)
Trailer Fund Rebate for RBC Equity Fund: $18.96
RRSP Total: $411.13
Total Passive Income August 2022:$606.87. 32% of this was 100% Tax Free!
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio decreased 1.32% to $508,000.00
Dividends in August were up 17% YoY compared to last August!
Last year (2021) I received $14,022 in dividends. So far in 2022, I have received $10,556.61. My forward 12 month dividend income is sitting at $15,384.00*.
*That doesn’t include any year end/special distributions.
I am still hoping to crack $18,000 by year end. 35% of my dividend income this year has been completely tax free. Last year – only 25% of my income was tax free – so it’s nice to see the focus on the TFSA has been paying off!
The month started off pretty shitty (literally) as 75% of our household caught a 24 hour stomach flu (I was the one lucky one who somehow didn’t catch it). However we ended July off with a bang! We spent the last 10 days at the cabin on a nice little vacation. Unfortunately it’s back to the real world tomorrow 😦
We took the kids to “Boomers Funny Farm” a petting zoo/farm just north of our cabin. The kids had a great time playing with/petting the animals and going for a mini horse ride. Highly recommend it to anyone in the Winnipeg Beach/Gimli area. Here are a bunch of pics from our hour long tour of the farm:
Got to spend a lot of time with family this month, including some cousins/aunts I haven’t seen in a while, and a whole week with my cousin who was visiting from Texas. Lots of drinks & fun times.
My brother in law made me a wooden map/art piece of the village where our cabin is a couple of years ago for my birthday. I finally got around to hanging it up at the cabin this week while we were out on vacation:
And for no particular reason, here is my favorite pic of the month of my son Isaac….
Financial Highlights for July:
Regular readers will know I’ve been really focusing on maxing my TFSA out this year. As of January 1st, I had $29,614 contribution room available. In the first 7 months of the year I’ve been able to contribute $20,956.46. I am hopeful by the end of the year I’ll have this maxed out. Once this is maxed out – we will focus on maxing out Amber’s(she has 50k+ room).
In July, I contributed $1700.00 to my TFSA. I now have just $8657.54 contribution room left to max out before the end of the year!
I didn’t make any stock purchases in July (besides dripped shares).
Received dividends from 13 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 73 shares/units (nice). Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares. So far this year I have dripped 409 shares in the first 7 months!
Total Passive Income July 2022:$1944.22! *32% of this was 100% Tax Free!
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio increased 4.59% to $514,403.00.
Dividends in July were up 38% YoY compared to last July!
Last year (2021) I received $14,022 in dividends. So far in 2022, I have received $9949.14. My forward 12 month dividend income is sitting at $15,180.15*.
*That doesn’t include any year end/special distributions.
I am still hoping to crack $18,000 by year end. 35% of my dividend income ($3512.44) in 2022 has been completely tax free. Last year – only 25% of my income was tax free – so it’s nice to see the focus on the TFSA has been paying off!
How was your July? I hope everyone is looking forward to a great August – I know I am – I’ll be turning THIRTY NINE in August!
June was SUPER busy. Lots of exciting things in the Maas household. A few highlights:
Took a day trip to Morning Sound farm with Isaac and his Preschool class. There were hay rides, a petting zoo, and so many goats. We had a great time.
Isaac graduated from preschool (starts kindergarten in September), Holland finished Grade 1. Here is a pic of me and my preschool grad – and another of Holland on her first and last day of grade 1!
Attended my first in person Whisky Tasting with the Whisky Club. We had a bunch of 15 year Scotches. My top 2 were Clynelish 15 & Highland Park 15. One of the members from the club was nice enough to pick up two bottles of bourbon for me last month as well – which I picked up at the event (Eagle Rare Single Barrel Select & Angels Envy)!!!
My elementary school had its 100 year celebration. I checked that out with a group of friends who also attended, and we had a great time, saw some old teachers and classmates, and then went out for dinner/beer after.
Holland decided to stick some metal ring in her mouth and got it lodged between her teeth….which required an emergency visit to the dentist to get it removed. Apparently she wants to be a punk rawk star. Picture below (Viewer discretion is advised):
Spent a couple weekends at the cabin finally. Looking forward to taking a few weeks off in July/August to spend more time out there. The lake is SO high it’s crazy. I had a fire burning for 4 days straight, and cleaned up a ton of fallen trees/branches, etc from the yard. 4 days later I could still smell the campfire in my beard…hah
Bruno got neutered (finally)! He did NOT enjoy the cone….it only lasted about 15 minutes.
Financial Highlights for June:
Regular readers will know I’ve been really focusing on maxing my TFSA out this year. As of January 1st, I had $29,614 contribution room available. In the first 6 months of the year I’ve been able to contribute $19,256.46. I am hopeful by the end of the year I’ll have this maxed out. Once this is maxed out – we will focus on maxing out Amber’s(she has 50k+ room).
In June, I contributed $1788.64 to my TFSA. I have just over $10,357.00 contribution room left to max out before the end of the year.
In June I added 103 shares of RBNK (Canadian Bank ETF) to my TFSA at a price of $23.75 per share.
Equitable Bank which paid out its dividend at the end of June didn’t reach my account until July 07 – so I will include that in next months update. I am happy to see I dripped 4 shares of EQB tho! July should be a nice month as well with a few of my larger positions paying out: EQB, GoEasy, Algonquin Power, Telus, Power Corp & Transcontinental!
Thanks to Manulife and the $300+ in dividends- this is one of the few months that Amber’s TFAS pays out more than mine!
Received dividends from 9 companies and 3 funds. Dripped an additional 69 shares/units (nice). Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares. So far this year I have dripped 336 shares in the first 6 months!
European Residential Reit: $7.97 (dripped 2 share)
Canadian Western Bank: $0.31
RBNK: $72.34 (dripped 2 share)
Brookfield Asset Management: $36.02
Manulife: $341.55 (dripped 15 shares)
Nexus Reit: $15.41 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $10.64
TFSA’s Total: $590.18
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $389.88 (dripped 10 units)
XAW: $293.34 (dripped 10 units)
RRSP Total: $683.22
Total Passive Income June 2022:$1273.40! *46% of this was 100% Tax Free!
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio decreased 6.5% to $491,845.00. This is the first time the portfolio dipped below 500,000 since April 2021.
Dividends in June were up 102% YoY compared to last June!
Last year (2021) I received $14,022 in dividends. So far in 2022, I have received $8004.92. My forward 12 month dividend income is sitting at $15,104.00*.
*That doesn’t include any year end/special distributions.
I am still hoping to crack $18,000 by year end. 36% of my dividend income ($2882.63) in 2022 has been completely tax free. Last year – only 25% of my income was tax free – so it’s nice to see the focus on the TFSA has been paying off!
May was a fun/busy month all around. My daughter (and her cousin) had their first ever dance recital in front of 500+ people(and they nailed it)! The kids have also been in swimming Mon-Thursday with dance on Friday – so the weeks have been super busy-but fun.
I jumped on a plane and travelled for the first time since 2020. I attended a conference in New York and had a blast. The work bit was super busy and productive, but we also enjoyed some excellent dinners, lots of cocktails and even enjoyed a sip of Van Winkle 12 year (along with some other great whiskeys).
I didn’t take a lot of pictures from the NYC trip, but here is one from a rooftop bar enjoying a Glenmorangie 18 year with some nice buildings in the background..
Attended my Aunt’s retirement party which was a lot of fun seeing all the kids/cousins playing together.
A few other pics from the recital…
Financial Highlights for May:
Regular readers will know I’ve been really focusing on maxing my TFSA out this year. As of January 1st, I had $29,614 contribution room available. In the first 5 months of the year I’ve been able to contribute $18,056.46. I am hopeful by the end of the year I’ll have this maxed out. Once this is maxed out – we will focus on maxing out Amber’s(she has 50k+ room).
In April, I contributed $1133.77 to my TFSA. I have just over $11,558.00 contribution room left to max out before the end of the year.
May continues to be one of my slowest months as far as dividends go. The good news is – it is followed by June which is usually my 2nd largest month (after December).
Thanks to dripped shares – I am now receiving over $50/month from Artis Reit!
Received dividends from 5 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 27 shares/units. Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares. So far this year I have dripped 267 shares in the first 5 months!
European Residential Reit: $8.09 (dripped 1 share)
RBNK: $72.17 (dripped 2 share)
Nexus Reit: $15.36 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $10.64
TFSA’s Total: $185.56
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $388.78 (dripped 09 units)
RRSP Total: $388.78
Total Passive Income May 2022:$574.34. This is my first month under $600 this year – but I am still averaging over $1300/month and have 2 of my largest months still to come (June & December).
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio increased slightly to $526,562.12, although I am still down about $40,000 from my all time high.
Dividends in May were up 14.34% compared to last May.
Last year (2021) I received $14,022 in dividends. So far in 2022, I have received $6731.52. My forward 12 month dividend income is sitting at $14,958.00. That doesn’t include any year end/special distributions. I am still hoping to crack $18,000 by year end. 34% of my dividend income ($2292.45) in 2022 has been completely tax free. Last year – only 25% of my income was tax free – so it’s nice to see the focus on the TFSA has been paying off!
April was a weird month. There were snow storms, crazy rainfalls, everyone getting sick, but it ended with some nicer weather and Isaac turning 5. We had a family party at our place, and a bowling party for some of his daycare friends the next day. Both were a lot of fun, and he had a great time.
We made it out to Birds Hill provincial park to “chickadee trail”. We did this last year as well and it was so much fun we decided to go back. Holland is becoming a bird whisperer:
My daughter has started taking two different dance classes, and both kids are enrolled in swimming starting next week – so May is going to be BUSY!
I am heading to New York at the end of May for work – I’ve never been so I am pretty excited for that. It will also be my first time on a plane since covid – so we will see how this goes.
Isaac showing off his Buzz Lightyear Birthday gifts & and Holland loving her dance attire:
Financial Highlights for April:
Regular readers will know I’ve been really focusing on maxing my TFSA out this year. As of January 1st, I had $29,614 contribution room available. In the first 4 months of the year I’ve been able to contribute $16,334.05. I am hopeful by the end of the year I’ll have this maxed out. Once this is maxed out – we will focus on maxing out Amber’s(she has 50k+ room) and once that is done – we can start seriously looking at paying off house/early retirement. I will write a longer post on this “plan” in the coming months.
In April, I contributed $1986.97 to my TFSA. I have just over $13,000 contribution room left to max out before the end of the year.
Sold 500 shares of Intertape Polymer Group from RRSP. Used the proceeds to buy 200 more shares of Equitable group & 221 shares of XAW.
Sold 275 shares of Intertape Polymer Group in wife’s TFSA. Used proceeds to buy an additional 467 shares of Manulife.
My favorite mutual fund RBC Canadian Equity Income Fund (Series D) was converted to a series F fund. This means lower fees for me! Bought 130 more shares of RBNK. This is a fund that holds all the major Canadian banks & pays a monthly distribution.
Received dividends from 13 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 85 shares/units. Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares. So far this year I have dripped 240 shares in the first 4 months!
Total Passive Income April 2022:$2806.04! This represents 126% YoY increase compared to last April!
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio decreased -7.66% to $522,964.12. My portfolio dropped $43,000 in on month – this is the second largest monthly drop since I’ve been tracking my portfolio.
Dividends in April were up 126% compared to last April!!! Last year (2021) I received $14,022 in dividends. So far in 2022, I have received $6157.18. My forward 12 month dividend income is sitting at $14,809.00 That doesn’t include any year end/special distributions. I am still hoping to crack $18,000 by year end. With $2806 in dividend income last month, that makes April 2022 my second highest ever dividend month.
Canada has qualified for the World Cup! We learned our group fate today as we were drawn with Belgium, Croatia & Morocco. I absolutely cannot wait until November when the tournament kicks off.
I had a bunch of doctor/specialist appointments in March – including a visit to a cardiologist & a nerve specialist. The good news is – everything looked good with the heart. The nerve specialist was a follow up from a sports injury that took place about a decade ago. I suffered a Pan Plexus injury along with a dislocated shoulder and broken humerus – though let me tell you there was nothing humours about it – HEYO! The shoulder and bone injuries actually weren’t bad – but the nerve damage was (and is) the worst thing I’ve ever experienced. I had absolutely no feeling or movement in my arm for weeks, and although it eventually came back – I still have nerve pain/tingling and my left arm gets tremors when doing certain things/in certain positions. I am now getting an MRI on my shoulder, and he said I shouldn’t rule out the potential for a shoulder replacement at some point…good times.
My daughter ALSO had an appointment with her cardiologist. She was born with a small hole in her heart which causes a bit of a murmur. The good news is – it looks like the whole (while still there) hasn’t grown, and they don’t need to check up on her again for TEN more years!
I’ve booked my first trip (kind of) since covid started. This will be a work trip – but exciting nonetheless. I will be heading to New York for a conference and some meetings – and it will be my first time there. As a huge cocktail/whiskey guy – I am hoping to check out PDT Cocktail & Death & Co. bars while there.
I was supposed to go to a concert at the end of March (The Darkness), but I came down with a cold a few days beforehand (not covid -i’ve tested so many times). It may have been a blessing in disguise, as 2 of the guys (one being my brother) I was supposed to go to the show with ended up getting covid from the concert. My cold/sinus thingy is still lingering, but definitely feeling a bit better these last few days.
Financial Highlights for March:
Regular readers will know I’ve been really focusing on maxing my TFSA out this year. As of January 1st, I had $29,614 contribution room available. In the first 3 months of the year I’ve been able to contribute $14,347. I am hopeful by the end of the year I’ll have this maxed out. Once this is maxed out – we will focus on maxing out Amber’s(she has 50k+ room) and once that is done – we can start seriously looking at paying off house/early retirement. I will write a longer post on this “plan” in the coming months.
In March alone, I contributed $7987.27 to my TFSA. Our tax refund combind with regular (and additional) deposits made this possible.
Added an additional 121 shares of Brookfield Asset Management $BAM to my TFSA @ $67.64
Added an additional 70 shares of Manulife $MFC @ $25.40
This was the first month ever Amber’s TFSA received more dividends than mine (Thanks Manulife & Intertape Polymer Group)!
Received dividends from 11 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 41 shares/units. Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares. So far this year I have dripped 155 shares in the first 3 months!
Intertape Polymer Group looks like they are going to be acquired for $40.50. I have 775 shares (mixed between RRSP & TFSA) at an average price around $20.00. Once the deal goes through – I will put that money to use buying most likely more XAW & Manulife.
This year I’ve received dividend increases from: Manulife, Equitable Group, GoEasy, RBNK ETF & European Residential Reit. I also received one dividend CUT – which was New Flyer.
European Residential Reit: $7.52 (dripped 1 share)
RBNK: $60.78 (dripped 2 share)
Western Forest: $20.91 (dripped 9 shares)
Canadian Western Bank: $0.30
Brookfield Asset Management: $13.81
Nexus Reit: $15.25 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $10.64
Manulife: $162.36 (dripped 6 shares)
Intertape Polymer Group $58.93
TFSA’s Total: $429.17
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $385.82 (dripped 10 units)
Intertape Polymer Group: $107.14
RRSP Total: $492.96
Total Passive Income March 2022:$922.13*
*I believe EQB (Equitable Bank) was supposed to pay out this month, but it hasn’t hit my account yet – so I’ll add that to next month’s total. This would have pushed me over $1000 for March – oh well.
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio increase 4.32% to a new all time high of $566,366.46!
Dividends in March were up 52% compared to last March!!! Last year (2021) I received $14,022 in dividends. So far in 2022, I have received $3351.14. My forward 12 month dividend income is sitting at $14,137.00 That doesn’t include any year end/special distributions. I am hoping to get $18,000 by year end.
How was your March? Stay safe out there & Go Canada!
This is going to be a quick update. Not really feeling writing an update this month as everything kind of sucks in the world….but I haven’t missed one since I started, so I’ll do a quick one!
Financial Highlights for February:
I’ve been really focusing on maxing my TFSA out this year. Very early on I never contributed to it at all – as I was only putting money into an RRSP. I have since switched my focus. As of January 1st, I had $29,614 contribution room available. In the first 2 months of the year I’ve been able to contribute $7000. I am hopeful by the end of the year I’ll have this maxed out. Once this is maxed out – we will focus on maxing out Amber’s(she has 50k+ room) and once that is done – we can start seriously looking at paying off house/early retirement. I will write a longer post on this “plan” in the coming months.
Made 3 purchases in February! I bought the following: – 78 Shares of Brookfield Asset Management @ $69.00 – 150 Shares of GoEasy Financial @ $155.00 – 800 Shares of XAW @ $33.98 These 3 purchases add an additional $1114.20 in dividend income.
RBNK (Canadian Banking ETF) increased their dividend which now allows me to drip an additional share each quarter. I plan to continue to add to this position as well as Brookfield.
Received dividends from 7 companies and 1 funds. Dripped an additional 28 shares/units. Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares. So far this year I have dripped 114 in the first 2 months!
European Residential Reit: $7.80 (dripped 1 share)
RBNK: $60.61 (dripped 2 share)
Nexus Reit: $15.20 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $10.64
TFSA’s Total: $292.38
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $384.76 (dripped 10 units)**
** Fun Fact ** Since I started tracking my dividends in 2015 – this fund(RBC Canadian Equity Income Fund) has paid me over $25,000 in dividends (all reinvested into new shares)!
RRSP Total: $384.76
Total Passive Income February 2022:$677.14
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio increase 2.15% to $542,194.00!
Dividends in February were up 16% YoY. Last year I received 14,022 in dividends. My forward 12 month dividend income is sitting at $14,361.02. That doesn’t include any year end/special distributions. I am hoping to get close to $18,000 by year end.
Here is my updated list of all holdings after my 3 new purchases:
I finally did it – I put the cash sitting in my RRSP & TFSA to work. I saw an opportunity to add to two positions I liked – and to initiate a new position in a company I have been eyeing for years. All in all, today I spent about $56,000 in the stock market – which was about $5500 fresh capital in my TFSA and mostly cash left over from previous sales in my RRSP. So…what did I buy today?
Stock Purchase # 1: XAW
I added to my (small) position in XAW. This is an ETF that holds over 8000+ stocks from all around the world (except Canada). I like this fund because it gives such great diversification, helps me diversify away from my home country bias, has a great track record, pays a semi annual distribution and has a very low MER 0.22%. I purchased 800 shares @ $34.00 in my RRSP. This purchase will add approximately $500-$600 to my annual dividend income (based on previous distribution amounts).
