Second month of 2019

This is a compilation of Family First's holdings as of 2.28.2019 despite everything back and forth.

With the exception of a small amount of money, we have continued to invest almost all the dividends for this portfolio throughout the year.

Despite our monthly savings and dividends the pie chart doesn't seem to change that much.

Click to enlarge

Domestic economy

It's becoming more clear that the rest of the world doesn't have big trust for our domestic economy.

The US dollar is very strong against our currency. We have recently received our new government, and they seem to have difficulty building a confidence in the market.

I also read an article a couple of weeks ago where one our domestic banks advised their clients to invest abroad at the moment.

Two weeks ago our counterpart to the Federal Reserve also left its benchmark rate unchanged (which was already low), despite being in a boom. When we get a recession, they have no tools left.

I want a great river

On the way there I acquired ARR. Again it met 4 out of 5 criteria. Price, ex-Div, return and monthly payment. The only thing missing is a good dollar exchange rate.

My biggest opponent at the moment is the US dollar, and it doesn't seem to give up.

Because I want a river I need to bite the bullet now and start investing my money. No investments, no dividends, no river.

Senior citizen

My better half is just a few years away from being able to withdraw money on their old-age pension insurance.

On the same day he gets access to them, he will reinvest them according to our plans. As I have said before, NO ONE cares as much about your money as YOU!

Because he will soon be there, we checked our insurances. Since these have only been a cost for many years, it is nice to see them as "real" money shortly.

Although he might be getting older, he is still HOT!

Youth vs. money part II

Last night we were at a 50 years party. Our friend had rented one of the popular premises. After a number of hours, the premises were opened for to the public.

The audience who came was middle-aged wealthy men and young beautiful women (not jealous at all...). As a 49-year-old woman, I felt a little uncomfortable. It was a long time ago since I felt so old and outdated.

These are the same woman who thinks that everybody should be treated equally, unless they are offered drinks. I love that double moral!

Due to my looks I'm grateful that I'm an almost economically independent woman.

Don't know if I made the right decision

Last night I fell for the temptation and sold some holdings with decent profits.

Although I know it is smart to secure profits, it still feels like I gave up somehow. I do not know why.

SCM at the highest level seen over the past year in combination with a strong US dollar and together with some other strong sales (GAIN, HRZN, TPVG),  I filled the wallet with money significantly.

All I need now is a weak US dollar and a weak stock market so I can invest and make more money.

Time may tell if I made the right choice or if I will buy back with loss ...

Safe, for the moment

A large bank in northern Europe, Swedbank based in Sweden, is accused of money laundering. The market price has fallen by more than 22% in the past 2 days.

Last autumn, Den Danske Bank, based in Denmark, was accused of money laundering. Some days ago, UBS was fined for money laundering. Since bank shares are normally not high yields, my holding of bank shares is non-existent.

I am very grateful that my holdings do not include bank shares but we are aware that next time it could be one of the companies we invest with.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

There is still honest people out there

I phoned Nordea this morning just to see if they have information on how my account had a zero balance and if they had any estimate on the timeframe of fixing this bugg.

A young man who had the misfortune to get my call was absolutely amazing! He was professional and informed in a factual and honest way that Nordea has no idea why this is happening, how they can avoid it in the future or give some time frame for the whole project.

He was so polite and honest that I couldn't be angry at Nordea.

Nordea, what are you doing?

When I finally woman up and decided to invest, Nordea had problems, again.

Just like last time (you can't make this up), all the money was gone. All accounts had a zero balance.

I have great difficulty accepting that such a large bank as Nordea has such gigantic IT problems.

Although I understand that a large bank has complex systems, I do not understand how they can have such extremely poor security.

As a teacher once told me, once is no time, twice is twice too much!

Focus on the positive

That the US dollar goes on anabolic steroids compared to our domestic currency may not be that bad.

I have almost 2/3 of February's total dividends left to get. Due to the high dollar exchange rate, the dividends provide more money than expected.

I will accumulate money the near future for any dollar and / or securities reduction.

