Dividend Income Update – October 2014

moremoneyAnother month has passed by, and it’s time for me to post an article on my favorite subject: dividend income. The reason why I love to post articles on dividend income is because it’s pure numbers. It’s hard to argue the success of long-term dividend growth investing when you can slowly and surely see dividend income rise over time and get closer to covering one’s expenses.

October was yet another step in the right direction. And that direction is up. It’s all about positive cash flow, folks. Every additional dollar in dividend income can be reinvested back into dividend-paying stocks, thus creating even more future cash flow. Compounding at its absolute finest. Every dividend dollar that hit my account last month was promptly reinvested, allowing the dividend machine that is my portfolio to surely spit out even more dividends in the future.

I hope these monthly dividend income reports provide inspiration for any investors out there that are just starting out. It’s easy to see these payments rising month after month and it shows that it’s possible to one day pay for monthly expenses with dividends, which would provide an investor opportunities and freedom to pursue interests otherΒ than full-time work. Without further ado:

October 2014 Dividends Received

  • Baxter International Inc. (BAX) – $31.20
  • The Coca-Cola Company (KO) – $42.70
  • Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) – $16.98
  • Altria Group Inc. (MO) – $41.60
  • Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) – $115.00
  • American Realty Capital Properties Inc. (ARCP) – $23.33
  • Realty Income Corp. (O) – $12.82
  • Medtronic, Inc. (MDT) – $11.29
  • Armanino Foods of Distinction Inc. (AMNF) – $14.40
  • Sysco Corporation (SYY) – $8.41
  • General Electric Company (GE) – $37.40
  • Raytheon Company (RTN) – $15.13
  • Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) – $12.58

Total dividends received during the month of October: $382.84

Just another successful month. October has never really been particularly strong for meΒ in regards to dividend income, but I”ll gladly take almost $400 in passive income. What I love about dividend income, though, is that it’s tangible. This is real money. Capital gains oscillate on a day-to-day basis, as stocks go up and down. But this is cash that actually hit my wallet, cash that I can basically spend as I please. I’m not financially independent yet, so I already mentioned that this was all reinvested almost as soon as it came into my possession.

However, I didn’t have to do that. I could have spent it on whatever I wanted – a couple of fancy restaurant visits, a weekend road trip, or a shopping spree. And that’s really the flexibility of dividend income; it’s cash that can be used to spend as you see fit, just like any other cash that comes your way. Of course, I didn’t spend it on any of those frilly things because I already know that owning my own time is worth far more than anything else.

I feel like I’ve crossed a point of critical mass here – the dividends are now coming in fairly heavily, and will propel my portfolio almost all by themselves. I’m projecting about $6,000 in dividend income over the next 12 months, which is an average of $500 per month. Investing $500 per month is actually a pretty solid goal in and of itself for most people, and I can do that with no extra work on my part forΒ the next year. Furthermore, this amount will almost surely increase as I reinvest it and buy more future dividend dollars, and the companies paying dividends also increase their payouts. What’s even better is that it didn’t take me that long to get to this point of almost self-propulsion. I’ve been actively investing for less than five years, and I haven’t even made/invested that much money during this time frame. If I can do this, then I’m quite confident you can as well.

This month’s dividend income was 54.4% higher than what I received during the month of October 2013. That’s a great year-over-year improvement, in my view, but I also know that these kinds of gains in percentage terms will decrease as the dividend income figures grow. And that’s okay, as long as the absolute growth continues.

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I was able to cover 20.3% of my personal expenses last month, which is right about where I figured I’d be. I’m still working through some expenses that are inflating my budget temporarily – an engagement ring and the amortization of my all-cash car purchase are weighing on me. However, these temporary expenses will be gone this time next year, while my dividend income will continue increasing. I’m excited to see this number shoot up dramatically in a year’s time.

Looking forward, I expect much of the same for November. A big improvement over last year’s numbers while I reinvest that passive income into more attractive opportunities, thus pushing the snowball further down the hill.

One of my big goals this year is to receive $5,200 in dividend income throughout 2014. October is now over, which means just two months to go. Fortunately, I’m confident I’ll crush this goal and then some. I’ve now received $4,684.60 in dividend income this calendar year. I’ll likely surpass this goal with December’s income alone, so November’s dividends will simply be icing on what is already a pretty delicious cake.

I’ll update my Dividend Income page to reflect October’s dividends.

Full Disclosure: Long all aforementioned securities.

Did you have a great month of dividend income? Was October another big step in the right direction?Β 

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: holohololand/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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158 Comments

  1. I still have yet to take the plunge into investing – I’m scared I’ll do it wrong and lose it all. But, one of my aims this year was to get stuck in somehow, so I need to really make that step either in November or December. I’m continuing to do my research, including reading blogs like yours, and think I know which road I will take.
    $6,000 in dividend payments throughout the year is fantastic; you must feel great! I can’t wait to see you crack the $10,000 mark in dividends; what an amazing feeling that will be then. Looking forward to seeing what December’s dividends are like for you; lots of companies pay out that so I suspect it will be big πŸ™‚

  2. DM,

    Congrats on the huge October increase in dividends! I know your freedom fund is almost at 178K now, and you said you’ve been actively investing for less than 5 years. May I ask how much you have actually invested coming from your wallet in those 5 years? I hope to be as successful as you one day!

    DL

  3. Jason,

    you sure do inspire me with those dividend reports!
    Checks for $400 or 20% of your expenses is already quite a significant income source.
    It’s passive and it’s fun. What’s not to like.

    I am looking forward to seeing this number continuing to grow.

  4. Nice work for sure! I’m 51, retired 3 years ago, and am living off the dividends from investments I made along the way, supplemented by some sporadic part time work from myself and my wife.
    Right now, we have 2 taxable investment accounts, which between them, produce around $20,000 in dividends annually. We’re taking $500/month out of one account automatically, and take from the other as needed for special purchases, etc. We’ve been taking about $15k/yr out so far, so still less than the dividends on average, so all is surely good!
    Getting around a 4.5% yield on the 2 accounts, which are around 60% stock, 20% bond, 20% cash. Like you, I’ve loved watching the numbers grow over the years, which has helped me keep stuffing in the cash, and finally led me here!

  5. $382.84 is similar what you get from the social security in germany for one month or for 31 working hours by ~12$ per hour and you did nothing more than having strong nerves during the bearish markets.

    Amazing!

  6. Another solid month. You’re about at the point where it covers the average monthly grocery bill.. That’s pretty awesome. I’d love to be able to say that I could feed my household for eternity without ever working again Great job!

  7. Very nice month Jason! And congrats on the engagement of course! Although that is a one time expense, there is always some sort of one time expense… eventually one of those will be wedding costs!

    But hey 20% of your expenses being covered in spite of all those things is still great!

  8. Monster month DM! Best of luck finishing the year with a boom and crushing the dividend income goal!

  9. I always look forward to the beginning of each new month because I get to read all the wonderful dividend income updates, and also to write my own.

