Bert’s June Dividend Income Summary

Lanny beat me to the punch for releasing our monthly dividend income summary and lets just say I have a tough act to follow.  $1,100 in total dividend income and a 30.31% dividend growth rate…impressive numbers Lanny!  You are crushing it.  However, the show must go on here and luckily for me, I had some nice year over year growth as well.   Time to peel back the layers and take a dive into my June dividend income summary!

dividend income

 June dividend income summary

This month I received $447.03 in dividend income, which represents a 56.58% dividend growth rate from the previous period!  At least I beat Lanny in the dividend growth rate category.  Below is a detailed breakdown of the individual companies that paid me a dividend during the month and some observations about the month!

DD - June

Woah that is a long, growing list of companies!  I received dividend paychecks from 20 companies and mutual funds this month…aka 57% of the holdings.  Just goes to show you how top-heavy the third month of every quarter is.  I mentioned above I had some observations about my month, so here they are:

  • Three of the five largest dividend checks I received this year were from positions I have initiated in the last 12 months.  Two of which, TROW and PFE, were purchased during 2016.   The large dividend checks from these three companies reflects a change in investing methodology I have beginning to follow (ever since Lanny talked me into it at the end of last year).   This philosophy is trying to initiate large positions in companies, ideally $3,000+.   The larger dividend checks help get the dividend snowball rolling that much faster as larger checks create larger DRIPs, which creates more forward income.
  • The move to sell 3 higher fee mutual funds and invest those funds in individual stocks really paid off for me in terms of consistent dividend income.  In June 2015, I received $16.58 in dividend income from the funds.  When I sold the funds, I used the capital to purchase all of my Pfizer position and about half my TROW price position.  That equates to $43.09 in dividend income from the re-invested position,  or a 160% from the prior period.  Of course I forfeited the massive capital gain distributions that the funds pay out at the end of the year, but I am happy to sacrifice that for a more consistent dividend income stream!

  • Last year I created a list of 5 “Always Buy” stocks to buy in the event of a flash sale.  I flagged those companies because I fell in love with their dividend metrics and history of consistently increasing their dividend.  After looking at the listing above, I realized I have purchased 3 of the 5 stocks in the last 12 months (MMM, JNJ, and EMR).   Further, I just purchased a fourth a few weeks ago when we purchased 50 shares of TGT!
  • This last point isn’t as obvious, so hang in there with me.  I received a benefit because of my employer’s 401k match from the previous year, which validates the powerful impact the 401k match can have on your dividend income and retirement plans.  In the first go around with my employer, I always invested in the mutual fund VWNAX (now I am building a position in another mutual fund VINIX).  VWNAX actually paid a lower dividend this quarter compared to last; however, because I received additional shares with my employer match and re-invested dividends from last year, my YOY dividend income from the fund actually increased!

June dividend increases

On a technicality I received one dividend increase this month.  As Lanny pointed out in his article, Target announced a 7% dividend increase during the month.  However, I did not actually own TGT at the time of the announcement and purchased shares in the company a few weeks later.  For fun though, I’ll pretend I received an increase to avoid putting none in this section.  June just isn’t a popular month for companies to announce dividend increases

Conclusion

Comparing my dividend income to the previous year is always a humbling experience for me.  You forget how quickly each move you make, each dollar you save, and each dividend increase impact your dividend income.   We are so focused on the individual transaction level that it is easy to forget how much has been accomplished over a longer, 12 month window.   The amount of new companies that paid me income this year compared to the last serves as motivation to keep on grinding, saving every dollar possible, and getting that dividend income rolling as soon as possible.  Now, that June is over, it is officially time to kick off the second half of 2016!  LET’S GO!

How were your months of June?  Do you own predominately dividend paying stocks or mutual funds?  How many new companies paid you dividends in June 2016 compared to June 2015?  Did you set a record this month?

Bert

37 thoughts on “Bert’s June Dividend Income Summary

    • Thanks BeSmartRich! You are right, I would be happy with the free cash if it even was $1. That’s why I love this game that we are playing here. Creating passive income for ourselves out of thin air.

      Bert

  1. That is one very impressive YOY increase in dividend. Nice work (or lack of work for that matter). As you noted, on to the next half of 2016! May the dividends be with you…..

  2. Nice job there Bert! Got a load of YoY growth you will be crushing barriers soon… also you must be pumped that BAC increased their div by 50% even though you got a small position.

    • hahaha I’m pumped when any company I won increases their dividend, even BAC. That stock will always hold a special place in my heart since it was the first stock I owned and it was a gift from my Grandma! So despite the fact that position is so small, I get excited every time BAC announces good news.

      Thank you so much for the kind words. Let’s put our boots to the ground and run through these barriers!

      Bert

  3. Solid dividend income Bert. Very solid YOY growth rate. Just showed that you’ve been working hard to invest money in your dividend portfolio.

