#jnj please let me see them again | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

moth-p · 7 days

Text

TPOT 13 RAMBLE

Huge spoilers obviously.

How we feeling BDFI fans?

Well, you're about to find out what I am feeling so lets get into this nonsensical ramble since y'all seemed to like the last one for some reason

1. ONEE??!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?

Okay so ANY chance that One isn't a villan is uh. Dead and buried. And honestly it should stay that way I really enjoyed her this episode! BFDI was lacking a true villan

I actually predicted their deal with Basketball in this episode a while ago soo yea (more about Basketball later, dont you worry)

What about Bell and Bomby (And now Needle and Barf Bag)? WHERE ARE THEY? Well, dear reader who probably does not care, I have a theory!

I think that they are in One's version of the EXIT

If my theory that the place TPOTs eliminated contestants is a "Two EXIT", is correct, it is likely that every algebralien has something like that.

Did One and Three interact like I hoped they would? No. Buut another thing that I really fucking liked in this episode is the confirmation of One's motives. And that, as you have seen is

Two's power. Why does she need it? We don't know. To free Three, to take over the world to do something else.. I honestly can't wait to find out

TLDR: I loved One in this episode bro

2. Yuri (cw basketbot if you dont like this ship scroll to point 3)

LET IT BE KNOWN TO THE PUBLIC THAT I WAS HARDCORE SHIPPING THEM SINCE I WATCHED TPOT 7 AND I HAVE BEEN FED. GOD.

BASKETBOT FOREVER BABYYY

"The best version of you is the one we have here" honest reaction

This ship should be way more popular

HAVE YOU SEEN THE WAY BASKETBALL LOOKS AT ROBOT FLOWER WHEN SHES HERSELF AGAIN.

Okay basketbot ramble over

TLDR: lesbians

3. Eliminations and the rejoin

So I got a few things right in my tpot 13 predictiom post (i think) but I have been completly wrong with who will be eliminated

Barf bag: I was kinda expecting it..? I mean I'm still VERY sad about her elimination DONT GET ME WRONG but I kind of knew that her time was coming. But

NEEDLE?!: GUYS. GUYS COME ON. I THINK THE ONLY THING MORE SHOCKING THAN HER ELIMINATION WAS FIREAFY ANGST IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2024. I actually thought that she would EASILY be in top 3 but I guess she wasnt. But the whole thing with pen was so good rahshsggdhshs im still not over it

The double rejoin was a welcome suprise, even though I know it will have a huge impact on the story later. I voted for pencil because I wanted to see her interact with the alliance (and she did yippie), but LIY joining is also very good, she was eliminated way too early imo

I voted for pin because. Shes pin. I love pin (and I also think that Tree and Black Hole will get enough votes to stay no problem wait apollo what are you doing no put the dodgeball dow-)

I also voted for snowball! He was great in the last few episodes and i hope it will stay like that

TLDR: Needle deserved better

4. Random shit (this will be long)

1. THE MENTION OF GELATINS STEAKHOUSE IS ENOUGH FOR NOW BUT PLEASE, WITH THE FIREAFY SIDEPLOT THING LET HIM APPEAR AGAIN JNJ PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I WILL BE SATISFIED WITH ONLY SEEING HIM IN THE BG AS LONG AS HE APPEARS PLEASE (you will not guess who my favorite character is)

2. Fireafy? In the year of our lord 2024? Am I repeating this joke? Maybe?

But seriously, their appearence was a huge suprise and seeing as Leafy (probably) got kidnapped by One, it will most likely turn out to be a sideplot (bonus points because the robot flower one ended)

3. Gatys paint falling off a bit. Idk why but that detail was so good rahdgsusghejs

4. Fanny and BH being friends is something I did not expect that much but its cool. (They are MLM WLW solidarity to me)

5. Im a bit dissapointed that Three didnt make an appearence in this episode but whatever. (They will appear in tpot 14 guys trust me)

6. Congrats to Pillow for actually doing something and not having your team be UFE again seriously I think it was like 3 times in a row

7. I know it was basically nothing. But seeing Price Tag and Book interact with each other makes me so happy you have no idea

8. I KNOW IT WAS BASICALLY NOTHING. BUT SEEING TB AND GB INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER MAKES ME SO HAPPY YOU HAVE NO IDEA

9. Two sleeping was kinda funny (this also implies that algebraliens need sleep)

10. Four and X going on vacation. Thats it

11. (II 16 SPOILERS!!!)