    Early congratulations on reaching your dividend income goal, and on averaging $500 a month in dividends! The snowball is really starting to roll by itself πŸ™‚

  10. Wow another solid month there! must have been one of the best months for you considering everything that happend πŸ™‚ Enjoy!

  11. Nicola,

    Investing for the very first time can indeed be scary. I think the key is to focus on really stable, high-quality companies to start. Big companies that are highly unlikely to go out of business. Unilever would be a good example for you over on your side of the pond. Then as you get more comfortable and more successful, you can maybe scale up on the risk/reward scale. But you can dip your toes in slowly. No need to rush. Success begets success, and you’ll eventually want to invest even more. You’ll get there. πŸ™‚

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  12. DL,

    Thanks! Appreciate the support. πŸ™‚

    I actually answered this very same question for a reader not long ago. It was probably two or three months ago, and the answer was $111k. I suspect it’s probably closer to $120k now. So $120k of my own capital over about 4 1/2 years.

    You’ll get there. Just stay consistent, patient, and persistent. Each month is a stepping stone higher and higher.

    Best wishes!

  13. Stef,

    Definitely. It’s incredibly fun. It’s like a hobby that pays me to enjoy it. Gotta love that! πŸ™‚

    You’re doing great over there as well. Stick with it. You’ll grow independent before you know it.

    Cheers!

  14. DM,

    Awesome month! I need to someday pick up some shares of ITW and MDT. It seems like they are always at record highs. You are right, it looks like you will cruise past your yearly dividend goals. Keep up the amazing progress.

    MDP

  15. Craig,

    That’s fantastic! Sounds like you guys have the right idea there. You’re earning substantial passive dividend income, but you also built in a nice margin of safety, which keeps the snowball rolling even while you take a chunk out of it here and there. I suspect I’ll one day be in the same boat – earning enough passive dividend income to pay my bills, but not using all of it.

    4.5% yield is very solid. I’m at about 3.5% now. I could increase it, but there are so many companies I continue to look at that yield lower than that threshold. So I just continue to focus on quality over yield. That being said, I will probably be interested in reassessing this near retirement and perhaps going after some high-yield (but still safe and high in quality) stocks to make that one last leap toward financial independence.

    Keep up the great work and enjoy the fruits of your past labor! πŸ™‚

    Take care.

  16. DC,

    That’s the joy of dividend growth investing, my friend. It’s like the invisible worker that sends you all of their income. Works 24/7 and 365 too! πŸ™‚

    Appreciate you stopping by!

    Best wishes.

  17. ERG,

    Absolutely. I actually wrote about that a while back. I now earn more in dividend income than I spend on food, by a fairly wide margin. So I know that, no matter what, I’ll never starve. Doesn’t sound like much, but that’s an incredible weight to lift off your shoulders. Something innately rewarding about the joy of knowing you’ll always eat. πŸ™‚

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Cheers!

  18. Kipp,

    Good to see you blogging again.

    Thanks so much. We’re very excited about the engagement. The best thing is that we won’t be spending a lot of money on the wedding. Probably a bit over $100 or so when it’s all said and done. The “honeymoon” in Omaha at the Berkshire meeting will be a bit costly, but it’s like a honeymoon, celebration, dream trip, and summer vacation all in one. Looking forward to it.

    Appreciate the support!

    Best regards.

  19. FFF,

    Thanks! I’m looking forward to seeing where I finish. I’m confident I’ll be sailing past my goal and then some. πŸ™‚

    Keep up the great work over on your side.

    Cheers!

  20. Seraph,

    Definitely. Always the best time of the month. I’ll be heading over to see how you did! πŸ™‚

    I’m still enjoying pushing this snowball, but the load is getting lighter and lighter as time passes. Really enjoying the process.

    Best wishes!

  21. DDI,

    It was a solid month. Not as good as September by any means, but a lot better than what I managed last October. I’m excited to see the totals climb. Just like stairs – higher and higher. πŸ™‚

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Cheers!

  22. MDP,

    ITW and MDT have both performed very well for me, more so ITW. I’m glad I was able to get in at lower prices, but you’re right they always seem to be breaking new records. But solid and improving fundamentals will usually result in that.

    Appreciate the support and encouragement. I’ve got a long way to go to catch up to your numbers, but I’m cranking away. πŸ™‚

    Best regards.

  23. DM,

    Isn’t it great that a “slow” month produces several hundred dollars without lifting a finger? Imagine this month a year from now. 3xx will seem like a distance memory. Rock on πŸ™‚

    Best,
    DWC

  24. Mabel,

    Thanks! I love these reports because they show the tangible and reinforcing nature of this strategy. You can actually see the cash flow totals rise against expenses. It’s like watching your ship slowly come to shore. A really great process that allows this awesome feedback loop.

    Take care.

  25. DWC,

    Definitely. It’s like the invisible part-time worker that sends me his entire paycheck. Even better, he’s particularly adept at landing solid pay raises. And he works more and more hours as time goes on. I love it. πŸ™‚

    Thanks for the support!

    Best wishes.

  26. In order to attend the meeting I believe you have to be a shareholder will you just pick up the one share or take a larger position?

    Great blog and inspiration, thanks!
    Josh

  27. Great month! October was strong for me at just over $500, while September was just over $200.

    There’s something great about knowing the original workers are making more workers which I put back to work making me more workers. πŸ™‚

    It’s hard to be patient, but I suppose that’s half the battle for long term wealth investing. When I step back and think about it, another 5 years of investing will have me at a very comfortable spot.

  28. Josh,

    Actually, you just need credentials to attend. You don’t need to be a shareholder. Lucky for me. πŸ™‚

    Appreciate the support very much! I hope you continue to find some value here.

    Best regards.

  29. Jason,

    I love that even in these slow quarters your income keeps rising! You picked a great time in October to use the excess capital you’d been saving and here’s hoping your latest addition to AMNF allows you to never go below $400 in a month again. Excellent work all around as always, it’s inspiring as ever!

    Best wishes,
    Ryan

  30. Ravi,

    Awesome, my friend. That’s over $700 over the last couple of months that you didn’t have to work for. Feels pretty good, right? πŸ™‚

    Another five years will definitely see you in a very comfortable spot. I suspect the same is true for many of us. It’s wonderful to see that patience does indeed pay dividends (literally).

    Cheers!

  31. Nice income DM, that snowball is growing ever faster. I like the point you made that even if you stopped funding your account you’re now averaging $500 a month that can go towards new purchases all by themselves. That’s what I love about dividend investing, I know my money is working for me and will continue growing regardless of market fluctuations.

  32. Wow! 500$ per month to reinvest plus your monthly savings. Can’t wait to be there already. The snowball is rolling. When do you expect to reach the 10k milestone? Within 2 years / 2 years and a half? This thing is growing and growing and you now have a great “emergency fund” of almost 180k!!!

