Weekly Roundup - January 28, 2017

Happy Weekend!  Check out what's been going on in my world and some of the best articles from around the blogosphere.

My time as a stay at home dad is quickly coming to an end.  On February 1st I'll officially be back and ready to work...well physically at least, definitely not emotionally.  My goal for this weekend is just to enjoy as much time as I can spend with both my daughter and wife because things are about to change.  The past 9 months or so since I was laid off have been a much welcomed break from the pace of the previous years.  Years filled with constant coming and going, unfortunately much more going than coming to home, while out working in the oil fields.  In some ways I'm excited to get back out there because the work and pay is great and it also allows me the freedom to spend more time writing; however, I also know I'm going to be missing a lot at home since I won't be home every night.  

The big news of the week was that the Dow Jones Industrial Average finally hit the 20,000 level for the first time ever on Wednesday.  Psychologically I could see that being an important level and I have to say it's fun to see; however, that doesn't mean that I'll be changing my investment plan.  The goal is still to focus on quality companies trading at a fair price and invest capital when you find them.

In more portfolio specific news one of my favorite things is finding out one of the companies I own raised their dividend.  Even better is when that raise is a whopping 10.5%.  Even more better is when it comes as a bit of a surprise since it's not their normal increase time.  Talk about a great way to kickoff the weekend. 

This week also finally saw a slow down in my options activity.  Heading into the week I had quite a bit of capital tied up to secure the multiple put options I had open.  Well, over the course of the week I was able to close out several of them at a nice profit which pushed me well into a personal best for a month.  What's awesome is that I absolutely killed it in option premium in January pulling in well over $1k of additional income.

I also experimented with a new potential option strategy to keep in my bag of tricks.  I opened a new position using the strategy on Friday and will hopefully get a chance to explain it on Monday.  To me it's kind of a no-brainer given the right situation/set up from the markets.

Looking forward to the week ahead I hope to get some new put options sold to keep the options income train rolling.  Of course that largely depends on what Mr. Market wants to serve up for opportunities. 

On to the Roundup

In case you missed them, here's the posts from Passive-Income-Pursuit over the past week.

• 11 Option Moves to Boost My Investment Income
• 3M Company: Quality? Check. Diversification? Check. A Buy? Nope on Seeking Alpha
• What to Expect from Starbucks Corporation on Seeking Alpha

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.  You can also follow me on Facebook or Pinterest if you prefer those methods to get your daily fix and keep up to date on happenings around here.

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!

Analyst Ratings and the Institutional Imperative by Base Hit Investing

Don't Let Other Investors Make Up Your Mind by Jason Zweig

Cummins (CMI): A Blue Chip Dividend Growth Stock on the Rebound by Simply Safe Dividends

January 2017 Data Update 6: A Cost of Capital Update by Musings on Markets

10 Dividend Growth Stocks for January 2017 by DivGro on Seeking Alpha

My Greatest Investment Ever - Ivanhoe Mines by FI Fighter

Recent Stock Purchase II January 2017 by DivHut

When Loyalists Contemplate Quitting by Our Next Life

In Praise of Incrementalism and Slight Edges by A Wealth of Common Sense

Are We Financially Independent? by Eat the Financial Elephant

Six Dividend Growth Stocks Raising Dividends Like Clockwork by Dividend Growth Investor

Can an Investor Really Get Rich With Dividends? on Sure Dividend

Recent Buys by Dividend Ten

2016 Financial Review by Tawcan

AT&T (T) Stock Analysis by Dividend Value Builder

Why Tootise Roll Stock No Longer Outperforms by The Conservative Income Investor

Lanny's 2016 Portfolio Review by Dividend Diplomats

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

I hope you all have a great weekend!  And cherish every second you get with your loved ones.

Image courtesy of Gubgib via FreeDigitalPhotos