Cheap Cruise Vacation

Flowrider on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

I found a 9 night cruise to 3 countries on Royal Caribbean!

You also get:

• 10% OFF SHORE EXCURSIONS! Use coupon code CD10% upon checkout of purchasing your shore excursions! 

• $100.00 ON BOARD CREDIT: This would be great for onboard spa treatments, specialty restaurants, or drinks. A redemption form must be completed by the guest & submitted online no later than 10 days prior to your sailing.

Must book HERE for the discounts.

Bon Voyage!

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February 2015 Update on Loyal 3

3 month ago I invested a recurring $10 into a Loyal3 account, read about the review here.  This month I am happy to say, with $20 invested, I made a profit on my investment, up $1.97 from last months . 43 cents, for a grand total of of 2.43 cents! Impressive! See below:

Every little cent counts.

What If I invested . . .
$200 = $220.43
$2,000 = $2,200.43
$20,000 = $22,000.43

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February Dividends 2015

Well, it's been 4 months since I started reviewing Motif Investing. It has been a fun experience creating different Motifs with different themes, ideas, etc,  30 stocks for the cheap commission of $9.95

Now for the dividends . . . 

Dividends

The February dividends totaled $6.57 UP from  last months (total $6.18). Not impressive, however it's better than nothing. Each month it is getting better and better. 

I repurchased UBS (MORL), which was sold last month, UBS is a keeper and a regular dividend payer. Education Realty is the dividend leader this month with a whole .88 cents. YAY!!! me!!!

As the account grows, so will the dividends. Most people are not impressed by dividends because the amount seems so small, but they add up. I plan on reinvesting the dividends and growing them exponentially. My investment philosophy is inspired by Warren Buffet, I intend to hold these stocks forever.

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Money Matters for Kids

Money Matters for Kids

One of the most important skills you can teach children is how to manage money successfully. Saving, budgeting for things they want, and making sound spending decisions can be reinforced every time they earn an allowance or are given birthday money.

February 23 - 28 is America Saves Week. To participate and plan activities around good financial habits, check out this list of resources:

• America Saves Week for Educators
• 5 Simple Saving Tricks - for younger kids 
• Help Your Family Save Money Comics
• Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy
• Managing Money: Make a Saving Plan
• Saving Tricks -  for older kids
• Activity: Moneytopia (Flash required)
• Activity: Savings Calculator
• Activity: The Truth About Millionaires Quiz  (PDF version, get Adobe reader. 
• Lesson Plan: Creating a Budget
• Lesson Plans: FederalReserveEducation.org

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My Favorite Money Video: Must Be The Money

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Update on Loyal 3

Last month I invested a recurring $10 into a Loyal3 account, read about it here.  This month I am happy to say, with $20 invested, I made a profit on my investment of .46 cents! See below:

Every little cent counts.

What If I invested . . .
$200 = $204.60
$2,000 = $2046.00
$20,000 = $20460.00

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January Dividends 2015

Well, it's been 3 months since I started reviewing Motif Investing. It has been a fun experience creating different Motifs with different themes, ideas, etc,  30 stocks for the cheap commission of $9.95

Now for the dividends . . . 

Dividends

The January dividends totaled $6.18 UP from  last months (total $6.12). Not impressive, however it's better than nothing.

I sold UBS, the dividend leader last month and then brought it back, but not in time to receive the dividend by the record date.  UBS is the dividend leader in my little Motif account and I have to be more loyal.  Shout out to Chris Brown.

As the account grows, so will the dividends. Most people are not impressed by dividends because the amount seems so small, but they add up. I plan on reinvesting the dividends and growing them exponentially. My investment philosophy is inspired by Warren Buffet, I intend to hold these stocks forever.

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State of the Union Stocks

Companies mentioned in the State of the Union Address by President Barack Obama.:

Name	Symbol	Price
Google Inc	GOOG	$518.04
Facebook Inc.	FB	$76.74
United Parcel Service Inc.	UPS	$111.68
eBay Inc.	EBAY	$53.38
CVS Health Corp	CVS	$99.50
Tesla Motors Inc.	TSLA	$196.57

President Barack Obama mentioned these companies at the State of the Union on January 20th, 2015. All can be bought on the stock market, except at this time,  Instagram (The service was acquired by Facebook).

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Upcoming Dividend Pay Dates

I am about to get PAID! As usual, companies always post their Payment Dates in advance of actual payment,  (modern transparency).

Of the companies that I own, 13 companies will payout in Jan,  7 companies will payout in Feb and March.

Record date
Check the record date on each stock, it may still be possible to get in for the January payout. The record date is the cutoff date.

