Dividend Poem for my 1-Year Blogiversary!

One year ago I was right here at my same computer trying to figure out how to start my own dividend investing blog.

I knew nothing about how to construct a web site, how to administer it, or what the content would be.  I just knew I wanted to share my dividend investing results.

I’d been Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRiP) investing for many years, but in recent years had transformed my brokerage account into a dividend reinvestment account.

Unfortunately, my friends and colleagues were nowhere near as interested in dividend reinvesting as me.  However, I found the people I was looking for in the Dividend Growth Investing (DGI) blogging community.

I’d been visiting various personal finance sites and net worth blogs for about a year, and while I enjoy those, I really felt at home with blogs that shared their dividend income.  That’s when thoughts of having my own dividend investing blog began.

After dwelling on the idea of starting a blog for over 6 months, I eventually decided to get it done.  I got the site going with a very simple post… my first, and probably shortest ever.  And the blog has slowly grown from there.  It’s not much, but it’s mine, and I love sharing the dividend numbers and hearing what other like-minded people have to say.

The name Engineering Dividends made sense to me since I’m an engineer (hardware/electronics), and I love dividends… and the name suggests that I’m creating, manufacturing, or engineering those dividends.

Anyway, with this July 15th being the 1-year blogiversary for Engineering Dividends (ED for short), I thought I’d help celebrate by doing something that I enjoyed in my younger days, and that’s write a little poetry… nothing formal or fancy, just simple and fun.  I hope you enjoy it.

 

Dividend Poem

It all started over 20 years ago

With a handful of stocks I thought would grow

The goal was to build my wealth over time

And see a dividend portfolio’s value climb

 

I opened DRiPs and made small buys

The portfolio was building before my eyes

My first stock was consumer staple P&G

Could this stock make me financially free?

 

I soon snapped up insurer AFL

Would this investment work out?, only time will tell

Then came materials maker RPM

I thought, “this might be an investment gem”

 

I won’t forget adding the venerable PEP

Soda and snacks, my next investing step

I finished with health giant JNJ

My DRiP portfolio was underway

 

These 5 companies became my building blocks

And over the years I’ve purchased additional stocks

My portfolio is now over 40 strong

With such wonderful companies, how could I go wrong?

 

At first, paid dividends seemed so small

But I kept reinvesting, that’s protocol

Over time my positions grew in size

With my reinvested dividends and persistent buys

 

And let me not forget those dividend raises

The boost they provide constantly amazes

It didn’t take long to get the snowball to roll

Soon the dividend payments would be out of control

 

There were ups and downs, but I stayed the course

I never got knocked off my investment horse

I rode through the tech crash, the financial downturn

But I kept investing without too much concern

 

As time elapsed my portfolio grew in force

Dividend growth investing I strongly endorse

And thanks to keeping my eyes on the prize

My stocks now pay dividends that tantalize

 

I feed my stocks occasionally, but they do the work

Of delivering dividends, such a wonderful perk

Right now the dividends I reinvest

But one day I’ll spend them, I can attest

 

If I watch my expenses, and don’t overspend

Perhaps the future me can live off the dividends

Wouldn’t that be terrific, wouldn’t that be grand

If it all worked out, just as I planned?

 

It does impress me, and it does astound

How over time the dividends do compound

The totals eventually become so profound

You’ll ultimately be financially sound

 

So please never fail to comprehend

The power of the reinvested dividend

Let time work its magic, and in the end

You’ll have ample funds you can plan to spend

 

 

Bonus Section…. Thanks for the Time you Invest in ED!

I wish to acknowledge some blogging peers

Who have supported ED throughout the 1st year

With numerous comments that enhance the site

And help my blog to reach new heights

 

Let’s start with the one who leads the pack

For leaving comments, he has a knack

He’s Mr. Robot, he is always there

With insight and wisdom ready to share

 

These same attributes can easily apply

To another man I must identify

His dividend teachings always satisfy

He’s Tom @ Dividends Diversify

 

Inspiring so many, seemingly motivating all

Watch two guys rake in monthly dividend hauls

From Ohio they are, just two cool cats

I love me some Dividend Diplomats

 

This next blogger shares the good and bad

And inspirational quotes can always be had

He’s a DGI blogger magnifico

Many thanks to Dividend Portfolio

 

For insights on combining finance and fitness

Here’s a blog you’ll need to peruse and witness

He’s got ideas to share, strategies to recommend

Go see Mike @ Balanced Dividends

 

My first ever comment came from this man

And his blog is loaded with content to scan

There’s one thing to count on no matter what

That’s consistent buys from investor DivHut

 

His name suggests he’s poor, financially

But with a dividend portfolio, how can that be?

In this community he’s our ironman

Check out Broke Investor if you can

 

So, I hope this group keeps on stopping by

Leaving comments, saying ‘Hi’

Without you ED would not be the same

And that’s a fact I can proclaim

 

Take care everyone… and thanks for joining my 1-year blogiversary!

 

 

Posted on by Engineering Dividends

20 thoughts on “Dividend Poem for my 1-Year Blogiversary!”

  1. “I won’t forget adding the venerable PEP

    Soda and snacks, my next investing step”

    That was my favorite line. Not only because I’m a bit hungry right now, but it’s catchy!

    Congrats on your first year, Paul! I honestly didn’t know your first name until I just reviewed your first post mentioned above. Short and sweet!

    Thanks also for the call out. – Mike

    1. It was fun writing the poem, Mike. I’m very happy with how it turned out.
      Thanks for the congratulations, and you are very welcome for the mention. I appreciate all your comments on the site.

