Bert’s June Dividend Income Summary

June is coming to a close and you know what that means….we are officially halfway through 2015!  That’s right, our year is nearly 50% completed.  Are you kidding me??  It seems like just yesterday that I was writing my 2015 goals article and trying to scheme about how I am going to knock these goals off.   This month is one of my favorite dividend months as most of my portfolio pays out in third month of the quarter, so this is always one of my favorite articles to write!  Let’s see how I performed in June and if I was able to knock of Lanny, who had one heck of a month as well racking up nearly $850 in dividend income!

dividend income

Dividend Income Summary

income summary

In June,  I received $282  in dividend income, an increase of 37% compared to June 2014 and 97% compared to March 2015.  However, I must say, the June to March comparison is very skewed because my portfolio’s largest holding, VWNAX (my employer’s 401k plan) pays a semi-annual dividend in June and December.  The true comparison lies in the YOY comparison, and I am pretty pumped about a 37% increase.   What drove this increase?  Let’s take a look.

  • As I mentioned in the last paragraph, the largest driver of this increase was my 401(k) retirement plan.  The increase in the dividend from the plan alone was almost $43, and this increase was the result of another full year of 401k contributions.  My share count jumped as I was pumping in 5% of my salary twice a month.   What’s funny is that the actual dividend paid decreased this year, from $.834/share in 2014 to $.758/share in 2015.  Luckily my dividend income did not skip a beat and I was able to withstand the decrease because of the increased share count.
  • I received dividends from 6 new contributors compared to June 2014 and 3 new contributors compared to March 2015.  This quarter has been very active for me and it seemed like a lot of my new additions paid a dividend on June 10, 2015.  Luckily for me, I was able to catch some of the stocks prior to their ex-dividend date and receive a dividend in the first quarter I owned the stock.  The additions during the quarter accounted for ~$28 in dividend income, or nearly 10% of my total dividend income for the month.  Here are the stocks that I received a dividend from for the first time this quarter:
  • Lastly, and my favorite, my dividend income increased as a result of the power of dividend reinvesting.  There is nothing better than watching your income from a stock increase as a result of doing NOTHING.  Music to our ears.   This is why we invest as soon as possible, so we can get the power of dividend reinvestment rolling as soon as possible.  I won’t go into detail about this, but check out the table above to see.

Dividend Increases

Similar to last month, this was a relatively quiet month in terms of dividend increases.  I received one increase this month from Canadian Imperial.  And as Lanny mentioned in his article, CM increased their dividend $.03 (CAD) which resulted in a dividend increase of $.60/quarter.  I’ll take it!   Sure as heck beats a $.00 increase.    Man am I getting tired of these boring months with barely any dividend increases though…oh well, especially considering the impact dividend growth rate has on your portfolio and forward dividend income.  But as I look ahead, the second half of the year should be pretty fruitful for all of our portfolios!

Summary

June is by far my strongest dividend month outside of December (when all mutual funds hand over their capital gains to their shareholders) and I am pumped that I as able to realize a 37% YOY increase.   If I keep up my current pace, I should eclipse $300 next June.  Boy would that be sweet!   This is why I love investing and this is what it is all about.  Growing your dividend income stream and pushing yourself so you could reach financial freedom sooner and spend as much time as possible with those you love.  I can’t wait to read all of your income articles this month, so hopefully Lanny is planning another blogger dividend income summary like he did in May!

How did you perform this month?  Were your mutual fund distributions greater r less than you anticipated?  What stocks did you receive income from for the first time in June?  Do you think I rely too heavily on dividend income from my employer’s 401(k)?

-Bert

26 thoughts on “Bert’s June Dividend Income Summary

    • SYFR,

      Thank you very much! I love these low entry points and they are creating some great buying opportunities in the market. With the large and sudden shocks that the market is sending from various activities, I put together a strategy and watch list to take advantage of underpriced US stocks. Let me know your thoughts on the list I added a link to the article and this is where my focus is at the moment. However, I am watching other European companies like TOT, UL, etc., during these times.

      https://www.dividenddiplomats.com/my-greece-strategy/

      Thanks for stopping by!

  1. Awesome Month Bert! Investing is an awesome feeling. It’s even more wonderful receiving the fruits of your labour through dividends. Just so sweet! Keep it up bud and we’re all on this path with you towards Financial Independence. One day at a time. Take Care.

    • Hustler! My man, thank you very much! Dividend investing is amazing and there aren’t too many things more satisfying than knowing you received income and shares in a company for doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! We have all made some amazing progress during the year, especially yourself, and are sprinting full speed towards financial freedom.

      As always, thanks for stopping by!