    I feel small with my 32k portfolio… πŸ™‚ But I’ll add another 1000$ to it this month and hopefully next month too and so on and if I still have my job I’ll had my 8k bonus and my +/-5k tax return I should get in 2015 to my freedom fund so I should be able to double that portfolio within the next year. But, the company I work for is under restructuration right now and I don’t know yet if I’ll still have a job next week or next month… The income I make would be very very had to replace if I lose my job and this could affect my plan a lot… Hopefully I’ll be part of the lucky ones and if not… well I’ll have to eat a lot of Ramen Noodles to stick with my plan… oh god!

    Keep investing my friend.

  33. Man, you’re killing it! Almost $400 in a slower payment month is awesome. You’re going to blow past your dividend goal for the year. Your snowball is really about to start taking off and just continue to feed and grow itself. Motivational as always. Must catch up to you!

  34. Great report! Almost $400/mo in dividends is fantastic. You have inspired and motivated me. I enjoy reading your post and look forward to each new one. I picked up Unilever today and I’m just starting my snowball. What do you think about ARCP? Is this still a buying opportunity? I’m a little nervous when I hear possible accounting fraud.

  35. Ryan,

    I was definitely aggressive in October, but that enthusiasm seems to have been well-placed. Who would have thought the market would pop back so quickly? Exactly why I don’t try to time things. πŸ™‚

    Appreciate the support. Looking forward to your update as well. I’m sure you’re killing it!

    Best wishes.

  36. Captain,

    Having money work for you rather than the other way around is exactly why I’m such a hardcore dividend growth investor. It’s great to know that the portfolio is pretty much self-sustaining now. Of course, I’m just as energetic as ever to keep pushing that snowball. πŸ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  37. R2R,

    Thanks. I’m hopeful that these reports continue to inspire. The dividend income is indeed climbing and financial independence is becoming more realistic every single day. What’s wonderful is that anyone can do this, and I think that’s inspiring in itself. πŸ™‚

    Take care.

  38. Allan,

    I’m confident you’ll be in this same spot before you know it. Just keep at it.

    I suspect I’ll be at the $10k mark at some point in 2017. Looking forward to that. Can’t wait to hit that milestone. πŸ™‚

    Funny you mention ramen noodles. I remember eating my fair share there for about a year. I don’t regret it at all, but I haven’t eaten any in quite some time now. And I probably wouldn’t mind if I never ate them again.

    Stick with it, my friend. Success begets success, and you’ll soon be further than you ever thought possible.

    Cheers!

  39. JC,

    Thanks, bud. It’s been a great journey. And you’ve been along for the ride for most of it. It’s great to see us grow both personally and financially during that time frame. πŸ™‚

    Looking forward to the rest of the way. The best days are yet ahead!

    Best regards.

  40. Todd,

    I’m really glad you’ve been inspired. That’s exactly why I write and share. πŸ™‚

    You picked up UL at a great time, since it goes ex-dividend tomorrow. You’re just in time for that next dividend!

    I’m honestly not interested in buying any more ARCP right now. Partly because I already have enough, but mostly because I’ve lost trust/faith in management. I would never buy shares in a company if I couldn’t trust management implicitly. Just my take on it. It was a high-risk investment before, but it’s moved over into the speculative territory now. Not to say you can’t make money there, but it’s just not in my wheelhouse. Wish you luck either way.

    Take care.

  41. Great post!! We actually just purchased three dividend paying stocks last night. While I’m very new at this, I’m hoping I will learn a lot just by doing it. Your blog has been very helpful and inspiring – thank you!! Excited to be following along!

  42. You are really achieving something here. in short, In what would be normally 160 hours a month working you are getting paid 2.50 an hour, but not actually working except for creation of the snowball for critical mass.

    What do you think of oil companies here ( I own STO, SSL, RDSA, XOM, BP).

  43. Jason:
    Great job! If you received that much in div income in a “dud” month like October, then oh yeah…. your November/December income is going to kick your 2014 goal to the curb. I don’t know about you, but hitting goals and/or milestones is part of what keeps me going with DGI.

    Last Friday, I walked out of my office building as a retiree. This DGI stuff just got real. While I’m in the process of investing my 401K rollover, I expect to see some nice YOY comparisons. Once that stops in about year or so, I’ll be left with only dividend growth and whatever re-investments I can manage. The comps are going to slow down at some point, no doubt. Hopefully by then I will have achieved my desired goals and simply be content with the income that’s rolling in. Time will tell.

    Nice work on the 54% YOY increase. In my case, it was a mere 26%. You make me feel so inferior :-). Keep it up. It looks like you are providing inspiration to a lot of people.

    Steve

  44. Dividend Income Update day is probably my favorite day of the month! While I am nowhere near your numbers, at $157 October was the third best dividend month of the year for me. And it was whopping 95% increase over October of 2013. I have to thank you for being a big part of getting me on the dividend investing track. What’s even better, is that I have already blown way past my goal of receiving $1,000 in dividend income for the year, and still have two months to go!

  45. It looks like a large chunk of your dividend income this month is fromPhilip Morris. Any qualms about investing in a cigarette company?

  46. This is amazing! I can’t wait to have a guaranteed $300, or an average of $450, a month in passive income, as you have here. I’ve got a long way to go but am excited for the journey and encouraged by your progress.

  47. Well done on another month… you really do set a good example of what consistency can achieve here. Its pretty easy to look at one of your purchase articles and see something at the end like this will add $42 of projected annual dividends and think $42 who cares. But seeing those purchases as building blocks on your way to $6K in dividends a few years later – now that’s a great illustration of what the strategy can achieve.

    October is a lower dividend month for me as well, 1252 total ($909 taxable + $343 401K) – November will put that to shame πŸ™‚

  48. Congrats Jason on yet another month of solid dividend income! its pretty awesome to see how far you have come since several years ago. Its crazy the amount of impact consistency has when it comes to growth in your portfolio and dividend income.
    Its also pretty funny and humbling that one of your slower quarters still beats my personal best record haha!
    Keep up the great work!

    Ace

  49. Great job! I too have experienced large YoY growth! I don’t feel like I have reached the point of critical mass yet, but I think I should be able to get there by the end of 2015!

    Keep up the solid work!

    Take care!

  50. Dividend Mantra,

    Who wouldn’t want to receive dividend payments for doing little to know work besides doing the research before the initial purchase of a position? I still remember getting my very first dividend payment ever just a few years ago. Of course, I like them even more as the months went by .

    The “worker” never calls in sick and works 24/7. It is always great to see customers enter businesses that I own and spend money. As I hope the company shares some of it with me with dividends and increases the dividend overtime.

  51. Awesome sauce. The biggest thing that stands out to me is the gains not just over last year, but in the last three and six months. Comparing October to July and April, you’ve seen some incredible growth. Keep on grooving because the next 24-months are going to be huge. As you said in the post, critical mass has been reached, and from this point forward the dividends generated from the existing assets alone will began to creep up and potentially over what you can contribute in a given month.

  52. sbrooks,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Excited to have you follow along. I’m really enthusiastic about this stuff because I really believe it has the power to change lives. I hope your journey is even more fruitful than mine has been thus far. πŸ™‚

    Best wishes!