Stock Purchase # 2: GoEasy Financial
GoEasy is an alternative lender, which I have written about many times. It is also my all time best performing stock (up 155%). They have been an outstanding performer for years. Consistently growing revenues, earnings and their dividend. I already had a position of 276 shares- and decided I wanted to add based on the recent dip in stock price. They also recently released results which in my opinion looked great. A few highlights from the earnings release:
– Annual Dividend Increased to $3.64, up 38%
– Adjusted Annual Diluted Earnings per Share1 of $10.43, up 38%
– Adjusted Quarterly Diluted Earnings per Share1 of $2.76, up 23%
Once I saw the earnings report, I thought I may have missed my chance to get in on the dip, but to my (happy) surprise, the stock was actually DOWN. I scooped up an additional 150 shares @ $150 in my RRSP. This purchase adds an additional $546 to my annual dividend income, allows me to drip an additional share each quarter and gives plenty of room for future dividend increases and capital growth.
Stock Purchase # 3: Brookfield Asset Management
Finally initiated a NEW position! I’ve had Brookfield on my watchlist for quite some time- and finally had enough cash in my TFSA to make a respectable purchase, on a day when the price had dipped into my buy range. I picked up 78 shares @$70 each in my TFSA. Although this one won’t add a ton of dividend income as the current yield is under 1%, I am confident the dividend will continue to grow each year (as it has been)- and the stock price should continue to appreciate at a nice clip as well (the stock is up over 120% over the last 5 years). I plan to add more to this position in the future. This purchase adds an additional $52.00 to my annual dividend income.
These 3 purchases today add around $1200 to my annual dividend income, and bump my forward dividend income up to $14,360.00!
What do you think of these purchases? Do you own these stocks? Would you buy them? Let me know!
A new year is upon us – though not much to celebrate yet. We are all still muddling our way through this pandemic. I’ve said it before – but it SEEMS like there might actually be some light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccination rates are high in Canada – and the Omicron wave seems to have peaked. The next few weeks should give us a good idea on if this may actually be the start of the end.
I finally got a family doctor – which is great – but he’s already finding a ton of things wrong with me….haha. I’ve got upcoming appointments with a cardiologist, nerve specialist and I started physio for back pain…getting old sucks people let me tell ya (and I’m not even that old).
Life is getting a lot busier. Monday – our daughter has swimming, Tuesday both kids play soccer (I coach) and then I play soccer, Wednesday the wife is curling, Thursday daughter is skating – and then it’s the weekend. Thank god for grandma’s and sleepovers!
Canada went 3-0 in World Cup Qualifying in this window, beating Honduras, USA & El Salvador. We are basically guaranteed to make the World Cup in Qatar now – and the boys are on fire. The “EloRankings” which is considered more accurate than the Fifa rankings now has us at 21st in the world (ahead of the USA)! Amazing times to be a Canadian soccer fan.
Bruno (the dog) is now 8 months old – and already weighs over 70 pounds. He is adapting “fairly” well to things, but we do spend about 3 hours a day chasing him because he is chewing something he shouldn’t be….
Had my brother over for a random whisky tasting. Here is how we ranked them…
Financial Highlights for January:
Increased my bi-weekly contribution amounts into TFSA(s). I still have lots of contribution room – but hoping to get it maxed by end of year.
Redeemed some RBC Rewards points for an additional $250 deposited into my TFSA.
Received year end distributions from $RBNK & Artis Reit.
Paid dividends from 11 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 86 shares/units. Last year I dripped a total of 603 new shares.
Canadian Net Reit announced a 13.3% dividend increase!
Artis Reit: $308.16* (dripped 25 shares) *Special distribution
Artis Reit: $48.15* (dripped 4 shares) *Regular distribution
Canadian Western Bank: $0.30
European Residential Reit: $7.73 (dripped 1 share)
Algonquin Power: $217.33 (dripped 13 shares)
RBNK: $49.77 (dripped 1 share) Regular dividend
RBNK: $51.26* (dripped 1 share) *Special dividend
Nexus Reit: $15.42 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $10.64
TFSA’s Total: $799.26
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $383.68 (dripped 10 units)
GoEasy Financial: $182.16 (dripped 1 share)
New Flyer Industries: $145.78 (dripped 7 shares)
Transcontinental: $210.15 (dripped 10 shares)
RRSP Total: $2882.57
Total Passive Income January 2022:$1751.87
2022 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio decreased -1.78% to $531,493.52
I started off the new year fairly strong, with $1751.87 in dividends. This is actually a decrease from last January – but that is because last year I was paid $1181 from XAW (which I have since sold). My forward 12 month dividend income is sitting at $12,640.20. That doesn’t include any year end/special distributions – and I am confident/hopeful I will easily pass $15,000 in distributions this year.
I didn’t make any purchases in January, although I am sitting on about 12% cash in my RRSP, and 5% cash in my TFSA. The companies/funds at the top of my watchlist continue to be: – Equitable Group – RBNK – Visa -Disney -XAW -BAM -CN/CP Rail
Starting off the year – here are my current holdings. I plan to revisit this at the end of the year.
Today 2021 will come to and end. We will begin 2022 much the same as we started 2021. On the verge of a lockdown, so much uncertainty, and still no clear end in sight. Luckily the high vaccination rates and the seemingly less severe omicron are keeping hospitalizations and deaths “low”, and we will continue to hope this will be the 4th and final wave…
We celebrated my mom’s 65th Birthday earlier this month, with a nice dinner at Cibo (one of my favourite restaurants here in Winnipeg).
We had a small – but nice company Christmas party, which consisted of cocktails, a nice steak & lobster dinner, wine, more cocktails and whiskey – followed by a stay at the Fort Garry Hotel.
Went on a Sleigh Ride, attended and hosted multiple Christmas parties, enjoyed watching the kids get absolutely spoiled on Christmas (as usual), and took a bit of time off to relax. On Christmas eve I finally opened up one of my bottles of George T Stagg to share with family and it did not disappoint! Virtually attended the last Whiskey tasting of the year with the Winnipeg Whiskey Club.
Tonight is New Years Eve – and we are planning a small get together with friends and family within our bubble.Happy New Year from the Maas Clan!
Financial Highlights for December:
Added 77 Shares of Manulife @ $23.29
Added 57 Shares of Manulife @ $22.99
Added 110 shares of Artis Reit @ $11.12
Added 400 shares of Equitable Group @ $69.85
Added 140 shares of Equitable Group @ $65.62
Closed position in Interrent Reit.
Still sitting on about 10% cash in my RRSP.
Received a few year end distributions/special distributions including: $2431.08 from the RBC Canadian Equity Income Fund, $201.07 from the RBC US Index Fund.
Dividends from 8 companies and 3 funds. Dripped an additional 104 shares/units. This year I DRIPPED a total of 603 new shares!
Finished the year with $13,379.39 in dividends! . Last year I finished with $10,822.00. A pretty nice improvement, especially considering I am still sitting on 10% cash in my RRSP. January should start strong as well with a special distribution from Artis Reit & RBNK year end payment.
$3494.34 of my yearly dividend income (26.12%) is held in a TFSA & is completely tax free.
December 2021 was my highest dividend month of all time with $2989.23 received in dividends!
Portfolio(including cash) also hit a new all time high of $541,138.13!
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $2431.08 (dripped 68.14 units)
Equitable Group: $74.00 (dripped 1 share)
Intertape Polymer Group: 109.79
RRSP Total: $2882.57
Total Passive Income December 2021:$3233.41
2021 Portfolio Update:
Portfolio increased 4.5% to $541,138.13 (a new record high)!
Since selling most of my position in XAW about a year, I’ve put a lot of that money to work buying the following: – 600 shares of Couche Tard @ $36.00 – 540 shares of Equitable Group around $65-$69 – 500 Shares of Intertape Polymer Group @ $25-26 -20,000 shares of Greenlane Renewables @ $1.40 I am still sitting on about 50k in cash and will continue to look for value to deploy that in the coming year.
To end out the year, here is a quick visual of my Yearly Dividend Income & Portfolio Growth since I began tracking in 2015:
I feel like every month I say “I cannot believe it’s already XYZ Month….but god damn, the year is almost over..this is crazy.
Our province did their annual bourbon lottery/release. I didn’t get as lucky this year with anything too crazy- but was still able to pick up a few bottles- including Stagg Jr, Little Book Chapter 5 and Eagle Rare.+
Watched both the Canadian Men soccer games. Half way through World Cup qualifying Canada is sitting in 1st place and has a pretty damn good chance of qualifying for Qatar. The next home game will be in Hamilton in January, and if I can get some tickets I think me and my brother are going to make the trip!
My daughter turned six last month, so we had a couple birthday parties for her. It seems like just yesterday I wrote THIS POST about her when she turned 3. It’s a quick write up about our struggle getting pregnant, and going through IVF to finally have our little miracle. It is insane how fast they grow up..I cannot believe she is already in school, growing and getting so much smarter and sassier every single day. I love it!
For the first time in a few months I did a little write up on my portfolio and all the stocks I currently own. You can read that HERE.
Financial Highlights for November:
Closed my position in Interrent Reit for a decent gain. Used the proceeds to add 224 shares of RBNK to my TFSA.
Added 500 shares of Intertape Polymer Group to RRSP.
Added 400 shares of New Flyer to RRSP.
Still sitting on about 15% cash in my RRSP.
Quite a few dividend increases over the last couple of months: – Diversified Royalty 4.7% – Power Corp 10.6% – European Residential Reit 4.8% – Manulife 18% – Alimentation Couche Tard 25.7% I may have missed a few others. There are also rumours of a special dividend coming from Artis REIT, and with all the bank increases, I expect that RBNK ETF will see an increase in the monthly dividend as well.
Got dividends from 7 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 27 shares/units.
Cracked $10,000 in dividends for the year! This is the 2nd straight year I have surpassed ten thousand in dividends (with 1 month to spare). Last year I finished with $10,822.00.
Since January 1st of 2021, I have received $10,390.16 in dividends. 31.5% of that income is completley tax free. My goal is to get that % higher as I continue to work towards maxing out the TFSA’s.
European Residential Reit: $7.70 (dripped 1 share)
RBNK: $49.70(dripped 1 share)
Interrent Reit: $4.50
Nexus Reit: $15.04 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $9.40
TFSA’s Total: $263.02
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $374.45 (dripped 10 shares)
RRSP Total: $374.45
Total Passive Income November 2021:$637.47
Portfolio Update:
Portfolio decreased -3.91% to $517,546.80 I continue to keep an eye on my watchlist to add to my RRSP. The stocks I am currently watching are: Equitable Group, Brookfield Asset Management, Visa, Disney & XAW. I also plan to continue to add to Manulife and the RBNK ETF.
Current Forward 12 month dividend income sits at: $11,983.72.
With the year coming to an end, I thought it would be a good time to look over my portfolio and share one or two thoughts on each stock I currently own. Just a little blurb about each, how it has performed for me, if I still like it, and if I’d consider buying more.
Going through the list, I noticed a few things:
Overall I am pretty happy with the mix of stocks and funds I own
There is still SOME value to be found out there
Over the last couple of months, I’ve received quite a few dividend increases. A few examples: Telus, Power Corp, Manulife, European Residential Reit & Diversified Royalty
As I get older, and my portfolio increases I am leaning more towards safe and simple. Whether that is broad market ETFS, or solid blue chip stocks – my desire to chase yield and hyper growth/speculative stocks is *almost* completley gone.
Let’s get down to business – in no particular order:
Algonquin Power: 1023 Shares.
Steady as she goes. There has been some dilution – but it’s been used to continue their growth strategy. The stock has moved sideways/down for the last year – but my average price is around $12.00 so I am still quite a bit up. I am happy holding and collecting the US dollar dividend while I wait for the additional revenue from the recent acquisitions and share price to increase. No plans to add any more (aside from DRIPPED shares – which is currently about 50/year). Barring any crazy changes to their business model the plan is to hold this for the foreseeable future.Currently up 43%
Alimentation Couche Tard: 603 Shares
This is one of the stocks I purchased after selling off a portion of my XAW holdings. I have long wanted to add to the company and was lucky to see it dip to $36.00. Another set it and forget it stock. The yield is low (but growing). This is one of those stocks I could see holding into retirement. Currently up 37%.
Artis Reit: 847 Shares
The Sandpiper turnaround story continues to be a success. The dividend has been increased(there is also talk of a special dividend). The Net Asset Value (NAV) has continued to climb and the company has continued to buy back shares. This is still trading at a pretty big discount to NAV. After a few years of mediocre results -it’s nice to continually see good things come from the new Artis team. I expect this will continue to trade well below it’s NAV – but the gap seems to be closing. Currently up 8% and dripping about 35 new shares a year. I’ll continue to follow the transformation plan and then decide if I will hold this one long term. Currently happy to hold.
CAE: 245 Shares
Had a rough quarter – but this is another stock I was able to snag post covid when it originally tanked so I am still up about 9.5%. Expect some volatility over the next year or two – but long term still like it a lot. Expect this to pop in a post covid world (whenever that is). I expect the dividend to continue to be on hold until covid is well behind us. Happy to hold/would buy on dips.
Chorus Aviation: 931 shares
What can I say about this one. When I bought it – I thought Covid would be short lived and thought I got it at a steal. This is one of the few positions I am currently sitting on a loss with I am down about 35%– and they’ve cut their dividend. It is not a huge position – and long term I am sure it will recover – but I expect this to be dead money for a while (similar upward trajectory to CAE when it should rebound) – but this one fell a lot harder/faster. No plans to add to it. Position is small enough that I’ll wait out the pain a bit longer.
Diversified Royalty: 1548 Shares
Slowly recovering – an unexpected – but pleasant surprise when they raised the dividend last quarter. Although they did cut the dividend a bit when the pandemic hit – they’ve slowly started increasing it back to pre covid levels. Like a few others on the list – this should only go up once the economy is back in full swing (Mr Mikes, Mr Lube, etc). Don’t expect huge capital appreciation – but it’s a nice monthly paying income stock. Currently up about 3% on this one and dripping 9 new shares a month. Happy to hold in my TFSA.
European Residential Reit: 587 Shares
Recent third quarter results were very strong. Big increases in FFO/AFFO, occupancy remains strong, reasonable payout ratio for a REIT and a 4.8% dividend increase. What is not to like. They also extended their agreement with CAPREIT for another 2 years which adds more stability. Currently up 10%, dripping a new share each month and very happy to hold. If there are any major dips – I’d consider adding to this one.
GoEasy Financial: 276 Shares
Although the slightly missed some analyst expectations and pulled back slightly – I’d consider it a blip and expect this to continue to outperform. It’s been a complete rockstar for quite some time. Although the stock price is almost $200 – it is still relatively cheap (12 X earnings) and it pays a small – but growing very quickly dividend. There is a lot of volatility in this one – it moves quite a bit on a daily basis…if I was a trader I might jump in and out of it – but I am 100% happy holding this for long term. One of the top stocks you can own in Canada – the only real threat is any new regulations from the government. I am currently up +198% (not a typo) and that is after it pulled back quite a bit. I am expecting some more aggressive buybacks/dividend increases and another stellar q4/year end report.
Intertape Polymer: 776 Shares
What an odd series of events. They posted strong earnings (beat estimates) & actually increased their future revenue estimates – but the stock took a HUGE fall due to some short term lower margins due to higher prices. So while this may struggle in the short term – it’s still a great profitable, growing company. I took the opportunity to add 500 more shares and may add some more if it stays down. Revenue actually increased 23%, but net earnings decreased 5%. Long term this one will be fine and I am fine holding and collecting a nice juicy dividend (which is also paid in USD)! Hold/Buy
If you want a super stable, very cheap (under 8x earnings) blue chip company with growing dividends and some room for capital appreciation look no further. They just announced a nice 18% dividend increase. Will continue to add on dips. This one one kind of reminds of of Power Corp from a few years ago- the market didn’t like it, but fundamentals and value were strong. Eventually it will get some love and until then enjoy the dividends. Currently up about 15% on this one.
New Flyer Industries: 686 Shares
What can I say? Head office is in my hometown, I believe in the Green/Electric future and even though there are (quite a few) short term challenges -I still like it. After announcing a new bought deal to help shore put he balance sheet the stock tumbled again – so I took the opportunity to add an additional 400 shares. I am expecting a rough 12 months or more – but long term when it rises (and I am confident it will) I think it will shoot up very quickly. I may add a bit more if it falls below 20.00. Happy to hold/collect dividend. Currently DOWN 15%
Nexus Reit: 281 Shares
They continue to make acquisitions by issuing more shares. They had a similar strategy when they ran EdgeFront Reit (which I used to hold). Although the payout ratio is high (most REIT’s are) they continue to increase their funds from operations and occupancy remains high. Has done really well over the last year. I wouldn’t expect s much capital appreciation going forward- but it is a nice income stock with room for modest growth. Would consider buying more on Dips.Currently up 17%
RBC Canadian Equity Income Fund: 3600 Shares
Most people will tell you to stay away from mutual funds and stick to low cost ETFS – and while that is generally great advice, every now and then you may find a fund that is worth paying a fee for. In my case, I’ve owned this fund since I was about 20 years old. It is consistently one of the(if not THE) top performers in its class (Canadian Equity). I own the series “D” of this fund, which means Its via my direct invest account and I pay a lower fee – albeit still higher than an ETF. This fund holds 95 different Canadian dividend paying stocks. The top holdings holdings include great names such as: RBC, BAM, TD, Enbridge, Sunlife, BMO, etc. Since inception this fund has returned 11% per year, and pays a nice monthly dividend. I’ve owned this fund for a long time, and with compounding it is now paying me almost $400 per month (which I use to DRIP about 10 new shares each month). I am up over 30% on this one, and it is a key staple in my dividend portfolio. It provides growth, income and probably most importantly diversity.
Power Corp: 242 Shares
Just about as safe and reliable as a stock you can get in Canada. Over the last year or two it has finally started to get some more attention (the stake in Wealthsimple has definitely helped). Still trading at a steep discount to NAV, still buying back shares and raising their dividend now that they are allowed to again- all sounds good to me! I am up about 40% on this one. Happy to hold – but if it dips back into the mid 30’s I would be happy to add to this one. Long term hold.