      Bert

  2. Thanks for sharing your results. Congratulation on the YoY gains. I think this is the true indicator to look for – and it is pretty significant for you.
    Well done!
    D4s

    • Div4son,

      Thank you very much. I love reading everyone’s results in the community because it inspires me to continue pushing myself to one day reach their level. The sharing of knowledge in the dividend investing community is awesome and it is what has kept me going over he last year. The YOY comparisons are the best because it shows how much progress you have made in such a short period of time. We are constantly looking forward and always looking to grow our income, so it is nice to take a step back and appreciate the progress you have made compared to the same time last year.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Bert

    • Thank you very much Adam! BAC is one of my favorite stocks. IT was the first stock I ever owned and my grandma bought it for me as a present. I may only own 11 shares of one of the largest banks in the world, but it is never leaving my portfolio! On the plus side, the dividend growth rate for BAC is amazing considering I receive $.11 in dividends from them last year haha

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Bert

    • Ken,

      Thanks! I love it. Comparing the YOY shows the true power of dividend re-investing. The amounts may seem small now, but wait until our dividends are re-investing 10 years from now. IT just makes me want to invest more and more so the YOY increase become larger and larger. Man do I love dividend investing!

      Bert

  3. Bert:

    Congratulations on a 37% increase from last June! That is truly outstanding. With dividend increases, DRIP, and SIX new contributors (compared to last year) these are awesome stats and you are surely only going to increase your already steady income stream as you continue to invest.

    As always, I look forward to hearing more.

    Best,
    Alex

    • Alex,

      Thank you for the kind words. You are absolutely right, unless I sell or a stock slashes its dividend (which we really try to prevent here), our dividend income streams only grow and move forward each passing day/week/month/year/etc. That is the beauty of the nature of dividend investing and we are so passionate about it.

      Have a great weekend and enjoy the holiday!

      Bert

  4. Fantastic work Bert! You keep moving in the right direction. Its a great thing to see but I am with you on the dividend increases. I love seeing more capital in my pocket for not doing any work! I also love seeing how much more I made compared to last quarter just because of the DRIP’ed shares. It may only be a few pennies right now, but a few pennies lead to a few nickels to a few quarters to a few dollars and well you get the picture!

    Keep up the great work!

    ADD

    • ADD,

      Thank you very much for the kind words! DRIPing is just the best, I don’t know how else to put it. The power of compounding is real and over time the impact becomes exponential. It is sometimes hard to see, especially because we are in the beginning stages of it now and it does appear to be pennies. But decades from now we are going to thank ourselves and laugh every time we receive a large dividend check. Maybe ten years from now I’ll post a 10-year over year comparison haha

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Bert

  5. Phenomenal job on the YOY increase! Almost $300 for doing nothing more than being a shareholder! Glad you’re enjoying the fruits of your dividend bearing tree. Thanks for sharing.

    – HMB

    • HMB,

      Thank you very much! $300 is crazy to think about, especially considering that I was barely receiving any dividends just over 2 years ago. That’s why this is so much fun and we place so much emphasis on investing NOW!

      Have a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

      Bert

  6. Excellent progress, Bert.

    June saw a pretty neat year-on-year increase for me as well. However, after two strong performances in April and May, June looks like a rather modest total (£71/$111). But it is a strong performance in general. I have another couple of weaker months before a strong finish to the year. Be interesting to see how your totals look!

    Keep up the good work!

    • DD,

      Thank you! Congrats on the great progress as well. I had a similar pattern as well. April and May experience a much larger % growth rate than June. For me, it came down to the volume of companies that pay dividends in the third month of the quarter versus the other two. It is harder to find a company that pays in months 1 vs. 2, so when you invest in a dividend giant like HCP you will receive a nice pop in the “off-months.” Luckily, for all of us, the % increase will decline since we are going to one day receive insane levels of dividends each month of the calendar year haha

      Keep up the great progress as well. I am looking forward to following along during the rest of the year. Have a great weekend!

      Bert

    • hahah my boss would show me the door if I demanded that raise. I can’t wait until the day where dividend income is my main income stream. Only then will my boss give my such large increases without me having to ask haha

      Have a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

      Bert

  7. Bert,

    I’ll take a 30% YOY increase in passive income anytime, especially when I know I didn’t have to “work” for it. 🙂

    Keep it up, man. Bigger and bigger numbers are surely coming your way!

    Cheers.

    • DM,

      Thank you very much. What is better than earning a 30% increase without lifting a finger. If only everything was that easy in life haha It is just further reason why we all need to keep pushing ourselves to build this dividend income stream because it does make a difference and the results are amazing. So let’s keep at it so that we can all enjoy financial freedom that much sooner!

      Have a great weekend!

      Bert

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