Someone (me) will draw Needle and Barf Bag getting deleted by mephone X

I think thats it if I will have the need to ramble about this episode more then it will be reblog time

#moth rambles #moth content #bfb #bfdi #tpot #tpot 13 #tpot 13 spoilers #im so normal.#RAHHHHHHHH #ii 16 spoilers #<mentioned #basketbot #yea

9 notes · View notes

bk-179 · 2 years

Note

Drop the essay about how td was wronged. Drop itttttt

Anon you are giving me too much power/pos

As you probably know, teardrop is a contestant in Battle For Dream Island. You probably also know that she doesn’t talk, either by choice or disability. For the longest time, teardrop’s potential has been ignored by the writers as well as how they themselves have often been ignored and mistreated by the cast of BFDI. Today I’m going to be talking about why I believe Teardrop deserves better, both in terms of how they have been written and how the other contestants treat her. (Also, please feel free to add on to this! I’d love to hear ppl’s takes :D)

[more under the cut]

It would be appropriate to start looking at Teardrop in season one, being BFDI. Before the competition ever started, no one engaged with her. When she joined the squashy grapes they found company in Needle and Leafy, but other than that no one really talked to them. A majority of the contestants were also rude to TD due to her being non-speaking. An example below:

[bfdi 1b]

Switching to looking at teardrop from a writing standpoint, Michael and Cary (who at the time were 12-13, just need to point that out) didn’t really know what to do with her. She didn’t get much time for characterization due to their early elimination and the Huang twins focusing on other characters. Teardrop didn’t get much screentime, and they didn’t get to have much of an effect on things within the game.

Now let’s look at BFDIA. Here, we have people taking advantage of TD’s lack of speech, Like Coiny and Pin, for example.

Coiny:”Fine. If no one wants to switch, then we’ll MAKE THEM SWITCH!” Pin:”Let’s take Teardrop!” Coiny:”Why her?” Pin:”Because she’s my best friend!” Coiny:”How do you know?” Pin:”She’s the only one who hasn’t said she hates me!”

Coiny:”Well, let’s take her and get out of here.” Book, offscreen:”WAIT!!!” Book:”Teardrop will only switch if she WANTS to switch!” Coiny:”Fine.”

Coiny:”Teardrop, if you refuse, we’ll let you go back. Otherwise, YOU’RE MINE!” *Teardrop is visibly in distress and doesn’t want to switch but doesn’t say anything cuz, y’know, she CAN’T* *Coiny and Pin walk away, dragging Teardrop with them*

[scene and images from bfdia 2]

…yeah. Also in Bfdia 4, where Teardrop is yet again eliminated, and even earlier than before:

Coiny:”Any first words, Teardrop?”

*Teardrop stays silent since it’s been shown time and time again she can’t be otherwise, and is flung into the LOL*

Coiny:”Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

[scene and image from Bfdia 4]

AGAIN, people (most notably Coiny right now) being assholes to TD because of her disability (or choice not to speak, it’s never confirmed but it’s somewhat implied to be the former in Bfb 1, more on THAT episode later). This just feels so wrong. Teardrop didn’t do anything to deserve this, but gets this treatment just for being “weird” in the other’s eyes. The same thing happens to Woody for his phobias and Spongy for just, well, existing.

From a writing standpoint, teardrop did nothing notable here either, nor got any actual attention as a character. Td was voted out traditionally tho, so jnj didn’t have a part in her getting the boot this time. But this even earlier elimination does TD even MORE of a disservice.

We don’t get to see teardrop again till bfb 1, but as soon as we do, one of the opening scenes has liy wanting to get Teardrop to finally talk. The way she goes about this?

