When Queen Victoria was the ruler in England, the country was one of the most prominent countries in the world. They had a large number of colonies and London expanded towards the large city it is. In terms of housing, England moved from a rural to an urban, at first most people rented homes and later came ownership. The house that was built was called the Victorian House. In an interesting book by Judith Flanders such wrote a book called The Victorian House published by Harper Perennial, London, UK, 2003. The book is subtitled domestic life from childbirth to deathbed. London was different in those days, heating was done by coal and coal plus London weather would equal pictures of Beijing today. The book focuses on the expectations of each room and one is grateful from washing machines. Washing used to take a long time to do. A couple of months ago, the movie Oliver was viewed and there is a musical number dealing with “who will buy my flowers?” and one can see a variety of people selling merchandise for there was no corner stores or department stores to buy items from or there were many independent sellers of merchandise.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, similar to all societies the Victorians organized their lives to reflect their daily requirements. We do the same but it is easier to see how technology and innovations changed the way people used to live. For example, washing took about a day to do, and in some ways it was more expensive to clean than to rent a home. In many homes, a person came in to do the washing. As time evolves a machine can do what many people did, it saves time for the average person as well as changes the need for washers. The point is many things change over the years and that is why if you find a company which has been consistently profitable over the years as well as increasing its dividend, those are the ones you should buy first.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Recently a talk radio show had a guest discussing estates and how money is dividing families. If you are fortunate, you get along with members of your family and remain close connections with them. Your parents did all the right things and money can be distributed upon their death. Many people do not want to talk about death – it seems morbid, most of us want to continue living. One aspect of death is what do you want to do with your assets. Traditionally, the assets went to immediate family members, however those who have families similar to the show Modern Family know there are many combinations and tradition. while an ideal, is not always a reality. Everyone who lives has some assets, many also have liabilities or debts, but as you accumulate your assets, you need to consider what distribution you want to leave. A will is a great place to start and if you look in the financial district of the closest city to you, you will see office buildings with the word trust or estates. Depending on the size of your assets, the family may have ideas of what to do with the money if they inherited it, does it match your ideas?

Linking to dividend paying stocks, the type of stocks you wish to own are those that have paid dividends for a number of years and increase the size of the dividend. While you are living, the dividends can provide you with a cash flow; if you are deceased as the estate goes through the time to liquidate it, they continue to provide cash flows as well as capital gains. Most estates take a year or two to come to the point of dividing all the assets up. As you are investing think in those time periods, it should make decisions come easier or when to say no.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

At this time of the year, the first month of January, all the business magazines offer ideas of what to invest in the year, expecting you would buy and hold. You should do one of them, what are your best ideas for the year? This will tell you if you believe the glass is half full or half empty. Using your best ideas, will also tell you if during the year you are right or wrong. If you are wrong, then you lost no money and it suggests you should keep money in index funds or mutual funds which allow for diversification. If you are right, as you cash accounts allow you to invest perhaps that would be a good place to park some of your money. With investing, the only method you will know if you are right is looking back, but there are methods to employ to ensure you lose less or even make money.

Linking to dividend paying companies, one method which has shown to be successful is invest in profitable companies. If the companies are profitable, they can pay a dividend and you will make money two methods – on the dividend and on capital gains as more people wish to buy the stock of a profitable company. There are endless ideas and that is terrific on how to invest, keeping it relatively simple is often best for you for you will know what to do if something is not right. Markets will go up and down and ideally in the long run they go up, but along the way there will be fluctuations.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

you have never read John Grisham book, you have missed wonderful reads with a lawyer as the main character. In one of the latest books by John Grisham, Sycamore Row published by Bantam Books, NY, 2014, Mr. Grisham maintains his stellar reputation. In this story, an old white man leaves about $ 20 million to his black maid. If I tell you the setting is in Mississippi then you will understand the significance of the beneficiary of the estate. In the US south, things like that do not happen very often if ever. However the book is fiction and it could happen.

The drive to understand why the gentleman left the money is the reason for the book, suffice to say, it helps right a wrong.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, many people own stocks because of estates and trusts. It is a prime reason for allowing the wealthy to stay wealthy; the other reason is the money is invested in dividend paying stocks which means the trusts and estates can pay their beneficiaries for years to come. As well as profitable companies tend to rise in value over the years. Follow the example of the big estate and trusts and keep your money is safe secure stocks which pay a dividend.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

