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When I started my personal finance journey, I never imagined that I would get into investing. Stocks have introduced me to a net-worth that I would never have dreamed of. Do you ever notice those conversations about stocks stopping short of actually gaining knowledge into the keepers and not so good ones? I do, and that is why I am revealing my 3 favorite stocks in my portfolio at the moment. There are many reasons why someone would consider a certain stock as their favorite. For me, the criteria is simple, and breaks down to 3 questions:

Does it pay a frequent dividend?

How affordable is it?

is there growth potential?

These are the things that we will go over in terms of my 3 favorite stocks right now. I do not use these 3 categories to choose my stocks, but I have noticed this pattern in the 3 that I have chosen for this post. This post will not be a stock analysis post. There will not be any technical talk at all. If that is what you are looking for please leave this post, and read some of my other ones.

Budgetbasedlife.com is based on personal experiences and opinions. this post is for educational purposes only, and does not represent financial advice. Investing comes with a lot of risk, and should not be taken lightly. Please see a financial expert for any financial advice.

                                            Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF ($SCHD)

SCHD is by far my most favorite dividend ETF. The price right now might seem pretty steep, but it definitely did not start at 75 dollars. I regret not investing in this ETF when I was introduced to the stock market in 2016 right after college. Some reasons why I enjoy this ticker symbol:

The stable dividend

SCHD’s dividend feels stable for two reasons. This stock has been paying out quarterly for a good amount of time, so I never feel that pit in my stomach wondering if the dividend will be cut. The dividend is not only stable and recurrent, but growing. The total growth of the dividend has been around 20 cents since 2013. Now THAT is impressive!

The growth

SCHD mirrors similars gains to SWTSX. It tracks the US dividend market, so over time the total amount goes up over time. Just 52 weeks ago this ETF was below 50 dollars! You never know when you will get a chance to get in under 50 dollars ever again.

                                           Stellus Capital Investment Corp ($SCM)

Stellus capital corp is a gem. I feel like it gets a lot of flack due to its high yield of 7.42%. But who doesn’t have at least 1 high yield stock in their portfolio? This is a company that provides “senior secured debt capital solutions to PE-backed, lower middle market companies across a wide range of industries.” according to their website. Some things that I enjoy about this stock:

The price

When I initially invested, the cost was under 10 dollars. So you know I immediately grabbed 100 shares. Now it is trading between 13 and 14 dollars. very affordable, and I do not think that it will be this cheap in 5 years!

The dividend

Initially, this stock was disbursing a 25 cent quarterly dividend. Now the stock pays 8 cents every month, and I am enjoying the DRIP (Direct reinvestment plan) of this stock. I basically receive a dividend amount that is more than the total cost of this stock. So I am accumulating more shares every month without having to feed more into my initial investment.

                                  Schwab Total Stock Market Index Fund ($SWTSX)

The Schwab total stock market index fund is the Charles Schwab version of  the popular Fidelity fund $VTSAX. My reason for initially investing into this fund is because it was cheaper than VTSAX. At the time, I was only able to invest around 200 dollars at a time, and there was no minimum investment required for entry. That is the biggest reason why this is my favorite ticker symbol ever. No initial amount requirement means this fund is completely accessible. You can invest with a starting amount from 1 dollar to as high as you have available. How awesome is that?

When I initially invested, SWTSX was being traded for 59 dollars. This was another deciding factor. Investing 200 per month into a 60 dollar fund meant that I was able to add a bit more than 3 shares every month. The dividend and capital gains for this fund are dispersed yearly in December. Which is my last reason for favoring SWTSX. The capital gains and dividend usually add up to a bit over 1 dollar per share. So imagine if you have a lot of shares?

Conclusion

There are so many stocks in my portfolio that I love and cherish, but these 3 have been knocking it out of the park this year so far. They all have been doing great in terms of growth, volatility, and dividend confidence.

What are your favorite stocks right now? If you haven’t heard of any of these ticker symbols, let me know your thoughts. I am also curious about what stocks and ETF’s you are enjoying recently. Be sure to leave them below, and check out my other posts on financial freedom!