  2. Really enjoyed this post, ED! I like the creativity element. Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary of Engineering Dividends! I have to admit that your blog is one of my favourite blogs to read dividend income reports. Your layouts are spectacular and very detailed. It suits the Engineering Dividends theme. My journey was similar at the start. I was reading dividend blogs for a while, mainly Dividend Mantra. But due to regulatory restrictions of my job, I was not able to start a blog. I was working for a stock brokerage as a licensed trader and placed trades for clients. Anyways, I really wanted to start a dividend blog but couldn’t because of my job. However, I went through a difficult time in life around in 2016 and resigned from that position. I started blogging but was but in a good enough financial situation at first to build dividends. My dividend portfolio used to be larger than it is now in 2014. Nevertheless, I finally started working again and have been building my portfolio and blogging about dividend investing ever since. Thanks for sharing the story about how you started and for the poem. I look forward to following the rise of your dividend income for years to come!

    1. I’m glad you enjoyed the post, Graham. It’s definitely a departure from my normal post with numbers and stats. It’s feels good to share another side of me.
      It’s too bad you had to push the reset button on your dividend portfolio a couple of years ago, but I bet the new portfolio is better given all the knowledge you gained from the first go-around.
      Thanks for keeping tabs on my dividend income progress… I’ll be certain to do the same with you.

  4. Paul

    Congreatulations with your 1 year anniversary blog
    Keep going on
    Will follow you

    Willem

    1. Hi, Willem. Thanks for the congratulations! I appreciate you following the blog. I hope I can keep you interested well into the future.
      Maybe one day you’ll start a blog of your own? I’m sure there are many people who’d love to see what’s cooking in your portfolio.

  5. Congrats on the blogiversary! Your story about naming the blog made me laugh as that is much the process I had when creating my new blog, as I am pursuing the divvy’s now and am a dad. =)

    Great job on the poem, particularly when you took to thanking all of the regular contributors. I wrote quite a few poems back in my school days but haven’t done one in a long time. I also had a cycle with blogging as I had quite a few blogs for years and then stepped away entirely. Being part of the DGI community with a new blog has been such an amazing experience already, and maybe I will have to dust off those poem writing skills too one of these days.

    Here’s to many more celebrations!

    1. Thank you, DivvyDad! Writing the poems, there’s always a lot of back and forth on what works best. However, I’m usually happy with the end results. I’m glad you liked this one. Maybe I can deliver more in the future. In the meantime, yes, dust off your poem writing skills. I always enjoy a good poem, and especially if it’s about dividends. 🙂
      As for the blogs, I don’t know how you managed so many… I can barely keep up with the one I’ve got.
      I hope you become a frequent visitor, DivvyDad.

      1. I’ll start working on those poetic skills, but don’t think I will be able to live up to the standard that you’ve set here!

        It was a ton of work doing all of those blogs, and it was detracting from the time I had to spend with my family. That is why I shuttered them and didn’t keep writing–but now my kids are older and I have more free time, so having the one blog has been a perfect outlet to begin writing again. Feel free to give me a shout if there are ever any back-end blog things you need help with, and I will definitely be around more!

        1. Don’t be surprised if I take you up on the blog assistance. There’s always something that doesn’t seem to work for me when it comes to maintaining the blog!

  6. Hi ED. Thanks for the shout out. Much appreciated and congrats on your 1 year anniversary. Love the poem and rhymes. Glad you put Mr. Robot at the top of your list. He is an especially good dude.

    It must be some type of Karma. I have a shout coming your way in my post for next week. That’s the second time it’s happened when I have a shout out in Que and before I get it published the recipient shouts me first. It happened with Mike from Balanced Dividends a few weeks ago.

    All the best for a great year 2,

    Tom

    1. No trouble at all, Tom. I do very much appreciate the effort you put into commenting on a regular basis.
      Awesome news regarding the upcoming mention… I’ll keep my eyes peeled for sure.
      You’ll have to shorten the time between when you line up a shout out and when you publish the post in order to make sure you don’t get beat to the punch. 🙂

  7. I was intrigued. A blog anniversary, dividends and a poem…how could that possibly work?

    Along comes ED and engineers it so that it all makes sense and is awesome to boot. Many thanks for the shout out (you too Tom), I really appreciate it. Thanks to you guys I’ve found my own home in this DGI community. 🙂

    Funny thing, from the top of my mind you are the third engineer of sorts in this community. Mr. ATM, you and myself. I’ve been a network engineer for years before becoming a team leader.

    1. Glad you enjoyed the poem… and you are very welcome with regard the shout out, Mr. Robot. It seems I can always count on you to share your thoughts on a post. Where do you find the time!?
      It’s no surprise to me that people that have careers working with numbers (engineers, accountants, etc.) might enjoy dividend investing. The hardest part might be getting them to blog about it.
      ‘Til next time, Mr. Robot.

  8. Congrats on one year! I think it is so great to be involved in this community. It has kept me motivated and every year I am gaining awesome ground.

    I hope you are finding the same thing and stay involved and invested!

    1. Hi DM, and welcome! Yes, the community is awesome. It’s nice to share progress, learn from each other, see what everyone has on their purchase radar, etc.
      I was just at your site the other day… I should have left a comment. You beat me to the punch. 🙂 I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
      One year down… it’s been a bit of work trying to post on a regular basis, but I’m holding up. Over the past year I’ve seen several blogs that I frequented go away, so I know it’s not easy. Life usually takes the front seat.
      I plan to continue investing and posting on my progress. I hope you’ll visit again. I’ll make sure to stop by the DM site more regularly… and leave some comments!

  9. Wow, your poem is hilarious! 🙂
    Thanks for the mention and congrats with one year blogiversary. I am going to experience the same shortly 🙂

    1. Hi BI. An early congrats on the upcoming 1-year blogiversary. Time flies!
      Glad you liked the poem… and you are very welcome with regard to the mention. Thanks for leaving so many comments, they are much appreciated.

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