Labor Day is behind us and we are closing in on the final quarter of the year! Fall is my favorite season. The outdoors, changing leaves, football, playoff baseball, great food, bonfires….man I’m happy this season is here. As with each month, we take a look at how we performed compare to last year to measure our growth, progress, and pursuit of good old financial freedom! Here is my August dividend income summary folks.
August Dividend Income Summary
In August, I received $384.07 in dividend income, an increase of 37.90% compared to last year! This is right in line with the 35% YOY increase I realized last month. The following chart provides a detailed breakdown of the individual dividends received. Please note that a “W” represents a dividend received in my wife’s account. Here is a detailed listing of the individual dividends received:
Here are some highlights and notes from the month from August:
- I received a dividend from one new company this month, Westrock (WRK). I followed Lanny’s lead and initiated a position at the beginning of August. It wasn’t large by any stretch, but it was a great entry position nonetheless. I’m just always excited when I can receive a dividend in the same month I made the purchase.
- This was the first quarter I felt the impact of the Starbucks purchases I made earlier in the year. I purchased shares once in April and another time in June. It was nice to receive over $29 compared to only $7 last year.
- Speaking of increased dividends due to additional purchases over the last 12 months, my PG and O positions have increased drastically since last year. Resulting in significantly more dividend income. Plus, a couple of nice dividend increases from PG and O along the way helped too!
- KMI….that dividend increase announced in April was SWEET. That was a major contributor to our overall increase during the month.
August Portfolio News and Dividend Increases
In this section, I’ll review two different ways that my forward dividend income will increase during the month: dividend increases and investment activity. The first table I will review is the dividend increases received during the month.
Yeah…so….I didn’t receive that many dividend increases during the month. In fact, I can’t even buy two items on McDonalds’ dollar menu with the extra income I received. If anything, what isn’t included in this table is more notable than what is included. First, while ITW did increase their dividend this month by a staggering amount, I did not include them. Why not? Because I purchased ITW three times AFTER the dividend increase. Thus, the additional income is going to be included in the next table. Second, I purchased shares of Tyson Foods in July and was expecting the company to increase their dividend during the month. However, as I highlighted in my dividend increase recap article, TSN did not announce an increase. Rather, they used the capital for an acquisition. So unfortunately, I could not add them to the chart either.
The second, following chart will show the dividend income added this month due to purchases, 401k/HSA purchases.
I made four stock purchases this month which added $143 in forward dividend income. This included initiating a new position in WRK and purchased ITW not one, not two, but THREE times. ITW was on my last watch list and was pumped to be fortunate establish a large position. WRK’s position isn’t nearly as large.
As I mentioned in a post earlier this year, my wife and I started maximizing our 401k contributions for the first time in 2018. This continues to flex its muscles every two weeks and I’m loving the fact that I am adding a consistent amount of income, $66+, from this strategy. Unfortunately, I am the only one on a high deductible plan in our family and thus, only I can contribute to a HSA. So the impact from this tax-reduction strategy isn’t quite as strong!
In total, dividend increases and purchases added $214 in forward dividend income to my forward income this month!
Summary
Another monthly summary in the books. Once again, I couldn’t help but smile at all the progress being made during the year. But I’m not alone, because the community continues to crush it as well and Lanny continues to push himself. Your progress continues to motivate me to save as much as possible and make every dollar count. There are a lot of great companies that are expected to announce dividend increases in September. Plus, I’m hoping there will be other great dividend growth stocks that fall into the “buy” zone. Let’s focus everyone and make it happen!
-Bert
I enjoy following your progress toward financial freedom and commend you for staying laser focused on saving and investing. I also enjoy reading your research and have used your analysis when considering buying or adding to my positions. Recently I added to Itw (150) and bought sbux (100) , leg (100), cat (100) and o (100). I’m considering starting a position in De. Thank you for sharing your journey with us
Thank you very much Lou! Glad you have found some of our work valuable in your investment decision process. I’m hoping those numbers are in the form of shares. If so, you have added an INSANE amount of dividend income right there. Now that is how you kick start YOUR financial freedom journey right there my friend.
Bert
You are doing really well Bert! That ITW increase was mouth-watering.
I saw that you have an HSA – I have been funding an HSA since 2012, and the balance in that account is already over $34,000! A little bit every year really starts to add up.
