Here it is June 1, and I realize I forgot April! Spring just whooshes. I don’t know if you feel the same way but I notice that spring typically presents me with unusual challenges and this year has been no different. Most of my slowing has been due to a certain lack of prioritizing on my part, but I suppose that this is the time of year that everyone gets a little more revved up and people and activities seem to come out of the woodwork. Well, enough about that. Let’s get to my monthly report.
American Express Card
During April I made a whopping $96.26 in rewards cash. During that statement period we had some residual vacation expenses, but the overall bill was not horrendous at $1,463.00. American Express pays 6% cashback on groceries and 3% on gas so you can see how those points added up as we brought food to our cabin for our stay and we drove over three hours each way.
If you’d like to apply for the American Express Card you can go to this referral link:
Apply for an American Express Card with this link. We can both get rewarded if you’re approved!
http://refer.amex.us/ANDREPV3An?XLINK=MYCP
Right now American Express has a special referral package that I’ll post below. (I copied and pasted this directly from the AMEX website.)
Each friend can earn:
$150 back after they spend $3,000 in purchases on their new Blue Cash Preferred® Card in their first 6 months of Card Membership. They can also earn 20% back on purchases on Amazon.com made with the Blue Cash Preferred® Card in the first 6 months, up to $200 back. The cash back will be in the form of statement credits. Your friend will be able to choose from all available American Express Personal and Business Card offers. You can receive your referral bonus no matter what Card your friend is approved for.
- I should note that there is a yearly fee of $100 for the Blue Cash Preferred American Express card. However, their offer more than makes up for that fee because of the $150 back on $3,000 in purchases (which you’ll also get 6% cash back on groceries, 3% on gas or streaming services like Netflix, and 1% back on everything else.)
TAB Bank
I’ve been waffling a lot when it comes to my TAB Bank account. After they lowered the interest rate twice in 2020, I lost heart. The original interest rate was around 4% provided you made a deposit monthly and had 15 transactions during that month. During April I resumed using the card and I made the required deposit and I was pleasantly surprised with the resulting $12.40 interest earnings. My account hovers around $10,000 and that money is set aside in that account for emergency funds as well as year-end tax bills. I’ve said before in other posts that there are other banks that offer a higher interest rate and I am still considering opening up another account. However, I don’t like to be spread too thin and as I make my way through this journey of getting control of our spending, saving, and earning. As of yet, I haven’t felt comfortable enough to sit down and make that move but when I do, I’ll let you know.
Dividend Interest
In the month of April I earned $108.64 in dividends in my regular account and $3.38 in my Roth Ira account for a total of $112.02. Here is the breakdown:
Regular Account:
Global X Super Dividend ETF (DIV) 3 shares .27
Realty Income (O) 40 shares $9.40
Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. (APTS) 100 shares $17.50
LTC Properties, Inc., (LTC) 10 shares $1.90
B&G Foods, Inc., (BGS) 100 shares $33.25
Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD) 50 shares $6.32
New Residential Investment Corp. (NRZ) 200 shares $40.00
Roth Ira Account:
Global X Super Dividend ETF (DIV) 3 shares .27
LTC Properties, Inc., (LTC) 10 shares $1.90
Stag Industrial, Inc. (STAG) 10 shares $1.21
Total Combined Income
Combining Interest income, credit card cashback, and dividend income, I made a total of $220.68. My hope is that I can take this monthly passive income and continue to invest in the stock market. I’d like to grow our savings in a thoughtful way, however, and as I learn and consider my options, I’ll continue to write about it.
Have a great week,
Andrea
Greening the Nest 
Leave a Reply