Weekly Roundup - April 2, 2016


Somehow the first quarter of the year is already over and we're now on to April.  This year seems to just be flying by.  Of course it doesn't hurt that the markets have provided all sorts of action over the first few months.  After what looked like the beginnings of a relentless bear market to start the year off the S&P 500 has now reversed direction and now it seems like we're on a non-stop climb higher.  The S&P 500 added another 1.8% over this past week although oil is starting to retreat yet again.  That just reinforces why cash is king and why our investing will be put on hold for the time being.

One thing I don't really understand is when businesses make changes to their business models.  Everyone knows how disruptive Amazon has been to the traditional brick and mortar retail business and they've taken more and more market share away every year.  I heard about this over the last couple weeks and it really kind of boggles my mind, although to be fair I haven't researched the motive/reasoning for the change.  Amazon has opened up some brick and mortar book stores despite that being the very business model they've set out to destroy.  I know this is probably just a niche thing they're doing in probably two locations but I just don't see the reasoning for opening up a traditional retail front when you're company's business is focused on destroying the traditional retail model.  Sometimes managements really throw a curve ball at you.

I finally finished reading Pat Dorsey's "The Five Rules for Successful Investing" (affiliate link) and it really is a great read for anyone wanting to learn more about investing as well as analyzing companies.  You can expect a book review at some point, I hate to commit to a time frame on that since I still owe y'all one on The Outsiders (affiliate link) by William Thorndike, but eventually they'll get written.

Next up is:



Blogging/Writing

Ah...I must be one of the few people that actually enjoys being at work.  Well, kind of.  The great thing about my job is that when everything's running smoothly I can read/write while on the clock.  I was able to get several articles written this week and a couple more started so it was a successful week in terms of writing/learning.

Self Improvement

Despite what has been great weather I was a very lazy this past week when it comes to improving my health.  There's really no excuse for it but for some reason I'm having a difficult time swapping back over to working nights.  It usually takes me 2-3 days to get adjusted but I've been back at work for over a week now and I'm still not into a normal groove just yet.  I still got in one day of walking though and ended March at 40.47 miles.  Not bad considering that I listen to podcasts during that time so I kill two birds with one stone.  I also got in one kettle bell/bodyweight workout this week and plan to start adding more of those into my daily routine.

On to the Roundup

In case you missed them, here's the posts from Passive-Income-Pursuit this past week.
Also, be sure to sign up to receive posts via email and to follow me on Twitter@JC_PIP so you don't miss anything.  I also started a Facebook page to give people another option for keeping up to date on posts and happenings with the blog.

Once again I'd like to say thanks to each and every one of you that read, commented, and shared posts from here this past week.  I think this dividend growth investing and financial independence community is amazing and the openness from everyone is awesome.  Thanks again!

Now on to the links!

Investors in Search of 7 Minute Abs by A Wealth of Common Sense

Roth vs Traditional IRAs: Retire 29 Jumps the Shark by Retire 29

Focused Dividend Investing: Pros and Cons by Dividend Growth Investor

We've Tasted FI and it is Sweet by Income Surfer

The Financial Freedom Formula by Tawcan

5 Truths About Traveling the World in Your 20's by Retire Before Dad

Personal Health - Spreading Awareness by FI Fighter

Canadian Stocks to DRIP by Roadmap2Retire

Recent Stock Purchase March 2016 by DivHut

Starting from Scratch: Building Your Dividend Growth Portfolio by Sure Dividend

How to Score a $50 Car Payment for Life by Root of Good

A Dozen Things I've Learned from Dr. Michael Burry About Investing by 25iq

Doubling Down in March by DivGro

Dynamite Comes in Small Packages: 10 Small Caps for Explosive Returns by Chuck Carnevale

When Analysts Warn About a Dividend Cut Should You Listen by On2Freedom via Seeking Alpha

Also, if you're looking for investment ideas, A Frugal Family's Journey keeps a list of stock analyses and recent buys from fellow bloggers.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Image courtesy of Gubgib on FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing all these link :)

    Have a nice weekend

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing the post about our FI milestone. I'm glad things are going well on your end, and that work is going well. With the final 4 in town.....any plans to attend?

    Have a great weekend
    -Bryan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bryan,

      Well I'm still at work up in east Texas so there won't be any Final Four action for me. But even I was home there's no way I'd be going anywhere near downtown because I can't stand traffic. I always hated traffic but now it's even worse since I rarely have to deal with it because I don't often drive at the typical peak traffic times.

      Don't get me wrong I'd gladly not work if I could but we're way too far from FI at this point. I hope I get to follow this rig because if they keep drilling it's pretty cake work and it's not too far from the house.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Thanks for including my post, JC. Some interesting reads for me to catch up on.

    I found it very strange that AMZN was going to experiment with brick & mortar stores. Curve ball all the way...I wonder if they are just trying their hand at everything and see what sticks.

    Have a wonderful weekend
    R2R

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. R2R,

      I just can't comprehend the move by AMZN to open up the B&M store fronts. It completely goes against the business culture although if they end up being the only game in town it could be a decent venture.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. Cash is king and you're doing the right thing by holding cash and waiting for the market to cool off. It's tough I know. When I hold cash I think about the dividend growth I'm missing out on. But, waiting for a low entry point is more important in most cases.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IH,

      We need cash more for the big things coming up this year. My wife is pregnant and she'll become a stay at home mom and of course the oil field is anything but stable right now. Having a cash stockpile never really hurts and the great thing is if there's more clarity regarding work then we can draw down some of our cash to pay off some debt and/or invest and build our portfolio.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. Thank you for the mention. Always appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the mention PIP.

    Have a nice weekend my friend!

    Dividend Growth Investor

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DGI,

      The weathers great which is always a plus but sadly I'm stuck at work. At least I'm getting lots done.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  7. Hey thanks for sharing, there are lots of good reads within this list :)

    Tristan

    ReplyDelete

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