[bfb 1]

Violence!!! The Perfect solution to try to get someone to speak that obviously can’t!/s

But yeah, I fucking hate this scene man. The harassment of TD is completely unprompted on her part, and what does everyone else in the area do?

[bfb 1]

UGH. the only one trying to help her was clock, and then he gets caught up in what’s going on with the others who AREN’T EVEN TRYING TO HELP?! TD. IS RIGHT. THERE. this goes on until a fork stabs Teardrop in the head and she gets sick of everyone’s crap.

(Not putting an image here cuz the limit is 10)

Teardrop is interested in eggy’s stories (and previously lollipop’s fork repellent), but is seen as uncaring because she doesn’t say anything. Then their arm flapping is seen as her not caring either, despite her clear attempt at communicating. And right after they were the victim of a low key assault?!? Damn.

Barf bag:”Uhh, guys? Maybe Teardrop did care but just didn’t say anything, cuz, y’know, she CAN’T?” [bfb 1]

THANK YOU, BARF BAG. THANK YOU.

ok, I got carried away there, but you probably get my point. Almost everyone in the show mistreated, ignored, or mocked Teardrop in some way or another, all for her lack of voice. Pretty messed up, right? yeah, i thought so. It’s common place everywhere up to this point and the rest of pre-split bfb. The thing is, you’d think that after growing up and changing over time, the contestants, both old and new, would realize their treatment of teardrop is wrong in all of these ways. But they don’t. they have had twelve years to think about their behavior.

Just think about that for a minute. TWELVE YEARS. and Teardrop hasn’t gotten a single apology. not one. ever. They have been putting up with everyone’s crap for twelve years and no one has ever given her a simple sorry. Not that just a ”sorry” would fix everything, but it would at least be nice, wouldn’t it?

Despite this, things start to look brighter for Teardrop after bfb splits. Enter post-split bfb.

Now, the writers in pre-split bfb did better in giving Teardrop time and significance, but not by a lot. A big part of it being that there is now 64 contestants, but another part being that no one had a definite direction for Teardrop. The writers had little idea on what to do with her.

However, TD gets more significance after the split, as there is more opportunities for their development and growth. what are these opportunities, exactly?

Well first off, there’s less contestants. before The season was split into 2 seasons by Two, there were a whopping 64 contestants sharing an episode only 14-17 minutes in length, sometimes shorter. Naturally, not everyone got their time to shine, Teardrop included. not that there’s only 14 contestants and longer episode lengths, everyone can get some form of spotlight, especially past bfb 22. Speaking of bfb 22, something really important happens to Teardrop and their development.

Now, before i go any further, i feel the need to clarify that Teardrop is not a saint that has done nothing wrong ever. She’s shown to be impulsive, which leads to her being prone to violence. Why i feel she has been unfairly wronged by the contestants is because they never exclude or mistreat them because of these negative traits, but rather because she doesn’t speak, either by choice or disability (it doesn’t matter tho, cuz its wrong either way). Its never a social consequence for her actions, but rather an act of discrimination.

in bfb 22, we get this scene:

Gelatin:”Oh! you got radioactive powers! thats cool!” *turns pages* Gelatin:”Oh. you killed me with them. less cool.”

[scene and image from bfb 22]

Here, the Teardrop and Gelatin arc really starts to kick off. TD’s negative behavior has an effect on someone where it previously never had much significance, as most of her interactions with others came from them not speaking instead of something she did or was. not only that, but it shows to have a negative consequence, as once again, the exclusion and mocking of Teardrop never was a result of them as a person but from her being non-speaking.

In bfb 24, Gelatin confronts Teardrop for her violent behavior towards him, and desires to distance himself from her. This is extremely important for Teardrop’s development as a character for both the reasons listed above, but also giving her the chance to finally have a solid friendship with someone, that being Gelatin and later Lollipop, after TD and Gelatin make up and form a strong bond.

from this episode onward, Teardrop, for the first time, has stable friendships. The whole leafy thing was a mess cuz everyone’s relationship with leafy was a mess after bfdia, and needle and TD hadn’t really talked for a good while. but Gelatin and Lollipop are barely as turbulent and messy as everyone from the original bfdi, and are much more accepting of Teardrop for who they are. Friendships are important kids, and a good one can change you life in a positive light forever. And voice or not, people finally treat Teardrop like a person.

