Currently is ice raining here in Cleveland. However, for the most part, winter has been warm and even sunny on a few days. One thing, though, is certain. Dividend income arrives – rain, snow or shine baby! Time to warm up and check on the dividend income that my stock portfolio delivered last month!
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 Income and my Dividend Portfolio.
How do I research & screen for dividend stocks prior to making a purchase? I usually put the stocks through our Dividend Diplomat Stock Screener and trade on Ally’s investment platform (one of our Financial Freedom Products).
See – Dividend Diplomat Stock Screener
See – Financial Freedom Products
I also automatically max out, pre-tax, my 401k through work and my Health Savings Account. This allows me to save a TON of money come tax time (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 helps take the emotion out of timing & making a decision.
See – Tax Strategy – Part 3 to Reduce Taxes & Increase Investment.
See – Why I Don’t Time or Predict The Market
Lastly, Dividend Increases add quite a bang to the portfolio, as well. As you saw from my recent post in January, dividend increases added almost $415+ for 2019! I do this to show YOU the power of dividend investing – the increases is the trifecta in the dividend equation.
See – The Impact of Dividend Increases through December of 2019
On to the numbers… In January, we (my wife and I) received a total of $850.56 of dividend income. almost to 4 digits, but we are hopeful to make it there next month in February. Consistent investing into the stock market, specifically dividend investing, continues to pay off. Receiving dividend income at this level for January is solid, especially since it’s a non-quarter end.
Here is the breakdown of dividend income for the month of January:
Two large dividend income checks came in and that is from Philip Morris (PM) and Canadian Imperial bank of Commerce (CM) came in with over $100 each. Total (TOT) is not too far behind. These 3 have been long term dividend stock holdings, for sure.
Here, it shows that we received a total of $131.70, (up from $71.27 last year), 15%, from retirement accounts and the other 85% was from the individual taxable portfolio. This % allocation increased due to a few reasons. First, my wife has retirement dividend income added. Second, dividends are higher due to dividend increases.
See – Maximizing your Roth for 10 Years… Then Set It & Forget It!
Dividend Income Year over Year Comparison
2019:
2020:
Dividend income, year over year is higher by $35.08 (including my wife’s dividend income of $37.85 last year with mine). This is 4.3% growth rate from prior year. Not that much growth, honestly. There is one MASSIVE outlier here. That is BHP Billiton’s (BBL) one-time, special dividend they paid last year that represented $144.79! Removing that from the equation, then dividend income was up 27%, but hey – all good here.
At this rate, we should be well over $1,100+, right? Let’s get it! Dividend increases and dividend reinvestment should take care of most of the growth.
Dividend Increases
A stock or two was on Bert’s article for January increases, such as Intel (INTC) and Realty Income (O). Diageo (DEO) came in with a sleeper move and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), snuck in January instead of February. For the most current version – see Bert’s Expected Dividend Increases in February and see if your stock is on the list.
I do not have a specific favorite. However, Realty Income (O) has made the dividend aristocrat list! We wish them a huge congratulations.
Overall, $24.42 added would require an investment of $700 at 3.50% yield, in order to produce that result.
See – The Impact of The Dividend Growth Rate!
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 a balanced life. 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!
There is a nice adjustment to my most recent monthly expenditures article. Sadly, my property taxes increased by 14% in 2018. Therefore, our average is $1,040 per month Due to that, my current dividend income would cover 81%+ of that amount. Almost to 100%, almost there.
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 allowed promising results already this year.
First month of… 2020 is in the books baby! Let’s make it count and start this year off right. Financial Freedom, Financial Independence, insert your freedom phrase here, awaits! Please share your thoughts, questions and feedback below! Excited to read how everyone did this month, as well. Thank you again, good luck and happy investing!
Lanny,
Nice way to start off the year. Being up that 27% based on regular dividends is pretty great at this level. Nice that you and your wife are able to really combine your funds and make them work together. Combined efforts are always more effective!
– Gremlin
Gremlin –
Thank you, THANK YOU. Time to get the snowball bigger and faster, the power is time and the more you do with more time you have, the bigger this dividend snowball is about to get!
-Lanny
nice Lanny great growth and nice raises
Always harder to see the growth when the year before you get those one off payments. No complaints though!
Keep it up, I’m sure you will break 1k in no time.
cheers
PCI –
Thank you, the raises are the best. Yep, that BBL off payment, woof! I was loving it last year and knew it was a one-timer, but damn!!