Upcoming dividend Payment Dates from companies that I own: 
(There is only one boss, the stockholder.)

1/2/2015 - LUV - Southwest Airlines (my personal favorite airline) Received
1/8/2015 - MRK - Merck & Company, Inc. Received
1/9/2015 - EQR - Equity Residential Received
1/15/2015 - PPS - Post Properties, Inc. Received
1/15/2015 - AVB - Avalon Bay Communities, Inc. Received
1/15/2015 - DLR - Digital Realty Trust, Inc. Received

1/16/2015 - CPT - Camden Property Trust Received

1/20/2015 - TWO - Two Harbors Investments Corp Received

1/22/2015 - MORL - ETRACS Monthly Pay 2x Leveraged Mortgage REIT ETN

1/22/2015 - DVHL - ETRACS Monthly Pay 2xLeveraged Diversified High Income

1/30/2015 - VFL -  Delaware Investments Florida Insured Municipal Income Fund
1/30/2015 - EIP - Eaton Vance Pennsylvania Municipal Bond Fund

1/30/2015 - AEC - Associated Estates Realty Corporation Received
2/2/2015 -   UDR - United Dominion Realty Trust, Inc Received
2/2/2015 - BMY - Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Received
2/2/2015 - BLJ - Blackrock New Jersey Municipal Bond Trust Received
2/2/2015 - CTF - Nuveen Long/Short Commodity Total Return Fund Received
3/10/2015 - JNJ-  Johnson & Johnson

3/27/2015 - ARR - ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc.

3/30/2015 - OAKS - Five Oaks Investment Corp.

These companies are found in a Motif that I bought at Motif Investing 

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50/30/20 Breakdown for Students or Low Income

Here is the 50/30/20 Breakdown for $1,200 Monthly Income:

Needs:$600
Housing $240
Car/Transportation $120
Utilities (including cable, phone and internet)$120
Food $120

Wants:$360
Tithes and Offerings $120
Recreation $120
Personal $60
Clothing $60

Savings:$240
Emergency Fund $120
Savings Roth IRA $60
Debt $60

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Dividend Calculator

Starting Yield:	%	(the current annual dividend yield, such as 4.5)
Dividend Growth Rate:	%	(the historical average increase in the dividend as a percentage)
Number of Shares Held:		(the number of shares you own in the stock)
Cost per Share:	$	(your purchase price for the shares)
Years to hold:		(the number of years for which you want to calculate results)

Courtesy of: http://www.dividend-calculator.com

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Loyal3: Investing With Only $10

I actually invested $10 at Loyal3, I'll let everybody know how it goes.

My goal is growth and dividends, as usual. I may increase to $50 or $25.00 every 2 weeks. So far, it's been true that there are no fees involved, which is great for me , since I'm frugal (not cheap). 

The Investment
Loyal3, gives you the option to invest $10, $25, $50, or Custom. I can invest on a monthly recurring basis or a one-time basis.

Fractional Shares

Most online brokerages require you to buy whole shares. So if a company's share price is $500, that's the minimum you can invest. On LOYAL3, you buy fractional shares. So regardless of the share price, you can invest as little as $10.

The Fine Print
With LOYAL3, you are limited to purchases of $10,000 per IPO or $2,500 per non-IPO stock per month. There are no fees for using the LOYAL3 platform.  There are no fees to buy stock, sell stock or to transfer money to and from your bank account.

The list of stocks available at LOYAL3 to start investing, fee-free.
21st Century Fox
AMC Theatres
Abercrombie & Fitch
Aeropostale
Alibaba
Amazon.com
American Eagle Outfitters
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Apple
Berkshire Hathaway
Best Buy
Blizzard
Buffalo Wild Wings
Coca-Cola
Dave & Buster's
Discovery Communications
Disney
Dr Pepper Snapple
Dunkin
Electronic Arts
Endurance
Facebook
Frontier Communications
Gap
Globant
GoPro
Google
Hasbro
Hershey
HubSpot
Intel
Kate Spade
Kellogg's
Kohl's
Kraft
L Brands
Macy's
Mattel
McDonald's
Microsoft
Mondelez
Monster
Nike
Nokia
PVH
Pepsi
Quiksilver
Ralph Lauren
Restaurant Brands International
STORE Capital
Santander Consumer USA
Starbucks
Target
Time Warner
Trupanion
Twitter
Unilever
VF Corp
Viacom
Virgin America
Wal-Mart
World Wrestling Entertainment
YUM
Yahoo

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How to Read Dividend History

Ex-Date or Effective Date - A stock trades ex-dividend on or after the ex-dividend date (ex-date). At this point, the person who owns the security on the ex-dividend date will be awarded the payment, After the ex-date has been declared, the stock will usually drop in price by the amount of the expected dividend.

