Bert’s March Dividend Income Summary

Wow.  What a month it has been.  My busy season came to a roaring close, there were an insane number of March Madness upsets, and my personal favorite, baseball season is back!  One of my favorite activities each month is sitting down with a nice beverage and aggregating my final dividend results for the month.  I tally the results throughout the month, but there is something exciting about finalizing my totals and seeing the final amount of dividend income received and calculating my year over year growth rate.  Since this is March, aka the final month of the quarter, this is a very fun activity!  Let’s see how I performed this month.  Here is my March dividend income summary.

dividend income

march dividend income summary

This month, I received $891.56 in dividend income, a  22.75% increase compared to March 2017.  There was a lot going on this month, so here is a table summarizing the individual dividends received during the month.

Here are some of the highlights from March:

  • The star of the show in the third month of the quarter are obviously mutual funds.  I had some pretty high expectations for large dividend increases given the crazy announcements during the month. However, the results were surprisingly mixed.  VINIX announced a lower dividend compared to March 2017 while the other funds announced a slightly higher payout.  It definitely threw me for a loop, but hey, I guess I was due for a surprise eventually.
  • Luckily, the results of our 401k maximization strategy are really starting to show.  The dividend I received from VINIX doubled compared to last year while my wife’s mutual fund distributions increased as well.  However, this isn’t as large as it could have been and I’ll explain the recent SNAFU that has resulted in minimal 401k contributions during the last few months.  Luckily, it has been re-mediated.
  • This was the first month I received the full monthly dividend from Realty Income after my three purchases in January/February.  Man was it sweet to receive nearly $20 this month from the Monthly Dividend Paying Company.  This is going to be great to receive each month.
  • Compared to last year, I received a new dividend from Kroger, which I purchased after the company’s price took a nose dive in 2017.  My dividend was rather small though, so I would ideally like to see this amount increase one of these days.
  • Lastly, it was nice to receive the increased dividends from companies such as Aflac, Chevron, ADM, and ED, all of which announced surprised/large increases in the first two months of the year.
  • March portfolio news and dividend increases

  • The last few months, I have discussed the major changes in my portfolio that have impacted my forward dividend income.  This boils down to two types of portfolio changes: dividend increases and purchases/401(k) contributions.  I’ve enjoyed summarizing the major happenings in each monthly article so thought I would do so once again.

First, the dividend increases.  January and February provided me, Lanny, and a ton of you with incredible dividend increases.  Well, in March, this slowed down as very few companies I owned increased their dividend this month.  In fact, the only holding I owned that increased their dividend was Realty Income.  Despite the fact that I added a ton to my position at the beginning of 2018, the tiny $.0005/share increase in their monthly dividend income didn’t really move the needle in my forward income.  But hey, I’m never going to complain about receiving additional income each month regardless of the dollar amount!

Luckily, I was able to add a nice chunk of forward dividend income through transactions this year.  After sitting on the sideline for almost a month, I decided to join Lanny and we both purchased shares of Dominion Energy this month.   I wasn’t messing around with my purchase this year and as a result, the purchase added $133.60 to my forward dividend income.

This was my only individual purchase; however, I was able to add some dividend income via 401(k) contributions as well.   Earlier in the year, I mentioned that my wife and I are going to maximize our 401(k) contributions during the year.   That plan has been going very well for me as you can see in the chart above.  Each month I have been able to add between $25-$30 in forward dividend income based on these maximized contributions.

But things have not gone as well for my wife.  When she switched jobs in February, we had to wait several weeks for her plan to become active.  This was due to a clerical error on her employer’s part due to the fact she used to work for the employer 5+ years ago and returned with this new position.    There were some issues with Fidelity and for some reason, her account was not re-activated upon hire.  These issues were lingering for a while, but unfortunately, due to my busy season and the crazy work hours, I was not able to call and get her plan activated.    The good news is that we were able to sort this all out and she is able to contribute again.  I cannot wait to see her account grow quickly, because her regular contributions are going to be rather larger in order for her to maximize her contributions in 2018!  It should be a lot of fun to watch.

Summary

I don’t even know where time has gone during the first quarter of 2018.  But taking a step back and reflecting on everything that has gone on in my personal life and my investing portfolio, it is truly crazy to see how much things have grown.  Despite the decrease in market value experienced as the market finally pulled back, I have seen my monthly dividend income and forward dividend income continue to grow.  Adding $168 from purchases and contributions should provide a nice jolt to my second quarter results!  All in all, posting another double digit percent increase compared to last year was an exciting way to end March and it has me very pumped/excited to begin counting the dividends received in April.  Hopefully we can all continue to take care of business in 2018!  Now, let’s continue to side hustle whenever we can and do whatever we can to make every single dollar count.  Let’s keep on pushing everyone!

-Bert

30 thoughts on “Bert’s March Dividend Income Summary

  1. Nice Bert, 22% y/y is a pretty great result. Gotta love the future prospects since since you added all that forward income. Can’t wait to see how June looks because it’s all about those mutual fund dividends there!

    • Thanks TITM! I appreciate the kind words and yes, I love looking ahead to the future prospects and how could you not after making a few nice purchases? Like you, I cannot WAIT to see what everyone does and accomplishes during the next quarter. June should be one for the record books (hopefully!).

      Bert

  2. Bert, I feel your pain with VINIX. My dividend was a little lower than I was expecting as well. Hopefully, June will show some better results. Regardless, for the month you made $165 more than you did last year. Great work!