Telus: 190 Shares
While I am probably not AS high on Telus as a lot of the people I follow- I still think it’s a great stock/long term hold. They recently increased the dividend as well. It pays a juicy dividend which is nice. The stock isn’t “cheap” trading at 30x earnings, but it’s not outrageously overpriced either. I am currently up 25% on Telus. I’d be okay adding on dips, and am comfortable holding this one long term. HOLD
Transcontinental: 934 Shares
I bought TCL as a value play a couple of years ago(around $14-$15/share). I am still up 21% from where I bought, but the stock has come creeping down into value territory again. I am happy to hold and drip new shares right now – but if I didn’t already have a large position I’d consider adding near these prices. TCL is trading around 11 X earnings and pays almost a 5% dividend. They’ve done a decent job transitioning from printing to packaging and the balance sheet looks better than it did a few years ago. Resin prices have hurt this short term, but longer term outlook still looks okay. Happy to hold/drip new shares each quarter.
Greenlane Renewables: 23,719 shares
This company has nothing but tailwinds behind it. The green space is only going to keep on growing. They are finally profitable, they have zero debt and they continue to add new contracts. It’s only a matter of time for this one to really start picking up. This stock is also a traders dream – it moves a lot and often. It has dropped a lot in price lately and if I didn’t already have over 20,000 shares I’d consider adding more. This is a long term hold, so don’t worry about the day to day fluctuations.
Western Forest: 2081 shares
This stock just has the worst luck….anytime there is good news it is directly followed by bad news. Climate catastrophes, union strikes, Pandemic and now potential concerns around the BC government’s plan around the review of its old growth forest management. If you take all those things away- the stock has actually been fundamentally pretty good- but it just can’t seem to catch a break. When you add the additional uncertainty of the price of lumber it adds to the drama. Fundamentally I still think the company looks good – and has done a decent job – they even reinstated a dividend. It trades very cheap and they have a history of buying back shares when the price falls. If you can stomach all the drama – it may be a stock for you. Personally I am okay holding it, and dripping new shares for now – but if (when) it gets back into the 2.50 range I may look at selling and move into something a little more risk free.
Conclusion:
Overall, I am fairly happy with my portfolio. The only stocks “underperforming” are really due to the pandemic or other forces outside the companies control. Dividends continue to roll in (and increase), and although most of my holdings are at or near all time highs – there is still some value to be found (Intertape Polymer, Transcontinental & Manulife come to mind). The only two companies I’d consider possibly selling are Chorus Aviation & Western Forest. If I am being honest, I originally bought Chorus aviation in my “chasing yield” days. I still think it will recover eventually – but the money could definitely have been put to better use.
My top performing stocks are *shocker* also the ones I am the happiest holding long term. This includes names like: Power Corp, Algonquin Power, Manulife & GoEasy. I am also very happy holding my *gasp* Mutual Fund with an MER over 1.00 which has performed very well for me. I also own RBNK – which I didn’t include in this list – but it’s done really well for me. It’s an ETF that holds the big Canadian banks and pays a monthly dividend. The plan is to hold that one forever.
Lastly. my watchlist continues to get updated, and currently sitting near the top are: – Visa – Brookfield Asset Management – Equitable Group
I’ve also updated my portfolio page, which you can view HERE
The year is flying by – I cannot believe it’s November already. October was busy… – Did our annual dynasty hockey draft. I am currently sitting in 1st place (thanks Mcdavid) – Watched Canada play a couple World Cup Qualifying games – they continue to look good and are currently sitting in a good spot going into the next window. – Went to my first concert since the pandemic started. I saw Propagandhi (which was also the last band I saw pre covid)! – Went to a couple Thanksgiving dinner/events and hosted a small dinner at our place. – My soccer season started – I lasted a game and a half before pulling my calf…so not sure how long I’ll be out of commission for:( – Took the kids trick or treating – they had a blast – and have spent every day since going through, organizing and trading candy with each other.
Switching Costumes
Captain Derp
Happy Halloween!
The kids & wife have both been sick for the last couple of weeks. They got covid tested, and luckily they came back negative.
Bruno (the new dog) continues to get used to us, and continues to grow like crazy. He just turned 5 months and is already 50 pounds.
Financial Highlights for October:
I didn’t make any stock purchases in October – but continued bi-weekly contributions to TFSA & Spousal RRSP.
Still sitting on about 20% cash in my RRSP.
4.7% dividend increase for Diversified Royalty!
Got dividends from 13 companies and 1 funds. Dripped an additional 52 shares/units.
Since January 1st of 2021, I have received $9752.69 in dividends. 30.1% of that income is completley tax free. My goal is to get that % higher as I continue to work towards maxing out the TFSA’s.
My portfolio has lots of exciting earnings coming up this month including: Artis Reit, Western Forest, Greenlane Renewables, GoEasy, New Flyer & Manulife!
European Residential Reit: $7.72 (dripped 1 share)
RBNK: $30.56(dripped 1 share)
Interrent Reit: $4.50
Nexus Reit: $14.99 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $9.40
TFSA’s Total: $467.06
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $373.39 (dripped 10 shares)
GoEasy Financial: $182.16
New Flyer $60.35 (dripped 2 shares)
Transcontinental $207.90 (dripped 10 shares)
Alimentation Couch Tard: $52.68 (dripped 1 share)
RRSP Total: $876.48
Total Passive Income October 2021:$1,343.54
Portfolio Update:
Portfolio increased 2.31% to $538,607.32 I continue to keep an eye on my watchlist to add to my RRSP. The stocks I am currently watching are: Equitable Group, Brookfield Asset Management, Visa, Disney & XAW. First National dipped quite a bit so I have added this to my watchlist as well. I am also looking to add to my positions in Manulife and RBNK.
Current Forward 12 month dividend income sits at: $10,793.89.
September flew by. Things are slowly starting to feel a bit more normal (for us vaccinated folk), and we are starting to see some people again, go to restaurants more frequently and finally having that “light at the end of the tunnel” feeling
Celebrated the wife’s 40th Birthday with a small group of friends and family – and surprised the wife with…..a DOG! He is a great Pyranese and he is going to be HUGE! We had a newfoundland for a long time so we are used to big dogs..but I have a feeling he is going to be much bigger. He just turned 4 months and is fitting in pretty great with the family. The kids absolutely love him and I think the wife was pretty happy too! I guess I kinda like him too :). Here is a pic the rescue put up after we adopted him (he is already MUCH bigger).
Calendar is filling up like crazy. Holland started grade 1 and is doing great so far – she even got invited to her first bday party for a friend from school. Both Holland and Isaac are playing indoor soccer, and I registered for soccer as well which should start up soon.
The Canadian Men’s soccer team had their first 3 games in the final round of World Cup Qualifying. They ended up with 2 draws and a win. They are in pretty good shape still – and play 3 more games in October against Mexico, Jamaica & Panama (Can’t wait)!
Had a blind whisky tasting event which was a blast. Got to try 5 different scotches, and we were quizzed and questioned. Bourbon is still my favorite – but I have to say I am coming around on Scotch. My favorite from the tasting was a Bowmore Vault #2 Edition. Really good!
Financial Highlights for September:
I didn’t make any stock purchases in September – but continued bi-weekly contributions to TFSA & Spousal RRSP.
Still sitting on about 20% cash in my RRSP.
Got dividends from 11 companies and 1 funds. Dripped an additional 38 shares/units.
On pace to not have a single month under $500 in dividend income for the whole year. Assuming I deploy the cash in my RRSP by January 1st 2022, I am hoping next year I won’t have a single month under $1000.
Since January 1st of 2021, I have received $8409.15 in dividends/distributions. 29% of that income is completley tax free. My goal is to get that % higher as I continue to work towards maxing out the TFSA’s.
European Residential Reit: $8.00 (dripped 1 share)
RBNK: $33.88 (dripped 1 share)
Interrent Reit: $4.50
Canadian Western Bank: $0.29
Manulife: $70.28 (dripped 2 shares)
Nexus Reit: $14.93 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $9.40
TFSA’s Total: $230.66
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $372.28 (dripped 10 shares)
Alimentation Couch Tard: $52.68 (dripped 1 share)
RRSP Total: $424.96
Total Passive Income August 2021:$655.62
Portfolio Update:
It Finally happened…my portfolio actually decreased in value. This is the first time since the Covid crash that my portfolio has dipped more than 2% in a month. Am I worried? Nope – In fact I’ve been expecting a drop for a while and I think this may just be the beginning. Luckily I have been waiting for some buying opportunities, and am still sitting on over $100,000 in cash in my RRSP. This small dip doesn’t seem like a huge buying opportunity yet – but I will continue to monitor and if any of the main stocks on my watchlist continue to drop I may buy. The stocks/ETFs I am currently watching are: Equitable Group, Brookfield Asset Management, Visa, Disney & XAW. I am also looking to add to my positions in Manulife and RBNK. Total Portfolio Value now sits at: $526,458.52 (-2.12%)
Current Forward 12 month dividend income sits at: $10,741.51 – which is almost EXACTLY what I earned in all of 2020- the main difference being now I am sitting on about 20% cash.
What a month. It didn’t rain basically all summer – until I took my holidays. We spent the about 8 days up at the cabin, and although the weather didn’t cooperate fully – we still had a blast. It was also my (38th) birthday so a couple of drinks may have been had as well 🙂
We took the kids to a new petting zoo/farm just north of the cabin. It was pretty cool – they had horses, ponies, chickens, goats, bunnies, Llamas a pig and more. It was basically a big free for all and you could just walk up to and pet anything. My daughter (5) loved it – my son (4) refused to touch a single animal..but he said he had fun….haha
It’s been a hell of a month/Year for Canadian Soccer. The Women are Olympic champions and the Men begin their World Cup Qualifying campaign this week (3 games in 8 days). They play Honduras, USA & El Salvador in this window. If I am feeling ambitious I may do a quick preview and/or recap of the games. Needless to say this is BY FAR the most excited I’ve been for Canadian (mens) soccer in my entire lifetime. We have a legit shot at qualifying for the World Cup and we have some absolute World Class players (finally)!
It’s getting to that “busy parent” time of the year. We just signed up both kids for soccer starting in 2 weeks, and have Holland’s Grade 1 orientation next week – while Isaac goes back to preschool next year. With Holland going to school full time this year – and only part time daycare – one financial positive is it will save us $300+/month in daycare fees. The plan* is to put it all directly into the TFSA. *In reality it will probably go to bourbon, wine, kids clothes and whatever is left MAY make it into the TFSA.
My little man finally got a haircut (much needed). Before & After pics below:
I’ve decided to try and supersize my savings/retirement plans. I’m not sure exactly how long I’ll be able to stick to this – but the goal is to continue all my bi-weekly contributions (maybe even up them slightly) PLUS add the full monthly child benefit AND the bi-weekly savings from daycare into the TFSA(s) as well. We typically get a decent tax return as well – which I plan to dump almost the whole thing into the TFSA as well. Although my TFSA value is sitting around 80k I still have contribution room left ($35-$40k) and the wife has a ton of room – so hoping to max mine out ASAP and then really focus on hers.
We’ve been eating pretty good lately (not healthy…just good) haha. Steaks, Pasta, Pork Chops, Shrimp and lots of wine! I’ve been trying to experiment a bit more with cooking as it’s never been a strong suit of mine- but so far so good. A few meals from the month(wife made the pasta):
Financial Highlights for August:
Purchased an additional 101 shares of Manulife in TFSA bringing my total share count to 352. At the current share price, this will allow me to drip 4 shares per quarter.
Purchased another 119 shares of RBNK which is an ETF that holds the 6 major Canadian Banks and pays a monthly dividend. I now have 483 shares and will probably continue to add here and there.
Continued bi weekly payments into the spousal RRSP, and TFSA(s)
Still sitting on about 20% cash in my RRSP.
Got dividends from 6 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 24 shares/units.
On pace to not have a single month under $500 in dividend income for the whole year. Assuming I deploy the cash in my RRSP by January 1st 2022, I am hoping next year I won’t have a single month under $1000.
European Residential Reit: $7.86 (dripped 1 share)
RBNK: $25.48 (dripped 1 share)
Interrent Reit: $4.50
Nexus Reit: $14.88 (dripped 1 share)
Canadian NET Reit: $9.40
TFSA’s Total: $129.23
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $371.18 (dripped 9 shares)
RRSP Total: $371.18
Total Passive Income August 2021:$500.41
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio (including cash position) stayed pretty steady at: $535,700.52. I am still sitting on about 20% cash in my RRSP – which I plan on being patient with and waiting to see what happens over the coming months.
Hope you had a great month. If you aren’t already on the Canada Soccer Bandwagon…GET ON IT! First game is Thursday vs Honduras!
Things are slowly opening up here in Winnipeg. Masks are no longer required in most places – restrictions on gatherings have been lifted and case counts are way down. I’ve been to a couple of restaurants for the first time in what seems like a decade, and have been able to see a few people in person again- it feels good – but also still feels weird.
It’s been a hell of a month for Canadian Soccer. The women just won gold at the olympics and the men just about took Mexico to extra time in the Gold Cup Semi Final. I am beyond excited for the upcoming World Cup Qualifying games in September.
We had our first little harvest from our garden (and by “we” I of course mean Amber):
With things opening up a bit more we took the kids out to a couple of restaurants and also made it to the zoo! There is a farm/petting zoo just north of our cabin we are hoping to make it to this month while we are on holidays too. Wife & Kids at the zoo (animatronic dinosaurs):
We’ve been doing homemade pizza night about once a month lately – and honestly….it’s damn good. My favorite so far is spicy sausage, corn, spinach, peppers and garlic (pictured below):
Financial Highlights for July:
Lots of positive news on the earnings front. CAE reported strong results, Intertape Polymer had great results PLUS a dividend increase, GoEasy continues to kill it, and Western Forest & New Flyer were both positive too.
Added 100 shares of Manulife to TFSA
Sold entire position of Plaza Reit to purchase RBNK
Spousal RRSP which was opened about 3 years ago cracked $40,000 for first time!
Still sitting on about 20% cash in my RRSP.
Got dividends from 14 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 52 shares/units.
Greenlane Renewables has had a nice run this week – earnings are tomorrow so very interested to see how they look & if they will be profitable.
Another all time portfolio high. It is unbelievable how fast things start to compound once your portfolio gets to a certain size (and the market continues to roll). My portfolio increase by over 33,000 month over month!
First time receiving over $500 in tax free dividends in a month!
My portfolio (including cash position) increased another 6.51% in July to a new record high: $540,270.31. I am still sitting on about 20% cash in my RRSP – which I plan on being patient with and waiting to see what happens over the coming months.
Hope you had a great July. August should be fun, I celebrate my 38th birthday, and then next month my wife turns the big 40!
Just a VERY quick update. For the sake of transparency – I always like to try and post when I buy or sell a stock. Today I closed a position in one of the stocks I’ve held for quite some time. I sold all my shares of Plaza Reit. This was actually one of the first stocks I ever owned, and although I ended up making a profit on these shares, and the monthly dividend was nice to see hitting the account each month – truth be told the annual returns have been sub par. I’ve been wanting to add some Canadian Banks to my portfolio and was torn between which one to add, so I ended up using the proceeds and buying 363 shares of RBNK. This is an ETF that has just 6 holdings (All 6 of the big Canadian banks). The best part is, it pays a monthly dividend, and I’ll have enough to drip 1 additional share each month!
I still like Plaza Reit, and may consider adding it again on dips. I could definitely see myself moving back into Plaza in retirement as well when monthly cashflow will be more important – but for now, I am much more comfortable holding the big Canadian Banks, and I believe they will outperform Plaza (by quite a bit) over the next 10 years.
Stocks on my current watchlist are:
Equitable Group (do not own)
Metro (do not own)
Manulife (recently added to my position)
GoEasy (currently own)
CCL (do not own)
CP Rail (do not own)
Empire (do not own)
With the recent purchase of Manulife and now RBNK, the TFSA’s are pretty empty as far as cash reserves go – so I’ll be slowly adding cash until I am ready to make another purchase (thinking EQB will be next).
In the RRSP, I am still sitting on quite a bit of cash, and will be looking for some US companies to nibble on. Ideally I’d like to see a dip and either up my position in XAW, or start positions in: Visa, Disney, Microsoft.
As of tomorrow morning it will be 14 days since my second vaccine. By now most people I know have got their second doses (or are scheduled to get it done this month). Things are slowly opening up, hospital capacity is getting better and there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel!
We’ve been making it out to the cabin most weekends, and we had our first official “playdate” with one of the kids’ friends from daycare. It was lots of fun and with restrictions opening up, hoping to do some more soon.
We had our ELEVENTH wedding anniversary! We weren’t really able to do much as things were still locked down, but we had some dinner and wine at the lake, and I’m sure once we are allowed/comfortable we will head to one of our favorite restaurants to celebrate properly.
The housing market is absolutely insane. Based on recent sales our cabin is now worth (at least) double what we paid for it. It’s tempting to list it and invest a ton/put the money down on the house but the kids would disown me…plus we have been REALLY enjoying our time out there lately.
I treated myself to 2 new jerseys for the upcoming Gold Cup & World Cup qualifying games (happening in July & September). They came in the mail this month 🙂
My daughter finished kindergarten, so now we will be back to a bit of a “normal” routine for the summer. Starting in September she will be in school full time, so that should also cut our daycare fees down quite a bit! Here she is on her first & last day of school :).
Financial Highlights for June:
Added to my position in Greenlane Renewables. Picked up an additional 20,000 shares in my RRSP!
Still sitting on about 25% cash in my RRSP.
Got dividends from 11 companies and 2 funds. Dripped an additional 43 shares/units.
Missed out on a huge dividend payment from XAW (since I sold earlier this year) and am still waiting to decide how I want to use the cash. It sucks not seeing that $1500+ dividend hit the account, but on the plus side…..my portfolio (including cash position) reached another all time high – and a bit of a milestone. I cracked $500,000 in June, and ended the month with a portfolio value of just over $507,000!
European Residential Reit: $7.84 (dripped 1 share)
Interrent Reit: $4.50
Canadian Western Bank: $0.29
Western Forest: $20.61 (dripped 10 shares)
Nexus Reit: 14.77 (dripped 1 share)
Fronsac Reit: 9.40
Intertape Polymer Group: $52.80
Manulife: $42.00 (dripped 1 share)
TFSA’s Total: $250.83
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $368.90 (dripped 10.7 shares)
XAW: $8.59
RRSP Total: $377.49
Total Passive Income June 2021:$628.32
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio (including cash position) increased another 2.87% in June to a new record high: $507,24729. I am still sitting on about 25% cash in my RRSP – which I plan on being patient with and waiting to see what happens over the coming months. I put a little bit of it to work adding to my position in Greenlane Renewables when it dipped.
So far in the first 6 months of 2021 I have received $5844.14 in dividend income compared to $6200 in 2020! This is the first time I fell behind compared to last year. The dip is 100% due to the sale of XAW.
