The Russian Ruble has really taken a beating lately with falling oil prices. The general consensus seems to be that we are in a new era of low oil prices but like always I see the prices going down a lot faster than they go up, but it has been good to our economy in the short term to have less expenses. In the long term I think consumers will continue to suffer from short term memory and oil is going to eventually go back which makes the current stock prices in energy stocks very appealing to me.

This month I got a little bit of an extra boost in that I got paid out on my overtime. I used almost all of that money to invest into new stocks. I much rather save up my money and get closer to financial freedom than to buy a new laptop or a bunch of new music. I guess that is not the consumer way of things, but to me it is all about putting it into perspective and not cheating myself in the long term by pleasing myself today.

As such I am currently building up a new set of dividend stocks. I now have enough dividend stocks to get something (also very small) every month. My plan is to slowly build on that until I have a nice monthly revenue. That being said I still haven’t given up active investing and have several swing plays I am currently going after.

Here is where I am as of today:

$BRK.B (Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B) Cost Per Share: $134.92 Current Price: $150.68

I can’t believe how much money I make off this stock. It is just a class B stock, it isn’t like it even has voting rights. Tells me people are very undecided right now, but I guess their loss is my gain.

$CAMP (Cal Amp) Cost Per Share: $18.54 Current Price:$19.21

Kind of subdued right now, but still doing well. I expect a new contract announcement soon.

$CNSL (Consolidated Communications) Cost Per Share: $21.62 Current Price: $27.38

Still my favorite dividend stock. Nice and steady.

$FPI (Farmland Partners Inc.) Cost Per Share: $11.72 Current Price: $11.11

Still not sure about this stock, but it is slowly making it’s way and the dividends make it tolerable.

$FTR (Frontier Communications Corp.) Cost Per Share: $6.62 Current Price: $6.90

$GE (General Electric Co.) Cost Per Share: $27.82 Current Price: $26.02

Definitely a stock affected by the oil crisis, but I think there is opportunity here to accumulate and so I probably will be adding soon.

$NQ (NQ Mobile) Cost Per Share: $6.13 Current Price: $6.54

Slowly rising, I can see the short interest decreasing I have a good feeling it will see it’s day soon.

$PLUG (Plug Power Inc.) Cost Per Share: $4.60 Current Price: $3.60

Added at 3.48 to lower my cost on this stock. You’d think a 20M contract would be a good reason for it to shoot up but shorts are doing a good job keeping it down. I expect more details next week on the new telecommunications deal which should help it a little bit. February is going to be the crucial test when they announce earnings.

$SNV (Synovus Financial Corp.) Cost Per Share: 27.12 Current Price: $26.49

I probably bought this stock a little high, but I really like the company. A small financial bank with good dividends makes this stock very attractive. I have been watching them for a long time looking for a good entry point and felt like I was chasing a bit, but in the end just decided to go for it.

$RSH (Radio Shack Corp.) Cost Per Share: $1.21 Current Price: $.59 Price Sold: $.63

It was hard for me to take such a steep loss, but I know when to get out and that is good. Lender is calling a default which I think is not accurate, but when even your lender doesn’t believe in you it is time to move on. The lending terms even as they were, were kind of harsh. They really need to close more stores quickly to stop the bleed, but all this negative publicity in December is not helping the situation. Unfortunately, bankruptcy is their best hope, but I do hope they get a buyout. The name has been out there for 90 years.

$SPLS (Staples Inc.) Cost Per Share: $12.96 Current Price: $14.38

I love it when a plan comes together. I have noticed by the foot traffic I see that this company is doing well and it shows in their stock price.

$UL (Unilever PLC) Cost Per Share: $40.75, Current Price: $42.42

I love how you have to use their products over and over again.

$WIN (Windstream Holdings Inc.) Cost Per Share: $10.67, Current Price: $9.70

A lot of day traders are downgrading this stock saying it can’t keep up their dividend payout. I think there is still hope in this stock and I hope to see a reversal soon. Many times day traders say the opposite of what they do. Follow the options and you get a better picture of how people really think.