SPOILERS FOR TPOT 2 AHEAD, SCROLL PAST IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM PLEASE

While bfb has teardrop growing as a person and healing from her past, TPOT has them showing off more of herself and breaking out of their shell to her true potential.

In tpot 2, Teardrop joins tpot on her own team, and we actually get to see a lot of her! we see her personality in action, like how she uses the laser gun to be such a chaotic force, and how she’s just having fun while also being competitive. and i think that’s really important, how Teardrop is finally having fun. I think something she learned from gelatin is that being in a competition doesn’t mean they can’t have fun and enjoy themselves.

It also feels like the writers trying to make up for TD’s lack of screen time in the first 2 seasons. Instead of not having an effect on anything, Teardrop has a major effect on Tpot 2! This feels really refreshing, and i can’t wait to see Teardrop in the future.

SPOILERS END HERE

Now, this does not mean everything is fixed between Teardrop and the others. Mainly because she hasn’t gotten an apology from anyone yet, which really sucks. But Post-spilt bfb was the start of Teardrop’s healing and growth, and i’m exited to see what, if anything, will be done with her in the future.

Teardrop has been ignored, discriminated against, and even assaulted for her lack of voice for twelve years, and hasn’t gotten a single apology. But being seen for her and not their lack of voice, as well as developing stable relationships, was the catalyst for Teardrop being able to change for the better. Though her life is still far from perfect, TD is finally learning to enjoy the competition. Teardrop, in the eyes of her peers, is finally more than a voice, or lack thereof.

TLDR: Teardrop has been treated like shit for over a decade for being non-speaking, but in the latest seasons her life is finally taking a turn for the better.

——————————————————————————————————

WOW! that was long, but if you got this far, thank you so much for reading this! Teardrop has been one if my favorite characters ever since i first saw bfdi, and finally getting to write about them feels amazing lol

Also anon if you’re reading this ty for letting me spill my teardrop analysis onto paper instead of studying lmao, srry it took a bit long lol

once again, if you wanna add onto this or discuss please do! I love talking abt my faves, and i wanna see what other ppl think about this topic :3

#Holy shit that was long #Bfb #bfdi #bfdia #bfb teardrop #bfdi teardrop #tpot teardrop #tpot #analysis #teardrop deserves better #and now she’s hopefully gonna get it #tw all caps #tw caps #tpot 2 spoilers #the power of two #This is legit an essay lmao

101 notes · View notes

valuentumbrian · 7 years

Text

SEC Approves Financial Weapon of Mass Destruction and More Earnings Reports

Let’s talk about quadruple-leveraged ETFs, Apple’s and Altria’s earnings reports, Coach’s fundamental improvement, Gilead’s fall from grace, IBM’s ongoing deterioration and more.

-------------------

By Brian Nelson, CFA

Well, it is what it is as they say. In our ETF research and analysis, we consistently warn readers about the long-term price erosion dynamics of ultra-leveraged ETFs (of the double and triple variety), vehicles that we have emphasized are for “day traders,” not long-term investors. Believe it or not, however -- we received news May 3 that the SEC approved a request to now list quadruple-leveraged ETFs, what we describe to be “financial weapons of mass destruction.” Yikes.

You read that correctly--quadruple-leveraged exchange traded funds, ones that mimic the movement of the index they track times four. Said differently, one of the ETFs, the ForceShares Daily 4X Market Futures Long Fund (UP) is crafted to deliver 4 times the performance of the S&P 500 (SPY) in a single trading day, while the ForceShares Daily 4X US Market Futures Short Fund (DOWN) seeks to deliver 4 times the inverted performance of the S&P 500 index in a single trading day. Do investors really need more leverage? Do investors really need more ETFs?

