November started out strong with my accounts rising in value but took a hit on Black Friday when the markets dropped. On the the following Monday, the markets and my accounts rebounded only to drop back down on the last day of the month. Even though my accounts lost some value it was still a good month. The payout from the insurance company for my car accident led to increased savings and reduced debt. This month was a good month for dividends and a very good month for options trading. Let’s check out the details for the month!
Spending/Savings
Spending was kept in line with the budget this month. The budget was reworked to account for having no more car payment and a decrease in insurance costs. Savings actually increased this month due mainly to the payout from the insurance company for the car accident. The payout was enough to pay off my vehicle, purchase a “new” used vehicle with cash and have a little left over for savings.
Dividends/Options/Interest
This month I received $342.03 in dividends. This was an increase of $64.82 over November 2020 when I received $277.21. That works out to over a 23% increase year over year in dividends received! This amount of growth is probably not sustainable over the long term but is still nice to see. For the year, I have received $3,297.64 in dividends.
This month I collected $563.48 in options premium. This was by far my best month for collecting options premium this year, but it still fell short of November 2020 when I collected $605.98 in options premium. For the year, I have collected $3,584.02 in options premium.
Income from interest totaled $9.18 this month. The total amount of interest received this year is $83.81.
The total amount received from dividends, options premium and interest totaled $914.69 for the month. This month was the closet I came to my goal of $1,000 a month in income from dividends, options premium and interest but still came up a little bit short. This was also an improvement over November 2020 when I received $883.19 in income. For the year I have received $6,965.47 of income from dividends, options premium and interest. This is over $4,000 below my goal of $1,000 a month.
Debt
The total amount of debt that I owe decreased by $3,640.61 this month. For the year, I have paid off $25,513.45 of debt. This means that I reached my goal of paying off $25,000 of debt this year!
Traditional IRA
The Traditional IRA finished the month at $116,527. This is down -$2,530 from the previous month. Year over year the account is up about $16,756 from November 2020. The projected annual dividend income (PADI) rose by $55 from last month to $3,656.
Roth IRA
The Roth IRA finished the month at about $1,317. This is up $178 over the previous month but when you factor in contributions it is actually down for the month. The PADI increased by $10 and is now up to $57.
401k
The 401k finished the month at about $9,712. This is up $149 over the previous month but is down once the contributions are factored in. Year over year, the account is up about $5,039 from November 2020.
Taxable Account
The taxable brokerage account finished the month at about $341. This is down -$24 from last month. It is down even more when contributions are factored in.
Cryptocurrency
The little bit of bitcoin that I have finished the month at about $27. This is down -$1 from the previous month.
Total Investments
The total amount invested is now about $127,924. This is down -$2,228 from the previous month. Year over year, the total amount invested is up about $23,479. All of the positions in the portfolio can be seen by clicking “Portfolios” in the menu or clicking here.
Net Worth
My net worth is now up to about $64,591. This is up $3,486 over last month. Year over year, my net worth has grown by $54,799 since November 2020.
Conclusion
The negative this month was the investment accounts being down. There were also many positives this month. Savings increased. Debt decreased. It was a good month for dividends and the PADI is growing. It was a really good month for collecting options premium. My net worth also continues to grow. So, despite the investment accounts being down, I still view this month as a positive. The stock market will rise and fall in the short term. I am sticking to my plan, making minor adjustments along the way, which should get me to my long term goals. That’s about it for this month. Thanks for following along!
On a side note, I have added a Recommended Resources in the menu. It currently is a work in progress. It will contain blogs and YouTube channels that I enjoy as well as some sites that I use. I hope you take the time to check it out.
*Disclaimer – I am not a financial professional. The information shared here should not be considered financial advice. I am just a factory worker sharing my experience as I strive to achieve financial freedom. Before investing or making any financial decision do your own research and due diligence or consider seeking the advice of a financial and/or tax professional.
Here are some of the businesses that I use that I thought some of you might be interested in.

Lolli has a variety of stores that it is affiliated with and offers rewards for shopping at these stores. I use Lolli when I shop on Chewy and I get bitcoin as a reward. Who doesn’t want free bitcoin! If you are interested in Lolli and want to help support the blog here is my referral link: https://www.lolli.com/share/XP7gxDgqC4

I use M1 Finance for my taxable growth account. M1 Finance offers promotions for signing up. At the time of writing this post, the promotion is for $50. These promotions vary from time to time but is usually a $10 bonus. If you are interested in M1 Finance and want to support the blog here is my referral link: https://m1.finance/ktIiFeOI5zDr

Varo Bank is one of the banks that I use. From time to time the bank will run promotions. Currently, you can earn up to 3% on your savings with Varo, if you meet certain requirements. If you are interested in checking it out, here is my referral link: https://bank.varomoney.com/signup?r=William360

I use the free version on trackyourdividends.com. This is a quick an easy way for me to track my estimated annual income from dividends.
If you use the referral links listed above I could receive compensation. Please take the time to read the terms and conditions before signing up.
That last few days of November wiped any gains for most if not all investors so you are not alone on that front. But what it didn’t reduce was the income that keeps rolling in. You’re making good steady progress on growing the PADI which is the name of game.