Type -  Dividends may be paid  in the form of cash, stock or property.

Cash Amount -  Amount paid to stockholders, normally out of the corporation's current earnings or accumulated profits.

Declaration Date - The date on which the next dividend payment is announced by the directors of a company. This statement includes the dividend's size, ex-dividend date and payment date. It is also referred to as the "announcement date"

Record Date - On the record date, a company looks to see who its shareholders or "holders of record" are. Essentially, a date of record ensures the dividend checks get sent to the right people.

Payment Date - The date on which a declared stock dividend is scheduled to be paid. Only those shareholders who bought the stock before the ex-dividend date receive the dividend on the date of payment (payable date)

Definitions found at: http://www.investopedia.com/

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My Dividend Picks for 2015

12 Stocks for 12 Months of Dividends

Name	Symbol	Dividend Yield
ARMOUR Residential REIT	ARR	12.869%
BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Trust	BLJ	6%
Cornerstone Total Return Fund Inc	CRF	20.481%
Delaware Investments Natl Muni Income	VFL	6%
Eaton Vance Michigan Muni Income Trust	EMI	5.578%
Eaton Vance Ohio Municipal Income Trust	EVO	5.328%
Eaton Vance Pennsylvania Municipal Bond Fund	EIP	6.044%
ETRACS Monthly Pay2xLeveraged Diversified High Income ETN	DVHL	15.121%
Five Oaks Investment Corp	OAKS	13.761%
Nuveen Long/Short Commodity TR Fund	CTF	9.701%
Orchid Island Capital	ORC	16.192%
UBS AG	MORL	7.318%

Why are these my picks?

1. All pay a monthly dividend without fail,  12 months a year.
2. When the stocks go up, the bonds go down, and vice versa, they balance each other out, and the dividends remain constant.
3. Like Oprah, I love MUNI's too. Our States need the money and I need the dividends.
4. The Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Mortgage Investments do better than actually owning investment real estate and the headaches that come with it.
5. UBS has been very good too me, so she stays until I say "be gone!"
6. They all do better than the banks on their worst day.
7. Every last one of them have ended 2014 in the GREEN
8. All are under $25, so my money can be utilized better to receive more robust dividends. The prices of the stocks are below.
9. ETFs are your friend, but should be watched like a cheating husband who brings home diamonds.
10. Low volatility, I can actually sleep at night. Earning a safe and boring 10.4% avg. in dividends.

Total Price for 1 Share of each stock:

Name	Price
Delaware Investments Natl Muni Income	$13.00
BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Trust	$14.90
Eaton Vance Michigan Muni Income Trust	$12.71
Eaton Vance Ohio Municipal Income Trust	$13.72
Eaton Vance Pennsylvania Municipal Bond Fund	$12.79
Nuveen Long/Short Commodity TR Fund	$16.70
Cornerstone Total Return Fund Inc	$19.45
UBS AG	$21.58
ETRACS Monthly Pay2xLeveraged Diversified High Income ETN	$23.90
ARMOUR Residential REIT	$3.73
Five Oaks Investment Corp	$10.90
Orchid Island Capital	$13.34
	Total: $176.72

A final note:
The operative words in my posts are "My" and "I", not "You". Please read my  disclaimer on the sidebar.

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December Dividends 2014

Well, it's been 2 months since I started reviewing Motif Investing. It has been a fun experience creating different Motifs with different themes, ideas, etc,  all for the cheap commission of $9.95

Now for the dividends . . .

Dividends

The December dividends totaled $6.12 compared to last months (total $5.68),  UBS being the dividend leader in my little Motif account. As the account grows, so will the dividends. Most people are not impressed by dividends because the amount seems so small, but they add up. I plan on reinvesting the dividends and growing them exponentially. My investment philosophy is inspired by Warren Buffet, I intend to hold these stocks forever.

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The Weekly Review

Update on my Frugal Freedom Funds!
Since Creation 10/19/2014.

