Dividend Income Summary: Lanny’s February 2021 Summary

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dividend income, dividend investing

Dividend income results are in for February 2021! The global pandemic from COVID-19 is still very real, vaccines are rolling out as fast as possible, with now Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) joining the party with Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna. Can we break through 2021 or what?!

Now, with that being said, the next round of economic stimulus is underwear, a nice $1.9 trillion bill was agreed to (I believe) and the checks will start running off the presses. The economic uncertainty is still there, but the stock market doesn’t seem to care, while setting highs still. You’re here for the dividend income, so let’s jump in!

Dividend Income

Dividend Income is the fruit from the labor of investing your money in the stock market. Further, Dividend Income is my primary vehicle on the road to Financial Freedom, which you can see through my Dividend Portfolio.

How do I research & screen for dividend stocks prior to making a purchase? I use our Dividend Diplomat Stock Screener and trade on Ally’s investment platform (one of our Financial Freedom Products) – commission free.

Relates: Financial Freedom Products

I also automatically invest and max out, pre-tax, my 401k through work and my Health Savings Account. This allows me to save a TON of money on taxes (aka thousands), which allows me to invest even more. In addition, all dividends I receive are automatically being reinvested back into the company that paid the dividend. This takes the emotion out of timing the market.

Growing your dividend income takes time and consistency. Investing as often, and early, as you can allows compound interest (aka dividends) to work it’s magic. I have gone from making $2.70 in a single month in dividend income to well over $4,000+ in a single month. That dividend income record was set in 2020. The power of compounding and dividend reinvestment is a wonderful component to the portfolio. Each and every month, whether big or small, I continue to report the passive income that dividend investing provides me. Why?

February Dividend INcome

*Not pictured is my wife’s dividend income above*

I want to show YOU that dividend investing makes it possible to achieve financial freedom and/or financial independence. We all start somewhere, but consistently investing, compounding (reinvesting) dividends and keeping it simple, allows you to be in a significantly better position than most. Further, if I can grow this portfolio and income stream, YOU can too.

dividend income – February 2021

Now, on to the numbers… In February, we (my wife and I) received a total of $886.98 of dividend income. Oooh!! So close, the big 4 digit mark was right there! We’ll go over this below, but very lucky to showcase these results. The great story here is that it’s MOSTLY taxable and that this is the income I can use… TODAY. The road to financial freedom from dividend investing is becoming clearer. The passive income stream just continues to grow.

Despite the pandemic from COVID-19, dividend income continues to grow, due primarily to additional investment and reinvestment. In the dividend stock purchases article released earlier in February (for January), my wife and I invested almost $4,000+ in dividend stock investments!

Further, though the dividend cuts hurt very bad, I know we did not take the worst of it. Dividend increases have also helped fuel the income growth. Dividend increases are discussed below and that’s one of the best feelings of being a dividend investor.

Here is the breakdown of dividend income for the month of February, between taxable and retirement (far right column, under “Retirement”) accounts:

Obviously, there is one dividend stock that everyone has in their dividend investing portfolio. AT&T (T) brings a windfall for us, at $131 in the taxable account and another $56 in the retirement based Roth IRA account. AT&T has been making major headlines with their spin-off coming of DirectTV with TPG, where AT&T will own 70% of the new company.

In addition, if you’ve seen my March 2021 Dividend Stock Watch list, I’ve been focusing on investments that will stand to do well now and for the long-term. In fact, I collected my first dividend from Verizon (VZ) and am excited for the compliment to my AT&T position. Check the link above if you haven’t read the watch list article yet.

Related: Top 5 Foundation Dividend Stocks and watch our video: Top 5 Foundation Stocks VIDEO

Lastly, as for our retirement accounts, we received a total of $295 or 33%. The other 67% was from the individual taxable portfolio that can be used for everyday expenses. I need to keep bolstering the taxable account, as that passive income stream can be accessed today/right now. However, I continue and will always maximize the 401k and IRA, as that continues to pay-off in dividends, literally.

DIvidend Income Year over Year Comparison

2020: February, Dividend Income

2021:

Dividend income, year over year is LOWER by $13. This is a 1.4% decline from prior year. WHAAAAT?!?! NO!!! There are reasons why dividend income is lower, see below.

First, Starbucks (SBUX) paid us quite a bit in February 2020. Well, this time – Starbucks dividend wasn’t paid until March 5th, versus February. Therefore, this is the first timing issue, which will make March dividend income much larger.

Second, the Healthcare REIT – Healthcare Properties (PEAK) also had a timing difference. This REIT is in my retirement based account and they typically pay in February and other odd-month ends. However, similar to Starbucks, Healthcare Properties decided to pay in March, as well, versus February. This caused another BIG swing down in February.

Lastly, one of the big pandemic dividend cuts that stings deep was WestRock (WRK). WestRock (WRK), whom continues to perform well, cut their dividend down quite a bit during the pandemic, and you can easily see the decrease in the dividend received their.

Honestly, without these 3 items, I may have been pushing $1,000+ in an OFF MONTH?! Well, March is going to be THAT MUCH better baby!

I also want to note, dividend investors are really enjoying the roaring come back from dividend growth. November through February 2021 proved to be pivotal moments for dividend investors, due to massive dividend increases. Here is the article below and a recent, related video.

The plan is to continue to invest where it makes sense and beef up current positions, increase the # of shares I own and set records again in 2021.

Dividend Increases

dividend investing, dividend increases

I received 8 dividend increases in February. Yes, EIGHT MASSIVE dividend increases baby!

The BIG surprise was John Deere (DE), increasing their dividend by a whopper of an amount. It shows more below, as I didn’t have their dividend updated fully from the prior increase. However, John Deere increased their dividend 18%!

Next, Pepsi (PEP) took it one step closer of becoming a DIVIDEND KING, which takes 50 consecutive years of dividend increases. They are one away, folks. Let’s keep thinking Young Pepsi!

I cannot wait for March. I want to see the dividend increase engine continue to fire on all cylinders. Dividend growth investing is back, BABY!

In total, dividend increases created a total of $96.67 in additional passive dividend income. I would need to invest $2,762 at a 3.50% dividend yield in order to add that income. Thank you for the increases, as I didn’t have to come up with the capital to create that form of income!

Dividend Income Conclusion & Summary

The name of the game is to apply what you learn through financial education. The next steps are to maximize every dollar for investment opportunities and live life on your own terms. My plan is to demonstrate that dividend income can be a revenue engine. A revenue engine that allows you to take back control of your life. A revenue engine to help you reach financial freedom. Dividend investing, once you learn the right way, becomes easier and starts to immensely make sense!

Excited for the future, no doubt. Further, all of the investing from last year and moves this year, shows that my aim to save 60% of my income, and making every dollar count, has provided the dividend growth.

If you are just starting out on your investment journey and you aren’t sure to start – please see the articles mentioned throughout this post. We are trying to bring you financial education and help you reach your financial goals.

Further, if you are starting out and/or want to know the Top 5 Stocks we always recommend, please see our YouTube video, subscribe to our channel and check us out! We’ll help break down further investing topics not only on this blog, but by showing you through video!