Thanks FIREman! Much appreciated! I almost fell to the floor when I read about the ITW increase. It was pretty freaking sweet if you ask me. I do have an HSA and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t start contributing earlier. That is such a nice balance and hopefully you have an investment option in there as well. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of the taxes, earn some dividend income, and then on top of it, have a retirement option when all is said and done for the remaining balance.
Bert
Dang Bert those purchases and increases really hit a homerun for your forward income. You’re talking about adding double digits on a monthly base!
All in all a great month for you and 37% with your portfolio is sweet!
Thanks Mr. Robot! I appreciate the kind words. Hopefully we can keep this pace up for the rest of the year 🙂
Bert
HSA is a wonderful tax benefit vehcile.Contribution is pre tax and earnings is tax free. Good decision on HSA
Thanks Invest4Income! I’m fortunate enough to have started contributing a few years ago. Now, I’m going to maximize it every chance I get.
Bert
Huge double digit year over year gain. Always nice to see solid progress being made. Enjoy those future ITW dividends. You always drive the point home of making every dollar count. I think we often get too focused on “big” dividends and big year over year gains but the truth is that every huge dividend received was made by “making every dollar count.” It’s all about continual building and growing. Keep it up!
Thank you very much Keith! I love it and your comments are always my favorite to read. You’re right, it slowly builds over time. Whether you receive a $50 divvy from a company or a $7 divvy, it all brings you one step closer to the end game.
Bert
Wow, Bert! That YOY growth is incredible for your capital base. It’s inspiring and encouraging to see the DGI strategy in its later stages. I’m looking forward to reading the community results coming soon.
Thanks Kody! That’s very kind of you. I’m glad you’re excited to see the community results, because they are about to be AWESOME!
Bert
Dang Bert, that’s some great progress right there! It’s great seeing how some of those holdings have increased, which shows how continuing to add to positions can really begin to pay off. Keep feeding the machine!
DivvyDad,
Thank you so much. I’m hoping to continue adding fuel to this machine, just like everyone else is. It is fun seeing everyone in the community continue to grow and push forward.
Bert
Both solid and consistent growth rate from last year Bert. Congrats. It’s awesome to see your portfolio benefiting from your own contributions and the power of compounding growth (however small).
Dividend Portfolio,
Thank you very much. The power of dividend growth investing is amazing. Every month and every article I read just motivates me to continue chugging along and doing whatever I can to grow this portfolio.
Bert
Bert,
Very nice to see you brushing up on the $400 mark in August. That is huge, and I bet you will crush September.
– Gremlin
Gremlin,
I hope you are right! September should be a fun month for all of us 🙂
Bert
Congrats on another great month Bert! Nearly 38% YOY is fantastic. Keep it up! 🙂
Thank you very much MDD!
Bert
Good job. Nice YOY. Some good buys throughout the year. Some good increases and you get a nice dividend increase. Keep it up.
Thank you Doug. Much appreciated! Slow and steady wins the race my friend.
Bert
nice Bert
great income followed by a solid yr over yr increase. We share pg and cvs this month.
keep it up man
cheers
Thanks PCI! PG is one of my favorite holdings, so I’m glad we are fellow shareholders right there.
Bert
Hey Bert! What stands out for me are some of those individual YoY differences (PG, T, SBUX, O). Your additions to existing portfolio holdings is very evident. Of course this led to outstanding YoY growth for the entire portfolio… nearly 38%, whoa!
I was happy to see the WRK dividend considering it was such a recent purchase. It’s always nice to see the dividends start to come in so quickly.
Finally, congrats on all that new dividend income as a result of the purchases… over 212 bucks! Your dividend future is looking bright!
ED,
Thank you very much! Such a kind comment and a lot is in there. The purchases have been a huge addition to my dividend income and I’ve enjoyed seeing some large additions each month. I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to invest and to have someone like Lanny around to motivate and continue pushing me.
Bert
I’m a big fan of the fall too. Nice job on the month with $384.07 of income! That’s a nice increase over last year. And wow, that is a lot of extra income added in one month. I look forward to seeing how your purchases impact future reports. Thanks for sharing the great summary.
RTC,
Fall is the best. Love it! Thank you very much. Hopefully I’ll be able to feel the impact of a lot of the purchases soon and this should be an exciting fourth quarter!
Bert