• Frugal Freedom Fund up 12.2% (Still better than the S&P 500)
• Frugal Freedom Fund Dividends up 6.5% (Still better than the Bank, plus dividend)
• Motifinvesting Website

  

  

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How to Have More Money in 2015

1. Educate yourself online  My favorite online courses are Here. 
2. Apply online to Fortune 500 jobs.
3. Ask for a $10,000 bonus at work, you will be surprised, you just might get it.
4. Do NOT shop Till You Drop, only shop when you need too.
5. Do NOT bank your money (read "Banking is for Suckas"), invest in 30 stocks Here.
6. Have a savings plan, start with $10, $25, or $50 Here.
7. Shop 2 days after Christmas or all of January, everything will be on sale.
8. For New Years Eve, do your own countdown and sing "Auld Lang Syne", at HOME.
9. Stop going on expensive dates, you ain't nobodies baller or shot caller.
10. Get married and share expenses. 
11. There is life after 500 cable channels. Go back to Basic Cable, you are not missing anything.
12. Buy Nike Stock (NKE) instead of Nike sneakers
13. Become HUSTLE MAN and monetize your Blog or Youtube Channel.
14. Learn how to grocery shop with only $25 dollars and cook at home.
15. Make a budget and stick to it.
16. Learn how to double your money using the Rule of 72 or be risky and double in a year.
17. Reinvest your dividends in a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP)
18. Use Compound Calculators for budgeting savings goals
19. Read online Dividends Growth Investors (DGI) and Personal Finance (PF) bloggers and bloggettes. (RIF) Reading is Fundamental.
20. Housing should be no more than 20% of your yearly gross income.
21. Vacations should be no more than 5% of your  yearly gross income.
22. Read the $5.00 Millionaire
23. Celebrate life achievements with your family  instead of with expensive Champagne.
24. Strive to be thrifty and frugal instead of just plain ole' cheap.
25. Learn  how to say "Thank you". People remember thankful people and will help you again.

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This is what happens when your schitt is made in China.

Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks

This is what happens when your schitt is made in China. 
Carmelo Anthony becomes white or Asian-looking and his name is backwards "Anthony Carmelo". There are a lot of pissed off children. I know heads rolled on this one.

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President Obama: Companies that are Reshoring

"Reshoring" Remember this word. It's about to become big in 2015 and thank President Obama. The manufacture of U.S. products are coming back to the U.S.A. We're seeing companies from General Electric (GE) to Ford (F) to Apple (AAPL) joining K'NEX in the trend to bring American products' production back here to America itself.

Companies that are Reshoring
AMZN      Amazon.com Inc.
AAPL       Apple Inc.
ADSK      Autodesk, Inc.
GE        General Electric Co.
HON        Honeywell International Inc.
IBM        International Business Machines Corp.
JBLU      JetBlue Airways Corporation
LMT        Lockheed Martin Corp.
NUE        NuCor Corp.
TSLA      Tesla Motors Inc.
YHOO     Yahoo! Inc.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Build-a-Bear Workshop stock has more than doubled this year! It almost tripled! Thank you for buying and Merry Christmas! 

Build-a-Bear Workshop (BBW) -- Up 174 percent in 2014. 
52 Week High: $21.22
52 Week Low: $7.30

About Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.
Founded in St. Louis in 1997, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is the only global company that offers an interactive make-your-own stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience. There are approximately 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and Mexico. The company was named to the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for the sixth year in a row in 2014. Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) posted total revenue of $379.1 million in fiscal 2013. For more information, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the Investor Relations section of its website at buildabear.com®.

Key Facts:

First Store Opened	1997
World Bearquarters	St. Louis, Missouri
Revenues	$379.1 million (FY 2013)
Employees (as of Dec. 29, 2012)	1,000 full-time 3,400 part-time
Number of Stores (as of Dec. 31, 2013)	323 company-owned stores in U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. 86 franchised retail stores in International locations – Germany, Japan, Australia, Denmark, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Singapore, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Norway, and Sweden.

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Parmesan Portabello Pasta

This meal can be made with just about any leftovers from anywhere like Christmas parties, office meetings, restaurant  (take home),  family dinners, etc . . .

I got most of the leftovers from the end-of-year office meeting.

The only thing that needs to be purchased is the Portabello Mushrooms and the Parmesan shaved cheese.  You should already have onions, garlic, and olive oil in your pantry.

Olive Oil

Put a little Olive Oil and and chopped garlic in a pan. I put a little too much oil, but I like it.

Chopped Onion and Mushrooms

Chop up the onions and mushrooms and throw them into the pan. Let them cook covered for 10 minutes. After 10 mins. the mushroom will begin to look and taste like meat.

Random Veggies

Throw in whatever veggies that you have. I actually had some leftover string beans, broccoli and a few stems of cauliflower. 

Pasta

Throw in some pasta (any kind). I had a big bowl of bow-tie pasta leftover from the meeting. No one wanted to eat the carbs. I'll eat them!

Let it all cook for another 10 mins. and it's done! 

I didn't add any salt, but you can season to your liking. Cover it with Parmesan cheese. Serve with salad. 

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