Purchase Disclosure: AWR (American States Water Company)

Its been nearly one month since I last updated this blog. I've continued making my weekly contributions to my aggressive Acorns portfolio. I haven't skipped a weekly investment and currently my portfolio is up 1.31% (regular weekly investment since May 3). I like my Vanguard ETF's but as I learn more about investing I want more control of my investments. I've been checking stock quotes on the Robinhood app for awhile and I decided to try it out. I was extremely pleased that I could make an immediate trade after putting in an order to transfer money from my bank. Today I watched AWR trade and I placed a buy order for 1 share at $37.99. I was very pleased with the no commission trade execution from Robinhood.

A little about why I chose to invest in American States Water Company (AWR)

Right now the purpose of my investing is to build my savings over the long term. I don't want to take severe risks. I want to invest in companies that provide necessities because I'm bearish on the US economy in the short term. American States Water Company provides water which is a necessity. This stock offers a quarterly dividend with annual dividend raises. American States Water Company is one of only 18 Dividend Kings. A Dividend King is a company that has offered and raised its dividend distribution each year for 50+ consecutive years. American States Water Company has the longest active dividend streak at 61 consecutive years of raises! The stock currently has a dividend yield of 2.354%. The company is committed to raising the dividend distribution by 5% a year. However, you shouldn't buy a dividend stock just because it has an excellent dividend history. I've thoroughly read the SEC filings and investor presentations on aswater.com and I'm convinced that this company is competently run and will reward me over the long term. I plan on adding more shares to my growing portfolio and will cover news related to this company on my blog.

Disclosure: I am long AWR. I am not a financial advisor. I am not responsible for any investment losses you may incur.

Stay the Course

Friday (September 9) and Tuesday (September 13) have been the two worst days in the stock market in three months. My small portfolio which crossed $1,000 has retreated 5%. I am now up approximately .3% since May 3, 2016. This is still 6x the return from my credit union savings account. I'm going to continue investing in my portfolio at the rate of $50 per week. The Vanguard ETF's in my portfolio are well managed and have some large quarterly dividends that are about a week out (VNQ). My broker Acorns will reinvest these dividends back into my portfolio.

How I Started Investing

After looking at my bank statements and seeing interest of 0.05% I realized that I need to invest so that my money can hold its value and grow. According to StatBureau the rate of inflation in the United States is 0.84% (year over year). I realized that just leaving my money in a savings account reduces its value. Prices for goods would increase faster than my savings account. As a 23 year old concerned about the future this troubled me. Finishing school and getting married kept my mind occupied for several years. Now, living on my own, I see the importance of reaching financial independence. Having a net worth under $20,000 (including our small vehicle) presented an investing challenge. After doing lots of research I downloaded the app Acorns. Acorns allows me to make regular investments that go into diversified funds. I made my first investment on May 3, 2016. My regular investing (weekly) has yielded a 3.61% return despite the Brexit and the Federal Reserve interest rate hike uncertainty. This is just the beginning of my ultimate financial plan. Follow this blog to see what I will do next and coverage of investments on my watch list.