Does time fly or what?  With a blink of an eye, February  flew by.  I cannot believe that we are already two months through 2017!   With each passing month, it is time to take a look at our family’s combined dividend income total for the month of February now that we are reporting our consolidated finances.   2017 is all about progress, so let’s see the results for the shortest month of the year;  time to check out my February Dividend Income Summary!

February dividend income summary

This month, we earned $217.76  in dividend income, a 60% increase from what I reported in 2016.  Holy smokes, I am pretty excited with the results considering this is an “off month” for dividend income.   While I’m pumped about the results, I still have some work to do to catch Lanny, who posted an impressive $322.59 mark this month.  Congrats on the great month Lanny!  Our family’s February dividend income is summarized as follows.

Here are some of the key observations from the table above:

• Man does my wife own a lot of stocks that pay a dividend in February.  Her positions paid $58.69 this month, which are a huge reason why we were able to achieve a 60% growth rate.  Of her positions (the tickers with a “W” next to them), she owns two companies that are not in my portfolio as well.  CAT and Starbucks, which is one of the low yielding dividend stocks that Lanny and I have often talked about on this website and written several articles about.
• Did anyone else notice that HCP quietly changed the month they pay a dividend after they spun-off Quality Care Properties?   Luckily, we were able to withstand the impact of HCP changing months based on additions of Realty Income and receiving income from the companies my wife owns.  This is the second month in a row that I have received less income in a month due to a company changing the month that they pay a dividend.  I know the important thing is that the company still continues to pay a dividend, but this one feels different due to the fact that QCP has still not released when they are paying their dividend.  The impact of the spin-off on our dividend income is still up in the air and will not be settled until QCP makes their highly anticipated dividend announcement.  I’m sure you aren’t surprised, but Lanny and I are monitoring this one very closely.

• My last two stock purchases, PG and TROW (which occurred in February) , were centered around my recent obsession with building the positions in my portfolio versus initiating smaller new positions.  Well, the stock that started this trend in my portfolio was Citizens and Northern (CZNC).  What’s nuts that I received 2.28 shares via DRIP in February.  This DRIP alone added $2.37 shares to my forward annual dividend income.  While that may not seem like a lot, that will produce nearly .1 new shares in CZNC annually that will continue to multiply the impact of compounding.  This is why I freaking love dividend investing!
• Speaking of PG, when I added to my position in January, I was able to sneak in right before the ex-dividend date.  The timing of my purchase couldn’t have been better and I was able to receive an extra $14.26 this month because of it!
• Lastly, this is a funny one.  It just hit me that my wife and I own nearly identical stakes in AT&T.  What are the odds that we both received over $34 and were within $.08 of each other?  That was the first dividend stock she purchased too.  Combined, we both own 142 shares of the telecom giant that are producing over 1.5 new shares quarterly via DRIP.

All in all, this was a great month despite the fact Lanny and I are in the heart of our busy seasons.   Investing wise, I couldnt’ be happier with the results and I was excited to share with everyone in the community that my portfolio is firmly over $100,000!  A huge milestone that I am very happy is now behind me.  Going forward, my objective is to catch and surpass Lanny (kidding kidding – that will be nearly impossible to do considering Lanny’s recent purchasing spree).  In all seriousness, results like this month continue to motivate me to keep pushing and keep grinding away.  Good things will come with hard work and persistence.  Now, it is time to get even more excited about the best dividend month of the quarter!  I cannot wait to share my results with all of you about the same time next month.

What were your dividend income totals in February?  What new companies paid you a dividend in February?  Were you impacted by HCP/QCP moving their dividend to a different month as well?  Which stocks are on your watch lists for the next few weeks?

Bert