Dividend Income Update – December 2014

moremoneyAnother month has passed by, and itโ€™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 itโ€™s pure numbers. Itโ€™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 oneโ€™s expenses.

So December is in the books, and with it 2014. This year was definitely a watershed year for me in many respects, not the least of which was the dividend income that the Freedom Fund generated. Of course, that’s what’s so wonderful about being a dividend growth investor: it’s highly likely that every year will be a watershed year. Between dividend raises, dividend reinvestment, and investing fresh capital, moreย dividend incomeย year after year after year is all but assured.

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

December 2014 Dividends Receivedย 

  • Aflac Incorporated (AFL) – $39.00
  • Phillips 66 (PSX) – $13.50
  • Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) – $31.50
  • ConocoPhillips (COP) – $40.15
  • Visa Inc. (V) – $2.40
  • Southside Bancshares, Inc. (SBSI) – $22.40
  • Harris Corporation (HRS) – $18.80
  • Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – $70.00
  • Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) – $28.20
  • Chevron Corporation (CVX) – $42.80
  • Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) – $13.80
  • Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) – $39.90
  • Target Corporation (TGT) – $36.40
  • International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) – $16.50
  • Lorillard Inc. (LO) – $30.75
  • Unilever PLC (UL) – $10.76
  • Realty Income Corp. (O) – $12.82
  • The Coca Cola Company (KO) – $42.70
  • McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) – $51.00
  • American Realty Capital Properties Inc. (ARCP) – $23.33
  • Avista Corp. (AVA) – $17.46
  • BP PLC (BP) – $48.00
  • National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV) – $9.20
  • Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.B) – $23.50

Total dividends received during the month of December: $684.87

Whew! I love finishing the year up with almost $700 in income that I didn’t have to work for.ย It might be crazy to think that after just a few short years of consistent saving and investing a relatively modest income that a passive dividend income stream like this could be built, but it’s real. Every single penny has been documented since early 2011, and I can definitely see that the snowball is accelerating its pace downhill. It only gets bigger and better from here due to the power of compounding. The curve of compounding can be difficult at the beginning, but it takes off like a roller coaster if you give it time. I can already feel the thrust even though I really just got on the ride.

This is now the sixth time I’ve exceeded $600 in dividend income during one month. I think it’s not long before this is the minimum. The bar just keeps getting set higher.

This total is 13.3% higher than the dividend income I received last December. I’ll consider that a very solid improvement seeing as how last December wasย also a huge month. The gains in percentage terms will fall as the absolute numbers increase. But it’s the latter I’m after, not the former.

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I was able to cover 23% of my personal expenses this past month via dividend income alone. This is a bit lower than what one might expect, but my expenses were among the highest they’ve ever been due to some gift and travel spending I’ll be discussing over the coming days. Though, covering nearlyย ยผ of my expenses via passive income is still a solid result.

Looking forward, I’m extremely excited for what 2015 has in store. I’ll be going over my goal for 2015 dividend income within the next week or so, but I’m very optimistic about where things are going. It’s hard not to be optimistic, however, when money is working hard for you. I might find myself sleeping, eating, relaxing, or otherwise enjoying life, but capital that I put to work a long time ago is still working. Money just never runs out of energy. It’s amazing.

One of my big goals for 2014 was to receive $5,200 in dividend income for the year of 2014. Well, the cat’s out of the bag here. With December’s numbers now recorded, I can proudly say that I generated $5,721.60 in dividends this year, which is an average of $476.80 per month! That’s a 45.7% increase over last year’s $3,926.12 take. Even better, I absolutely crushed my goal for the year. I know I won’t be able to repeat that kind of YOY improvement in percentage termsย moving forward, but I think 2015 will be another huge step in the right direction toward financial independence. And that’s really what it’s all about!

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

Full Disclosure: Long all aforementioned securities except ARCP.

How did the year shape up for you? Did you finish strong in December?

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: holohololand/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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143 Comments

  1. Jason, I’d say this was a jaw dropper of a good year with everything you had going on. Congrats on kicking that goal in the face! That’s such an impressive massive list of super high quality companies paying you money this quarter. Your passive income over the years speaks for itself, and it’s awesome that it’ll just keep going up and up by itself every year. It’s such an amazing strategy we’re following and thanks for always setting such a great example!

    All my best,
    Ryan

  2. Incredible when you start talking about your baseline income being several hundred dollars per month. The power of compounding and consistency is so readily visible that anyone following your progress over these past few years should be truly impressed and inspired. My December was a strong one as well, coming in over $200 for the first time. When I project out through 2015, I can see no month falls short of $100, and multiple months break the $300 mark.

