The calendar has flipped once again.  You know what time that is…..time to summarize our monthly dividend income totals!  To me, nothing is better than compiled your results for the month and seeing the growth realized in a short 12 month period.   October came and went with a blink of an eye and it still blows my mind that 2018 is on the horizon.   Before I start looking too far ahead, let’s take a look and review my October divided income totals.

October dividend income summary

In October, I received $178.21 in dividend income.  This represents a 20.15% increase compared to September 2016 and a 9.83% increase if you exclude the impact of my wife’s dividend income.   For those of you that are new followers, this is the first year that I have reported my wife’s dividend income in my monthly dividend income reports.  So to provide a true apple to apples comparison to the figures I reported last year, I also report my growth rate without her.  The chart below provides a detailed breakdown of the companies that paid me a dividend this month:

Here are some highlights and observations from this month:

• I LOVED receiving the increased from dividend from Canadian Imperial this month.   If you recall, I added to my position in CM towards the end of September and was able to purchase the additional shares a few days before the ex-dividend date.  It is always nice when you can pull that one off.  Unfortunately I was not able to do that with my purchase the other day, which Lanny and I will tell you all about soon.
• Similarly, the dividend I received from Cardinal Health this month increased due to the additional shares I purchased earlier in 2017.  What’s crazy is that I included CAH on my October dividend stock watch list and the company’s stock price continues to slide.  If the fall continues, I may just have to continue lowering my cost basis in this Dividend Aristocrat.
• I was once again bit by the constantly shifting Kraft-Heinz dividend payment in 2016.  I swear I have had to include this variance in almost every monthly dividend income summary!  Hopefully they do not change the month they pay a dividend next year!
• Outside of those companies, my dividend increases were from the two best parts of dividend re-investing.  Dividend increases and the good old fashioned power of dividend re-investing.

POrtfolio Updates during the month

October was actually a quiet month when it came to stock purchases…until the end.  I purchased one stock this month…..but I’m going to keep you in suspense about that stock.  We are building a purchase article for this investment and I’m sure all of you will not be that shocked by the selection.  But for now, I’m going to keep you waiting.  Feel free to try to guess which stock it was though 🙂

In terms of dividend increases, I received dividend increases from two companies.  As discussed in my monthly article summarizing dividend increases for Dividend Aristocrats and some companies each month, both AEP and AFL increased their dividend ~5% in October.  My positions in these companies are not that large, so the two increases only added $5.60 to my forward dividend income.  But hey, every dollar counts after all, right?

summary

This month’s 20% increase did not pack the same excitement as last month’s 97% increase, but I’m very happy with the results given this was an “off” month of dividend income.   The increases I am realizing each month continue to out-pace the increase in wages I receive from my employer.  Seeing double-digit increases, along with some of the crazy results posted by other bloggers in the dividend growth community on a monthly basis, continue to motivate me to push the limits and invest as much as I can as early as possible.   So all, let’s get after it and make some great things happen!

How were your results in October?  Did you set a new personal record?  Did any new companies pay you a dividend for the first time?  What companies increased their dividend during the month?

-Bert