Though the long-term impact of the proliferation of these exotic trading vehicles on the market remains to be seen, it stands to reason that intra-day movements of the S&P 500 may become increasingly more pronounced as traders use these ultra-leveraged instruments (now four times over) as hedging vehicles during individual sessions. Certainly there may be reasonable uses for these instruments among the most sophisticated traders, but we doubt their creation marks a step forward toward promoting market integrity--nor do we think such ultra-leveraged ETFs make sense for most individual investors or financial advisors to consider them. They should come with warning labels. We must move on to other topics, however.

Two of our very favorite ideas reported calendar first-quarter results recently. Though all investors weren’t completely thrilled with Apple’s (AAPL) fiscal second-quarter results, released April 2, we were pleased with the near-5% revenue advance in the quarter, a nice 10.5% increase in the dividend, to $0.63 per quarter, and a boost in its buyback authorization to $210 billion (yes, that’s correct -- $210 billion, more than the market capitalizations of most companies in the S&P 500, just to buy back its own stock!). If you think the iPhone is “dead,” ponder this--there are still people like me that have an iPhone 5 and are looking to upgrade to the next version. Needless to say, we continue to be super excited about Apple’s future, and we trust income investors are very pleased with the pace of the latest dividend hike (10%+). Apple is included in both the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio.

Another heavy-hitter that we include in both newsletter portfolios is Altria (MO), the cigarette and wine maker, but also part owner in ABInBev/SABMiller (BUD), one of its most valuable assets. In its first-quarter report, released May 2, Altria’s adjusted diluted earnings per share nudged higher a bit, and the company reaffirmed its guidance for 2017. Management noted that it is off to a “solid start” in 2017, and we view the company’s target for adjusted EPS growth this year in the 7.5%-9.5% range as achievable. Even if it comes up a bit light in this area, however, we’re not too worried. Altria has a fantastic business model, and its dividend is further backed by the financial flexibility provided by its stake in ABInBev/SABMiller. Here is a quick excerpt from Altria’s press release:

In March 2017, Altria’s Board of Directors (Board) declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share. Altria’s current annualized dividend rate is $2.44 per share. As of April 28, 2017, Altria’s annualized dividend yield was 3.4%. Altria paid nearly $1.2 billion in dividends in the first quarter and expects to continue to return a large amount of cash to shareholders in the form of dividends by maintaining a dividend payout ratio target of approximately 80% of its adjusted diluted EPS. Future dividend payments remain subject to the discretion of the Board.

We continue to include shares of Coach (COH) in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, but we continue to view them as a source of cash, too, meaning that we won’t care too much about parting with the company in the coming months. Rumors have been flying that Coach is interested in buying Kate Spade (KATE) or more recently Jimmie Choo, and we don’t like the idea of Coach being on the buying-end of M&A (we like its cash on its balance sheet more than any acquisition spree it may engage in). That said, Coach put up decent calendar first-quarter results (its fiscal third quarter) May 2 that showed Coach brand North America comparable-store sales advancing 3% and its bottom line improving nicely. Shares are now north of $42, a modest gain from their average cost of ~$37.

How about Gilead (GILD)? I seem to have lost some readers when we warned about the potential for Gilead to underperform significantly when we removed shares from the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio at $83.37 in early January 2016, swapping it out for Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at $104.180. Gilead is now languishing in the mid-$60s, while J&J is trading well north of $120 per share. Perhaps Gilead should never have been added to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio in the first place, but we’ve made up for it with J&J and a variety of other calls. If anything, capitalizing on our market instincts with Gilead could have been a good thing, and while we continue to prefer J&J, we could add Gilead back as shares do still look incredibly cheap.