How long I'll play it safely, I have absolutely no idea.

A perfect storm

I still hesitate if I should continue to buy securities or go down for a moment.

I logged in to one of my banks and couldn't believe in my eyes. The value had increased incredibly much, all thanks to the US dollar. It feels like my portfolio goes on anabolic steroids, aka the US dollar. My biggest opponent of continuing to buy securities today is the $.

This opponent causes me both joy and grief. I am very pleased with the value of my portfolio, but the desire to continue buying securities is missing, is it really worth the price?

On the other hand, if I do not continue to invest, I will miss future dividends.

Savings vs. dividends

A good consequence of changing banks is that I can distinguish dividends from savings. Everything I sell from one of my internet banks will be sorted under initial capital.

As of today, the dividend constitutes 1.5% of the investment cost. The chart only contains information about the Family First portfolio, which was started on 9.26.2018 at Nordea.

It will be exciting to see the development.

Click to enlarge

I try to keep this in mind

Considering my latest post, I came to think of this.

As an investor you should know this. Roughly simplified.

We control  →  RISK  ←  Rarely focus on
We control  →  COST  ←  Rarely focus on
We control  →  TIME  ←  Rarely focus on
We control  →  BEHAVIOR  ←  Rarely focus on

We control  →  RETURN  ←  Only focus on

It is difficult to change the mindset.

It does not always go with the speed of light

When you take the last bite to full stomach, it takes the brain 20 to 30 minutes to understand it.

If you eat fast, you will always eat more than you both need and want. I guess it's the same with dividends, if you invest a lot and often you get speed-blinded and never appreciate what you have.

Considering some of my purchases, I assume that my brain needs even longer to process information.

I need more money

Last night I saw a lecture about how you can live a long life. They had studied so called blue zons, areas where people become very old.

Most of it was old news such as daily training, what you eat, family situations and to avoid stress.

One factor surprised me. The reproductive. Getting children late in life is good.

I always thought getting children late in life would make you old faster. Apparently, this is the opposite. 

Reproduction is so important that the body counteracts disintegration until you have secured two generations. Roughly simplified.

Because we were in our forties when we had our child, perhaps our son follows the same timeline.

I need more money, A LOT OF MONEY.

Uninvested dividends

I have never been as indecisive as I am at present.

Although I have uninvested dividends and truly detest when money is not working, I can't decisive what do to. The strong US dollar is really a worthy opponent, even if it just one out of five variables.

What ever I decide I need to decide soon and stick to it.

Valentine's day

It's crazy how a child changes you.

I have always been hard-working. I gave birth to YMH on a Tuesday night and was back at work the following Sunday morning, with the offspring. I'm still hard-working, but not seven days a week.

These days I only work five days a week. Weekends are fully devoted to the family.

Haven't check my account

Due to my BPPV, I have not check my account for dividends for several days.

February is a middle-dividend-month, so I do not expect any larger amounts. I logged in last night and found that the value of my portfolio had increased a lot. This is mostly due to the US dollar.

One of my internet banks has a tool that scores your holdings. I have gone from minimum score to highest in just one week. All thanks to the US dollar.

Although it is flattering to have a high score on my holdings, I do not like the variables they use. Such a quick change of point has no greater value in the long run.

I guess it's my time to help out

I don't talk about my holdings to others, except from my parents.

My dad became interested in our investments. Because he doesn't like computers and data, he asked us to help him. So we have helped him for a few years now. His stock portfolio has increased over the years, but lately it has really risen.

Tonight is the first time he has ever confirmed that he has made money. He had received a large dividend and wanted me to invest them.

Because he is my father I helped him and bought ARR to him, despite my BPPV.

What we don't do for our parents, and future heritage...

The BPPV still bugs me

I have never been sick for this long before, I'm on my 12th sick day.

The neurologist at the hospital was wrong. He said that is was the lower archway on the left. When I met with the specialist 5 days later, he told me that it was the upper archway on the right.