  53. Keith,

    Right. My invisible worker isn’t making a major salary yet, but he’s regularly receiving pretty substantial pay raises. He’s a hard worker! πŸ™‚

    I like many of the supermajors as long-term investments. Although, I’m honestly surprised they’re not cheaper with the way oil took such a dive. Many fell, but bounced right back. A lot of the major oil companies use $100 oil for their models, and it’s way below that. So I’m not particularly enthusiastic about buying any of the oil companies here. Of course, I’m probably a bit biased because energy is around 15% of my portfolio.

    Cheers!

  54. Steve,

    Absolutely. I love hitting milestones. They’re reinforcing, and definitely keep me motivated along the way. πŸ™‚

    Congrats on the biggest milestone of all. It sounds like you’ve been planning for this event for some time now, so I’m sure it’ll go smooth for you. I hope you’re able to make it whatever you want it to be. Your time is completely your own now. Enjoy it!!

    Best regards.

  55. BCS,

    That’s awesome! Congrats on blowing away your 2014 dividend income goal. That feels pretty good, doesn’t it?

    Glad you’re on track here. You can see from my history that it wasn’t that long ago that I was receiving a bit over $1,000/year. So things move along at a pretty good pace.

    You’ll be generating similar dividend income in no time at all.

    Keep up the great work over there. πŸ™‚

    Take care.

  56. John,

    Great question!

    No qualms at all. It’s a legal product that adults have the right to choose to buy/use. Choice being the operative word; nobody has to use their products. Doesn’t bother me at all. Same goes for alcoholic products (as long as you’re not drinking and driving).

    Take care!

  57. The Lion’s Shares,

    Thanks for the support.

    It’s definitely exciting stuff. After all, we’re talking about real cash money. I don’t know how you fail to get excited about something like that. πŸ™‚

    It takes hard work and a good measure of time, but the results can be amazing if you stick with it. I’m sure you’ll find that to be true.

    Cheers!

  58. pacer45,

    Great month over there! That’s some serious dividend income. πŸ™‚

    Yeah, I wrote a post a while back discussing the power of pennies. People might look at Coca-Cola’s stock and think a $0.305 dividend can’t build real income/wealth, but it’s just not true. And I’m showing how that works. Pennies add up over time!

    Keep up the great work over there. Looks like you’ll finish up with a strong 2014.

    Best regards.

  59. Ace,

    Thanks, bud. Consistency is key. I once wrote that consistency is my superpower, and I still believe that. Worrying about interest rates, what’s going on in the Middle East, or the latest political event will only cloud your mind and distract you from what really matters. And that’s regularly buying equity in high-quality companies that have lengthy track records of paying and raising dividends. It’s all about cash flow, not the Middle East.

    You had a great month over there as well. Your dividend income is growing at a swifter rate than what I saw when I first started. Keep it up! πŸ™‚

    Best wishes.

  60. ILG,

    Thanks so much. The YOY growth is great, but I also know it’ll slow down as the income grows. But as long as the absolute numbers are still growing I’ll be very happy. πŸ™‚

    You’re doing great over there as well. I think you’ll be hitting that critical mass pretty shortly here, as you’re not all that far behind me at all.

    Just really enjoyable stuff, isn’t it? Love seeing new cash hit my account. Love this strategy!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Take care.

  61. IP,

    I’m with you all the way. I don’t know how anyone couldn’t be excited about this stuff. It’s just wonderful to see fresh cash flow come my way, especially when the work required to receive it was done long ago. Work once and possibly receive cash flow for the rest of your life. I can dig that! πŸ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  62. W2R,

    I really look forward to the day when the dividend income exceeds what I can contribute. That’s still a long way off, but what a wonderful thought. Kind of along similar lines to the portfolio increasing by more than what I can contribute, but much better! πŸ™‚

    Thanks for all the support. You’re doing great over there as well, and I look forward to what the next year brings us.

    Best wishes!

  63. 400$ is certainly no small amount of money, especially for a lighter month! Happy to see you got a nice little sum from BNS as well πŸ™‚ Hopefully the exchange rate isnt hurting you too badly. The stocks gone down a fair bit today as well, I’m thinking it might be time to add to it a bit more for my portfolio.

    Cheers!

  64. Nicola

    I agree with Jason, I think the thing to look at is that if you buy solid companies like Unilever, Glaxo etc the probability of losing all your money is pretty low ( and if you did it’s likely that the economic problems would be so big that losing the money invested in shares would not be the biggest problem). What is almost certain though is that the price will drop by maybe 30% due to the overall market (see my blog for what happened in October!), and if you are investing for growth this is a problem. However, if you are investing for the dividend income then it doesn’t really matter what happens to the share price as long as the dividends keep rolling in.

    There are lots of great blogs out there (like this one) that illustrate this, and a few UK based ones.

    Good Luck
    FI UK

  65. Awesome YOY growth for a mature portfolio. These types of updates from you and others online only serve as further encouragement to keep on this dividend journey. Surprisingly, for having a somewhat diverse portfolio than yours, there are many common names for this month of dividend income. Plus I’m excited about my very first BNS dividend too. Thanks for sharing.

  66. Hi, Dividend Mantra.
    I’ve been reading both your blog & All About Interest’s blog for a number of years and I’ve finally decided to make the jump into the blogosphere pool. I’m still brainstorming what the blog will look like, but I’ve got the general framework in place. Thanks for blazing the trail and carrying the torch.

    Goosemann Jones
    Flight to Dividends Blog

    P.S. Congrats on the engagement! That’s great news!

  67. Hello Jason. This is Finland calling again. Hats off for one more solid month of dividend flow. Always inspiring to follow your journey.

    I was brushing my teeth couple of days ago suddenly realizing that the toothpaste I was using was actually made by one of the companies in your portfolio, so you’re welcome. Must be nice to see that your employees are doing a good job? πŸ˜€

    I think this is one of the many fantastic parts in investing in real companies, producing real products that create solid cash flow, enabling them to pay nice dividends to us owners. Furthermore, this is actually a nice example of how the diversification (geographical/market/product risk) works while investing in some of the more established companies with global coverage.

    Last week I opened a new portfolio and added my first position that side of Atlantic. I’m starting with GE and building the dividend streams from there.

    Personally, I’ve been able to achieve average savings rate of ~20 %, which is nice when compared to January (3,5 %) this year. Current yearly dividends are on the level of ~200 USD / mo (divided monthly). So, compared to your figures – not there yet but getting there!

    Keep up the good work!

    – F

    ps. Congrats on your recent engagement!

  68. Hi Jason –

    Another great month and your portfolio continues to shine for you. Is that not just AWESOME!

    With this past short-term dip, I was able to add to a few of my positions which made me very happy!

    See you in Omaha…

    Ray

  69. DM,

    Another solid month – great inspiration for dividend investors.

    Around $400-$500 is equal to someone’s one week pay cheque (40 hours of hard work), but we are making that money every month while sleeping or doing something else. And, the free cash flow will grow year-over-year.

    My portfolio generated around $301 in October. The amount is little low when I compare with my favorite dividend income months – March, June, September & December.