Hope you had a great June – and hope you are all ready to cheer on Canada in the Gold Cup starting July 11th!
Well – We are still in what is basically a full lockdown. No social gatherings of any kind, kids not in school, only essentials open…BUT it was actually a fairly productive month for the family
We got the cabin opened up, did all the ranking, cleaned out the gutters, cleared out all the dead/fallen trees and had fires burning most of the weekend(s) to burn everything.
I finally got a bike! I’ve been looking for a while, and finally grabbed one off Facebook Marketplace. I’ve been trying to get out most nights while the kids are having their quiet time before bed. Today was my longest ride so far (just over 14 km)! It’s a single speed Retrospec. My new bike:
At home we (and by we I mean my wife) has been getting the gardens all planted. We’ve also been making use of our new 3 piece conversation set on the front porch. Here is a tasty Gin Mint Cocktail we enjoyed on the front porch while the kids were having their ice cream and sitting in one of the new chairs:
I’m happy to say the wife and I have both recieved our first dose of the vaccine – and hopefully by the next update we will be fully vaccinated. My dad just got his 2nd dose – so things are looking up!
The Winnipeg Jets knocked out the Oilers which means I’ll have a lot more hockey to watch this month – and on top of that Canada has some very important World Cup qualifying games coming up in June…..AND we have the Euro Cup! It’s gonna be a lot of sports watching for me (and beer drinking). I’ll try and find the time to do a quick write up on the Canadian National team and their upcoming games (for those few soccer fans/friends of mine).
The water in Lake Winnipeg is the lowest I can remember all my 30+ years going out there. Here are a few pics from last weekend. Note that pier is usually completely under the water, and where Isaac is playing would typically be water well over his head.
Financial Highlights for May:
I didn’t make any purchases in May (besides dripped shares), but I did continue my bi-weekly contributions into the TFSA’s & Spousal RRSP. I also contributed an additional $300 this month(thanks to the CCB bonus)!
Still sitting on about 30% cash in my RRSP (from the sale of my XAW shares).
Got paid from Fronsac Reit for the first time since purchasing the stock last month!
Got dividends from 7 companies and 1 fund. Dripped an additional 33 shares/units.
Portfolio (including cash position) reached another all time high! I am getting real close to a new portfolio milestone. I am less than $7,000 away from my stock portfolio reaching half a million dollars!
European Residential Reit: $7.81 (dripped 1 share)
Interrent Reit: $4.50
Nexus Reit: 14.72 (dripped 1 share)
Fronsac Reit: 9.40
TFSA’s Total: $134.54
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $367.85 (dripped 10 shares)
RRSP Total: $367.85
Total Passive Income May 2021:$502.39
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio (including cash position) increased another 0.98% in May to a new record high: $493,074.55. I am still sitting on about 30% cash in my RRSP – which I plan on being patient with and waiting to see what happens over the coming months.
So far in the first 5 months of 2021 I have received $5212.85 in dividend income compared to $4559 in 2020!
Hope you had a great May. Go Canada, Go Jets & Go Holland!
Last month I wrote about how the weather was getting nicer and restrictions were being lifted. Unfortunately that didn’t last too long – and we’ve gone back into a lockdown. We are back in code red which means no visitors, not even in your yard. The good news is, the vaccine rollout has finally started quickening it’s pace and I am hopeful I’ll be in the next eligible group.
My little guy turned 4 this month. Unfortunately for him, he has now had 50% of his birthdays in quarantine. We made the best of it though, he got Mcdonalds for supper, his aunt made an awesome Dinosaur cake and we had grandparents drop off presents.
Attended my 2nd Winnipeg Whisky Club event, which featured 6 different single malt single cask expressions. The Old Pulteney 2004 single cask was by far my favourite. I didn’t enjoy this tasting as much as the last overall, but the Old Pulteney was definitely my favourite so far.
We already had all our patio furniture out in the backyard, and I’ve been barbecuing a lot, but lately the kids have really enjoyed playing in the front yard, so I picked up this 3 piece patio set for our front stoop so we can enjoy our coffee (or cocktail) on the stoop while the kids play. I’ve also enjoyed sitting out there during the day with the laptop and working for an hour or so when it’s nice out(and th heat in the south facing backyard is too much to bear).
Prior to the lockdown restrictions – I visited my brothers place for an outdoor bonfire and he made me a delicious old fashioned with Birch Syrup that he made from one of the Birch trees on his farm. It was delicious.
Financial Highlights for April:
It’s been a while, but actually made some stock purchases in April. I picked up an additional 827 shares of Greenlane Renewables in my TFSA when it dipped to $1.58/share. This brings my total position to 3719 shares.
Started a new position in Fronsac Reit. We picked up 376 shares. This will allow us to drip an additional share each month and adds $113.00 to our forward dividend income.
Still sitting on about 30% cash in my RRSP (from the sale of my XAW shares). Waiting another couple months to see what happens before buying back in.
Received my first ever dividend from Couche Tard. Always nice when you get your first payment from a new holding.
Got dividends from 12 companies and 1 fund. Dripped an additional 56 shares/units.
Portfolio (including cash position) reached another all time high! I am getting real close to a new portfolio milestone. I am less than $12,000 away from my stock portfolio reaching half a million dollars!
European Residential Reit: $7.97 (dripped 1 share)
Interrent Reit: $4.50
Telus: $57.26 (dripped 2 shares)
Algonquin Power: $191.49 (dripped 9 new shares)
Nexus Reit: 14.67 (dripped 1 share)
TFSA’s Total: $373.52
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $366.70 (dripped 11 shares)
Transcontinental: $204.08 (dripped 9 new shares)
Alimentation Couche-Tard: $52.50 (dripped 1 new share)
GoEasy Financial: $181.50
Newflyer: $59.50 (dripped 2 new shares)
RRSP Total: $864.28
Total Passive Income April 2021:$1237.80
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio (including cash position) increased another 2.68% in April to a new record high: $488,296.09. I am still sitting on about 30% cash in my RRSP – which I plan on being patient with and waiting to see what happens over the coming months.
After the first quarter of 2021 I have received $4713.43 in dividend income compared to $4023.68 in 2020!
Once or twice a year I like to update my watchlist for stocks to keep an eye on in the coming months. My favorite way of doing this is by running a custom stock screener, using multiple metrics to slowly narrow the list down. Since there are so many stocks to go through – I like to start by first narrowing it down to some quality names, who have a history of paying dividends , and luckily there is a great tool for this- The Canadian Dividend All Star List. This list is updated each month and is a great starting point for anyone looking for quality dividend stocks in Canada.
This list includes just about every metric you can think of. Personally I use about 25-30 different metrics when I run my custom screen, and for each I consider a value that meets my risk profile and investment goal. I then highlight any stocks in green that meet/exceed this target and any in red which do not. For a very basic example, let’s say the metric I am evaluating is payout ratio. In this example, let’s assume I think a payout ratio of 40% or less is great, and anything over 70% concerns me. In this scenario I would highlight all stocks with a payout ratio under 40% in green(and score them +1), and all stocks over 70% in red(score of -1). Anything in between would be left as is(no score). If you want, you can also assign different weights to different metrics. For example, perhaps “value” is most important to you – so you may weight P/E higher than dividend growth rate. I do this for each metric, and when I am done I tally up the scores. What I like about this method is that although it’s not really scientific in it’s approach, it allows each individual investor choose stocks that fit THEIR own personal comfort level. I would also like to note that I use this ONLY as a starting point. Once I end up with my top scoring stocks – I never dive right in and purchase them. This is just a starting point. Once I’ve narrowed it down to my top 10, I then go to the company website to learn more about the company, read the investor presentations, financial statements and analyst comments to dig in further.
Blind Stock Screen
As regular readers may know, I am a pretty big fan of whisky (specifically bourbon), and sometimes I like to do blind taste tests. I prefer to do tastings blind, because I want to know which bourbons truly provide the best value, and I want to ensure I am not tricking myself into thinking I like it because it’s expensive, or because a bunch of people say how great it is. When I am looking for value in stocks, I take the same approach. Here is a pic from the last blind tasting we did (back when we could still see people in person):
MMMM BOURBON
Prior to starting the screen I always HIDE the company name & stock symbol. I do this because I don’t want any bias to come into play, and honestly, I like being surprised at the end to see if certain companies I assume fit my investing profile actually do or not. In the past, some of my top performing stocks have come from this method, including: Goeasy, Manulife & Transcontinental.
Stock Screener Metrics Used
I would again like to reiterate that each investor will probably have different metrics they use, since a lot of us have different goals. Personally, I consider myself a value investor who is interested in long term dividend paying stocks who pay a growing dividend. Here are just a few of the metrics I used in my stock screener (in no particular order) :
Dividend Growth Rate (I use the 1,5 & 10 year growth rates)
Dividend Growth Streak (# of years)
Payout ratio (Trailing 12 month & Estimated next 12 month)
Trailing 12 month Earnings Per Share & Estimated EPS
Payout Ratio
Price/Earning Ratio
Earnings Per Share Growth (1 year, 3 year, 5 year & 10 year)
Sales Per Share Growth
Difference between analyst price target & current share price (I don’t put too much stock into this one)
Canadian Dividend All Stars To Watch
So which companies scored best on my most recent screen? There are a few names I was not surprised to see, a few that I was surprised to see, and if I am being completely honest, a couple of names I had never even heard of. By doing this blind screen it can:
Introduce you to new potentially great stocks (to do further research on)
Confirm that some preconceived notions you had about some stocks are correct (or incorrect)
Takes any sort of bias/group think out of your decision making.
Top 10 Canadian Dividend Stocks
Here are the 10 stocks that ranked highest in my blind screen.
Equitable Group Inc (nearly a perfect score)
Enghouse Systems Ltd
Goeasy Ltd
PFB Corp
Empire Company
iA Financial Corporation
CCL Industries
Canadian Tire Corp Ltd
Intact Financial
Canadian Pacific Railway
The top 10 includes a few companies I either already own, or have been looking to purchase(Equitable Group, Go Easy, Empire, CCL, etc), as well as one company I had never heard of (PFB Corp). $EQB scored the highest of all stocks by quite a bit, though I believe almost every company on this list would be a great long term hold. I’ve now officially added PFB to my watchlist and plan to dig a little deeper into it.
I would also like to include a couple that fell just outside the top 10 that I will also be adding to my watchlist. They are:
Hardwoods Distribution Inc
Alimentation Couche Tard
Dollarama Inc
Brookfield Asset Management
Manulife
TD Bank
Having recently purchased Couche Tard I am happy to see it ranked highly in my screen. I’d also like to point out that although I don’t know much about Hardwoods Distribution Inc, every single time I have run a screen in the last couple of years it has shown up. I am not sure why I haven’t bought it yet (I wish I did, as it has gone up about 90% since my last screen).
I’m glad I’ve been able to add a bunch of names to my watchlist, now I just need this damn market to cool down so I can dive in and make some purchases! If you have any questions or metrics that you use when evaluating stocks, please let me know in the comments or reach out on twitter!
Things here in Winnipeg are starting to open up again. Restaurants, hairdressers, etc are all open for business. Vaccine rollout albeit slow seems to be picking up as well (both my parents now have appointments to get one in the next couple of weeks.
The weather has started heating up (finally). All the snow is gone, the patio furniture is out, and I picked up a firepit and compost bin for the backyard. I’ve begun some yard work, and I’m planning on stepping up our game this year with the look of garden/yard.
We had a fun easter, with some surprise visitors in the backyard, and lots of treats, presents and egg hunts. Earlier in the month we checked out the “Chickadee Trail” at Birds Hill provincial park, which was awesome. Basically it’s a long hiking trail with thousands of chickadees. You can take some birdseed with you, and they will come eat it right out of your hands. Our daughter was the crazy bird lady, they just swarmed her and kept coming back for more. The little man tried once, but got too scared…
Not sure if it was an error – but a friend posted on facebook that Walmart.ca had area rugs on clearance for $3.49 (regular price $300-900). I tried adding a whackload to my cart – but by the time I got to check out most were already sold – so I only ended up with 3. My friend got 6. I’m still thinking this was an error, and I’ll get an email saying my order couldn’t be processed – but we will see. Check this out:
Not much knew on the whisky/cocktail front. I missed our Winnipeg Whisky Club even this month because our whole house came down with a cold. I did get a new bar fridge for the den – the old one didn’t have a freezer and whenever I was making cocktails I had to go to the kitchen to get ice (first world problems I know), but for the amount of times I make cocktails and entertain people – I figured it was definitely worth it. I also stocked up the new fridge with some summer beers and made a new batch of demerara syrup for cocktails. A couple cocktails I made in March (Paralyzer & Old Fashioned):
Financial Highlights for March:
Got our tax returns back! Will use the proceeds to pay off cabin taxes, purchase a new patio set for the front stoop, and dump the rest into TFSA & savings.
Added to my position in Greenlane Renewables. Picked up an additional 827 shares at $2.00
Still sitting on a bunch of cash in my RRSP (from the sale of my XAW shares). Waiting another couple months to see what happens before buying back in.
Got dividends from 10 companies and 1 fund. Dripped an additional 47 shares/units.
Portfolio (including cash position) reached an all time high!
European Residential Reit: $7.60 (dripped 1 share)
Interrent Reit: $4.50
Canadian Western Bank: $0.29
Manulife: $41.72 (dripped 1 share)
Nexus Reit: 14.61 (dripped 1 share)
Intertape Polymer Group: $54.27
TFSA’s Total: $237.61
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $365.54 (dripped 11.297 shares)
Total Passive Income March 2021:$603.15
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio (including cash position) increased another 3.89% in March to a new record high: $475,553.39. I am still sitting on about 30% cash – which I plan on being patient with and waiting to see what happens over the coming months. The market and housing markets seem completley unstable – we are seeing a potential third wave of Covid and nothing is making sense, so for now I am okay sitting on the sidelines with some cash to see how things shake out – even if it means I miss out on some potential gains on a portion of my portfolio.
I’m not gonna lie the last month or so has really been weighing on me. I haven’t been keeping up with the news, barely logging into twitter, and have had no motivation to write anything on here. This will be a quick to the point update…
I had my first official even with the Winnipeg Whiskey Club at the end of February. It was a blast. I made it a goal to broaden my whiskey horizon and this definitely helped me do that! It was a peated scotch event. We had samples from six different peated scotches, including a couple heavy hitters. I ranked them in the following order: 1- Port Askaig 25 Year 2- Edradour/Ballechin Cuvee 3- Bruichladdich Octomore 4- Amrut Peated 5- Paul John Edited 6- Scotch Malt Whisky Society 16.41
Things are slowly starting to open up here in Winnipeg. So far, I haven’t gone to any restaurants or anything, but I have had my brother and mother over for dinner/drinks. Looking forward to the vaccine rollout to start ramping up, and getting back to normal.
Financial Highlights for February:
Completed & filed my tax return today. I was waiting on one last document which came today. I used Simpletax which I have become an absolute fan of, and highly recommend to everyone! We are getting a decent return, which will be used to pay for the yearly cabin taxes, yearly preschool cost and the rest will be dumped into the TFSA.
Added to my position in Greenlane Renewables. Picked up an additional 852 shares at $2.17
Still sitting on a bunch of cash in my RRSP (from the sale of my XAW shares). Waiting another couple months to see what happens before buying back in.
Finally set up a direct investing RRSP account for my wife, so we can move over some old group RRSP to this account and have everything in one place.
2 of my holdings; Nexus Reit & Greenlane Renewables both graduated to the TSX (from the venture)!
Got dividends from 7 companies and 1 fund.
Lots of good news/results coming in lately. Artis, Western Forest, Chorus, Go Easy to name a few. Algonquin Power reports tomorrow as well.
Portfolio reached an all time high (again). At this point it’s almost not worth mentioning. The market makes no sense.
Passive Income Update For February 2021.
TFSA’S:
Artis Reit: $32.45 (dripped 3 shares)
European Residential Reit: $7.76(dripped 1 share)
Plaza Reit: $31.40 (Dripped 8 Shares)
Diversified Royalty: $24.22 (dripped 10 new shares)
Interrent Reit: $4.50
Power Corp: $104.27 (dripped 3 shares)
Nexus Reit: $14.58 (dripped 1 New Shares)
TFSA’s Total: $219.18
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $364.29 (dripped 11.896 shares)
Total Passive Income February 2021:$583.47
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio (including cash position) increased another 5.31% in February to a new record high: $457,763.30. I am currently sitting on about $140,000 in cash in my RRSP which as discussed earlier will be plunked back into XAW eventually.
I joined the Winnipeg Whiskey Club for the 2021 year with my brother and another friend. We had our first virtual tasting last week which was a nice entry to the club. It was a Bowmore tasting, where we sampled the Bowmore 12, Bowmore 15 & Bowmore 18 year expressions. I made it a goal to try and broaden my horizons this year as for as Whiskey goes. I am a big time bourbon lover – and joining the Whiskey Club should allow me to really try a ton of scotches to help achieve this goal.
We are still in code red in Winnipeg, however restrictions have been slightly lifted, as we are now allowed up to 2 designated people in our houses. This means the kids were finally able to sleep over at Grandmas house again for the first time in months (and they had a blast). We probably enjoyed it more as we got to sleep in and watch a ton of TV.
I’ve been continuing with my mini fitness kick. I’ve been consistently running between 3-4 miles per day 5 days a week, and have cut out all pop, candy, chocolate, etc during the week. I’ve also cut back my drinking as much as reasonably possible (mostly just weekends), with the occasional “cheat day” for wine with dinner. As of last check I was down about 18 pounds!
Hockey is back! With everything going on in the world, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get as excited about it as normal, but it didn’t take long after the puck drop and watching the Jets to get right back into it. We also had our annual hockey pool draft which was (obviously) done virtually. My team is off to a decent start (it helps when you have McDavid) , but it’s a long season and it’s been a few years since I’ve had my name on the trophy.
I picked up a couple new bottles to add to the collection in January. High West Campfire Whiskey & Highwest Bourye. I haven’t tried them yet, but looking forward to opening these. These were snagged from a private liquor store in another province, since we unfortunately don’t have access to any high west products in Manitoba.