I was on a return visit yesterday. The loose crystals were still in the archway. When they remain in the archway, they disturb the balance. The specialist made some movements with my head, which hopefully made the dead loose crystals leave the archway.

I was in such poor shape that I could not sit up on the bench afterward. I felt very sick last night. According to the specialist, it should take about 48 hours before I will feel good. Today I feel better than last night.

I have always work a lot and not been home when I have been sick earlier so it almost feels like my body says "Payback bi%#h!".

Youth and beauty against old age and money

My husband and I bought our first home many years ago. Although you have to have a home, a good consequence is that we have made a lot money on our different condominiums. That, in combination with increased salaries has made it possible for us to save money for several years now.

Conditions for young people today is tougher than they were for us. I am more than grateful that we can save money for young master Dewlar.

Double-edged sword

The dollar is very strong compared to the Swedish krona. The strong US dollar both worries and affects me. The strong dollar worries me about our domestic economy. It can be a sign that confidence in our domestic economy is not particularly strong.
The positive thing about a strong dollar is that I get bigger dividends. When I reinvest the dividend it will be with the same conditions for the dollar exchange rate. Unfortunately, new acquisitions made with my monthly savings are more expensive.

No matter how you twist and turn, your butt is always in the back

It's going to be a long month

Many say that January is the year's most boring month. The wallet is thin after all Christmas shopping. Personally I love January, it's my best month if you take into account dividends.
Instead, I dislike February. It is cold, dark, boring and the dividends are few. That I still suffer from dizziness makes it even worse. I long for sun, warmth and large dividends.

The older you get, the faster the time goes.  Since I am over the hill, I should try to at least like February because it slows down the time a little for me.

I take my hat off for Nordea

Nordea doesn't like competition and I hate taxes. This unite us and makes Nordea my new hero!

Nordea's goal is to compete with highly IT-savvy internet banks. Their muscles are their absolutely flawless websites, with unbeatable interfaces. However, Nordea has their tax return favor.

Apparently, Nordea uses its equity to pay the tax directly. In fact, this means that Nordea lets us borrow the money for 3-2 years, depending on the month in which I receive my return, completely free of charge.

In my world, it makes Nordea the winner every day of the week.

Thank You Nordea!

Small streams make great rivers

I had a small amount of money that I felt I needed to convert to securities.

The choice fell on ARR. It met 4 out of 5 criteria. Price, ex-Div, yield and monthly payment. The only thing missing is a good dollar rate.

I guess you can't get it all!

Long-term, wide and consistent are my key words

I try to be consistent and buy over time, both on bear and bull markets. I believe that if you are long-term and wide in your investments you will earn over time.

I rarely, or never, sell my holdings when the professional investors tell me. Instead, I stick to my plan. In this country, there was recently a prosecution against several  day traders who had manipulated stock prices to their own advantage. They were big players on the market.

In my youth, I started saving in a couple of old-age pension insurances. I wish I had been smarter and invested the money myself in the stock market. As soon as I can redeem the insurance, I will.

My motto is that "no one cares as much about money as I do!" Therefore I go my own way, along with my better half.

First month of the year

There have been only a few changes in the holdings of Family First share portfolio.

The biggest change this month is that my husband sold his entire OLXC holding. He had it on one of the internet banks and wanted to get the tax immediately.

It looked like the repurchase would take some time when the stock price just went up and he didn't want to buy more expensive than he sold. Fortunately, the window is quite big before the ex-Div.

Click to enlarge

To hell and almost back again

Last Thursday I woke up perfectly well and got out of bed. As soon as I stood up the world spun around and I fell to the floor.

I'm forever grateful that my husband was still home. After spending a couple of hours in bed without any signs of improvement we called the medical information. They advised us to go to the hospital immediately. I was in such a bad condition we were not able to take the cab. We had to call the ambulance.

After 11 hours in queue, I finally got a bed at the hospital.

The day after I met with a neurologist. He diagnosed me with BPPV, loose crystals in the ear. After a few movements he got the crystals back. I have one to several weeks before I am 100% well. I'm still dizzy but the nausea is almost gone.