For those that are involved with Hanesbrands (HBI), we still like the company, but we’re still disappointed with its share-price performance out of the gates. The “story” with Hanesbrands is a cash-flow one, and we like that the company continues to work to drive annual cash flow from operations higher. For a dividend idea, a company that is focused on the following business strategy, “Sell More, Spend Less, Generate Cash,” seems to line up well with what we’re looking for. By the end of 2019, Hanesbrands’ strategy is expected to drive $300 million of incremental annual net cash from operations, which will in part help support the dividend payout. We didn’t like that organic sales dropped 4% in the first quarter, but management expects this to normalize during the second half of the year. In any case, we’ll be watching organic performance closely, but we don’t think there is any cause for alarm at this point. Remember, in the newsletter portfolios, we view things from a portfolio standpoint -- see “Alpha-Creating Hasbro-Hanesbrands (February 2017).”

I wanted to put a few more items on your radar. A Wall Street Journal article indicated that IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC) is planning to buy Angie’s List (ANGI), so our updated fair value estimate reflects a potential take-out price. Beleaguered IBM (IBM) received a ratings downgrade from Moody’s today. We think IBM’s troubles started many years ago when it set its operating earnings per share goals to $20, instead of setting a return-on-investment (ROI) goal. You can read about that saga here.

In other news, Sprint’s (S) shares have seen better days, and we continue to believe that a takeout is the best possible scenario for shareholders. Telecom rivalries have become as cutthroat as they get. Dish Network (DISH) is rumored to be a likely suitor, though our team has little interest in gambling on takeout speculation. It’s just not what we do, nor is it something any long-term investor should consider. And finally – did you see the Dividend Cushion ratio come up big again? Frontier Communication’s (FTR) Dividend Cushion ratio of -1.6 preceded its 60%+ dividend cut May 2! This metric is incredible – get to know it. View the list of other high dividend-yielding stocks we think are at risk here.

--------------------------------------------------

This article or report and any links within are for information purposes only and should not be considered a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Valuentum is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for results obtained from the use of this article and accepts no liability for how readers may choose to utilize the content. Assumptions, opinions, and estimates are based on our judgment as of the date of the article and are subject to change without notice. For more information about Valuentum and the products and services it offers, please contact us at [email protected].

#$aapl #$angi #$bud #$coh #$dish #$down #$ftr #$gild #$hbi #$iac #$ibm #$jnj #$kate #$mo #$s #$spy #$up

4 notes · View notes

topinforma · 7 years

Text

New Post has been published on Mortgage News

New Post has been published on http://bit.ly/2htN1sI

A 10-Stock DRIP Portfolio to Get Rich Slowly

When I made a bit of money in 1980 on the sale of a regional magazine that I had started publishing in 1969, I looked for a reliable investment where I could put the proceeds to good use. That was a chore. I ended up buying some Treasuries (in 1980 they were yielding unprecedented amounts), I bought a vacation home, and I set aside some money to start another business.

SEE ALSO: Time to Take Stock Profits? 4 Steps to Consider Now

After all these years — and even though the business I started was a financial publication called The Moneypaper, which should have given me a heads up — I still haven’t discovered an absolutely reliable way to put money to work. However, there are a few lessons I’ve learned since my quest began in the early 1980s, the most important of which is that time and patience are an investor’s most important assets.

To succeed as an investor, you need to have a long-term outlook. As the legendary value investor Benjamin Graham said: “In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.”

Saving and discipline

Perhaps, it’s best to acknowledge that saving is really difficult. Doing whatever it is you want to do today is much more compelling than saving for something in the future, which seems like a long way off. After all, it’s not unreasonable to upgrade to the latest smartphone. It takes wisdom to put off immediate pleasure, and, generally, wisdom comes with age. Yet your fortune depends mainly on time, and time is in limited supply when you have age. So, the earlier you learn this lesson, the better.

Successful investing demands discipline to continue to adhere to your predetermined strategy even when every fiber of your being is demanding that you allow your emotions to dictate. A disciplined approach to investing will force you to ignore what other people are doing. You won’t change course based on short-term events. You will be committed to the companies you own and hold them forever, or until the underlying business is no longer what you admired in the first place. Instead of reacting to market conditions, you will make a considered judgment before you take any action.