    Happy investing and let the money work for us πŸ˜€

  70. Awesome update Jason. October is pretty much a slow dividend month for me as well, I came up just under $100. What’s motivating is seeing the year over year increase in dividend income– as you say, compounding at its finest.

    Verizon just paid me on Monday for an amount right under $300. I mentioned in the past, my first dividend from these guys for a grand total of $6.31 years ago; and perseverance into building that snowball is paying off. What’s interesting is that it motivates me even more to contribute even more to see the next quarter’s dividend to be over $300! It’s a psychological thing get over that number I guess.

    Keep up the good work. You’ve got a loyal following, and you’re inspiring us all.

    JM

  71. Another fabulous and inspiring month of dividends (in all of their meanings!) for you Jason!!

    My October came in with $435 (November will be my low month). I’m on track for around $4500 this calendar year and have a 12 month outlook at $5400.

    $6K for next year would be dreamy but I’ve been socking away a lot in my job’s 457 plan which is an awesome deal (tax-deferred and you can take it with you penalty free whenever you leave the gig). I think it would take about $15K of investments to get me to that $6K mark and I’m not too sure about that…

    Keep up the awesome work!!!

  72. I’ve had some retirement accounts for a few years but just started a brokerage (all dividend) account in January… had a lowly $2.77 dividend in February and just broke the $1,000/year mark at the beginning of this month. It adds up so fast! Every time I see your monthly dividend article (and how much they’ve changed in 1 year) I look forward to tracking mine over the long term when I get more data points. Anyway, I really enjoy your website and look forward to more monthly progress for the both of us!

  73. That’s awesome @Craig Bean!!! Totally inspiring and congrats on your hard work! Live it up!

  74. Small amounts continue to compound into larger amounts. Seeing progress in action is fun!

    Keep going stroing jason! 50% growth in dividend income year over year is terrific. Do that for 5 more years and you are golden!

  75. DW,

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Happy to be a fellow shareholder in BNS. I see it’s trading a bit below my cost basis now, so that’s something I’ll have to think about. πŸ™‚

    So many stocks, so little capital, right?

    Best regards.

  76. FI UK,

    Thanks!

    I know you’re killing it over there as well. You’re only a few years away now. It’s getting more and more exciting every day. πŸ™‚

    Cheers.

  77. Interesting point. I created a new goal for myself, a full year’s pay at minimum wage in passive income from various sources. Between stock dividends, p2p, and rental income, I’m around 10k for this year. Looking forward to crossing 15,080 (7.25 x 40 x 52) by 2017. Of course, min wage will likely be higher, but still helps to have some type of goal.

  78. DivHut,

    Thanks. The YOY growth was actually surprising for me, because it was in line with the growth I realized in October 2013. So that’s kind of funny. But I suspect that next October will be different, and moving forward these rates will slow down. But that’s okay as long as the absolute numbers are still keeping up. πŸ™‚

    I’m right there with you on BNS. Happy to be a fellow shareholder. BNS, interestingly enough, was actually the first and only company to send me a physical annual report. I’d obviously rather them save the money and just publish online, but it was kind of neat to read through it.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  79. John,
    The so called “sin” stocks are some of the best for wealth generation. While you may not agree or use the products they sell if your goal is to be financially independent it wouldn’t be smart to leave them out of your portfolio. If you think they are bad for people then double dip and load up on healthcare.

    This is just my opinion.

  80. Goosemann,

    Congrats! I hope you see as much success with it as I have with mine. Blogging is tough and incredibly time consuming, but also very rewarding. It’s truly changed my life for the better.

    It looks like you have a solid portfolio already built up over there. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to your content!

    Cheers.

  81. Jason, how much capital are you deploying on average each month, not including divs re-invested.

    Thanks,

  82. Fjonsson,

    Appreciate you stopping by from Finland! And I also appreciate you contributing to my bottom line with the toothpaste there. πŸ™‚

    I completely agree. It’s wonderful to actually physically use the products and/or services the companies we invest in provide/manufacture. There’s something tangible not only about the dividends themselves, but the products. Every time I drink something that Coca-Cola or Pepsi makes, I feel good as an owner. These are products that companies I’m invested in produce, I enjoy, and I get paid from. It’s a great cycle.

    Congrats on your first US stock. GE is certainly a great way to enter the market over here. Global presence, rich history, and I think they’re making some great moves for the future of the company. It’s definitely not your grandmother’s GE.

    A 20% savings rate is something to be proud of. That’s still much higher than the average, at least over here in the US. I know sometimes we get numb to these figures when we’re discussing really high savings rates and big dividend checks, but you’re already doing incredibly well over there. In the end, what’s important is that you’re on track for your goals.

    Best of luck moving forward. And thanks for all the support! πŸ™‚

    Take care.

  83. Ray,

    Glad that you were able to take advantage of that short dip. Love little blips like that where we’re able to take advantage of those opportunities presented. Good stuff! πŸ™‚

    Appreciate the support. Keep up the good work over there. And see you in Omaha!

    Best wishes.

  84. FJ,

    Thanks so much.

    Yeah, that invisible worker works 24/7, 365. No rest for the weary! I can go about my business and I still collect that paycheck. It’s wonderful to have your money work for you, rather than the other way around. πŸ™‚

    $301 is awesome! Congrats on a great month. That’s over $300 you didn’t have to work for and you can use to grow that total in the future. The snowball is definitely rolling over there. Keep it up!

    Cheers.

  85. I had a down month and only collected $120, but still enough to cover my electric bill. Good stuff. My dividends are kinda lumpy as I have several European companies and companies that pay once a year, bi-annually, or all in the same main quarters. Since I can’t quit my day job yet, I have just been concentrating on getting the best buys and diversity at the time, without regard to payout timing.

    Jason, are you trying to actively manage the payout dates of your portfolio so as to smooth your monthly income? If so, what steps do you take? I know some people who are keen on monthly payers such as O for this purpose. I was looking into it lately, as it seemed like a good idea to smooth things out a bit as that would give me a little more capital each month to reinvest as opportunities arise. O has really run up lately though, so it’s off the buy list. Any other ideas to accomplish this?

  86. JM,

    That’s fantastic. You can’t argue with compounding when you break out real numbers. Great stuff there. Congrats on a huge dividend. I still don’t have anything paying me that much all at one time. I think VOD is my biggest payer as far as a total amount all at once, due to it’s semi-annual structure. That $300 will surely grow over time, not only due to your reinvestment, but also due to Verizon’s likelihood to keep increasing its payout. So look forward to even more next year. πŸ™‚

    Appreciate the support very much. I hope to continue inspiring for many, many years to come. I’ll one day post that victorious “FI Achieved” post, and I hope to keep writing even past that.

    Thanks for your readership!

    Best regards.

  87. TM,

    Thanks so much! Appreciate the kind words. πŸ™‚

    Congrats on the huge month. $435 is huge, much larger than what I received. And $4,500 for the year is great. That’s not far behind me. Sounds like you’re really only a couple of investments away from surpassing me. Keep it up!!

    Thanks for the support. Really appreciated. I’m definitely giving it my all over here.

