I've Been Keeping A BIG Secret From You
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It’s true…
I’ve been keeping something big from all of you (not investing-related, more so life-related). It hasn’t been easy staying quiet, but I wanted to make sure everything was official before saying a word.
I'm excited to tell you that the wait is over and the coast is finally clear! Instead of just spilling the news here, I did you one better—I filmed a quick video to make the big reveal, which you can watch right here.
With that, I owe you an apology. Because of this exciting development, this week’s newsletter is going to be on the lighter side. The time I spent tending to this secret kept me from writing the usual article, but don’t worry—we’ll be back in business next week.
Until then, I hope you enjoy the rest of the newsletter and I hope you have a great week.
Dividend Investing Democratized
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IN MY PORTFOLIO 📈
Portfolio performance provided by Snowball Analytics
ICYMI 🎥
BREAKING NEWS: SCHD Stock Split + GIANT Dividend Increase
Charles Schwab just announced some big news for SCHD! Not only did they reveal a 3-for-1 stock split, but they also announced a HUGE year-over-year dividend increase.
CAREFULLY CURATED 🔍
📺 What's Wrong With Starbucks? - Starbucks is now on its fourth CEO in under four years and is also grappling with declining sales. It's been a tough year, to say the least. Despite these struggles, it's still an iconic company and one of my largest holdings. This video dives into the history of Starbucks and the reasons behind its current challenges.
🎧 The Nick Sleep Letters - Nick Sleep’s letters are a masterclass on the importance of understanding a business — what he calls the engine of its success. In this episode of the Founders podcast, the host breaks down these letters and highlights the key takeaways from reading all 110,000 words, which he did twice!
📚 Why Everyone Should Be A Dividend Investor - The headline says it all. This article is all about why dividend investing remains one of the best strategies for long-term success.
SINCE YOU ASKED 💬
"I wanted to ask you about Altria. You seem to be pretty fond of it despite it being a declining business. I own it myself and I see the stock has gone down quite a lot in the last few days. Any idea why? Should we be worried?”
- Paulo | Email
I'm keeping a close eye on Altria (MO). While I still believe the dividend is secure, I am concerned about the company's revenue trends. Their sales have stagnated due to declining cigarette volumes, and cigarette sales make up a majority of the company's revenue.
Having said that, this seems like a natural part of the business lifecycle. Altria is a very mature company, and some decline is inevitable for most businesses that have been around as long as they have. There’s only so much room for growth.
With that said, Altria is actively working toward what they call a "smoke-free future." They're trying to shift away from traditional cigarettes and move into areas with more growth like e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches like on!.
While they’re heading in the right direction, the transition seems to be unfolding slowly, and it will likely take a while before revenue from their smoke-free products catches up to cigarette sales.
In the meantime, I'm comfortable just holding onto my shares and collecting the dividend. Despite their revenue trends, Altria has been one of my better performers over the years, and they continue to improve profitability. Overall, it seems like they’re controlling what they can.
As for the recent dip in share price, I'm not exactly sure what triggered it, but it's not something I'm overly concerned about right now. As we know, short-term fluctuations happen all the time, and the stock is still up over 26% year-to-date.
Have a question? Ask me here to see it featured in an upcoming newsletter.
HOT TAKES 🔥
In last week's newsletter, I asked readers how they balance enjoying the rewards of hard work while avoiding the trap of lifestyle inflation. Here are some of the responses:
Donna said: At one time in my life, I was in deep financial straits. Literally choosing between food and electricity. I've never forgotten how that felt, and I've never wanted to be in that situation - or even close - ever again. These days, I save, I invest, I travel internationally, but on the cheap, I pay all my bills in full every month so I have zero debt. I have a good life and have every intention of keeping it by always living within my means and having a big cushion for a rainy day. No cars or fancy gyms are worth it...a high-interest savings account and a healthy portfolio give me more satisfaction every day.
Kristian said: I try to pick my rewards so they don't take away from the achievement. For example, if I'm trying to lose weight, I have two rewards: seeing the numbers on the scale go down, and taking a single day off from the gym during the week I meet my goal. No cheat meal days, no fancy dinners at the end, and definitely not stopping my gym routine entirely! Those all endanger my achievement of losing weight! Financially, I try to be the same way.
Matt said: The best tip I can give for having a good life balance is to have a good solid monthly budgeting process (using a free budgeting spreadsheet) and good communication with the members of your household. It’s not definitively challenging but is rewarding when everyone is supporting and understanding the logic of the budgeting process.
Sara said: Lifestyle creep is something I remember my grandparents warning me about. Whenever I either get a windfall or a salary raise, my general rule of thumb is 50-50. That is, 50% automatically goes into investments, savings, etc - and the other 50% I can do whatever I want with. Usually, it's an item I want rather than a recurring cost, which makes it even easier to “save” rather than “spend monthly.”
LAST WORD 👋
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