Financial Highlights for January:
I did something kind of crazy. I debated if I should even post it on here or not – but what the hell. On January 18th, when protestors were storming the capitol building and someone was shot, I had a feeling things were gonna get ugly fast. I ended up selling my entire position in XAW (5199 shares) for just over $161,000. My thinking was if things get crazy, markets might tank and I can rebuy in at a lower price – and if not, worst case scenario, I’ll just buy them back in a few weeks. I know it’s dumb to try and time the markets, but something just wasn’t sitting right with me. That said, the next couple days XAW continued to rise and I started thinking I made a big mistake. Then the Gamestop/WallStreetBets fiasco started to unravel. I am still sitting on most of the cash from the sale, and my plan is to still rebuy shares of XAW, but I am okay sitting on some cash right now as things continue to be crazy in the markets. I did actually use some of the cash to pick up 600 shares of Alimentation Couche Tard when it dropped 10% on the news of a possible deal. I plan to write a more in depth post about my decision to sell XAW (for now) and when I plan to rebuy into it.
Made 2 stock purchase. I picked up 600 shares of Alimentation Couche Tard @ 37.10, and 1213 shares of Greenlane Renewables @ 2.38. The purchase of Couche Tard adds an additional $210.00 to my annual dividend income. The XAW sale will reduce my dividend income by around $3000 – though in reality, as long as I buy back before June, I won’t miss out on any dividends.
Had my all time highest dividend income month in January, and first time cracking $2000!
Got dividends from 12 companies and 2 funds. Including first every distribution from new holding Nexus Reit. Dripped a total of 100 new shares/units!
Started getting my info together for tax time. Hoping to get a fairly decent return and will put the majority of it into TFSA.
Passive Income Update For January 2021.
TFSA’S:
Telus: $56.64 (dripped 2 shares)
Canadian Western Bank: $0.24
Artis Reit: $37.87 (dripped 3 shares)
European Residential Reit: $7.81(dripped 1 share)
Plaza Reit: 31.22 (Dripped 8 Shares)
Algonquin Power: $182.65 (dripped 9 shares)
Diversified Royalty: $24.05 (dripped 10 new shares)
Interrent Reit: $4.50
Nexus Reit: $14.49 (dripped 7 New Shares)
TFSA’s Total: $359.47
RRSP:
XAW: $1181.42 (dripped 32 shares) Go Easy Financial: $123.75 New Flyer: $59.29 (dripped 1 share) Transcontinental: $202.05 (dripped 9 shares) Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $363.03 (dripped 12 shares)
Total Passive Income January 2021:$2289.01
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio (including cash position) increased another 1.23% in January to a new record high: $435,305.98. I am currently sitting on about $140,000 in cash in my RRSP which as discussed earlier will be plunked back into XAW eventually. Due to the temporary sale of XAW my forward dividend income dropped below $10,000, however I expect this to be back closer to $13,000 once I repurchase my shares of XAW. The only cash I’ve used from the sale of XAW so far was to purchase 600 shares of ATD.B. Ideally, the price will drop enough that I will be able to rebuy the same amount of shares of XAW I held previously, and the 600 new shares of Couche Tard will be icing on the cake. This was the first time cracking $2000 in passive income, my previous record was $1884.84.
My trailing 12 month return (excluding contributions) was 11.825%.
I don’t have anything too high on my watchlist right now, however I’d like to add to my positions in Telus and Manulife this year if they drop. I am still hoping to see dividends reinstated for Western Forest and a dividend raise from Artis Reit, Algonquin & Power Corp in 2021 as well.
My fitness kick has slowed slightly over the last week as I was on holidays and Christmas and New Years made it tough – but I fully plan on continuing into the new year. I’ve got a fitbit tracking my steps, i’m running on the treadmill almost every day and besides the last few days I’ve been eating better and drinking less. Over the last month I’ve already lost around 10 pounds.
Christmas & New Years Eve although very tame (we stayed home obviously) were great. We had a very low key Christmas, but were able to see our families on both sides via video calls, and the kids got spoiled as usual. We had a bunch of appetizers for Christmas, and I made some cocktails, and for NYE the wife made Manicotti with salad and garlic bread (I chipped in with more cocktails, including a Raspberry Margarita to start the day off in the new Blender that Santa brought)!
We started out the new year by heading to Kildonan Park and going sledding. The kids had a blast (okay I did too) and since the weather is supposed to be great all weekend, I think we will probably be heading back the next couple days.
My Brother turned 40 on December 29th. For his birthday his lady turned one of the spare bedrooms into a study/library/whisky room. It looks great, and his shelves are now full. My sister and I decided to get him (and myself) a membership to the Winnipeg Whisky Club, which will allow us to sample a ton of fine & rare whiskies over the course of the year.
Over the last couple weeks we finally got some snow. I’ve started piling it all in the backyard for the kids to play on…so far they love it and it’s been nice to get outside when we can.
The wife and I started watching Lost. She has already seen it – but I never did, so we’ve been spending almost every waking hour (when the kids are asleep) binging it. Currently on season 2. There are a LOT of episodes…
Last but not least, a good buddy had a layover in Calgary on his way home, and stopped by the World of Whisky and was nice enough to bring me back a few bottles that we cannot get in Manitoba.
Financial Highlights for December:
Made my first purchase in 3 months. I picked up 1078 shares of Nexus REIT. This purchase adds an additional $173.92 to my annual dividend income.
Portfolio hit a new all time high.
With the addition of December’s dividends my dividend income for the year was over $10,000 for the first time ever.
Next month should be a very nice month as far as dividends go. A few large positions are paying dividends in January such as: Algonquin Power, Telus, Go Easy, Transcontinental and most importantly XAW (which is my largest holding).
Already got my T4, so I plan on filing my taxes within the next couple of weeks. Normally I wait for the first 60 days RRSP contributions, but since I had taken a temporary pay cut for part of 2020 due to covid my income was lower so I’ll save those RRSP contributions for next year.
Passive Income Update For December 2020.
TFSA’S:
Artis Reit: $36.63 (dripped 3 shares)
European Residential Reit: $7.78(dripped 1 share)
Plaza Reit: 31.03 (Dripped 8 Shares)
Diversified Royalty: $24.05 (dripped 10 new shares)
Interrent Reit: $4.50
Manulife: $41.44 (dripped 1 share)
Intertape Polymer Group: $55.15
TFSA’s Total: $200.58
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $361.76(dripped 12 shares)
RBC US Equity Index Fund: $292.38 (dripped 9.978 units)
Total Passive Income December 2020:$854.72
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio increased nother 2.73% in December to a new record high: $430,000.53! Although I still think the market is insane right now considering the state of the global economies and unemployment rates I am feeling pretty optimistic about a few of my holdings for the future. Specifically Western Forest and New Flyer which both had a terrible year, but things have started to run around. I am hopeful Western Forest will reinstate the dividend before the end of 2021.
As I mentioned above 2020 was the first year I made over $10,000 in dividend income. Since January 1st, I earned $10,822.54 in passive income. Assuming no dividend cuts or increases, my current Forward 12 month dividend income is $12,294.49. My goal for the year was finish 2020 with a forward dividend income of $12,000 – which I accomplished even with a few dividend cuts due to Covid! I still haven’t made a goal for 2021 yet, but I’m leaning towards $15,000.
Here is a look at my total dividend income per year since I started tracking this 5 years ago:
Here are my year end Portfolio values on Dec 31 each year since I started as well:
One thing I’ve been working on this year was to try and get more income from my TFSA vs RRSP. Currently 26.4% of my dividend income is tax free. Hopefully when I write this recap next year that number is even higher.
This last year has been a wild ride. We said goodbye to our fur baby Penny, I started a new job after being laid off from my previous job of 16 years, we went to Mexico in January and basically when we got back the whole world shut down. All things considered the year could have been a lot worse. We both still have jobs, we have got to spend a lot of time with the kids and we have all remained healthy. We miss our friends and family, but we are hopeful things start to return to normal in the next few months and until then – like the rest of the world we will continue to stay positive and wait out the storm.
I hope you all had a great year, and have an ever better 2021!
Today I made what will most likely be my final stock purchase of the year. I wasn’t planning on buying anything today but had a bit of cash in the TFSA and decided to take a look at a REIT I had been following on and off for a while. The price had fallen into my target price range, and I thought what the hell, let’s end the year off with one last stock purchase.
Nexus REIT
Nexus REIT was formed when two former reit’s merged (Edgefront & Nobel). It currently trades on the TSX Venture exchange. The reason I started following Nexus was because I was actually a holder of Edgefront Reit for a couple of years before they merged. I sold off my shares before Nexus was created. If I recall correctly, I bought the Edgefront shares when they dipped to about $1.50 and sold them for $2.00 after a couple of years. Over those years I also collected the 8% dividend. Not too shabby.
Much like it’s predecessor Nexus has been trading in the $2.00-$2.20 range, and recently dipped to $1.90. It pays a hefty 8.37% dividend which is fully covered by AFFO even during the pandemic. The last time I checked the payout ratio was 82.4%. Recently Nexus Reit has made a couple of acquisitions paid for partly with cash, and partly with shares (with the shares being valued between $2-$2.20 on these deals). Morningstar also gives it a fair value of $2.12.
Nexus Reit has both office, industrial and retail spaces but plans to focus more on industrial going forward. This should help the stock price as well, as industrial Reits are all the rage right now. I believe the stock price has been beaten up because they are being labelled/priced mostly as a retail/office REIT instead of industrial. That said, over 60% of their retail spaces are occupied by solid tenants such as: Canadian Tire, Metro & Dollarama. They have also maintained occupancy rates close to 95% during the pandemic. I don’t expect huge capital appreciation of the stock price, but a slow and steady climb back to $2.00 and beyond is okay by me, especially as I can sit and collect the 8.37% dividend. Nexus Reit also has a conservative debt/total asset ratio of 47.7%. They have grown their total funds from operations year over year as well. I expect this to continue as we come out the pandemic hopefully by the end of 2021.
One last reason I purchased this stock is that they have recently been approved to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Once they get moved over they could get some support/noticed by a few of the bigger institutional investors who don’t typically (or aren’t allowed) to buy stocks on the venture exchange. They’ve been approved for a 4 to 1 stock consolidation for when they move over to the big boy exchange. That said, even if the move to the TSX doesn’t give the stock price a bump – I am completely happy to hold it and collect my dividend until the stock price gets back to fair value.
Stock Purchase & Future Dividends
I picked up 1087 shares of Nexus Reit at a price of $1.90 per share. This purchase will add $173.49 to my annual dividend income (Tax Free) and at the current share price allow me to drip 7 new shares each month. At the end of the day, this wasn’t a huge purchase, but every little bit helps get closer to achieving the goal of having dividends cover all my expenses.
It’s Friday night, I just put the kids to bed and I am flipping through the Death & Co cocktail book to see if I can get inspired. My go to drinks lately have been Boulevardier’s and Negroni’s (likely because I recently got a bottle of Carpano Antica vermouth which is so god damned delicious).
I remembered we had some lemons I needed to use up, so my first thought was either a Sazerac or a Whisky Sour, but then I flipped the page and saw “Pisco Sour” and I remembered my brother had brought me back a little mini bottle (2 oz) of Soldeica Pisco from his trip to Peru a few years ago. The bottle has just been sitting on my bar shelf, so I figured what the hell, let’s do it!
Pisco Sour Recipe
The recipe itself I used is my go to whiskey sour recipe, I just swapped out the Whisk(e)y for Pisco.
-2 oz Pisco – 0.5-0.75 oz simple syrup – depending on how sweet you like it -Juice from half a lemon – Egg white (1 oz)
Dry shake (no ice). Add ice and shake again. Strain into whatever glass you prefer – I like the coupe for most shaken drinks without ice cubes. Add a few dashes of Angostura bitters on top.
Drink & Enjoy.
Being a bourbon man, I still prefer the classic Whisky sour – but this was a nice change of pace, and I’d definitely make it again – all I need is my brother to take another trip to Peru and bring me some Pisco back…haha
Another year has come and gone – although this particular year feels like it’s dragged on for a decade. I think I speak for most of the world when I say I cannot wait for this dumpster fire of a year to be over. Although I don’t expect 2021 to be a complete return to the norm – I am hopeful we will start to see things slowly open back up, and there is definitely a lot of promising news on the vaccine front.
Two years ago I created a list of some of my favourite Canadian investment blogs, which a lot of people seemed to like. I didn’t do one last year, but decided I’d create a new list (with some familiar names, and a few new ones). This year has been so ridiculous that I haven’t put nearly as much time into updating this site, or reading other sites, but I still spend a lot of time on twitter which I believe is a great way to consume a lot of info a short period of time. On that note -I’ll include twitter accounts to follow that I highly recommend as well.
While this year will still be quite heavily focused on Canadian Investing websites(since the majority of my investing/research is focused on Canadian Equities) – I will be including a few friends from down south and overseas as well. Okay enough blabbering. Here is my list (in no particular order) of the top Investments sites & twitter personalities to follow in 2021!
Great for both beginners and advanced investors. The site is largely focused on building wealth over time, does in depth reviews of ETFs & Stocks and shares his portfolio/journey. Mark has been around for quite some time and was one of the first Canadian Investing Sites I started reading. He is also very active on twitter, and like me enjoys beer, whisky and hockey! Website: https://www.myownadvisor.ca/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/myownadvisor
Matt from All About The Dividends is another Canadian investor about the same age as me. What I like most about Matt is his openness in sharing his portfolio and thoughts behind his investment decisions. Matt may also be the most positive and encouraging person you will ever find on twitter. Website: https://allaboutthedividends.wordpress.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllAboutTheDivi
Bert & Lanny are the two diplomats behind the site. They are the first non Canadian investors on my list, but they deserve to be mentioned. I enjoy reading their site for a few reason: -to get some ideas on non Canadian dividend (USA) stocks – to check up on their portfolios (which they share freely) – to read my favorite posts each month- when they highlight other investors passive income journeys They have also recently launched a youtube channel. Website: https://www.dividenddiplomats.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DvdndDiplomats
The boys in the garage are great fun. They discuss everything from personal finance, investing, tax efficiencies and more. They do this on their website, twitter as well as their podcast (they had me on as a guest earlier this year). You can check out that episode HERE. Another reason I love listening to these guys, is they are very down to earth, and along with discussing finance on each podcast, they also have a beer (or bourbon) and discuss those as well.
Another non Canadian site to add to the list. Cheesy Finance chronicles the journey of a young dutch as they pursue F.I.R.E. The site has sections in both English & Dutch, and they are very active on twitter as well. Cheesy also enjoys beer – and likes to taunt us on twitter with his superior beer collection. Website: https://cheesyfinance.nl/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CheesyFinance
If you are looking for info on some of the top Canadian Dividend stocks to invest in – look no further than StockTrades. Dan & Mat continually put out quality articles, Canadian stock picks and more. They are also both super active and helpful on twitter as well. Give the site a read – and give the boys a follow! Website: https://www.stocktrades.ca/ Twitter(s): https://twitter.com/matlitalien & https://twitter.com/StockTrades_CA
This is a site I was just recently introduced to, but I am glad I was. The in depth coverage on Canadian REITS is fantastic. They first got my attention when I read their pieces on Sandpiper/Artis Reit. They don’t post new updates as often as I’d like, but when they do they are very in depth. They are active on twitter as well. Website: https://konekoresearch.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KonekoResearch
Need a laugh? Look no further than the Stonk Market. Picture the onion if it only focused on investing and finance. Admittedly I don’t visit the website that often – but I laugh out loud to myself a few times a week just reading their tweets. So if you need a break from doing stock screeners, fundamental or technical analysis of stocks – then give them a read.
Gen Y makes the list again for good reason. Her site focuses a lot more on the personal finance side of things (credit card rewards, budgeting, etc and is also a great resource for new investors starting out). We also own a lot of the same stocks and I like to have friendly competitions with her about who is earning more in dividend income. *Spoiler Alert* She is kicking my ass! Website: https://www.genymoney.ca/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/genymoneyca
Dale from Cut The Crap Investing is quickly becoming very well known in the Canadian personal finance space. He contributes to Moneysense, Million Dollar Journey and Seeking Alpha. He is a champion of low cost ETF’s (he probably cringes to know I pay 1.4% MER on a Canadian Mutual Fund) and is always willing to share his thoughts on stocks and suggestions on twitter. Website: https://cutthecrapinvesting.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/67Dodge
Rob from Passive Canadian Income seems like one of the guys in the online personal finance community that I’d most likely wanna go grab a beer with. He is super down to earth, very open about his financial journey and has multiple streams of income including dividends, solar power & a private investment which pays him a nice sum each month. His taste in beer is definitely lacking – but I am sure he will grow up one day.
Tyler from Canadian Value stocks is one of the few sites who continually puts out quality, in depth article and deep dives on specific stocks. One thing I love about his site is how clean/to the point it is – it’s just straight down to business. Nothing fancy – just quality stock analysis. He focuses on Canadian stocks, and is very knowledgeable about the Canadian REIT sector.
Bob from TAWCAN (which is short for Taiwanese Canadian) is another Canadian finance site with topics ranging from dividend stocks, ETFS, F.I.R.E and more. His website is another great resource for people wanting to learn more about investing in Canada. He also shares his monthly dividend income – which is very impressive!
Although I am not superstitious….I dont think I’ll leave the list at 13 – instead I’ll add a few more dividend investing & personal finance twitter accounts you should definitely follow!
I am always looking for new content to consume – so if you have any recommendations of investing blogs or twitter accounts that focus on Canadian Dividend Stocks, or Canadian Equities – please let me know in the comments.
My city of Winnipeg is officially in lockdown. Gatherings outside your household are not allowed. Truth be told this hasn’t changed much for us, since we weren’t doing any socializing for the last 9 months or so (besides the occasional grandparent visit)
I’m not sure why but I’ve gotten on a bit of a fitness kick lately. Starting slowly, but I’ve been running about 5-7 km each day, doing some light weights and eating better. It’s only been a couple of weeks but I’m down 5lbs already! I’ve also drank more water in the last 2 weeks than I think I have in the last 4 months.. I’ve greatly reduced my alcohol intake this month as well – as I am trying to just drink on the weekends now…we will see how long that lasts.
November was my daughter’s FIFTH birthday. I cannot believe how fast she is growing up…Unfortunately due to Covid 19 we couldn’t do any sort of party, but we had a lot of outside visitors stop by and drop off presents..and as always my sister in law made an absolutely gorgeous cake which she dropped off. Holland said she wanted a rainbow unicorn cake – so VOILA:
Speaking of Unicorns…I found one too (or should I say two)! As I mentioned last month the Manitoba Liquor Mart held its yearly fine & rare whiskey release lottery. I couldn’t believe my luck when both my mom and brother won a bottle for me! The crazy thing is they won the SAME bottle! For the uninitiated George T Stagg bourbon is insanely rare/hard to find and super sought after. In fact you need to win a lottery just for the chance to buy it. The MSRP was “only” $175, but it resells for in 6-10 times that. That said, I have no intentions on selling these and will definitely be saving them for a special occasion or two.