If you have been in an airport then you might have seen books such as The Quest by Nelson DeMillo published by Centre Street, Hachette Books, NY, 2013. In the Quest the characters – 3 people in the news gathering industry meet a priest in the jungles of Ethiopia. The priest, an Italian, tells them a story which leads to a Quest. The reason the priest is an Italian is Italy in War World II had invaded Ethopia. Among the reasons was the Vatican was looking for the cup or the Holy Grail and it was supposed to be in Ethopia. The Quest jumps 40 years, in some ways the country is not better off as various groups battle for control of the country. Included in the group is a nasty general who likes torture; horsemen who kill and maime the enemies and others. If you were thinking not a pleasant place, you were correct. In the past, the country was a mix of a three thousand year old monarchy, which means all kinds of conventions are changing.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, to find the place where the cup is suppose to be, takes knowledge of the land; trying to figure out the clues the Priest gave and luck or wisdom from God. In the end, the people do the right thing. The wonderful writing ties all the above and it is a wonderful ride. You can do the same in investing your money, study the lay of the land; look for the best opportunities and have some luck. You can also make it easier by starting with dividend paying companies because they earn profits. With the profits, the company distributes dividends to its shareholders and reads the teas leaves to invest in the company. The Quest makes a wonderful read and it is filled with hits and misses; leaving those to reading while make it easy for your investments.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Recently the author went south for a vacation and warmer weather. In the north east; cold weather is part of the way you live. If one is wise adopting weather to your lifestyle and enjoying winter activities. Having a break from winter and enjoying summer again is a tradition many take. The plane from Boston had the two weather extremes – delays for deicing to hot humid weather of Orlando.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, the hot humid weather automatically made the vacation a success. Leaving the snow for the sandy beaches was the wonderful bonus and palm trees added to the picture. The perspective was the difference.

There are more questions than answers; till the next time – to raising questions

For those of us in the western democracies we take reading for granted. We can buy or borrow books from the library and read on virtually any subject. During the Holidays a radio show was on and the interviewee said when a dictator comes into power one of the first things he/she does is control access to information. The type of subjects for books – becomes a sign because the leader does not want the population to think. The less they think, the easier it is to control them. This theme has been going on since the ability to write when religious orders control who read what. A wonderful movie is called In the Name of the Rose staring Sean Connery about the Connery character going to a monastery (which wrote books – at the time books were printed by monks) and the head of the monastery did not like laughter in the bible. When he found it, writers began to lose their lives. The head monk believed that laughter would not elevate the religion so he forbade it. The movie is based on a novel but it has many truths in it.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, when a company is profitable people are generous with their time and access to information. When the company makes less money, all sorts of sayings such as do you loyalty to the company? the information closes as people react by closing ranks. It is a time honour tradition and when things are tight fewer information is given out. The appearances that were formerly found are often still done but looking closely the signs begin to appear. If the company’s shares you own begins to behave in such a manner it is time to sell. Company’s are run by people, following senior management action can lead to knowing when to sell.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

Over the holidays, similar to many people, movies are watched for enjoyment and to past the time away. Hopefully you have your favourite holiday movies, some were on TV and others we own but tend to only watch around the holidays. One movie which  watched was Oliver. The movie has been made by many directors and the music and the era keeps us coming back to it. The music is terrific and the themes are relevant in today’s society – food, love, family, retail business.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, the movie is about an orphan who is reunited after many years with an uncle. If Oliver had not asked for more food, escaped to London to meet the pick pocket group, to meet his Uncle, there would be no movie. Similar to many things in life, if we had not done x, then y may not occurred. Often times people lose money in the stock markets, then in an effort not to lose money, they learn about dividend paying stocks. You do not pay to learn the lesson first, but by investing in profitable companies, you will have less likelihood of losing money in the long run. When the profitable companies pay you dividends, you can focus on whether your dividend payments will be repeated again in the new year. If the answer is yes, then investing can be easy and profitable. If the answer is no, move to another stock. Make in simple in the new year, by ensuring the bulk of your portfolio is in profitable companies.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

Those of us who live in the east are will likely always be interested in the western story if for no other reason of the saying Go West Young Man. Many people have moved from the east to the west for economic activity or jobs. In the 1800’s the mythical western was still a possibility with a horse and the wide open spaces of the west. One of the many books about the west is the Western Story – Fact, Fiction and Myth by Philip Durham and Everett L Jones published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc, NY 1975. Most of us have watched movies of the west or TV series and some of it appeals to us. In reality, people were trying to make a living and the work was tough work, but it was outdoors and the results were what the individual made of it. That theme appeals to many of us and we still see advertisers advertising their products with the theme. The elements of good gambling, hearty competition, and making a success by surviving the elements and relying on good people makes westerns a continuing interest.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, in the west there was and is greater opportunity because there fewer families control the economic environment. In many eastern cities the ruling or highly influenced group tend to limit others and try to control the direction of the city. Sometimes the families do a great job, other times not so well. To even up the odds, you need to play the same game which includes continually receiving income from your investments. This is where the dividends are very helpful. If the company is profitable, you will receive quarterly income and have the potential for capital gains. Over the course of a number of years, the holding becomes bigger and you will have more financial flexibility in your life. You may or not be as rich as the controlling families, but there are many opportunities for a good life in the east as well as the west.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions