The Coronavirus has dominated everything lately. The news, the stock market, workplaces, families, life events, LIVES, you name it.
Let’s stay positive and think about all of the GOOD things we have and can control. We realize now, more than ever, how little we need to be happy and have a life w can thrive in. We remember those that we truly love. There are many positives we can take from this. I have also been very thankful that dividend income continues to roll in, day in and day out. Let’s take a moment and take a look at the dividend income results for March.
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 use our Dividend Diplomat Stock Screener and trade on Ally’s investment platform (one of our Financial Freedom Products) – commission free.
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 – dividend increases are the trifecta in the dividend equation.
See – The Impact of Dividend Increases through December of 2019
On to the numbers… In March, we (my wife and I) received a total of $4,484.98 of dividend income. March definitely didn’t disappoint. For the readers here, I want you to know that a MAJORITY are in tax-efficient accounts that I will not touch until the earlier of an IRA conversion ladder or when we hit 59.5. Therefore – this isn’t all readily available/accessible, not yet at least!
Consistent investing into the stock market, specifically dividend investing, continues to pay off. The quarter-ends are starting to become massive, due to the IRA and 401K dividend payments (Who and What is Vanguard?).
Here is the breakdown of dividend income for the month of March:
Well, the month almost clocked in at $5,000. So much hard work went into this dividend income, no doubt. However, there are also dividends on this list we won’t see for some time. Names such as Delta (DAL), Nordstrom for my wife (JWN) – trust me she is devastated, suspended their dividend due to the Coronavirus and shutdown we are in. Further, there are many more that are higher risk, in my opinion, during this time, so things can continue to change.
Vanguard’s mutual funds came through – as you can see with VINIX, VIIIX and even VOO – which all track the broader market index. VYM, a high dividend yield ETF, was slightly lower than prior year. All in all, the funds really carried the torch for this quarter-end… outside of two columns filled with individual powerful companies!
I think I see at least 10 dividend aristocrats up there, such as Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Target (TGT), Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Pepsi (PEP) and Consolidated Edison (ED). These are strong, reliable companies that have almost stood the test of time! Definitely great stocks to hold during a pandemic.
See – Top 5 Foundation Dividend Stocks
Related to retirement accounts, we received a total of $2,793.28 or 62%. The other 38% was from the individual taxable portfolio that can be used for everyday expenses. Quarter ends always have a higher dividend percentage allocated to retirement accounts for me, as the mutual funds and ETFs built up over the years from employers and investing really continue to compound. I always maximize the 401k and IRA, and that continues to pay-off in dividends, literally.44
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 $1,201.46 (including my wife’s dividend income of $1,023.63 last year with mine). This is a 36% growth rate from prior year. Incredible results baby! Love setting record months for March and this month showcased quite a bit. VINIX really paid out a massive one this year and the rest is simply capital infusions and dividend increases.
We shall see what 2021 March brings, with the turbulence and volatility coming up. However, with lower prices/higher yields, the dividend reinvestment has been very powerful.
Dividend Increases
Not a strong month on the dividend increase front for me. However, they were two very solid dividend increases. First, General Dynamics (GD), who is also on my April Dividend Stock Watch List, had a great 7.85% increase, which is above expectations. Then, you had the small/micro cap dividend stock of Armanino Foods (AMNF) increase their dividend 10%, not missing a beat! For the most current version – see Bert’s Expected Dividend Increases in April and see if your stock is on the list.
The favorite here, due to my Italian heritage, has to be AMNF. They announced a 10% increase and the investment continues to bring smiles!
Overall, $10.55 dividend income added would require an investment of $300 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 well over 100%+ of that amount. My taxable dividend income account would have had it covered and I wouldn’t have to consider the retirement-based accounts.
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.
We need to keep the positive energy flowing and continue with our strategy, if we can. Remember that when others are fleeing away, it usually means to go in the opposite direction. There are many undervalued dividend companies in the market, and many will persevere through this. Together, we can get through this volatility. Please share your thoughts, questions and feedback below. Excited to read how everyone did this month, as well. Stay safe, healthy and of course – good luck and happy investing!
Man ,thats very good number and snowball is fully rolling.
Desi –
It is rolling. Just want to see everyone do what it takes to help this pandemic, so bad. Stay healthy out there.
-Lanny
Damn that’s one impressive monthly dividend income. Nice work!
Tawcan –
Thank you, so, so much. Quite a bit in retirement accounts, but very happy with the results. Taking one day at a time Tawcan!
-Lanny
Nearly $5K!!! Awesome and Congrats Lanny! Very impressive. Keep up the great work! 🙂
MDD –
Yessir!!! Thank you, thank you! I appreciate it. I am taking one hour and one day at a time.
-Lanny
Lanny,
Nice, 5k is a ton. Sorry about the cuts though, but increases and patience will make up for minor losses.