Financial Highlights for November:
November marks the second straight month with no new purchases. I have continued to contribute bi weekly into both my TFSA & spousal RRSP. I am okay with holding onto a bit of a cash position right now as things seem insanely overvalued.
November is a very slow month as far as dividends go. I was paid dividends from 5 companies, and 1 fund this month. I dripped a total of 35 new shares/units.
On the plus side, my portfolio hit an ALL TIME HIGH this month and cracked $400,000 for the first time!
Some more positive news: A few of my longer term holdings are finally starting to show their value. All of; Intertape Polymer Group, Transcontinental and Artis Reit are getting closer to their true value. I also hope/expect Western Forest to reinstate the dividend in 2021.
December should be a relatively small month as well before a big January (when XAW pays its distribution). I am hopeful that my RBC Canadian Equity Fund & RBC US Equity Funds will both pay a year end distribution in December.
Passive Income Update For November 2020.
TFSA’S:
Artis Reit: $36.50 (dripped 3 shares)
European Residential Reit: $7.78(dripped 1 share)
Plaza Reit: 30.84 (Dripped 8 Shares)
Diversified Royalty: $23.89 (dripped 10 new shares)
Interrent Reit: $4.29
TFSA’s Total: $103.30
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $360.46(dripped 13 shares)
Total Passive Income November 2020:$463.76
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio increased a whopping 12.05% in November to: $418,576.77! My previous portfolio high was back in January when it was $377,000. It’s nice to see almost everything in the green and some big gains, but I am still expecting some sort of pull back to numbers that make sense. That said, I’ve been expecting that for a while now, but they keep printing money and lowering rates..so who knows what will happen.
Since January 1st, I’ve earned $9967.82 in passive income. Assuming no dividend cuts or increases, my current Forward 12 month dividend income is $12,157.85. My goal for the year was finish 2020 with a forward dividend income of $12,000 – so assuming no more cuts, mission accomplished! I’m still working on a goal that is large but attainable for 2021, I am leaning towards $15,000 in dividend income.
Winnipeg is officially in Code Red when it comes to Covid – though not much has changed for us as we’ve pretty much been in isolation for months. We are both working from home, and aside from groceries, school and daycare, we aren’t really going anywhere.
Everyone in our house had a bit of a cold, so we had to get Covid tested before we could send our daughter back to school. Happy to say the tests all came back negative. The test itself, while not fun, actually wasn’t as bad as I was expecting (based on what other people who had gotten it had said).
Halloween was cold, windy and basically a no go in our city. We spent the night with the kids – took them to see a couple of grandmas and got some treats. My daughter really wanted to be Jojo Siwa and my son wanted to be a witch. I wish I could go back to the days before I knew who Jojo siwa was…lol
Weekends have consisted of waking up early and making the kids breakfast and letting the wife sleep in…that way I don’t feel as guilty when I relax on the couch and watch some premier league soccer on Saturday/Sundays!
Manitoba Liquor Mart held a lottery/draw for some fine & rare whiskeys. I am holding out hope to snag a bottle or two 🙂
My daughter has become a lot more comfortable going to school (tho still super shy), so it has made the morning routine/drop off a lot easier.
Tonight is election night in the USA…a few friends are planning on live streaming the results via a video chat and having some drinks. I have a pretty strong feeling the election wont be decided for some time yet and I think things are going to get pretty UGLY down south.
I took the day off today and went out to the cabin to officially close it down for the year and bring back a few things for the winter. I brought back a few board games which I usually leave out there over the winter but I have a feeling this is going to be a LOOOONG winter – so some Settlers ofCatan might help.
Finished off my bottle of High West American Prairie Bourbon & wrote up a review
Financial Highlights for OCTOBER:
I didn’t make any stock purchases in October, however I continued adding to my TFSA (and spousal RRSP). I expect the market to dip again after the election/during the transition period, so if/when it does I’ll use that cash to add to some of my current positions. Currently thinking of adding to: Telus, Manulife, Interrent Reit.
I was paid dividends from 11 companies, and 1 funds this month. I dripped a total of 70 new shares/units.
Cracked $1000 in dividend income for the fifth time in 2020. In all of 2019 I only did this twice!
November and December should be a bit slower on the dividend front, but January should be another big month as XAW will pay it’s semi annual distribution.
Passive Income Update For October 2020.
TFSA’S:
Telus: 52.43 (dripped 2 new shares)
Artis Reit: $36.32 (dripped 4 shares)
European Residential Reit: $7.74(dripped 1 share)
Plaza Reit: 30.66 (Dripped 8 Shares)
Diversified Royalty: $23.67 (dripped 13 new shares)
Algonquin Power: $197.26 (dripped 10 shares)
Interrent Reit: $4.29
Power Corp of Canada: 102.48 (dripped 4 shares)
TFSA’s Total: $454.85
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $359.04(dripped 13.869 shares)
Transcontinental: $199.35 (dripped 12 new shares)
NewFlyer: $58.65 (dripped 3 new shares)
GoEasy Financial: 123.75
Total Passive Income October 2020:$1195.64
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio increased slightly by 0.81% in October to: $373,570.96 I know I say this every month, but I expect continued volatility as well as a bit of a crash around the election. That said, my plan hasn’t changed and I plan on holding if/when this does happen. I was actually shocked to see the market up today on election day.
Passive income in October was $1195.64. This was a huge increase from last year 41% YoY growth!
Since January 1st, I’ve earned $9504.06 in passive income. Assuming no dividend cuts or increases, my current Forward 12 month dividend income is $12,080.83. My goal for the year was finish 2020 with a forward dividend income of $12,000 – so assuming no more cuts, mission accomplished! It’s almost time to start making goals for next year, but a lot will depend on the Covid situation, work situation, and market situation after the election so I will hold off for now.
This is a bottle I’ve had open for over a year, and with the new rare whiskey’s being release at the Manitoba Liquor Mart in a couple of weeks, I figured now is a great time to finish off some bottles and make room for some new ones.
You cannot get High West products here in Manitoba, but I was lucky enough to have a friend bring this bottle back for my from the good ol’ USA. The bottle itself is pretty nice, with a huge honkin’ cork and some nice speckled glass. This bourbon is made in Utah which is pretty unusual, and the High West Guys have gotten quite a reputation for making good whiskey which is why I wanted to try this one. Another cool thing about this bottle is that 10% of the profits go to the American Prairie Reserve.
High West American Prairie Bourbon
Date Reviewed: October 27, 2020
Atmosphere: Sipping in one of my Baba’s pinwheel crystal glasses, on on a Tuesday night during the pandemic.
Distillery: High West Distillery
Mash: 75% Corn, 20% Rye, 5% Barley
Age: 2 years and some older blended in
Type: Bourbon
ABV%: 45%
Price I Paid: It’s been so long, I don’t remember, but I want to say around $50 Canadian
Appearance: Light amber, watered down honey
Nose: I’m not sure if its because i’m drinking this out of a rocks glass instead of a typical Glencairn but there isn’t much of an alcohol/ethanol scent to it at all. Smells sweet, yet faint, nothing too dominant. The high corn/sweetness definitely comes through on the nose though.
Palate: Still a lot of lingering sweet notes- but surprisingly woody considering it’s not aged very long. A fairly simple tasting bourbon, but goes down sweet. A few hints of chocolate and caramel not spicy at all. Easy sipper.
Finish: The finish is pretty short, but not in a terrible way. No burn whatsoever, with a bit of a waxy mouthfeel. The bourbon leaves an oaky/woody aftertaste.
Conclusions: If this was readily available here in Manitoba, I’d probably buy a bottle here and there, though I wouldn’t be lining up to get one. It’s a reasonably priced, easy sipping, straight forward bourbon. From what I’ve read, this would be considered one of High West’s lower level bourbons and I would definitely want to try the rest. This seems like it would be a good mid level sipper, and introductory bourbon for people just getting into the sweet stuff.
September brought a few milestones, both financially and personally. I officially have a daughter in kindergarten and a son in preschool!
English Premier League soccer started up, so I’ve been waking up around 630 AM on Saturday and Sunday to watch some games. Arsenal (my team) is off to a decent start, and I’m doing pretty good in my fantasy pool as well so far!
I had my 37th birthday in August, and in September my wife celebrated her 39th! We spent her birthday out at the cabin, and went to a new (to us) Thai restaurant in Gimli which was real good. The waitress even gave my wife a free refill of red wine (and she didn’t even know it was her bday)!
My brother bought 160 acres of land a few years back which he and his lady have been slowly turning into a farm. I have been out a few times, but in September I took the kids and the wife out for their first visit. Although most of the garden(s) had already been harvested, we had a great time exploring and the kids loved playing on the bus. (They converted an old school bus into a temporary living space until they build a house on the land. It has solar power, a fireplace, a fridge, etc). It’s pretty cool. A few pictures from our time at ELM ROCK FARM.
Not much new on the cocktail/bourbon front. Typically there would have been a bourbon lottery by now, but due to the pandemic all special releases/events have been put on hold. On the plus side, that means I haven’t spent nearly as much on whiskey lately.
Financial Highlights for September 2020:
In July & August I had made my first few stock purchases since early March. This included initiating positions in Manulife, Telus and European Residential Reit. I received my first dividend payment from Manulife & European Residential Reit in September, and I will be getting my first payment from Telus on October 1st. I’m not sure why, but I always especially enjoy that first dividend payment when you start a position in a new company. At current prices, I will be dripping 2 shares of Telus & Manulife each quarter, and 1 share of European Residential Reit each month.
Added to my position in Artis Reit. I picked up an additional 165 shares, which brings my total share count to 807. At the current price I will now drip 4 shares a month.
Continued Bi-Weekly contributions into TFSA & Spousal RRSP.
I was paid dividends from 8 companies, and 1 funds this month. I dripped a total of 40 new shares/units.
Passive Income Update For September 2020.
TFSA’S:
Artis Reit: $28.76 (dripped 3 shares)
European Residential Reit: $7.83(dripped 1 share)
Diversified Royalty: $23.45 (dripped 13 new shares)
Canadian Western Bank: $0.29
Interrent Reit: $4.29
Intertape Polymer Group: $53.41
Manulife: $40.88 (dripped 2 shares)
Plaza Reit: $30.47 (dripped 8 shares)
TFSA’s Total: $160.62
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $357.66(dripped 13.477 shares)
Total Passive Income September 2020:$518.28
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio decreased by 1.03% in September to: $370,575.67 I know I say this every month, but I expect continued volatility as well as a bit of a crash around the election. That said, my plan hasn’t changed and I plan on holding if/when this does happen.
The only new purchase this month was adding to my position in Artis Reit, as well as my bi-weekly contribution into my US Equity Index Fund in my spousal RRSP. My plan is to continue adding cash to my TFSA bi-weekly and eventually add to my position in European Residential Reit.
Passive income in September was $518.28. This was actually lower than last September due to some dividend cuts, as well as some companies changing which months they pay their dividends.
Since January 1st, I’ve earned $8308.28 in passive income. Assuming no dividend cuts or increases, my current Forward 12 month dividend income is $12,022.27. My goal for the year was finish 2020 with a forward dividend income of $12,000 – so assuming no more cuts, mission accomplished!
Blanton’s single barrel usually arrives in the Manitoba liquor mart twice a year. Typically you can grab a few bottles before it sells out after a week or two. The price is around $70 Canadian, and basically anytime we get a shipment in the province I pick up a few bottles. There is nothing worse than craving a sip of Blanton’s only to realise there is none left in your entire province.
For those unfamiliar with Blanton’s, you may know it by seeing it. The bottle is one of the most iconic bourbon bottles around, and has been used in many movies, tv shows, etc.
Each bottle includes the date the barrel was dumped as well as a bottle topper that has a horse/jockey in a slightly different position, as well as a letter. A lot of people try and collect them all to spell out B-L-A-N-T-O-N-S. This specific bottle was dumped March 05, 2020 and has the bottle topper is the letter “B”.
*Spoiler Alert* This has been one of my favourite bourbons since the day I first tried it. I haven’t yet done a review on it – so here I go….
Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2020
Atmosphere: In a special rocks glass I was gifted by a good friend for being in his wedding party. Aside from my Glencairn glasses, this is my go to glass for sipping and cocktails.
Distillery: Blanton Distilling Company; Buffalo Trace/Sazerac Company
Mash: Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #2. This is thought to have a slightly higher rye content – about 15%
Age: No Age Statement – Thought to be around 9 years
Type: Bourbon
ABV%: 46.5%
Price I Paid: $70 Canadian
Appearance: Medium Amber/Brown.
Nose: From a mile away I can pick out the sweet, soft smell of Blanton’s. It’s one of the few bourbons I can take a big whiff of without any burn in my nostrils. Even with the glass resting on your lap, notes of vanilla, milk chocolate and caramel will make its way up to you. Give it a few swirls, and you may get some cinnamon too. If it didn’t taste so god damn good – I could spend the whole night just smelling the glass – but alas…I must drink it….
Palate: The first sip continues to showcase it’s sweet notes (think an aero chocolate bar – which by the way pares exceptionally well with this bourbon) it is followed by just the right amount of heat. Some spices shine through, maybe nutmeg or cinnamon, and although I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life I can see how people would say they can taste a tobacco like flavour in this as well.
Finish: The finish is smooth, and has an almost burnt orange peel like finish. There is zero burn, and every sip is better than the last. I find a lot of whiskey will give you that heartburn like feeling the first few sips you have as it goes down – not this one. So smooth.
Conclusions: While not overly complex, that is what I like about it. Every single time I pour a Blanton’s I know what I am going to get. A smooth, tasty bourbon I can enjoy neat or showcase in a cocktail. It’s fancy enough for a special occasion sipper, it also makes a great gift, and luckily where I live it’s also readily available enough for an everyday sipper. It’s both sweet and smooth, but also spicy and has just enough heat for almost anyone to enjoy. While it may not have the punch and complexity of say a Bookers or Stagg Jr, I’d put it right up there next to those on my top shelf. I also highly recommend eating an Aero bar while you sip on this, and let a piece of the bar melt in your mouth between each sip. It is heavenly.
Summer is almost over. We spent a lot of time at the cabin this summer – and in August we both took a week off work and spent the whole time at the lake. My sister was in town for almost the whole month, so we had a lot of drinks, a lot of fun, and got to do a little relaxing too.
I turned 37 this month. Had a pretty low key birthday at the cabin, spent the day with the family and spent the evening sipping some bourbon and scotch. As Larry David would say “Pretty…Pretty…Good.”
Although I haven’t been watching much (any) hockey since the Jets got knocked out, I have been watching quite a bit of soccer. I was able to see a bunch of the Champions league games, including the final where Alphonso Davies made history and won the trophy. I’ve also been watching some Nations League games, and starting next week the premier league starts back up! If anyone is interested in joining a Premier League Fantasy league let me know and I’ll send you the details.
I’ve got a pinched nerve in my neck/back – so I haven’t been too mobile the week or so – which also means no treadmill, bike rides, etc. The good news is – it is starting to feel a lot better – and we just got word our indoor soccer season is going ahead as normal so that should be starting up next month!
We had some crazy wind yesterday which resulted in a tree at the cabin being split in half and then knocking over and taking out a power line. Luckily Manitoba Hydro took care of it right away, and it won’t cost me anything (Phew)! See below:
Financial Highlights for August 2020:
August was an expensive month. We had some car issues (brakes, rotors, battery), we paid preschool tuition for the year for my son up front and as usual had the bi-weekly daycare, mortgage and pre authorised investments withdrawals. The good news is – it sounds my salary should be restored to 100% soon (took a temporary pay cut due to covid) AND the wife officially got a promotion/raise!
In July I made my first 2 stock purchases since the pandemic – I followed that up in August with another purchase of 573 shares of European Residential Reit. This purchase adds an additional $94.20 to my dividend income, and allows me to drip a new share each month. I plan to add more to this position if it dips below $4.10 again when I have some money in my TFSA.
August is one of my slower months as far as Dividend income goes, and one of the only months this year I didn’t crack $500
I was paid dividends from 4 companies, and 1 funds this month. I dripped a total of 36 new shares/units.
Passive Income Update For August 2020.
TFSA’S:
Artis Reit: $28.62 (dripped 3 shares)
Diversified Royalty: $23.25 (dripped 12 new shares)
Interrent Reit: $4.29
Plaza Reit: $30.28 (dripped 8 shares)
TFSA’s Total: $
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $356.31(dripped 13 shares)
Total Passive Income August 2020:$442.75
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio increased by 5.48% in August to: $374,440.55 I know I say this every month, but I expect continued volatility as well as a bit of a crash around the election. That said, my plan hasn’t changed and I plan on holding if/when this does happen.
After the last 3 purchases (Manulife, Telus & European Residential Reit) I don’t have much cash left in my accounts so I haven’t been updating my watchlist. My plan is to continue adding cash to my TFSA bi-weekly and eventually add to my position in ERE.UN.
Passive income in August was $442.75. This was only the second time this year my income was under $500. This is due to dividend cuts/suspensions due to Covid. Hopefully by middle of 2021, we start to see some of them being reinstated and some other dividend increases.
Since January 1st, I’ve earned $7790.14 in passive income. Assuming no dividend cuts or increases, my current Forward 12 month dividend income is $11,898.58. My goal for the year was $12,000 – and had Covid not hit I believe I would have been well ahead of that – but now I’m going to need to make an additional purchase or two to ensure I meet that goal.
If you are a regular reader of this site (my mom), you will know it’s been quite some time since I’ve added anything to my portfolio aside from the regular monthly contributions to my US Equity Index Fund & Canadian Equity Income fund. In fact the last stock purchases I had made were way back on March 10th when I purchased shares of:
Go Easy Financial
New Flyer Industries
Ishares XAW Ex Canada ETF
Diversified Royalty
Chorus Aviation
Fast forward 5 months, and after taking a pretty big beating (due to Covid) most of them are back to my buy price or higher (Chorus being the one big exception). Although I haven’t purchased anything in 5 months, I have still been contributing bi-weekly amounts into my TFSA, and I have been updating my watchlist, and keeping tabs on a bunch of stock prices and news daily. A few that I have been following quite closely for the last few months include:
Bank of Nova Scotia
Telus
Metro
Alimentation Couche Tard
Manulife
So what did I end up buying…
Dividend Purchase 1: Manulife
I was able to grab 146 shares of Manulife in my wife’s TFSA. I picked these up for $18.08, and I was happy because as long as the stock price didn’t jump above $20.44 I would be able to DRIP 2 new shares per quarter. Well, the good news is, within about a week of owning these shares I am already up 13%! The bad news is, as of today, I will only be able to DRIP 1 share per quarter. My plan is to continue to add to $MFC if it dips again.
