It is insane that I am already writing my January dividend income summary.  Time flies by.  It seems like just yesterday I was preparing my goals for the year and trying to map out my year.  Now, we are already 1/12 of the way through executing my strategy and aiming for the fences.    With one month in the books, I figured it is appropriate to review my January dividend income figures and compare the results to last year.  So much can happen in 12 months and now, it is time to see the fruits of my labor.  Let’s dive into the the results!

January dividend Income Summary

This is an exciting summary for a few reasons.  First, I am very, very happy with the results!  Second, this is the first time I am reporting both my dividend income for the month AND the dividend my wife earned as well.  If you recall, I mentioned how I decided to wait until the end of the year to begin reporting both our portfolios as one (to make earlier comparisons easier) and to allow me to accurately assess my goals progress during the year.    To avoid confusion, I added a “W” next to the tickers for all income earned by my favorite lady.   We detailed our dividend income in the table below.

This month, we received a combined $127.81 in dividend income, a 23.4% increase from last year.  I know what you are all thinking, and no, my increase was not just due to the fact that I included my wife’s dividend income in this monthly summary.   January is typically an off month with minimal activity; however, my portfolio definitely had some noise during the month.   Here were some of the major happenings that resulted in my 23.4% increase.

• Over the last twelve months, I added two companies that pay a dividend in January.  Well, technically Realty Income pays a dividend every month, so this statement will hold true for every month during 2017 since I did not purchase shares of O until the end of 2016.   Unlike Realty Income though, Cardinal Health is a quarterly dividend payer.   This is now the second dividend I have received from CAH and I would love to continue adding to this position over time.
• The impact of exchange rates almost resulted in a net decrease of about a dollar, which is pretty fortunate if you ask me.  I was lucky to benefit from exchange rates for Canadian Imperial (CM) and not so lucky with GlaxoSmithKline.
• The ever elusive Kraft-Heinz Co. (KHC) accelerated their dividend and paid a fifth dividend in December 2016.   So unlike last year, I did not receive a dividend from them during January.  Honestly, I am still trying to figure out which month I can expect to receive their dividend payment in each quarter.  This is the second time since their merger in 2015 that they changed the month they pay their dividend.  Ultimately though, it doesn’t matter because I am still receiving the dividend payment.  That’s all that matters.  It is just throwing off my monthly dividend income results and I’m tired of having to explain this every month!

Investment Activity in January

While I didn’t strike with the same force as Lanny in January, I was able to make a few moves during the month.  First in the spirit of saying screw it and taking a few risks and in the spirit of Lanny’s tax saving strategy from last year, I increased my 401k allocation.  I didn’t go all out…yet.   But I am slowly creeping up the amount I contribute each paycheck and the results are really starting the show.   My contribution per paycheck is now $281 and we get paid twice per month, so I am adding $562 automatically which is really nice.   I added even more income when I purchased 20 shares of Procter & Gamble in the middle of the month.   The results of the PG purchase and my automatic investments added nearly $68 in forward annual dividend income to my portfolio!  Can’t complain about those figures!

Summary

What a motivating way to start 2017.  The results of this game we are all playing continue to push me to keep on investing and keep on striving for financial freedom.   I cannot wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for me, Lanny, and all of us!  I’m looking to try make one purchase a month, at a minimum, to keep fueling this fire and pushing my dividend income higher and higher.  Adding new stocks is obviously the easiest and fastest way to grow your income at a large rate, so it is time to get serious and focus on buying those companies on my watch list and any other company that may suddenly appear on my radar.   The best way to end this, and so many articles, is to remember that EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR COUNTS in our journey.  So let’s keep on going and keep on making progress in 2017!

How did you perform in January? Did you set a new personal record?  What new companies paid you a dividend during the month?  Did the KHC shifting dividend come back to bite you as well?  Did you like the way I presented our combined dividend income?  Or would you prefer I split the figures up?

-Bert