Time and again we see the volume of transactions spike at what will turn out to be a market bottom, or a market top. Of course, it is understandable that you will feel concern when you see the price of your stock decline sharply. You will want to get out before the stock price collapses and the company goes bankrupt. Whether those concerns are realistic is not the point. Your concern is to preserve whatever is left. While that is possibly a reasonable way to react, it is also probably not going to be a successful move for you as an investor.

When emotions win, investors lose

History shows that most investors buy high and sell low, which is certainly not in their best interest. With so much noise from the financial media, both novices and professionals are likely to fall victim to their emotions and stray from their discipline precisely when they need it most.

On the other hand, successful investors are able to take advantage of the opportunity provided by these less-disciplined investors. These are the few who have the financial wherewithal and stamina to withstand the loud and consistent advice of the pundits and market commentators.

See Also: How Do You Know When You’re Ready to Retire?

If you’ve been reading my articles, you’ve noticed that I favor dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) investing. DRIPs make it easier for even the smallest investor to establish a disciplined approach to investing. Investing through DRIPs can make regular systematic saving automatic, and it can make it more difficult to react emotionally to market conditions (panic selling and irrational exuberant buying). DRIP investing, utilizing dollar-cost averaging, is a strategy that accomplishes all of that and more.

A better way: How DRIPs work

The beauty of investing through a DRIP is simplicity. DRIP investing is based on investing dollar amounts, not buying share amounts. You decide how many dollars you intend to invest on a schedule that you set up in advance. By investing a fixed number of dollars on a regular basis, regardless of the share price, you end up buying more shares when prices are low and fewer shares when they are high, which is the classic goal for investors.

With DRIPs, you buy and you keep buying. Each month or each quarter or each year, you add to your holdings by making a certain dollar-amount investment and reinvesting your dividends. No matter what happens to the economy, you keep adding to your positions. This takes the emotion out of your investing decisions. You’re not trying to out-guess the market, hoping to move in at the bottom and get out at the top. Market timers usually enrich their brokers and the IRS more than themselves.

There are nearly 1,300 dividend-paying companies that offer the opportunity to buy shares directly through a DRIP. Many of them do not charge commissions or fees and will set up schedules to withdraw funds from your bank account to automatically fund your DRIP account in order to regularly buy additional shares (or fractions of shares, depending on the stock price) on the company investment dates.

My get-rich-slowly DRIP portfolio

Here is a 10-stock DRIP portfolio that could stand as a core portfolio for those who are seeking to get rich slowly, while minimizing the risk of falling prey to their emotions as they build wealth over the long term. You can click on the company names to find out the specifics of the company’s plan.

You’ll see that five of these companies charge fees for each investment — as much as $5 plus 6 cents a share (Costco Wholesale, ticker: COST). You should avoid making small regular purchases in such “high-fee” DRIPs. For instance, if you were to invest $500 into your account at the transfer agent for (COST), at current prices, your transaction cost would be about $5.24 — or about 1%. An investment of a smaller amount would result in an even higher percentage transaction cost. On the other hand, if the investment amount were larger, say $1,000, the transaction would be only 0.5% of the investment amount. Therefore, it’s more efficient to build your holdings in such companies by making larger investments — even if you must, therefore, invest less frequently.

Hormel Foods (HRL)

RPM International (RPM)

Altria Group (MO)

3M Company (MMM)

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

PepsiCo Inc. (PEP)

NextEra Energy (NEE)

Costco Wholesale (COST)

AbbVie Inc. (ABBV)

Union Pacific (UNP)

For more information on direct investing plans please visit our website at http://www.directinvesting.com.

See Also: Don’t Let Hidden Investment Fees Hijack Your Retirement

Ms. Vita Nelson is is the Editor and Publisher of Moneypaper’s Guide to Direct Investment Plans, Chairman of the Board of Temper of the Times Investor Service, Inc. (a DRIP enrollment service), and co-manager of the MP 63 Fund (DRIPX).

Comments are suppressed in compliance with industry guidelines. Click here to learn more and read more articles from the author.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

Market Update

Rate Info

Check Out

Kiplinger’s Latest Online Broker Rankings