This purchase added an additional $163.52 to my yearly dividend income.
Dividend Purchase 2: Telus
Telus was a stock I’ve been watching for months. It was one that just wasn’t coming down too far in price compared to most, but I really wanted to grab some shares. I finally bit the bullet on a day it dipped, and grabbed 180 shares for $22.99. I’m already up over 6%, but I plan on holding this one for the long haul. At the current price I will be able to DRIP 2 shares per quarter. I don’t plan on adding more at this point since Telus is also held in my RBC Canadian Equity income fund as well. Eventually I plan on selling some of the RBC Fund and picking up more XAW. When I do – I may look at adding more Telus shares. This purchase adds an additional $210.60 in yearly dividend income.
Dividend Purchase 3: European Residential Reit
ERE.UN is a stock I’ve followed a little over the last 6 months. If I am being honest, mostly because I see a lot of other people I know & respect buying it/talking about it. I kept it on my watchlist but hadn’t investigated it too seriously – until this week. They released earnings earlier this week, and things looked pretty good. I decided to start a small position with the intention of adding a bit more if it dips again. I added 573 shares at $4.10 each. This purchase allows me to drip an additional share each month, and adds $91.98 to my yearly dividend income.
Forward Dividend Income Update
If you recall, back in March I had passed my goal of $12,000 in forward dividend income, however after covid started decimating the markets, and global GDP began getting demolished, I very quickly had some painful dividend cuts and suspensions. These included:
Diversified Royalty Income – Slight cut to their dividend
Western Forest – Suspended their dividend
CAE – Suspended their dividend
Chorus Aviation – Suspended the dividend
New Flyer Industries – Cut the dividend in half
These cuts dropped my dividend income by almost $2000 meaning I was quite a bit behind my goal of $12,000 in forward dividend income. Although I am not quite back yet, with these recent additions, I added $465.80 and I am happy to report my current forward dividend income is $11,894.72!
July started off pretty good. The kids are back at daycare, most weekends at the cabin, nice weather..and then everyone got sick. I forgot how quickly germs spread at daycare. It took a whopping 8 days before both kids got a cold, and in turn got both my wife and I sick. That said, the kids are super excited to be back and seeing their friends, and since we are both working from home now – we are probably even more excited 🙂
Although we’ve been spending most weekends out at the lake, whenever we stay in the city instead we’ve been trying to do something new or different. So in July, a few things we did as a family; we had a picnic and ice cream at Assiniboine park, spent a day at the zoo and made home made pizza (pictured below is the kids creation)
I put up a basketball net in my driveway and have been getting out once or twice a day for a few minutes to get some fresh air and shoot some hoops. I forgot how much fun basketball is, and it’s nice to get away from the laptop for awhile every now and then.
Thanks to my father in law, I got a bicycle in the city now! Although I don’t plan on becoming a major cyclist, I am looking forward to some nice leisurely rides through the neighbourhood, and over to some friends houses for some backyard bourbon and beers without having to worry about driving home after.
Financial Highlights for July 2020:
I’ve continued with my bi-weekly contributions into my TFSA, spousal RRSP & wifes TFSA. I noticed I had started to build up a decent amount of cash, and had started looking for a new stock or two to buy. In June I updated my watchlist. You can see that HERE
I made my first two stock purchases since the covid pandemic started. I picked up 180 shares of Telus and 146 shares of Manulife. These two purchases will add an additional $374.12 in yearly tax free dividend income!
July was my second consecutive month of over $1000 in passive income.
I was paid dividends from 9 companies, and 1 funds this month. I dripped a total of 68 new shares/units.
Passive Income Update For July 2020.
TFSA’S:
Power Corp of Canada: $100.69 (dripped 4 shares)
Artis Reit: $28.49 (dripped 3 shares)
Diversified Royalty: $23.05 (dripped 12 new shares)
Interrent Reit: $4.29
Plaza Reit: $30.10 (dripped 8 shares)
Algonquin Power: $201.83 (dripped 12 shares)
TFSA’s Total: $388.45
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $354.91(dripped 13 shares)
GoEasy Financial: $123.75
New Flyer Group: $58.01 (dripped 3 shares)
Transcontinental: $196.43 (dripped 13 shares)
Total Passive Income July 2020:$1121.55
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio jumped a bit in July to: $354,977.52 This represents a increase of 3.33% from last month. I expect continued volatility in the market (and my portfolio) for the foreseeable future due to covid and the upcoming US presidential election.
My long term plan hasn’t changed. I haven’t sold a single stock, and I continue to look for good deals. I pulled the trigger on two stocks on my watchlist this month (Telus & Manulife). My plan is now to wait until the US election is over to make any other moves in the market. That said, I will continue to keep my eyes open for any stocks that meet my screening criteria and fall to an attractive price.
Passive income in July was $1121.55. This was only the second time in my investing history, that I’ve ever had back to back months over $1000 in dividend income. It was my fourth month in 2020 with over $1000! To put that in perspective, in all of 2019 I only cracked one thousand once!
Since January 1st, I’ve earned $7347.39 in passive income. The second half of the year unfortunately won’t be as strong, as there won’t be another big XAW distribution until January 2021.
Assuming no dividend cuts or increases, my current Forward 12 month dividend income is $11,763.01.
It took me months, but I finally got around to opening this bottle. First a little background. This was actually a gift, sent to me by a reader of the site, who happened to know I loved cocktails & bourbon. This bottle is unavailable here where I live, so it was extra special. It just so happens, I later got to know him a bit better, and I am now a reader of his site, and was even a guest on his podcast….what a weird world. If you are interested, you can check out his site HERE
Barchef is one of the top cocktail bars in Toronto, and for this bottling they partnered with Still Waters Distillery who make Stalk & Barrel whisky. I haven’t been to Barchef Toronto yet, but next time I am there I will check it out for sure. I have heard nothing but great things.
First of all, the bottle itself, is really a thing of beauty. It’s just got a real nice, simple, clean look to it. It was also shipped with a small orange aromatic spray (to mimic the orange zest/twist) which smelled absolutely delightful. A friend of mine joked he wanted to take it and use it as a cologne. One of the real nice things about this bottle, is the simplicity. Just pour over ice, give it a spritz or citrus twist, and you have a gourmet cocktail in your glass within seconds.
For the unacquainted, and old fashioned is a very straight forward, spirit heavy cocktail. Typically the ingredients and measurements are as follows:
2 oz Bourbon 1 bar spoon simple syrup 3-4 Dashes of bitters
Classic Old Fashioned’s just happen to be one of my favourite cocktails due to their simplicity, and also the fun in finding the right balance of sweetness and sharpness. If you aren’t a whisk(e)y drinker, or into booze heavy cocktails, a classic old fashioned may not be for you.The good news is, the Barchef Toasted Old Fashioned could be the perfect gateway drink for those wanting to get a bit more into cocktails.
Classic Old Fashioned – This is Not
The Barchef Toasted Old Fashioned is NOT your typical/classic Old Fashioned. In fact, after trying it, I was a bit surprised they marketed this as an old fashioned cocktail. First of all, it is very sweet, has a lot of added spices and flavours, and the bottle comes in at just 38.9% alcohol. According to the bottle, instead of simple syrup they use maple syrup (which is especially delicious), along with lots of other spices. As soon as you open the bottle, your nose will be hit with a heavy dose of anise/licorice. Unfortunately for me, much like Cilantro, this is one of the flavours I’ve never been able to get into.
The first sip is very sweet, and then you get hit with the spice. If I am being honest, the anise/licorice was too overpowering for me, and the drink was definitely too sweet for my liking. It almost tasted like a Jagermeister old fashioned with added sugar. I can definitely see the appeal of this drink for anyone who enjoys that Jager/Absinthe flavour, but I just couldn’t get into it as much as I tried. I offered some of the bottle to some friends who were visiting, and they were pretty split on it. Some enjoyed it, while some (like me) couldn’t get past the overpowered flavour and seemingly lack of bite that you’d expect from an “Old Fashioned”.
Final Thoughts: Toasted Old Fashioned
If there is one thing I’ve learned in my foray into cocktails over the last few years, it’s that everyone has different taste preferences. For example, I absolutely LOVE Campari, and Negoni’s but it is absolutely an acquired taste, typically you either love it or hate it – much like anise. So although I can’t say I’d pick up a bottle of this for myself if I saw it on the shelf, I would still recommend you give it a shot for yourself especially if you enjoy that jager, anise, licorice flavour profile. The simplicity and ease of making yourself a gourmet cocktail by just pouring it over ice, would make this a great drink for camping as well.
I’ve noticed recently there are a lot more options for pre made cocktails, but I’ve yet to find one I’ve really liked. If you have had this one, or some of the other pre made cocktails, let me know what you thought.
I’d like to once again thank Money Mechanic from FI GARAGE for sending this over, and just remind everyone, I will never say no to a bottle of whisky if you want to send me one…haha
June 19 was our 10 year wedding Anniversary. Originally I had wanted to do a European trip to celebrate, however due to Covid, things were a lot more quiet and a lot less expensive. That said, thanks to the grandparents offering to take the kids to the lake for a couple days, we were still able to go out for dinner (first time in a restaurant in months), and have 2 nights alone with no kids. It was nice, we went to a nice steakhouse, I opened up a fancy bottle of bourbon I’ve been saving for a special occasion(pictured below) and most importantly we got to sleep in!
We’ve been spending most weekends out at the lake, and it has been HOT. This last weekend was 32-34 degrees and we went for a lot of swims. The kids absolutely love going to the lake. So far, not selling the cabin seems to have been the right move. That said, next year I think I am definitely going to hire a company to come spray for mosquitoes and spiders…holy smokes they are bad this year.
I’ve definitely gained some weight since the Covid pandemic. I had just gotten into a decent routine of running on the treadmill almost everyday, I was playing soccer again, and I had cut my beer intake down quite a bit. Once Covid hit, and the kids were home all day, it changed everything, and made things a lot more difficult. The good news is the kids are heading back to daycare tomorrow, so hopefully we can all get back into our routines right away.
Normally on Canada day there is a big parade out at the cabin, and a bunch of fireworks, celebrations, etc. This year there was nothing. That said, the kids still had a great time, and we did our best to represent some Red & White.
Financial Highlights for June:
Pre authorized bi-weekly contributions continued into both TFSA & Spousal RRSP. I may have to look at reducing the amounts now that we will be paying for daycare again.
June was an expensive month. Cabin taxes were due, had to fix my eavestroughs, spent a decent chunk on our anniversary dinner, and pre paid for next 2 weeks of daycare.
On the plus side, June was also the month XAW paid one of its semi annual distributions.
I was paid dividends from 6 companies, and 2 funds this month. I dripped a total of 80 new shares/units.
Passive Income Update For June 2020.
TFSA’S:
Diversified Royalty: $22.85(dripped 12 shares)
Canadian Western Bank: $0.29
Artis Reit: $28.35 (dripped 3 shares)
Interrent Reit: $4.29
Plaza Reit: $29.91 (dripped 8 shares)
Intertape Polymer: $55.12
TFSA’s Total: $140.81
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $353.49(dripped 13.748 shares)
XAW Distribution: $1172.13 (dripped 44 shares)
Total Passive Income June 2020:$1666.43
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio was up slightly to: $343,539.41 This represents a increase of 2.69% from last month. I expect continued volatility in the market (and my portfolio) for the foreseeable future.
My long term plan hasn’t changed. I haven’t sold a single stock, and I continue to look for good deals. I’m sitting on a bit of cash, and I’ve updated my watchlist, which currently contains: Manulife, First National Bank, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Telus, Metro and Canadian Western Bank (among a few others). I haven’t pulled the trigger on any of these yet, because I still think things are going to get worse before they get better.
Passive income in June was $1666.43. June was my second highest month in 2020. So far in the first six months of the year I’ve earned $6225.84 in passive income. The second half of the year unfortunately shouldn’t be as strong, as there won’t be another big XAW distribution until January 2021.
Assuming no dividend cuts or increases, my current Forward 12 month dividend income is $11,405.96.
As a dividend growth investor, I love Dividend Champions. These are stocks that have paid a growing dividend for 25-years or more. Thomson Reuters is a Dividend Champion. The stock is also one of the Canadian Dividend Aristocrats. Thomson Reuters is a Canadian company that trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange or ‘TSE’ and also trades on the New York Stock Exchange or ‘NYSE’. At the right price, the stock is probably a good addition to many dividend growth portfolios. The market downturn resulting from COVID-19 caused the stock price to drop, but it has recovered somewhat since then. The current dividend yield is roughly 2.3%, which is higher than the broader market average. Dividend growth investors may want to research this stock further.
Overview of Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is a media, content, and data company that traces its founding back to 1934 in Canada and 1851 in London. The company in its current form is the result of a $17.6 billion merger between Thomson of Canada and Reuters Group of the U.K. in 2008. More recently, in 2018, the company divested its Finance and Risk business forming Refinitv in exchange for $17 billion. Thomson owns a 45% stake of Refinitv and The Blackstone Group (BX) owns the other 55%. In 2019, Thomson Reuters agreed to exchange the 45% stake in Refinitiv that it owns for a 15% stake in the London Stock Exchange Group subject to regulatory approvals.
Today, Thomson Reuters operates in five business segments: Corporates (22% of revenue), Legal Professionals (41% of revenue), Tax & Accounting Professionals (14% of revenue), Reuters News (11% of revenue), and Global Print (12% of revenue). The company will have about $5.9 billion in revenue in 2020 (before COVID-19 impacts). Thomson Reuters is the market leader in the global legal market segment, and the market leader in corporate legal and tax solutions in the U.S., and the tax market segment in the U.S.
Note that the company is controlled by the Thomson family of Canada through their investing vehicle, Woodbridge Company Limited. They control approximately 65% of the company’s common shares. The family holds the chairman position in Thomson Reuters.
Thomson Reuters Dividend and Safety
Thomson Reuters is a Dividend Champion and a Canadian Dividend Aristocrat. The company has paid a growing dividend for 27 consecutive years since 1993. The regular cash dividend has increased from $0.08 per share in 1993 to $1.52 per share in 2020. This gives a current dividend yield of approximately 2.3%, which is not bad compared to S&P 500s’ current average dividend yield of about 2.0%.
Source: TRI Booklet Winter 2020
Thomson’s dividend safety metrics have historically been somewhat volatile due to special items. They have also worsened recently due to the divestment and subsequent loss of revenue and lower earnings, and COVID-19.
Looking forward, consensus 2020 earnings per share is $1.77. The forward dividend is $1.52 per share. This gives a payout ratio of approximately 86%. This value is greater than my target value of 65% or lower. However, revenue and earnings are likely to be depressed in 2020 due to COVID-19. Further, Thomson Reuters is adding to revenue through bolt-on acquisitions. This should improve the payout ratio with time as these acquisitions grow and add to the bottom- line.
On a free cash flow basis, the dividend is also safe. The company is guiding for roughly $1 billion in free cash flow. This is down from guidance of $1.2 billion in FCF earlier in the year due to COVID-19. The dividend costs about $760 million annually ($1.52 x 500 million shares). This gives a dividend-to-FCF ratio of about 76%. This is an OK value but higher than my target value of 70%. The long-range target for Thomson Reuters is to pay 50% – 60% of free cash flow as the dividend.
The dividend is also seemingly safe from the perspective of debt. At end of the most recent quarter, Thomson Reuters had outstanding debt of $3.8 billion off set by cash on hand and short-term investments of $1.35 billion. No debt is due until 2023 adding to the good picture from the perspective of debt.
Overall, the combination of the divestiture, restructuring, and COVID-19 has likely made the dividend safety metrics somewhat worse the desired. However, Thomson Reuters has positioned itself in higher growth areas and is forecasting organic growth supplemented by M&A. With that said, I do not expect the dividend to grow at very fast rate over the next couple of years as the global economy recovers from COVID-19.
Thomson Reuters Valuation
Is Thomson Reuters undervalued? The stock is currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of about 38.5X. This is higher than the average of the S&P 500, which is trading at 21.9 as of this writing. So, no Thomson Reuters is not undervalued at the moment. However, some of this elevated valuation is due to lower consensus forward earnings per share due to COVID-19. The high earnings multiple is also due to limited float that is also contributing to overvaluation. Recall that the Thomson family controls about 65% of the common shares. So, there is limited amount of stock that trades on a daily basis for a company of its size.
Final Thoughts on Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters’ stock price dropped to near $52 per share at the depths of the downturn caused by COVID-19, which was probably a good entry point. The stock is arguably an under the radar dividend growth stock. I expect that the dividend will continue to grow in the future but at a slower rate. The company has seemingly prioritized share repurchases and M&A at the moment. With that said, dividend growth investors may want to research this stock further and keep an eye on it for a better entry point.
Biography: Dividend Power is self-taught dividend growth investor. He is the founder and author of the Dividend Power investment blog. He writes about dividend growth stocks for the long-term small investor seeking to invest in dividend stocks for income and growth. His focus is on undervalued stocks with sustainable dividend growth and capital appreciation potential. His work has appeared on Seeking Alpha, Sure Dividend, ValueWalk, The MoneyShow, and other financial sites.
It’s been a while since I’ve updated my watchlist. I haven’t made a stock purchase in a few months. In fact my last stock purchase was back in early March, right when Covid 19 was just starting to really hit North America. If you recall, I had added to my positions in XAW, GoEasy Financial, Chorus Aviation (ouch), Diversified Royalty and finally initiated a new position in New Flyer. I am still happy holding all of these companies long term and the only one that has taken a huge hit was Chorus Aviation.
I’ve increase my bi weekly contributions into my TFSA and although I haven’t purchased anything yet, I’ve had my eye on a few different companies. First a bit of background, so you can better understand my reasons for choosing the stocks below…
1) My RRSP holds mostly just 2 funds. One is XAW(which is about 40% of my total portfolio) and takes care of my USA/Global diversification and the other is an RBC Canadian Equity Income fund(About 25% of my total portfolio).
2) I use my TFSA specifically to hold Canadian Dividend Paying Stocks, so this watchlist will only include Canadian Stocks that pay a dividend.
3) Since about 25% of my portfolio is the RBC Canadian Dividend fund, I TRY to avoid holding the same stocks in my TFSA/RRSP. There are some exceptions (Algonquin Power, New Flyer, etc).
