Recent Buy: Royal Caribbean

There comes a point in the history of a portfolio where it has to move past the safer bets and move on to picks that are outside of the normal channel or realm. We move to a point where bets are on and the market and humanity will guide our next move forward. That being the case, I’ve differed to the judgment of my grandparents.

I know this isn’t always the immediate gut reaction when it comes to investing but sometimes it’s a great move when you’re stuck on what to dip your portfolio into next. I have been feeling a bit jaded lately and that has spilled over into having very little to write about. This has also made it tough to think of companies to evaluate. That’s why I moved to the preference of a generation that is removed from my own to see from a different angle what I may not be seeing.

One could argue that I should have seen their answer coming but it was an immediate gut response from them that I should look at cruise lines. In the past I have hurried past these stocks as they seemed all to cyclical and as we are in an upswing, overpriced. Regardless, I paid them a look – Carnival, Royal, and Norwegian. All three stocks actually showed way more promise than I had initially thought. One clear winner however emerged from the pack. That winner was Royal Caribbean. Let me share why.

Dividend Income: July

It's the beginning of another month and that means that it's time to tally the dividend payments from the previous month. All in all, it was a great month. I find that pretty much any time there is a payment incoming from AT&T (T), I can expect a fairly decent payment. It definitely helps boost the confidence moving forward that the strategy of dividend investing is a good strategy.

Where it may still not seem like a whole lot at a total of $28.25 for a whole month of dividends, it actually is a big enough amount to do something with. Hell, for a good portion of my portfolio, the stock price per share is less than that. That means that this last month provided for me the opportunity to add even one more share (theoretically) to the portfolio. With one more share there comes one more payment of dividends that further propels the snow ball forward.

I also want to remind myself with another month past that it is important to not bench mark your portfolio based on other investor's portfolios. Even though this can sometimes be a great motivator for future success, it can also give an unfair view of things as investing in dividends can be a very skewed curve when graphed out. The more dividend payments coming in, the faster the trend line goes up so it does not accurately represent a slow and steady trend upwards but more an increasing stream that will eventually become a roaring river. I just have to keep my eye on the prize moving forward and have faith that the small stream of income I've built will eventually pick up more and more speed. Anyways, here is the breakdown for the month:

July Dividend Income

RAI - Reynolds American Inc. - $5.88

STAG - STAG Industrial - $1.74

GE - General Electric - $5.75

T - AT&T - $14.88

Total July Dividends: $28.25