Investing Update 11/25/2016

Hello and welcome to my investing update!

General Updates

I'm over the $2,000 mark for portfolio value, which is cool. With that, I was able to try out Robinhood Gold. I downgraded my account because I need to learn more about trading on margin before using it. I want to support Robinhood, but I have to support my own money first.

New Stock/Adding Shares

I've done some trading over the past month, so my portfolio is going to look a bit different compared to before.


Dividends

No dividends received this past week.

Year-To-Date Update

	1/1/2016	11/25/2016	Change since Jan 1st	Avg/Week
Robinhood Portfolio Value	$607.87	$2,072.49	$1,464.62
Money from my pocket	$550.00	$1,791.00	$1,241.00	$27.58
Dividends	$9.79	$49.87	$40.08	$0.89
Gains/Realized & Unrealized	$48.08	$231.62	$183.54

Robinhood Portfolio Value = (Money from my pocket) + (Dividends) + (Gains/Realized & Unrealized)

2016 Investing Missions

2016 Mission	Amount I have	Amount Needed	% Complete
Old Brokerage Dividends	$6.90
Robinhood App Dividends	$35.42
2016 Dividends Received	$42.32	$75.00	56.43%
Purchase 25 Dividend Stocks	30	25	120.00%
2016 Calendar Year	290	366	79.23%

You can click on the investing tab or here to see what stocks I currently have in my Robinhood portfolio.

Signed,

Mitch

Robinhood Gold

I've been using Robinhood Gold recently. On the Robinhood App, if you have at least $2,000 in your account, you can choose to upgrade to Robinhood Gold. Robinhood Gold is Robinhood's version of trading with margin, or trading with money Robinhood loans to you.

So, for $10/month, Robinhood will loan me $2,000 to trade with. So now I have $2,000 of my own money, and $2,000 of Robinhood's money. If I receive a dividend, or gains from trading with using Robinhood's money, I get to keep that money, but in the long run, I don't get to keep the $2,000 from Robinhood.

I've realized I don't know enough about how trading with margin works. I guess you can't use all $2,000 from Robinhood. I need to do more research, and I'm considering downgrading my account until I research some more.

I hope everyone has a safe holiday weekend!

Signed,

Mitch

Fitbit is Off

So.... I'm not wearing my Fitibt anymore. For one, it's getting cold out and I can't maintain 10,000+ steps/day. Second, I wasn't losing weight. I think I was eating more because I thought I was exercising more. I'm going back to the method that always guarantees weight loss for me - counting calories. Every time I count calories, I lose weight.

So here we go again, counting calories. One phrase I've been keeping in my mind when I get hungry - "You already know what it's like to eat (insert food item here), how about you feel what it's like to be skinny/healthy?".

Signed,

Mitch

Thanksgiving 2016 is Approaching

Thanksgiving 2016 is coming up! This is just a reminder to look at your possessions and evaluate what you have. Black Friday deals are going to be tempting, but you probably don't need the stuff that you want to buy. Here are some reasons why I don't like Black Friday.

• I really don't enjoy waking up early/staying up late to potentially stand outside in the cold to wait in line. 
• I know these ads/deals are designed to make me come to the store and spend money
• I don't like taking employees away from their families around holidays to work odd/irregular hours. 
• I'm getting by with the technology and toys that I currently have. 

If you shop on Black Friday, I'm not going to judge you and stop being your friend. I just want to spread the word that there are people who won't be doing Black Friday shopping. 

Signed,

Mitch

I've been taking a break

If you haven't noticed, I've been taking a break. I lost steam and lost some motivation. I'll be posting again soon, I'm just not sure exactly when.

The U.S. presidential election is today (technically since it's past midnight). I don't think either candidate will be good for the environment. Yes, the GOP is painted as human-caused climate change deniers, and the Democrats are painted as earth-loving environmentalists. I don't want to talk about politics on my blog, but the election is a big deal. I think the government is going to drag its' feet on clean energy, and our only hope is people like Elon Musk tackling the problem on their own.

I'm currently doing No Shave November, and it's great. This is one of my favorite months, for purely the reason of not shaving. I encourage all genders to participate in this great month!

Enjoy the rest of your week and I'll be back to blogging soon.

Signed,

Mitch