Purchase of FCR

I was fortunate to be alloted 100 shares of FCR at $14.35 through their recent share issue.

In addition, my PWF and TRP positions each added a share through their recent quarterly dividend.

These changes bring my total quarterly dividend payments to $209.35.

Purchase of PetroBakken Energy (TSE:PBN)

My order for 150 shares of PetroBakken Energy (TSE:PBN) was filled on Thursday, May 20th. PetroBakken is has a suite of high growth, long-life assets primarily in the Bakken and Cardium regions. Q1 production was in excess of 43,000 bbl/day, nearly 90% of which was light oil. In addition, it has large land positions in the Monias and Horn River regions of North-Eastern British Columbia.

I have owned different pieces of this company in the past: Bulldog Resources, which was bought out by Tristar Oil and Gas (which later merged with Petrobank's light oil assets), and Beren's Energy, which was recently purchased by PetroBakken to gain land exposure to the prolific Cardium region.

Additional info about the company can be found on their website: http://www.petrobakken.com/

PetroBakkens $0.08 monthly dividend brings my portfolio's total quarterly dividend income to $188.60.

Power Financial's (TSE:PWF) Second Quarter Earnings

Power Financial announced second quarter earnings of $0.51, which were helped by a 36% increase in earnings contributed from Great West Lifeco in comparison to the same period last year. RBC announced a $36 price target for the shares, which assumes a discount to net discount value of 8% (currently discount of 10%).

The dividend remained unchanged at $0.35, however my DRIP will continue to grow my position. A summary of PWF's dividend contributions to my portfolio are shown below.

Purchase of Bonterra Energy Corp. (TSE: BNE)

I was fortunate to have my small order for 100 shares of Bonterra Energy filled at on Wednesday, May 19th. This purchase gives me exposure to oil and generates strong dividend income for my portfolio. The dividend is currently set at $0.21 per month (7%) and fluctuates based on oil prices and production. As stated on the company`s website, Bonterra has paid a monthly dividend since going public and pays out between 60-75% of fund flow.

My reasons for choosing BNE are simple: they have a lot of unbooked reserves in the prolific Cardium region, a huge yield of 7% (higher than CPG, PBN), are due for another dividend increase (dividend is currently 50% of fund flow), are actively drilling and growing production, and have very large insider ownership.

At today`s dividend rate, this purchase increases my quarterly dividend income from $88.85 to over $150.

Canadian Western Bank (TSE:CWB) -- Expected Dividend Increase

If Mr. Pollock and the board stick true to their target payout ratio of 25%, a dividend increase should be expected in the next quarter. With EPS for the last quarter coming in at $0.52, the dividend should increase to at least $0.13 (a 18% increase!).

I currently have a very small position in CWB, but significantly increasing this position will be a top priority (enough to DRIP the dividends -- so at least an additional 150 shares) when I start growing my portfolio in the coming months.

Thanks MoneyGardener!

I want to dedicate a post to the author of The Money Gardener at http://themoneygardener.com/. His blog has been somewhat of an inspiration by giving me a better understanding and many insights into how dividends can benefit my portfolio over time.

I am still quite young (just finishing university!) and relatively new to investing, but I look forward to posting my dividend progress in much the same way that he posts his monthly net worth.

From the Money Gardener's background Info:

"The Overriding Goal is to Make Money Less Important in our Lives. Not to be cliché, but one might use the word 'FREEDOM'. "

Money Gardener, I couldn't agree more! All the best and thanks again.

Dividend Goals

The purpose of this blog is to track my progress over the coming years. I am very fortunate to be finishing university debt free and will soon be starting a well paying job, thereby allowing me to significantly grow my portfolio (and those dividend cheques!). Those who begin to follow my blog will start to see some significant jumps in the dividend income chart that I posted below over the coming months, which will hopefully continue on a quarterly basis.

For the purpose of this blog I will outline my two main dividend goals:

1) Achieve quarterly dividend payments of $250 by the end of 2010.

2) Achieve quarterly dividend payments of $1000 by the end of 2011.

The significant jump in 2011 is the result of being able to partially invest a full year's income. At this point I will be 24 years old... So I am hoping this income will grow and DRIP nicely over many years to come.

I will provide further detail on these goals, stock selection criteria, purchases and progress in later posts.

Thanks for reading!