"Beat 2.65%" challenge

   In June 2012, we took $25K loan for 5 years, which costs us 2.65% in annual interest. Instead of paying $25K outright, the idea is to invest the same amount and earn more than we pay in interest. Even though interests rates on CD are near 0%, there are many solid companies in yielding close to 3% in dividend per year.

So my challenge is to create $25K investment portfolio and earn more than 2.65% per year in a period ending June 2017. I'll track my progress under "Beating 2.65%" posts, posting ideas and tracking performance of this portfolio. 

I want to avoid the mistake of "reaching for the yield", however I feel bias in looking for higher yielding stocks. 

The good approach here is to look for companies with strong owner earnings not just dividends.