    Best wishes.

  88. DGJ,

    Thanks. It was overall a very successful month. Received a good lot of dividends and took advantage of the market’s opportunities. I can only hope every month is so fruitful.

    Appreciate the support. You’re doing great over there as well!

    Cheers.

  89. Tommy,

    Glad you found some inspiration here. Looks like it really turned into something great over there. Going from $2.77 to $1,000 inside of one calendar year is pretty amazing. I surely didn’t see that kind of success when I first started out. It was tough for me to invest more than $1,000 per month back when I first got started, but it really does add up over time.

    Keep up the great work. Looking forward to when you can plot out your success. Won’t take long! πŸ™‚

    Best wishes.

  90. DM,

    WOW, it is simply amazing how fast you have build a machine that will bring in income like that. It is fantastic. I hope that I could build a machine for me that would do that also.

    Keep inspiring people.

  91. A-G,

    Thanks. I’ve got a LONG way to go to catch up to you, but I’m grinding. πŸ™‚

    Yeah, the bar will probably have to be a bit lower next year. But I don’t want to take it easy on myself either. I think I’ll probably be fairly aggressive with the dividend income goal, but I may have to scale back my savings goal. We’ll see how the rest of the year finishes, though. If I’m able to scale up my income faster than I anticipate, then I may stick to a 50% goal.

    Appreciate all the support. Keep up the great work over there!

    Cheers.

  92. Brian,

    Definitely. This is incredibly exciting to me. Who ever said investing was boring? I don’t think there’s anything boring about collecting cash, especially when the cash is growing. Call me crazy. πŸ™‚

    Appreciate you stopping by!

    Take care.

  93. Absolutely, feels great! Just initiated into TGT and CVX as well. Looking forward to the additional $140 in 2015.

    Btw, just opened up another account at Schwab and it’s great so far! Nice tools and analytics for some quick info. Fees are steep at 8.95/trade, but to be honest an absolute difference of 1.95 compared to most other brokers is really minimal. It had some of the best reviews, so I went with it. Happy so far, but will probably open another brokerage account in the next 5 years or so to hopefully never go above the SIPC limit.

    Also considered TD, Fidelity, and Scott with similar good reviews. I suppose it’s nice to have a handful of great choices.

  94. j-harr,

    It varies every month, depending on how much I make. My income was always quite volatile in the auto industry because my pay was based on a commission pay plan. You can see that going back to my old budgets. And now that I’ve moved over to writing full-time the income is still volatile. It’s been moving up over the last few months, which I’m incredibly thankful for, but it’s hard for me to gauge my long-term earnings/investment capability right now. For instance, I deposited $3,900 to my brokerage account in October. But in September it was $1,650. In August it was $1,100. In July it was $2,000. So it depends on how healthy my cash flow is for any particular month and what kind of opportunities are out there. But averaging that out, I’m at about $2,150 per month, on average, over the last four months.

    I hope that helps.

    Best regards!

  95. Throughout all the drama in the market these past few weeks, the dividends just keep on coming. At 20% of your expenses, nealy $400 in dividends is a nice chunk of change.

    Btw, my pattern of received dividends is very similar to the one you showed in your graph =).

  96. Daniel,

    $120 is still solid, my friend. It wasn’t that long ago that I was sitting in the same spot. The progression happens more rapidly than you might think. πŸ™‚

    That’s a good question there in regards to payout dates. I personally don’t attempt to β€œsmooth out” my dividend payments at all. In fact, I don’t at all look at the dividend payout date when I buy a stock. It’s pretty much inconsequential to me. And that’s because I’m fairly skilled at controlling my expenses. So once I’m financially independent, I’ll simply keep the excess dividends during one month (like September) and hold over that excess cash flow for another month when the dividend income isn’t as strong (like October). I don’t really look at it on a monthly scale, but rather a yearly scale. If I’m earning $20,000/yr in dividend income and spending $18,000/yr, then I’m FI. To worry about whether or not I’m cash flow positive every single month would just be silly when I know that there’s surplus cash flow coming next month or whatever. That’s just my take on it.

    I think worrying about the payout dates will distract you. You might be looking at a stock that isn’t the best deal (like O), but get suckered into buying it because it accomplishes your desire to boost one particular month’s cash flow. There are a lot of other things to worry about with a company – fundamentals, qualitative aspects, competition, regulation, litigation, stock valuation, etc., that the payout date just doesn’t concern me.

    Just my view on it, though. Others would prefer a smoother payout structure, even if they sacrifice opportunities along the way.

    Best regards!

  97. finforwin,

    Thanks! Appreciate the kind words and support very much. πŸ™‚

    If I can do this, anyone can. I truly believe that. Find out what you want and what you’ll need to get there, reverse engineer your goals, and then stay consistent and persistent. Success begets success.

    Best wishes!

  98. Ravi,

    Thanks for the info there on Schwab. I’m actually in the midst of research on where to go for my second brokerage, as I wanted to open one by the $200k mark. So it’s about high time I get in gear. I’ll definitely keep Schwab in mind. πŸ™‚

    Fidelity is another one I’m looking at. They have a couple of branches in town, and they’ve been around for quite a while. The fees are in line with the rest. It’ll be nice to have another account and start building all over again. Exciting stuff!

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Cheers!

  99. Spoonman,

    I’m with you. The stock market may be full of drama, but the dividends aren’t. They just come in like clockwork. Allows us to sleep like babies. πŸ™‚

    I suspect a lot of dividend growth investors have a similar payout structure. As long as you’re careful with your budgeting then you should be a pro at taking surplus cash flow from one month and holding it over for the following month when there’s a cash flow deficit. That’s why I don’t really worry/care about smoothing out the payout structure. Although, it might smooth itself out over time anyhow. We’ll see.

    Enjoy the freedom!

    Best wishes.

  100. I made a list of all the companies i was interested in purchasing or already owned and put them into 3 groups based on what month they pay in quarterly (1st, 2nd, 3rd. any that pay monthly i also listed but put them in each column) I also put the dividend amount and current yield, then highlighted based on what it was (for example, Blue = owned/monthly div, green = owned/quarterly div) and sorted by color then yield.

    Then i could clearly see that i was overweighted in the 1st month group so i looked at what companies in the 2nd and 3rd months i wanted to invest in next and prioritized my purchases to those groups.

  101. Thanks for the reply, that’s good to know. I have kind of been doing the same, just looking for the best bargains as I started out. Your monthly graph is just a lot smoother than mine (probably because of a larger portfolio with more than 50 stocks-i have about 35 and still not very even weighting from starting out). I am still on track for over $3,000 in dividends this year with big payments in march, june, september, december, and oddly enough april for lots of foreign yearlies. I will probably keep on doing what I am doing instead of trying to overthink it. Hopefully, it will start to smooth out naturally over time. Value is the most important factor to me when picking what to buy!

  102. Spoonman,

    Awesome! I just added that to my Media page, and I’ll be including it as part of the upcoming weekend reading. It was lengthy, but I think we covered a wide range of topics.