– Gremlin
DG –
Yep – the cuts, the cuts always sting, no matter what. We’ll see how April goes and if the increases we think happen, will happen. Very curious, interesting and unreal times we are in. Learning, so much.
-Lanny
Unreal results Lanny! Nearly $5k per month, especially during this recent market, is proof that dividend investing works. Fantastic YoY numbers too. Nice work!
RTC –
Thank you – it’s weird seeing the comment with $5k in there. I will be there consistently soon. However, it’s all about continuing to save and invest into sound stocks, right now. Shall be interesting to see where we all end up.
-Lanny
Good Lord that is impressive.
Basically doubled from last year…and man almost 5k in a month? Seriously insane (and impressive).
Keep it up man:)
MoneyMaaster –
Thank you for the comment. Definitely felt great seeing the net increase. We will see where we are 3, 6 and 12 months from now. Let’s hang in there and stick to our strategy.
-Lanny
Congrats on the incredible results and the YOY growth on that dividend base is incredible! Keep the snowball rolling down the hill!
Kody –
Thanks for the comment. Lately, feels like I’m holding it steady and trying to keep it up, haha! The strong companies will persevere.
-Lanny
Almost 5k ind dividend income – any dividend investors dream. Congrats. Looks like you guys reached the point where the curve only keeps getting steeper and steeper. Great spot to be in.
DGJ –
Thank you and I will do what I can to make sure to keep the dividends growing. I want this pandemic to end, so bad!
-Lanny
Woww – Could pay a lot of bills with that income, definitely well earned! I know this must have taken a lot of hard work and patience. Really cool to see – keep things rolling. You have many great companies paying out this month.
Cheers,
Divcome
Divcome –
Almost 10 years in the making. A lot of patience. However, THIS is really where we all will be tested. Can we do it? We better.
-Lanny
Great job Lanny,
You really crushed the year to year! Let’s all cross our fingers so we can get through this crazy epidemic we are going through to get life somewhat back to normal. I’m going to be publishing mine this weekend!
cheers,
John
CW –
Yes – thank you for saying that. We need to get through this as best as we can. Can’t wait to read. Cheers to dividend income!
-Lanny
Whoa! You did what? That’s a blowout number for sure… nearly $4.5K! Congrats on that achievement. A lot of hard work went into receiving that amount.
I don’t have enough fingers and toes to keep track of all those dividend payers either, Lanny. Is it just me, or did you double the number of payers in the past year?
Sadly, it seems that your number of raises were cancelled out by your suspensions/cuts in March. However, I’m sure you’ll be on the right side of that equation next month.
FI is coming your way, Lanny. Keep up the outstanding efforts.
ED –
Yep, those damn cuts sting bad! April is/should be critical to see what companies do that normally increase their dividend. The spotlight is on them. Time to see if they believe we will persevere through this pandemic and if they’re confident in their financial stance. We’ll find out, starting this week!
-Lanny
What an incredible month Lanny! Definitely something to be happy about, especially at these times. Nicely said as well in your introduction, I totally agree with you.
I think you forgot to add the small dividend increase from Realty Income – I can see that it’s in your retirement account 🙂
BI –
Thank you. Hard to stay positive, but we’ll get through this. I do own Realty Income and great catch – I did not/forgot to add that one : ) I have been a long-time shareholder and REITs are also going through turbulent times, on a side note. Thank you for stopping by!
-Lanny
Knocking on $5k for a monthly total is serious cash even if a lot is “locked” in a retirement account for now. It’s still an amazing sum that should be celebrated. In the meantime, tell your wife to roll with those dividends cuts. We will all face them in our collective portfolios as 2020 moves along. All you can do is focus the new buys on cash rich low payout ratio dividend companies and stay diversified to mitigate those cuts. Congrats on the month!
DH –
Yep, I know, actually – she is more calm than me at this point, haha!
We will face them, we all will go through it. Looking at LOW payout, LOW debt and solid liquidity. Those companies should persevere. Onward DH, onward!
-Lanny
Nice job. Great income. I heard TJX also may have suspended the dividend but they haven’t put out a press release, but it makes since because most of their stores are shut down and supposedly the online store is shutdown.
Great YOY increase. I imagine most companies will issue smaller increases for dividend raises or wait to announce increases.
These next few months will be interesting.
Doug –
Yep – TJX Suspended; hard to continue it if you literally aren’t selling anything to a consumer.
What a whirlwind this has been.
-Lanny
Above all else, this really shows the power of compounding and the importance on focusing on quality Dividend growth companies.
Well done lanny
Derek –
Thank you, the compounding was legit for sure. Prices are still down, but man, March was a whirlwind and April has just had unusual positive results. Double dip coming? Hmm…
-Lanny
Hey Lanny,
The total this month is impressive on its own, but even more so when taking it in the context of the YOY increase. Your huge savings rate is really bringing in the gains!
Take care,
Ryan
Lanny,
Woah! I step away from updating the blog for a little bit and come back to this! Nice work!!! Gives us all inspiration.
Scott