The Dividend Family Guy

Budget Organization Some time ago I read a book (Name has been lost to me) that aligned how you use your money into five categories. If someone knows where this model came from let me know so I can give the person credit please. These categories fit into how most people could divide up their income.  I used to go overboard and categorize every expense in Quicken. This led to a messy budget I never adhered to. Last month I decided to start putting all expenses into one of these categories. That would be my budget going forward and hopefully help me save more. Let's take a look at each one and then I will share with you my target for each category. Fixed These are your needs. Certain essential items such as food, clothing, utilities and a roof over your head. I will go into more detail later on that roof piece. That is always a hot topic between my wife and I on our housing choices over the years. I even place things like diapers and basic necessities into this category...

After working, getting the kids to the dentist, working some more, cooking dinner, playing with the kids, bathing and getting them to bed, I had a few minutes this evening to add a page to my blog.  It is dividends I have been receiving since I purchased my first stocks way back in 2010.  Do not laugh to much at my initial years.  Some money reinvested into more stocks that pay dividends year over year is better than no money.  In some future post I will go over what stocks are generating these dividends.  I will say that in 2010 I new nothing about investing and just purchased some stocks I read about in an article.  Not such a good choice but I haven't sold them yet.  Maybe after taking a closer look at my portfolio with you I will be able to send some of those stocks packing.  It is late and I have to get up early to go work at a JOB.  Just saying that word makes me want to save more money.  I will go into more detail in the future....

What will I be talking about in my blog? Some of the stuff you may have seen on other sites. Things like what my finances look like and how much am I saving. My twist to that is a system I learned from a book I read many many years ago. I wish I would have written down the name and author so I could give him or her some credit. The only thing I remember is what I wrote down in a spreadsheet. This acts as a guideline for my spending and I will match up my world to it. I am still on the fence about disclosing my salary to the world. I will probably disclose my spending just to show people how much it costs me to raise a large family these days. My wife and I try to live frugally but sometimes our judgment isn't the best. Hopefully by sharing all of this with you will help me to be a wiser spending and saver. I will also by posting my dividends each month and how they chart over the past few years. They are not much to speak of (yet) but I like to show others how the ...

All Are Welcome Welcome readers to my story about saving and investing in quality dividend stocks.  This is my journey through life as I strive to save and invest so that I can retire before I am too old to enjoy an active life.  I am setting the goal at age 55 (fifteen years from now.)  Wow I can't believe I just wrote that down.  It feels good to get it out of my head and onto some paper (even if it is just electronic paper.)   Who Am I? I am the Dividend Family Guy.  Let’s break that down into how I came up with that name.  The first, Dividend, is my style of investing and why most of this writing is occurring in the first place.  The next part of my name comes from the love for my family.  I am a father of 5 kids and have been married to a wonderful wife for twelve years.  My family is one of my top priorities and providing for them is what I do.  Now I need to start saving and investing for them as well.  The last...