After 35 years of clocking in and out of work and religiously saving at least 10% annually in my 401K every year, my countdown to financial independence is in sight. Each month is a step closer and let’s look at how this past month is getting me there.
For the month of March I made $5,343.37; an increase of 26.07% versus this time last year.
In March I received 4 dividend raises from AMNF, QCOM, WSM and WPC which is a far cry from the 20 I received last month but welcomed none the less.
On the home front my daughter received a stay of execution on her job as they received a late round of funding which should keep the company open for another year and the good news is she received a $10K retention bonus for being loyal. This takes a little stress off of her and myself.
At my place of work, I received my annual pay raise mid-month but it was pretty small in comparison to inflation. I did increase my 401K contribution by 1% but just could not swing an increase to my weekly M1 finance contribution. Even the 1% increase I am questioning as costs have risen but hey no pain no gain. This now brings my annual savings rate up to 25.9% from 24.9% last year.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | |
| 401K | 12% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Brokerage | 4.50% | 4.50% | 4% | 3.70% | 1% | 0.80% | 0.50% | 0.70% | ||
| Roth IRA | 9.40% | 9.40% | 8.30% | 5.40% | 1.90% | |||||
| Total Saving Rate | 25.90% | 24.90% | 22.30% | 19.10% | 12.90% | 10.80% | 10.50% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.70% |
Let’s see the things we all love to see…charts and dividend payouts:
| Date | Symbol | Company | Amount |
| 3/1/22 | ALE | ALLETE INC | $137.32 |
| 3/1/22 | NUSI | ETF SER SOLUTIONS NATIONWIDE NASDQ | $38.14 |
| 3/1/22 | PNW | PINNACLE WEST CAPITAL CORP | $116.99 |
| 3/1/22 | PSX | PHILLIPS 66 | $27.09 |
| 3/1/22 | SJM | SMUCKER J M CO | $17.81 |
| 3/2/22 | FAST | FASTENAL | $12.76 |
| 3/2/22 | XRMI | GLOBAL X FDS S&P 500 RISK | $52.77 |
| 3/3/22 | CMI | CUMMINS INC | $40.74 |
| 3/3/22 | DFS | DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES | $12.95 |
| 3/3/22 | ENB | ENBRIDGE INC | $249.40 |
| 3/3/22 | VLO | VALERO ENERGY CORP | $35.28 |
| 3/4/22 | BLV | VANGUARD BD INDEX FDS LONG TERM BOND | $13.34 |
| 3/4/22 | PFE | PFIZER INC | $237.15 |
| 3/4/22 | VCLT | VANGUARD SCOTTSDALE FUNDS LONG-TERM COR | $14.18 |
| 3/7/22 | HYG | ISHARES TR IBOXX HI YD ETF | $19.47 |
| 3/7/22 | PFF | ISHARES TR PFD AND INCM SEC | $43.10 |
| 3/7/22 | SO | SOUTHERN CO | $67.50 |
| 3/8/22 | AMGN | AMGEN INC | $11.66 |
| 3/8/22 | JNJ | JOHNSON & JOHNSON | $185.52 |
| 3/10/22 | CVX | CHEVRON CORP | $23.96 |
| 3/10/22 | IBM | INTERNATIONAL BUS MACH CORP | $152.12 |
| 3/10/22 | MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP | $67.69 |
| 3/10/22 | SNA | SNAP-ON INC | $25.26 |
| 3/10/22 | UPS | UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC | $339.60 |
| 3/11/22 | PRU | PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL INC | $514.39 |
| 3/11/22 | WBA | WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE INC | $67.01 |
| 3/14/22 | MMM | 3M CO | $63.12 |
| 3/15/22 | AVA | AVISTA CORP | $146.43 |
| 3/15/22 | EPR | EPR PROPERTIES | $77.71 |
| 3/15/22 | FAF | FIRST AMERICAN FINANCIAL CORP | $163.33 |
| 3/15/22 | NWL | NEWELL BRANDS INC | $25.56 |
| 3/16/22 | DUK | DUKE ENERGY CORP | $66.77 |
| 3/17/22 | BHB | BAR HARBOR BANKSHARES | $49.50 |
| 3/17/22 | OGN | ORGANON & CO | $5.65 |
| 3/18/22 | R | RYDER SYSTEM INC | $54.57 |
| 3/21/22 | CMP | COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL INC | $28.65 |
| 3/22/22 | PSEC | PROSPECT CAP CORP | $155.54 |
| 3/24/22 | QCOM | QUALCOMM INC | $160.93 |
| 3/24/22 | UL | UNILEVER PLC SPON ADR | $61.97 |
| 3/25/22 | BP | BP PLC SPONSORED ADR | $8.59 |
| 3/25/22 | KHC | KRAFT HEINZ CO | $9.60 |
| 3/25/22 | LMT | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP | $25.63 |
| 3/30/22 | TROW | PRICE T ROWE | $23.75 |
| 3/31/22 | ARCC | ARES CAPITAL CORP | $551.61 |
| 3/31/22 | AVGO | BROADCOM INC | $8.37 |
| 3/31/22 | BEP | BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE PARTNERS | $280.60 |
| 3/31/22 | CTO | CTO RLTY GROWTH INC | $61.62 |
| 3/31/22 | GATX | GATX CORP | $55.27 |
| 3/31/22 | NEWT | NEWTEK BUSINESS SVCS CORP | $537.50 |
| 3/31/22 | PEP | PEPSICO INC | $56.40 |
| 3/31/22 | WEYS | WEYCO GROUP INC | $25.90 |
| 3/31/22 | WM | WASTE MANAGEMENT INC | $46.92 |
| 3/31/22 | M1 Finance | M1 DIVIDEND GROWTH ACCOUNT | $68.68 |
Simple Dividend Growth 
Congratulations on a solid report. The fact that your retirement date is in sight is just awesome! I also really liked how you’ve been improving your savings rate over the years. Even though you had only a 1% increase to the 401K, every little bit helps.
I look forward to future reports.
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Thank you, the biggest improvements in my savings rate are my kids getting jobs and absorbing some expenses and my wife going back to work. Wish it improved because of some magical expense cut but I’m not that creative 😂.
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