    • Thanks Tawcan! Months like these always remind me that we are on the right journey here and motivate me to keep on going. Hopefully soon I can join the four digit club that you and Lanny are in.

      Bert

  4. Pretty stellar growth there especially considering you sold your 3 ETF’s and it looks like it’s going to serve you well with TROW and PFE going forward and those don’t have those pesky fees.

    • Thanks Captain, much appreciated. It is really nice not paying those fees. In today’s day of low fee ETFs and Vanguard funds, paying a high fee for mutual funds is just wrong haha I am loving the TROW and PFE positions and the no-fee DRIP going forward.

    • haha thanks MrSLM! I’m going to have to slow him down if I ever want to catch him. Don’t see that happening anytime soon (nor would I want that to happen – he needs to hit $10k soon) haha

      Bert

    • Thank you very much More Dividends, very kind of you. I can’t wait to cross the four digit club consistently one day. Have some work to do, but if I can keep this rate up I know I will eventually make it there. Nothing some hard work and determination can’t solve!

      Bert

  5. Keep it up Bert.
    It’s post like this just shows how living below your means and focusing on building your Passive Income stream can have a positive impact on your health and attitude. We all seem that much happier with each and every month when we receive our dividends and know it’s making an impact on our lives.
    Thanks for sharing and keep at it bro. Cheers to your new chapter!

    • Hustler!

      Agree completely. We are all passionate about reaching financial freedom. Correct me if I’m wrong, but people are much happier when they are chasing a dream or something they are passionate about. You serve as a great inspiration for me and many others in there in the community. Time to keep at it and keep making leaps towards finishing what we started, retiring early, and enjoying our dividends in early retirement one day.

      Take care!

      Bert

  6. You are doing all the right things as well. A very healthy year over year increase coupled with well over $400 for passive income earned is nothing to sneeze at. TROW is still a name on my watch list that I’d like to add to my portfolio eventually. Selling higher fee funds is always a good move too. For now, I plan to stock with dividend paying stocks exclusively. I’m not against funds it’s just that for now I don’t see a purpose for holding any ETFs, mutual funds, etc. in my portfolio. Look forward to the divvy round up from our fellow DGI bloggers. Thanks for sharing.

    • Divhut,

      Thank you very much, I appreciate your support. Funds can be a great thing for a portfolio in the right situation with the right fee ratio (same with ETFs). However, if you prefer individual dividend stocks and you feel that you can achieve the same level of diversification, then why pay those higher fees? Do you have an entry price for TROW that will trigger a purchase? Hopefully we can be fellow shareholders soon.

      Take care!

      Bert

  7. Very wise decision on getting rid of fees where it is possible, I’ve been accumulating an article or two noting my disdain for them. Also, congrats on the huge month! Looking forward to my first $400 month! Need $300 first though, minor details.

    • Stacker,

      That’s just a minor detail. You’ll reach $400, heck $1,000, soon enough. Time and persistence my friend and the power of compounding dividends will begin to take over! I’m going to have to stop by and check out your articles about mutual funds and your hatred for the high fees. Looking forward to it.

      Thank you for stopping by and the comment.

      Bert

  8. An increase of more than 50% in a year is pretty sweet, Bert. How many bills could nearly $450 take care of on a monthly basis. I’m looking at how many hours I could take off in a month. I set a record last month and hope to grow my income going forward on a monthly basis.

    • Thanks Chris! Just a rough estimate, that could probably cover about 50% of the rent, utilities, and cable/internet expense for my apartment. There is still food and entertainment, but it is a start. What about you? How many hours can you take off after June? Congrats on setting a record!

      Bert

  9. Hey Bert,

    Huge congratulations on a gigantic increase in your dividends, you did even better than BAC, which put things into perspective of how good you did.

    Can’t wait to see next quarter, I bet there’s a similar huge gain.

    Tristan

    • Tristan,

      Thank you so much! I haven’t thought about BAC being a success story for a while now. Maybe, oh maybe, it is getting ready to turn the corner. I hope you are right with my eventual 3rd quarter results. Take care!

      Bert

  10. Nice progress and the year over year growth is great. I’ve been looking at MMM lately and MCD – still kicking myself for not buying more when it was in the $90s. Good call selling the mutual funds – I started off investing in a couple high priced funds and it was a great decision to sell and use the proceeds to buy dividend stocks

    • Thanks Dan! Isn’t hindsight the worst with investing?? At the time, I’m sure there is some reason that we didn’t invest at X company at X price. And once the price jumps up and we look back at the price we were considering, we usually end up kicking ourselves for not dumping more cash in. I’m glad you followed a similar strategy and ditched the funds once your portfolio became larger. At the time, the funds served a great purpose and helped me diversify my new portfolio. However, as I grew as an investor and added more companies to the mix, it just wasn’t necessary to own them anymore and incur the high fee.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Bert

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