-Lanny
Congrats Lanny! What a great start into 2020. A very impressive growth rate year over year. Just realised that in my portfolio MSM paid a $5 special dividend so I will have the same comparison issue next year (and even bigger growth rate this year 😉
DGJ –
Thank you and WOW a $5 special dividend is definitely going to skew results; but just back it off next year when you compare, to have an apples to apples.
Or yes – grow the dividend biggest this year for next year!
-Lanny
Lanny, you’ve recorded some nice progress in overcoming this year’s absence of that special dividend from BBL. That’s no easy task.
Great to see the long-time holdings passing or approaching the $100 mark. It’s evidence of what all the holdings can achieve with some time and investment.
Keep doing what you’re doing… it’s definitely working!
Engineering –
Thank you, very much. That’s the fun part, seeing your flowers blossom over the years, literally.
Dividend investing is awesome. Sometimes we stress about finding value, but we know we need to stay consistently invested. Let’s get it!
-Lanny
Very cool. This was the first I had heard of AMNF. I may pick up a few shares. Now that trades are commission-free I like dividend stocks with very low per-share costs because I can just scoop up a few shares with whatever is leftover after I make my main dollar-cost-averaged purchase for the month.
REIT Dude –
Def. check out AMNF – they are great, a nice little Italian food company. My brokerage at Ally requires a minimum $100 on the low volume/micro cap stocks – such as AMNF.
Keep stacking those divvies RD!
-Lanny
Congrats on collecting $850 in dividends during January. Next stop is $1,000+! Keep making every dollar count.
Kody –
$1,000 no doubt. If I can help it, I want to get to $1,200. COME ON!!!!
-Lanny
Super Lanny! Sooner than later you will no longer see a 3 digit month. Especially when you went all HAM and sink what you did into the market last month. Whooooee.
I ended up with $1,321 last month but down a touch YtY after my major escape from sinking REITS in August.
Oh, I hope I make the big list this month since I can pad that average..!
Thanks for your website. It’s the one I go to the most in regards to investing & money stuff.
cheers,
John
CW –
Exactly, haha. Going HAM is what we have to do.
Your dividends are insane. You are killing it, no fricken doubt. You will make the list NO DOUBT. Can’t wait to finish up the listings, takes so much time haha, but WELL WORTH IT.
You’re the man and PUMPED we are in this TOGETHER. Keep pushing each other.
-Lanny
Way to go Lanny, that’s how you kick off the new decade! Keep that snowball rolling ????????
DGX –
Thank you! Can’t believe we are one month down, closing in on finishing the second as well. Time… it’s crazy, wish we had more, always.
-Lanny
Great month Lanny! You’ll surpass $1K real soon. Nice series of dividend increases as well. Glad to see we both benefit from O’s dividend increase. 🙂 Keep up the great work! 🙂
MDD-
Much appreciated. O is just an engine, like clockwork, turning dividend increases consistently throughout the year, love it. Keep it up too.
-Lanny
Very nice start of the year, Lanny! You are an example that consistency pays off.
27% increase compared to last year (disregarding that special dividend) says a thing. I guess we are not far away from all months being in 4-digit territory 🙂
Keep it up!
BI
BI –
What’s funny is – I believe you are right, consistent 4 digit months… something that makes my anxious no doubt. Time to keep moving forward!
-Lanny
850 USD, wow, very impressive, especially knowing that January is usually a rather light dividend income month.
Happy reader!
EuroDGI –
Thank you and pumped you’ve enjoyed the articles so far. Anything in particular you’d like to read that we could write?
-Lanny
Great job. And another raise from MPW which just raised in sep for the oct dividend also. And with the great quarter it had it could run up a bit. Still a great YOY wether you add the one time dividend or not. Keep it up.
Doug –
Man, oh man. Another 4% increase, LOVING IT. Let’s GO MPW, keep it coming!
-Lanny
Nice work Lanny!
“Every dollar counts!” is something I’ve learned from you guys and I keep hearing it in my head every day when thinking about buying a can of soda or whatever.
Have a great week! 🙂
Best regards
D.G.E.
Engine –
YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT! Every Dollar… matters. IT all counts. So humbled that you have taken that advice and stick with it, to even small items as a can of soda. Doing so… will pay divvies, no doubt. OWN the SODA COMPANY.
-Lanny