    I hope you enjoy it. πŸ™‚

    Best wishes.

  103. Another awesome month! Congrats and I can’t wait to see you crush your 2014 dividend goal. It’s amazing to see how your persistence is paying off, so I wish you well going into 2015 to reach even higher goals.

  104. Not bad at all! Like we all say, that’s cash you don’t ever have to work for again. October is usually terrible for me, but I got lucky this time with PM adding $100 at least for me.

  105. Agent,

    Thank you! Appreciate the support. πŸ™‚

    I’m excited to see where I finish up 2014 at. It looks like I should be able to get off to a nice start in 2015, which might really be a breakout year for me. Onward and upward.

    Keep up the great work over on your side too. Your consistency will surely pay dividends (literally).

    Cheers!

  106. DD,

    Absolutely. It’s wonderful to know that before you even go out in the world and try to make money you’re already $400 or $500 ahead for the month. It’s a little tailwind that makes everything easier. πŸ™‚

    You had a great month as well. Looking forward to seeing where some of us finish out the year!

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Take care.

  107. Curious, what’s the intent to “smooth” dividends by month? I’m not sure I understand the reasoning.

  108. Congrats on your journey! What are your thoughts on when a dividend producing stock goes up in value so much that the price, if sold, would be the total of all future dividends for the next year? I think of the phrase “Pigs get fat . . . But Hogs get slaugtered!” A dividend recapture strategy of sorts . . .

  109. CarloZap,

    Thanks so much. Appreciate you stopping by!

    That’s a good question there.

    I’m not a fan of that strategy, unless the valuation of the respective stock has gotten out of control. Wonderful companies will appreciate over time. That is just a great side effect of investing in great businesses. So selling them after they do what they’re supposed to do is silly, in my view. There have been many stocks that appreciated to that level and beyond…and kept right on appreciating. You’ll notice some stocks in my portfolio have appreciated by 100% or more above my cost basis. But they’ll eventually appreciate 200%, 300%, 400% and beyond. At least, I’m optimistic that will happen.

    Furthermore, most of the stocks I invest in and we dividend growth investors routinely discuss typically have yields between 2% and 4%. So a year’s worth of dividends should be about 2% to 4% of the price. To sell after a stock appreciates 4% would just be incredibly shortsighted and you’d basically be constantly trading in and out of the market at that point. And I think (hope) you know where that’ll get you.

    Just my thoughts on it.

    Now, if a stock appreciates unreasonably beyond fair value to the point where it’s grossly overvalued, then I’m not at all opposed to selling. I haven’t yet really run into that type of situation, but I’m always mindful of the potential.

    I hope that helps. πŸ™‚

    Best regards.

  110. OK . . How many? Sell your stock with the idea of recapture. The great dividend stocks are snails . . . but if you can take a full year profit and look for another that you carefully researched what is wrong (or
    silly) with that?

  111. Well, for me at this time, as I am in the accumulation stage of my portfolio, i think it would be easier to have regular capital to invest regularly when good valuation opportunities present themselves. Last month I was very lucky to have a large dip occur directly after a month in which I received a lot more capital in dividends to reinvest. I had a lot of cash on hand to go on a buying spree with discounted names hand over fist for a short window Oct 13 -17, but had it occurred at the end of this month, I may have missed a lot of that opportunity. It just seems easier to me at this time to smooth out the capital I have for timely buys as I evaluate my watch list every month and dollar cost average into stocks I find attractive when values present themselves. Another aspect of tracking this is knowing your dividend announcement and ex div dates of current holdings in case you want to buy more. A timely purchase before the ex div in a company you think is currently valued for opportunity and you wish to have a larger position in means more cash in your pocket.

    For the future, I would like to have a smoother income for when I get closer to quit my day job for ease in budgeting, etc. I am not quite as frugal and disciplined as DM, probably. Getting a smoother stream would keep me better able to maintain control and keep my primate brain on track with my goals and obligations and staying organized IMO. I would like to think I would be able to plan ahead and foresee all of my spending and save enough in flush months to have excess in others, but I think it would just be easier if they were more even to begin with!

  112. CarloZap,

    “The great dividend stocks are snails”

    I disagree. Many high-quality dividend growth stock provide excellent total returns – capital gains and dividends – over the long term. JNJ, for instance, is up almost 84% over the last 10 years, before factoring in dividends. You could have bought JNJ at $55 in the summer of 2009 and then sold at $65 in December. Nice gain; however, you would have missed out on the growing dividends up until this point, plus the stock is now over $108.

    You’re more than welcome to pursue whatever strategy that you think will fit you and your goals, though. And I wish you luck with that.

    Cheers!

  113. For me, eventually i’ll use my dividends to pay bills (for now they automatically reinvest) and since my bills are fairly consistant month to month i’d like my future income to reflect that too.

    I also like to think of it as a nice calm continually rising tide to lift me to FI.

    It also is easy to find great companies in each bucket, for example GE, KO, PEP all pay in month 1, T, VZ, KMI pay month 2, UL, MCD, DE pay month 3

  114. Nicola, start now and invest aggressively. The biggest financial mistake you can make is not investing at all. Believe it or not, dividend investing is very safe and very easy. While fancy day traders would have you analyzing the macro trends of the Chinese economy and consumer purchasing habits to decide if Alibaba is a good buy, we could say without a doubt that companies like Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson are the places to put your money. They are safe and simple and will still be around 30 years from now, pumping out those dividends.

    Investing is scary because the “experts” make it sound scary, but it really is one of the simplest and safest things you can do with your money. The most difficult and risky thing you can do with your money is leave it in a bank savings account and only grow it by working at a job everyday that you can get fired from at a moment’s notice. Now THAT’S risky!

  115. B,

    Thanks for dropping by!

    I’m extremely grateful for the success thus far. There’s been a lot of hard work involved, and certainly a bit of luck as well. I didn’t know how things would progress once I quit my full-time job in the auto industry to pursue writing, but it’s turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. I’m now more energized than ever, and more motivated to keep chasing after financial freedom.

    It looks like your journey is going just as well as mine. Keep up the great work!

    Cheers.

  116. What part of management? RCAP has been hurt by the association of ARCP but I’d be curious on your take, ARCP’s issue has drug them down so I think investors think the problem is systemic right to the top but what’s your thoughts? ARCP probably isn’t a bargin but RCAP might be depending how you feel about Mr. S.

  117. Joe,

    All of management, until I see something that restores my faith. It’s just two executives that had to resign, but there is still an ongoing investigation. If the SEC and the FBI determine that it was only the two implicated, then I’ll feel better. Until then, who really knows for sure?

    I think it was a high-risk investment before, but now it’s veered into speculative territory. Just my view on it.

    Best regards.

  118. TD Ameritrade gives you 500 free trades, but only for a limited time and after that, it’s $9.99/trade. Still, I use it and I like it.

  119. I just realized, Jason, you own shares of TD, right? You’d be supporting a company that you own if you went that way.

    Actually, as amusing as that would be, it’s probably not the best way to decide which brokerage to use.

