I started a seminar last week by writing these dividend numbers on the board. The dividends begin in 1995 and are from from a well know company which makes drinks, generally, we should not drink: 44¢, 50¢, 56¢, 60¢, 64¢, 68¢ (in 2000), 72¢, 80¢, 88¢, $1.00, $1.12, $1.24, $1.36, $1.52, $1.64, $1.76, $1.88, $2.04. Why would you want anything else but a growing income? Why would you buy a bond which has fixed income. Does the fluctuating price of the stock really matter if it is tossing out income like this? Notice the income kept going up during the tech crash of 2000 and the financial crisis of 2008.

• 9.6% - Dividends from the common stocks in the list I follow went up, on average 9.6% in 2012. How much did your retirement income increase? Don't count capital gains. They are fleeting. Dividend growth investors do not count on appreciation to fund retirement living. It's the growing income we are after. Here's another example from a stock in my list. These are dividends from 2002 (adjusted for a 3:1 stock split last year): .38, .415, .4575, .52, .575, .615. .66, .74, .85, .98, $1.14. In a decade, income tripled (.38 x 3 = 1.14)! See why I do not buy bonds.

• “Your encouragement and guidance are a great help as the market gyrates. It took me a while to get over the fixation on price (that we are conditioned to watch) and to concentrate instead on dividend returns and dividend growth - but the anxiety level is a lot lower than in the past!” a renewal letter from Moncton
• Here is a link to a “Me and My Money” column in the Report on Business. If you do not subscribe to the Globe and Mail, it can be clicked on without counting as one of your ten free Globe and Mail columns in December:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/a-value-investing-approach-with-a-dividend-tilt/article5858055/

• Walk on uneven terrain: look into dividend growth investing.