    Life is good, dividends are better, and financial independence is on its way. Keep on cranking, and here’s to a prosperous 2015 for both of us!

  3. Mantra,

    AWESOME. Another ~$700 month of dividend income, no dirt on your shoulders on that one. What is interesting, is that there isn’t any large/lopsided dividend income that you received, say a $100+ from 1 company. What’s funny as well is the below $3 from Visa; not because it’s small but because I know how fast that number is going to grow given their high dividend growth model they have had over the last several years.

    Nice work dominating your goal this year, crossing it essentially at $500+ or another month of income walloped in there. Given you had $5.7K received this year, I’m going to guess you may expect to receive over $7K next year (give or take $250)? Would love to be surprised though!

    Excited for your ear and looking forward to your goals Mantra, talk soon man and congratulations on another killer month!

    -Lanny

  4. Congrats on the dividend income and crushing your goals. I assuming people were laughing at you a few years ago when you decided on this path by saying negative things about the markets, such as “the stock market is gambling!!” . I bet those people are not laughing now.

    You get to collect lots of dividend income every month and to work on one of your passions which is writing. December was my best month ever in terms of dividend income.

  5. Roger H,

    Ha. It’s very, very sweet. I’m really glad to be in this position. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Here’s to an even better 2015!!!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Cheers.

  6. W2R,

    Exactly. That’s what I love about blogging. You have this record of every single transaction along the way. There’s no arguing about what’s possible with what returns, how much one has to save, or what kind of income someone has to make. The numbers are there. I certainly could have done better in some areas, but I also could have done worse. What’s important, however, is that there’s a road map there for anyone to follow. And I’m so glad that we have this kind of platform which allows us to share this kind of information. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Looks like you’re going to have a really solid 2015. I’m so excited to see how the year goes for all of us. Keep it up!

    Best regards.

  7. Lanny,

    Thanks for the support!

    I’m trying to slowly even out some of these payers over time. I’m less concerned with the lumpiness of payouts from month to month than I am with lumpiness from company to company. It’ll never be exactly even, but I do hope to smooth things out over time. The good news is that there were only a few outliers, like V. But I know that $2 will be a whole lot more a decade from now. ๐Ÿ™‚

    You’re very close with the dividend income goal there. $600 per month has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

    Appreciate all the support. Best of luck to you and Bert throughout 2015. You guys are going to have a great year.

    Cheers!

  8. Jason,

    Very nice work. It’s good to have goals. It’s even better to step over them and keep going. December was very kind to my wife and I, providing our highest ever monthly dividend take. That’s the stuff that makes investing seem worthwhile I suppose.

    Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year.

    Steve

  9. IP,

    Yeah, that’s funny. I remember the unenthusiastic response I’d get from some people when I first started talking about this. I suppose I can’t totally blame some people because my track record with money wasn’t that great up until 2010, but I never wavered. I always believed in myself, which is what’s most important. No matter what other people think, you have to believe in yourself.

    You had a fantastic December over there. Congrats on an all-time high. I’m sure you’ll be registering even more all-time highs over the course of 2015. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best wishes.

  10. Henry,

    Haha. I hear you, bud. I think I’d be a lot closer to FI as well if I still lived at home with the folks, but there’s some trade-offs with everything in life. I’m certainly very happy to be in the situation I’m currently in. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Being able to live as you want and where you want is what I’m aiming for, as I think we all are. One day at a time!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Take care!

  11. Ryan,

    Thanks for all the kind words of support. I really appreciate it. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Hitting a critical mass here feels great. Even with no further capital investment, the dividend income should grow by over $600 YOY. It’s just amazing when you think about it like that.

    Can’t wait to see how 2015 shakes out for you. We’re all in a great spot to continue marching ever closer to freedom.

    Thanks again. Keep up the great work!

    Best regards.

  12. DM,

    Congrats at destroying that goal It will be hard to replicate the YOY % increase, especially with a few stocks taking a real beating (ARCP coming to mind there).

    I’m interested to see your goals for next year. I like your ‘watchlist’ you had up on your last post. I like most of the ones on your list, especially transportation, insurance and industrial. Hopefully the opportunities present themselves.

    Congrats on beating this year good!

    Gremlin

  13. Steve,

    Congrats on your huge month over there. That definitely makes things worthwhile. Money is time and time is life.