  120. Joey Batz,

    Ahh, I wasn’t even aware they were running that promotion. Pretty cool, though it looks like they only last 60 days. I suppose if you had some serious capital you were going to deploy over the course of a month or two, that would be a great deal. πŸ™‚

    Thanks for the suggestion!

    Cheers.

  121. Hi there, i really enjoy reading your blog and everyday that passes by that i dont start something like this, i feel like im wasting time.

    Any Canadians on here?
    I am canadian and At the moment, 100% of my portfolio is in low cost index funds in registered accounts (tfsa and rrsp) . I’ve been contemplating starting a dividend income portfolio in a non registered account at an online discount broker.

    Problem is I don’t know where to start? Should I start with Canadian dividend stocks or US stocks? Up here in Canada, we don’t have ad many large cap/blue chip companies like you guys.

  122. vincent,

    Welcome! Glad you found the blog. πŸ™‚

    There are quite a few Canadians that stop by here. And there are also quite a few Canadian bloggers that I link to on my blogroll:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/blogroll/

    The Dividend Guy, My Own Advisor, Roadmap2Retire, and Tawcan are a few that I can think of off the top of my head.

    You actually do have a number of great companies up there. Mostly in the natural resource, banking, and telecom industries. I actually own two Canadian stocks myself – BNS and TD. But you also have SU, RCI, RY, BCE, and TU as just a few examples. Of course, the market up there is much smaller than ours, but you definitely have a great place to start.

    I wish you much luck!

    Best regards.

  123. PIM,

    Appreciate the support!

    Looking forward to $10k/year. That’s some serious passive income right there. Still got a few years to go, but I’m aiming for it. πŸ™‚

    Keep up the great work over on your end as well.

    Cheers!

  124. DM,

    DAMN! Wow, that’s a ton for an off type month, yet again, and your YOY growth is amazing. You are going to crush the 5200 goal. I am actually projecting for you approximately $5,925. Thoughts? Just a hunch… we shall see though.

    Regardless – keep it up, like you’ve said it – this is tangible, you can use this money for experiences in your life. You have had quite a journey and it’s amazing for all of us to read and watch it unfold. Cheers!

    -Lanny

  125. Wow, DD great progress! I was at $1425 this October vs $722 last Oct so almost 100 % progress year over year for me. Still, this is less than30 percent of expenses, so FI feels far away. Will need my pension to kick in to get there. Best, DD

  126. Lanny,

    Thanks, man! It feels good to crush the dividend income goal. Especially since I’ll probably fall a bit short on the savings goal. But it was a great month, all considered. High savings rate, great dividend income, and I stayed very busy with writing. I wouldn’t change a thing! πŸ™‚

    I don’t think I’ll be quite up to $5,925 when it’s all said and done. I think I’ll fall a couple of hundred dollars short of that mark.

    Appreciate the support. That’s definitely one great thing about the dividend income. If push came to shove, I could start using it for expenses right now, which alleviates a lot of stress over the “what ifs” of life.

    Keep up the great work over on your end as well. You and Bert are doing very well.

    Best wishes!

  127. DD,

    That’s some serious dividend income, and a big jump YOY. That’s fantastic! You might only be 30% of the way there based on your expenses now, but I’m sure you won’t always live in D.C. Thus, you could move somewhere else down the road, where your dividend income could provide a comfortable living. For instance, my target right now is about $1,500/month for FI, and you’re already there! πŸ™‚

    Keep up the great work.

    Best wishes.

  128. DM,

    Exactly and well put – you can always dip into the dividend income in case something comes up. Your forward looking income for 2015 I bet looks extremely promising.

    I am taking a week off coming up – I bet you remember taking your PTO back when you were in the rat race. First week off since December and – I’ll be doing a great deal of writing and things for the blog.

    I’ll be also focusing on the 2015 goals I have established to see if there are things I can do now to set that up.

    Thanks DM – talk soon!

    -Lanny

    P.S. Go OSU

  129. “I hope these monthly dividend income reports provide inspiration for any investors out there that are just starting out.”

    Well, you got one. Thanks for jotting down your thoughts. You and many other blogs have helped me start tracking my progress. Congrats on the success and good luck in the future.

  130. Financial Dummy,

    Glad to hear it! πŸ™‚

    Looks like you’re off to a very solid start over there with some really solid retirement accounts. I wish you and your wife nothing but the best as you continue building your wealth. Keep it up!

    Please stay in touch.

    Best regards.

  131. Impressive indeed. Keep at it please.

    Do you re-invest or cash out?

    Looking for a good broker…any recommendations? Thanks a bunch.

  132. Dee,

    Thanks so much! Appreciate the kind words. πŸ™‚

    That’s a great question there in regards to dividend reinvestment. I selectively reinvest all dividend income, usually within short order. I discussed how I reinvest dividend income here:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2014/03/selective-dividend-reinvestment-vs-drip/

    As far as a brokerage goes, I personally use Scottrade. I’ve had a great experience with them over the last 4+ years. If you’re interested I can give you a referral code via email and that gives us both three free trades upon opening. I don’t have any experience with any other brokerages, but I understand Fidelity, Schwab, and TD Ameritrade are all great choices as well. Sharebuilder seems to be another good choice if you’re looking to buy stocks in smaller quantities more often due to their fee structure.

    I hope that helps! πŸ™‚

    Best wishes.

  133. Hi DM,

    Congratulations my friend! The feeling of crushing an annual goal takes some beating, well done!

    What figure are you shooting for to close out 2014?

    It’s also great to see the year on year progress. The $500 per month sounds great (especially to me in my position), but it’s what it mean to you that’s the priority. Having a 50+% increase in one month is very encouraging, even if it is slowing down!

    I’m still surprised with how motivated I feel after reading your monthly reports. I thought I might just get used to it over time, but it’s like looking into the future for me. Your point on ‘critical mass’ really resonated with me. Knowing that if I continue on a similar path to yourself, I might too be in a position where chunks of money are rolling in every month with little effort.

    Thanks as always for sharing. Keep up the good work!
    Huw

  134. Huw,

    Glad you still find some inspiration in these posts! I feel the same way. I always wondered if/when I’d start to lose some motivation of my own along the way, as if these posts will just become repetitive or the journey itself will become boring. You wonder these things at the outset. But I can honestly say I’m just as inspired today as I was when I first began this journey, if not more inspired. So I try to make sure that enthusiasm comes out in the writing. πŸ™‚

    You’ll definitely reach that critical mass where the power of the dividend income and reinvestment starts to propel your progress all by itself. Takes a few years, but look out when it happens!

    I’m definitely going to annihilate my dividend income goal for the year, which is great because it means I’m more than on track for my overarching goal of FI by 40. I haven’t calculated my year-end dividend income down to the penny yet, but it looks like I’ll finish somewhere north of $5,700. Should be fun!

    Thanks for the support.

    Best regards.

  135. DM,

    Thanks for taking the time to respond in detail. Will definitely check out your link.
    I am still reading through…gathering info before I make the decision. Will let you know if I choose Scottrade.

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