    • Thanks Money Hungry. Although I’m a little mad you didn’t leave a Chappele’s Show quote on the comment for my article like Lanny. Or at least that’s where I thought the Joe Rogan comment was from. I appreciate the kind words. VINIX was brutal, but hopefully it was a short term blip rather than a long-term trend. As you said, June will be huge for many reasons.

      Take care!

      Bert

  3. Even with the VINIX “surprise” you managed a very healthy double digit year over year gain. That’s the true name of the game. We all get those curve balls thrown at us every now and then but that’s why we have broad, diversified portfolios across sectors, individual stocks and asset classes. One quarter down… three to go. Keep at it!

    • That is a great point DivHut! You’re right, things will never be perfect. There will always be hiccups and surprises with your investments. The diversification protects us from that, as you pointed out, and the fact that we invest in companies that have a strong track record of consistently increasing their dividend. Sometimes the increases will be larger than expectations and other times they will be lower, but in the long run, we know we invest in great companies.

      Thanks for the motivation today and the great comment!

      Bert

  4. Dang Bert!

    You crushed it this month! $891.56 is freaking awesome especially since it’s all from dividends. Just think, you’ll continue to receive $891.56 or more every March for the rest of your life if you never sell. Then the rest of your kids lives and the rest of their kids, kids lives. You are building a wicked cool strategy for wealth and I love it.

    Congrats,
    Andrew

    • Andrew,

      Thank you very much! I hope you are right and I can get that that mark sooner rather than later 🙂 You’re right, this isn’t just setting up a foundation for me. Rather, it is setting up a great foundation for my future generations to come. I’m pumped as heck after reading your comment 🙂

      Bert

  5. Nice month Bert! Gotta love a 22% year over year increase! Like you, Realty Income was my only dividend increase, but an increase I would gladly take lol. 🙂 Congrats on a great month! Keep it up! 😀

  6. Wow Bert, nice YoY and getting extremely close to the 1,000 mark! Curious to see what new increases and transactions will be waiting for us this year. Keep it up, I will be following your progress for sure as I love these updates!

    DI

    • DI,

      Thank you so much. I know, I should easily crush $1,000 in June. I have a semi-annual mutual fund that pays in June and that should push me over the mark. The real test comes in September. Like you, I am eagerly awaiting the dividend increases this month to see what the market has in store for us as times continue to be interesting.

      Ber

  7. Good job Bert. You made more in dividends this month than I’m projected to make all year. I like the wide array of companies and funds that are paying you. That Realty Income increase was indeed small, but every little bit helps.

    I’m glad the busy season for you came to a close. Mine rearing its ugly head for the next couple of months.

    • DP,

      Oh no . Hopefully these months fly by and your busy season isn’t too bad! You’ll be laughing at how fast it went by before you know it, although I guess I would hardly say that Lanny and I are laughing after this one. I appreciate the kind words and support, as always!

      Bert

  8. Hi Bert, Fund dividends can be a bit unpredictable as you experienced. I kind of gave up worrying about them quarter to quarter and look at them more on an annual basis. Aside from that little surprise, looks like you pretty much got a strangle hold on things. Keep it up. Bet you guys are glad the audit and tax busy season is winding down. Talk to you soon. Tom

    • Tom,

      That’s not a bad idea, especially given the quarter to quarter volatility of the funds. However, man it is sure fun to watch it closely and ride the emotions of the surprise increases and decreases. I appreciate the kind words by the way and I am very, very excited that audit season is winding down.

      Take care,

      Bert

  9. Great month Bert. I hate to hear that about your wife’s 401k but I’m glad that you were able to get it worked out. Your strategy with the 401k is really paying off. 22% is some great yoy growth. Keep making every dollar count. Thanks for sharing.

    • Thanks More Dividend’s. The 401k problem was definitely frustrating, but as you said, I’m just happy to have it worked out and we are now on the path of maximizing our contributions for the year. I cannot wait to see the June, September, and December dividends as a result of the correction. Thanks again for the kind words.

      Cheers,

      Bert

  10. Hey Bert,
    I remember having similar issues when I went back to a company I used to work for. Guess the systems never really loose their data. Congrats on an excellent month and end to the 1st quarter.
    DFG

    • DFG,

      I should have known something like this was going to happen. It is funny, to me, this wouldn’t be that difficult of a transaction to complete. But I’m sure there was a breakdown of communication between her employer and Fidelity.. Oh well, what can you do? I’m just happy it is resolved. I appreciate the kind words as well by the way about the month.

      Bert

  11. Just shy of $900, amazing Bert and 22% yoy to boot. You are leading by example my friend.

    I must say I briefly scanned your report first and saw these things in the same alinea in the blink of an eye: “But things have not gone as well for my wife.” & “There were some issues with Fidelity”. I was like OH NO thats some personal thing right there but thankfully when I read the entire part I was really relieved. 🙂

    • Thank you so much Mr. Robot! So kind of you. I love this darn community because we all lead by example and motivate each other, regardless of the dollar amount earned during the month. I’m sorry to scare you there for a moment. Everything is great over here; however, just a few annoying hiccups with her retirement plan. Things could be a lot worse after all, right? I appreciate the concern though.

      Bert

  12. Can’t be more impressed, Bert. Outstanding YoY growth you’ve achieved, especially with the size of your portfolio. That’s an awesome collection of stocks and funds delivering for you. And I love that nice chunk of new forward dividend income you picked up with the D purchase.
    Speaking of D, are you trying to corner the market on single-letter stock tickers!? Let’s see, you’ve got D, O, T. What’s next? V? K? C? 😉

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