4) My updated watchlist will consist of Canadian Dividend paying stocks, and which meet my custom stock screening criteria. Some metrics I use in my custom stock screen are: Conservative Payout Ratio, Reasonable Price/Earnings, Earnings Growth & Expected Earnings Growth and Debt Levels.
Consumer Staples Stock(s):
Metro & Loblaw
Looking at these two stocks, I don’t believe you can go wrong with either. I would actually like to add them both, however right now I am leaning towards Metro. The only areas where Loblaw comes out on top is: a) I am extremely familiar with it, I shop there multiple times a month. b) Current dividend yield is slightly higher, slightly less volatility.
That said, the numbers speak for themselves, and I believe the first one I pick up will be Metro. See for yourself…
Metro looks like the clear winner here. They are trading at a better multiple, they have a much more conservative payout ratio (more room to grow the dividend), and the past 5 years show they are doing just that.
My target price for these stocks are: Metro: $51.00 Loblaw:$61.00
Financial Stocks
The big banks are all well covered in my RBC Canadian Equity fund, so I will not talk about them here (although I will see, they pretty much all look like great pick ups right about now). I ALMOST grabbed some Bank of Nova Scotia last week when it was trading at 9x earnings. It is still trading under 10x earnings and yielding 6.13%!
I’ve been watching First National & Canadian Western Bank for years. In fact I owned CWB for a while, bought it at $19, sold it around $30. It is a stock that continually has good metrics, but also has crazy volatility usually tied to the Alberta market and oil prices. That said they have diversified away from being a “western” bank and continue to expand. If you don’t like volatility, it’s probably not for you, but it’s got a great history of increasing dividends, a low payout ratio and because of it’s volatility you can periodically scoop it up at a great price.
First National is actually the company I have my mortgage with, and they aren’t your typical financial institution. They work closely with mortgage brokers, and leverage technology better than most of the big banks. I’m a big fan of their online mortgage platform, however the current interest rates, coupled with the increasing amount of Canadian Household Debt may hurt them. First National pays a nice monthly dividend, and insiders own over 10%, which is usually a sign that management has confidence in the business.
Let’s see what the numbers say. I included Bank Of Nova Scotia here as well for reference:
As you can see, all 3 are trading at very reasonable levels, with the edge going to Canadian Western Bank. The dividend yields are all pretty strong as well. The conservative payout ratio as well as the 5 year dividend growth rate also put Canadian Western Bank on top.
Bank of Nova Scotia is the easy set it and forget it pick. It has solid, but not spectacular numbers all around, and you know it will keep doing its thing.
First National has a few risks attached with it, if interest rates stay this low, they will get hurt more than other big banks, and the payout ratio of 78.6% is way too high for my liking (especially in this sector). I own some reits with better payout ratios!
Canadian Western Bank looks like the winner for me here. That said, I still don’t like it enough at it’s current price to pull the trigger. I’ve seen it dip below $20 many times over the last few years, and I expect it (along with most other stocks) will see another huge drop as Covid continues to wreak havoc on us. I love the dividend growth history, low payout ratio and their commitment to diversifying outside of Alberta, and also more into wealth management.
Long term, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these, and here are my target prices:
BNS: $60 or less. Honestly it’s a good price now. It could drop again, but if you are in it for the long haul, getting this for 9-10x Earnings is a go for me
CWB: $19.99 or lower. Although I would never recommend swing trading – if you had to choose a stock to do it – this may be the one. This one continually goes from $20-$35. I like it for its dividend growth and low payout ratio. I’d be comfortable buying and holding for 5-10 years if I can scoop some up at $20 or less.
First National: $22.50. If I am being honest it’s probably a good price at $25-27 as well, but due to some of the risk, I’d only grab this one if it really falls quite heavily again.
2 Other stocks I want, but am waiting for price to drop …Alimentation Couche Tard & DOLLARAMA It’s getting late, so I won’t go into these ones too much right now (i’ll probably do a solo write up on each). I am currently waiting for these two to drop to initiate a position.
I actually owned ATD.B previously, but sold it a couple years back, and although I made a nice chunk on that trade, I wish I held on to it. Dollarama is one that I’ve never owned but have wanted to for a while. These two stocks have a lot of similar metrics, both have extremely low yields, but both are growing them at exponential rates. They both have super conservative payout ratios, and have both seen their earnings and profits rise at “growth stock rates” for the last few years. That said, Dollarama has seen a pretty big drop in the rate of it’s growth the last 2 years while ATD has continued to impress. These are another two great stocks for the long haul, which I hope to add both by the end of this year. My target prices are:
Dollarama: $38.00 ATD.B: $40.00
Do you own any of these stocks? Would you consider buying any? Let me know your thoughts.
2 Years ago we thought we were going to sell the cabin because it was hard to enjoy with a 1 and 3 year old… but as the kids got older, we’ve really started enjoying it again. We decided if we are going to keep it – we should finally make a few much needed changes. We bought new beds, a new BBQ, brought a few new chairs out, and spent 2 full days ripping up the old carpet/flooring and putting new floors in. It looks and feels like a whole new cabin. Pic below:
On the Covid front – our province is on “Phase 2” of reopening. Most things are open now, although strict guidelines are still in place. I haven’t yet gone to any restaurants or malls or anything. Although I have made a couple trips to the hardware store. We’ve been really lucky so far in Manitoba *knock on wood* with under 300 confirmed cases since the pandemic started.
The liquor mart got their yearly supply of my favourite bourbon that they carry so I stocked up. It only comes in once or twice a year, and always sells out, so I need to make sure I stock up when it is available:)
If I am being completely honest, between Covid, and the protests happening down south, I have lost quite a bit of interest in stocks, sports, etc. I find myself refreshing twitter, reading articles, and going down the rabbit hole reading comments or arguing with people. On the one hand I feel like I need to take a break from it for my own mental health, but on the other hand this is too important to just ignore/take a break.
I’m going to keep this short this month. Truth be told, I feel kind of like a Jackass even writing a dividend report/blog update with everything going on in the world right now, but it keeps my mind busy. I hate that we even have to say #blacklivesmatter. How fucked up is that? Seriously – think about that for a second. How did we let it get to this? Silence and status quo I think is the biggest factor. If you see or hear something racist, sexist, homophobic – please do your part and call that shit out. It won’t be easy, it will be uncomfortable, but it needs to be done.
Financial Highlights for May:
Continued bi weekly contributions into TFSA, Wife’s TFSA & Spousal RRSP
May is usually a slow month, not many dividends paid. The good news is there were no cuts/suspensions this month.
I was paid dividends from 5 companies, and 1 funds this month. I dripped a total of 43 new shares/units.
Even though I had to take a temporary pay cut, my spending has been way down, which has more than made up for the temporary cut. I guess it is easy to increase your savings rate when you can’t go out anywhere…haha
Next month XAW pays its semi annual dividend. This should give my income a nice boost. They haven’t announced their distribution yet, and I assume it will be lower than last year due to Covid, but it should still hopefully work out to over $1000.
Passive Income Update For May 2020.
TFSA’S:
Diversified Royalty: $22.62(dripped 13 shares)
Artis Reit: $28.22 (dripped 3 shares)
Power Corp: $98.90 (dripped 4 shares)
Interrent Reit: $4.29
Plaza Reit: $29.68 (dripped 10 shares)
TFSA’s Total: $183.73
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $352(dripped 13.845 shares)
Total Passive Income May 2020:$535.73
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio was up slightly to: $334,531.46 This represents a increase of 1.62% from last month. I expect continued volatility in the market (and my portfolio) for the foreseeable future.
My long term plan hasn’t changed. I haven’t sold a single stock, and I continue to look for good deals. I’ve updated my watchlist, I am currently keeping an eye on: Manulife, First National Bank, Alimentation Couche Tard, Metro and Canadian Western Bank (among a few others).
Passive income in May was $535.73. This is one of my slowest months, but luckily it should be followed by one of my largest. Next month XAW pays one of it’s semi annual distributions. With everything that has gone on in the market, I am not too sure how much to expect from XAW but it should be a much needed boost.
Assuming no dividend cuts or increases, my current Forward 12 month dividend income is $11,340.46.
Canadian Natural Resources: A Blue-Chip Canadian Dividend Stock
*** The following is a guest post (Our first official guest post to be exact) from our good friends at Sure Dividend ***
At Sure Dividend, we don’t use the term blue-chip loosely. While the term blue-chip gets thrown around a lot in the financial media, we have a specific definition of what constitutes a blue-chip stock. Blue-chips, in our view, are stocks that have at least 10+ consecutive years of annual dividend increases. There are three specific groups of stocks that fall into the category of blue-chip stocks: the Dividend Achievers (10+ consecutive years); the Dividend Aristocrats (25+ consecutive years); and the Dividend Kings (50+ consecutive years).
We believe blue-chip stocks are those that have maintained long histories of raising their dividends each year. A long track record of consistent annual dividend growth indicates a company with strong brands, durable competitive advantages, and a proven history of generating growth over the long run.
Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) qualifies as a blue-chip dividend stock for Sure Dividend, as the company has now increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years. We also consider the stock to be undervalued, given the recent and significant decline in the share price. With a high current yield above 8%, Canadian Natural Resources is a blue-chip dividend stock.
Business Overview & Recent Events
Canadian Natural Resources is an energy company that operates in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, marketing, and sale of crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. Geographic areas of production focus include Western Canada, the North Sea, and offshore Africa. The company is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, and the common stock is cross listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, where it trades with a market capitalization of approximately US$17 billion.
The company has high-quality assets that will fuel its growth for many years. It has a massive asset base of long-life, low-decline assets which hold 27.8 years of proved reserves, and 36.0 years of reserve life based on proved-plus-probable reserves. Canadian Natural’s Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading assets have a reserve life of more than 43 years.
As a large exploration and production company, Canadian Natural Resources’ revenue and cash flow are dependent in part on the underlying commodity price. Reduced prices of oil and gas due to the negative demand shock posed by the coronavirus has put a dent in the oil and gas majors. Fortunately, Canadian Natural Resources has continued to perform well in recent periods.
In early March, Canadian Natural Resources reported financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. In the year, average production grew 2%. In addition, the company reduced its operating costs by -10%, to $11.50 per barrel, and thus grew its adjusted earnings-per-share by 17%, from $2.06 to $2.40. Moreover, the company grew its adjusted funds flow by 13%, to an all-time high of $10.3 billion, and delivered record free cash flows of $4.6 billion.
Such a strong level of free cash flow permitted the company to return lots of cash to shareholders last year. Shareholder returns totaled $2.7 billion for 2019, including a 12% increase in the company’s quarterly dividend and over $940 million in share repurchases.
Canadian Natural Resources grew its reserves by 11% in 2019, to 10.99 billion barrels, and thus enhanced its reserve life index to 27.8 years. As this figure is more than twice as much as the average life of reserves of its peers (~11 years), it is impressive and certainly bodes well for the future growth prospects of the company.
Dividend Analysis
In early 2020, Canadian Natural Resources declared a new quarterly dividend at a rate of $0.425 per share, for an annualized rate of $1.70 per share (US$1.21). This represented a 13% raise from the previous quarterly payout, meaning 2020 is the 20th consecutive year of a dividend increase for Canadian Natural Resources. This is an impressive history of increasing dividends, as it includes the global financial crisis and recession of 2008-2009, as well as the coronavirus pandemic.
Canadian Natural Resources is a high dividend stock, and is an attractive stock for income investors. Based on its recent share price, the stock has a high dividend yield of 8.6%. Compare this with the S&P 500 Index, which has an average dividend yield just above 2% right now. The combination of rising stock markets over much of the past decade, as well as falling interest rates, means it is more difficult to find suitable levels of investment income considering the lack of available alternatives.
The company has decent balance sheet strength as well, with an investment-grade credit rating of BBB from Standard & Poor’s. Canadian Natural Resources recently notified investors of recent developments surrounding the coronavirus crisis, and measures taken to protect the company’s financial position in an effort to secure the dividend. In 2019, Canadian Natural retired approximately $2.35 billion of bonds and term facilities, proving to be a wise decision as the global economy faces a potential recession in 2020.
Canadian Natural Resources has taken a number of steps to shore up its finances more recently, including suspending buybacks and cutting operating costs. Management is also confident regarding the liquidity position of the company. Current liquidity is approximately $5 billion consisting of cash, including approximately $1 billion in estimated cash reserves as at March 31st . Lastly, it is lowering its 2020 capital expenditure budget from $4.05 billion to $2.96 billion, a 27% reduction. In the company’s
view, its financial resources are more than sufficient to retire any current debt obligations when due.
Final Thoughts
The coronavirus crisis has weighed on the stock market over the past several weeks, particularly in the hardest-hit sectors such as energy. But this could simply be a good buying opportunity for long-term investors. There are many high-quality stocks that have seen their dividend yields rise dramatically as a result of their plunging share prices. And, valuations appear compressed across the energy sector.
Still, investors need to choose stocks selectively, to focus on high-quality businesses with sustainable dividends. Canadian Natural Resources has a strong business model and a long history of increasing its dividend each year. With a high dividend yield above 8%, Canadian Natural Resources is a blue-chip dividend stock.
** Just a reminder, this was a guest post from our friends at Sure Dividend. **
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. We had to say goodbye to our sweet dog Penny this month. She was a beautiful girl, with a gentle soul. She lived a long, happy life and graced us with so many memories. I even proposed to my wife with the dog (as a surprise) almost 12 years ago. Here are a few of my favourite pics of Penny:
Losing a pet is never easy – it’s even worse when you are in the middle of a global pandemic with two toddlers at home. The kids have handled it pretty well so far. Every now and then they(we) have a cry and remember the good times with Penny.
Onto some less depressing news. The weather has finally started warming up, so we have been able to get out into the back yard and stretch our legs a bit more. Isaac just had his 3rd birthday, and got a lot of outdoor/yard toys. I expect the next few days will be spent almost entirely in the backyard playing with new toys, kicking a ball around and of course drinking some cold beers.
I was a guest on a podcast for the first time ever. I had a great time, and although it’s clear it was my first time..i’d definitely do it again. It was the FI_Garage podcast. The guys sit around, drink beer and talk about investing. What’s not to love. You can check it out HERE
I started re-watching Parks & Recreation with the wife since she has never seen it. If you haven’t ever seen it – do yourself a favour and check it out. It streams on Amazon prime.
I posted some hopefully possible positives that could come from the Covid 19 pandemic. You can read that post HERE
My little man turned 3 on April 28. Although we couldn’t get the family and friends together for a big party, we had some people drop by with presents, and still spoiled him with pizza and ice cream cake. Here’s a few of our favourite photos of our little baby boy…I cannot believe he is 3 already!
Financial Highlights for April:
Continued bi weekly contributions into TFSA, Wife’s TFSA & Spousal RRSP
Took a temporary pay cut at work due to Covid. It’s hard to complain when so many people have lost their jobs. We are lucky in the sense we can both work from home, and are at least saving some costs on daycare for the time being. That said, we miss our daycare family so much and cannot wait until the kids can go back.
Our variable mortgage rate dropped, which ends up saving us about $200 per month.
Since the Covid pandemic, I have received dividend suspensions from CAE and Chorus Aviation. I ‘ve also received dividend cuts from: Diversified Royalty & New Flyer Group. I expect my distributions from XAW & RBC Canadian Equity Income fund to be lower than expected as well.
I was paid dividends from 9 companies, and 1 funds this month. I dripped a total of 86 new shares/units. These reduced prices have caused a huge spike in dripped shares per month. SIX double digit drips this month!
Portfolio increased over $42,000 month over month, and is now back to the same level it was at in August. I don’t understand this market. I feel like we are in for another big drop…but I also thought it would have happened already, so who knows.
Passive Income Update For April 2020.
TFSA’S:
Diversified Royalty: $26.00(dripped 18 shares)
Artis Reit: $28.08 (dripped 3 shares)
Algonquin Power: $185.31 (dripped 10 shares)
Interrent Reit: $4.29
Plaza Reit: $29.44 (dripped 10 shares)
Chorus Aviation: $36.76(dripped 12 shares)
TFSA’s Total: $309.88
RRSP:
Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $351(dripped 13 shares)
Transcontinental: $192.83 (dripped 16 shares)
New Flyer: $57.16(dripped 4 shares)
Go Easy: $123.75
Total Passive Income April 2020:$1034.62
Portfolio Update:
My portfolio jumped back up to: $329,207.77. This represents a increase of 14.78% from last month. This market is crazy. Over the last 3 months, my portfolio has gone: – 5.41%, -19.73%, +14.78%
My long term plan hasn’t changed. I haven’t sold a single stock, and I continue to look for good deals. I’ve updated my watchlist, I am currently keeping an eye on: Manulife, First National Bank, Alimentation Couche Tard, Metro and Canadian Western Bank (among a few others).
Passive income in April was $1034.62. This was the second time in the first 4 months of 2020 my income was over a thousand! I only achieved $1000+ twice in all of 2019!
The Black Manhattan is one of my new favourite drinks. If you are a cocktail person, you are most likely familiar with a classic Manhattan. If you are not a cocktail person a classic Manhattan is Rye, Sweet Vermouth & Bitters. It’s a very boozy drink, but absolutely delicious. I love a classic Manhattan, but I have to say, lately I’ve definitely been preferring a Black Manhattan.
Black Manhattan Vs Classic Manhattan
So what’s the difference between a regular classic Manhattan & the Black Manhattan?
As you can see, the only difference is swapping the vermouth for Averna. As far as ingredients go, these drinks are VERY similar. That said, don’t let it fool you, the flavour profile is completely different. Aside from the dark complexion, the Averna gives the drink a more herbal/medicinal feel – but in a good way. I like to make mine with a hint of sweetness ( I add a spoonful of Maraschino syrup).
Ingredients:
2 oz Rye Whiskey (You can substitute with Bourbon but traditionally a Rye).
1 oz Averna Amaro
2-3 Dashes Angostura Bitters
1 barspoon Luxardo Cherry Maraschino Syrup
*Garnish with 3 Luxardo Cherries.
Directions:
Add all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice. Stir for 20 seconds. Strain into coupe glass. Garnish with 3 cherries. Enjoy.
This drink will go down fast and smooth. Don’t let that fool you. It is a boozy one. Take your time, enjoy it. That said, if it goes down too fast – no worries, make yourself another one…after all it’s only a few ingredients!
Virtually attended the last Whiskey tasting of the year with the Winnipeg Whiskey Club.
Moneymaaster 