    Keep up the great work. wishing you a most prosperous 2015 as well!

    Cheers.

  14. Congratulations Jason! That is great progress and a pretty cool lifestyle you are able to lead with the writing. Thank you for sharing your insights time and again!

    And what better way to spend some of those dividends as gifts and make those around you happy too!

    As to myself I had quite a strong year in terms of contributions and dividend income and almost breached the $1k for December. I hope to write a little more often in the New Year as well.

    All the best and have a great 2015!

  15. Gremlin,

    Thanks. It feels good to blow past a number that has me on pace for my long-term goal of FI by 40. Things are definitely moving along.

    It’ll be impossible to replicate the percentage gains, but I’m more concerned about the absolute progress. One day I hope to be hitting $20,000 in annual dividend income, and even a 10% gain in YOY income is $2,000. I’m looking forward to where things are going. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate the support very much. Let’s indeed hope opportunities present themselves over the next year!

    Best wishes.

  16. Alphatarget,

    Congrats on the huge mark for December! It looks like we have a lot of positions in common, just in different amounts. Certainly glad to be a fellow shareholder across so many companies. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate the support. I hope I’m able to hit a number next December somewhere close to what you hit this December. Keep up the great work!

    Best regards.

  17. Thank you for Sharing the Inspiration Journey Mr. Mantra.
    I appreciate you leading by example and have the greatest respect for you my friend.

    Much love to you and the Dividend Growth Community. Im proud to be a part of it.
    It’s just Awesome.

  18. Hey Jason,
    I love these posts….Compounding in action….
    Your list of dividends look like a grocery store receipt, getting longer and longer, except that these are revenues, a postponed income that will generate more and more income. What not to like?
    I had a question for you though….I understand that you use Scottrade. I am very annoyed by their flexible DRIP….Is that what you use? Do you reinvest in your current stocks or do you get the cas and put it to work on your new investments?
    I wish you many more dividends in 2015.
    LTI

  19. Tyler,

    Thanks so much! ๐Ÿ™‚

    I feel the same exact way. I’m just glad to be a part of this amazing community. The amount of mutual support and inspiration is really incredible. It strengthens everyone.

    Wishing you the best over the coming year. Plenty of opportunities still yet ahead!

    Cheers.

  20. LTI,

    I don’t use Scottrade’s FRIP. I’ve heard good things about it, but just don’t use it. All of my dividends are selectively reinvested. As I understand it, the program is now closed to new users. That’s unfortunate.

    Wishing you many more dividends in 2015 as well. So excited for the coming year! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Take care.

  21. The great thing about Scottrade’s FRIP is that you can selectively reinvest dividends and without transaction costs.

  22. It is great but they don’t do fractional shares like many of their competitors….that means you can have your cash sitting for quite some time before being invested….That was my frustration…

  23. Hi,

    I meant to respond to your other post. We were in Hollywood for Christmas. My in laws have a condo on the beach. A great way to spend the holiday!
    If you get. chance this winter, you should head down to Crystal River and check out the manatees. (Make sure that you go on a cold day!). Very cool.

    Hope you had a good New Years!

    Roger H

  24. Congratulation on a successful 2014 and good luck on your 2015. Your $5,721 passive income for the year covers more than two months of your living expenses. Great job!

  25. BAM! Obliterated that dividend income goal!

    It’s crazy to think that you could take your foot off the gas pedal and just coast indefinitely, and your dividend income would still increase substantially year after year.

    Congrats on another great month!

  26. Jason,

    Congrats on the great month! I love the fact that your income stream grew by 13% year over year. I love the power of dividend investing, and your portfolio is the perfect example of it. As you mentioned, the bar keeps getting raised because you either re-invest your dividends or put your recently received dividends to work via new investments. Either way, the dividend income stream continues to generate new income each and every year. And on top of that, the dividends grow from companies announcing dividend increase. Man I love dividend investing! Just like that, you have a 13% increase.

    I can’t wait to see what 2015 has in store for your portfolio. Keep up the great work and best of luck in 2015. Let’s take another giant leap closer to financial freedom!

    Bert

  27. I see that your KO dividend is now providing enough to purchase a whole share. One of my favorite milestones was seeing my dividend payments equal the cost to purchase a complete share.

  28. Wow, nice list of stocks there. I didn’t know you had so much JNJ , I wish I had more myself but it’s had quite a run since 2012.

    You had quite an improvement YOY at 45.7% ! That’s a bit more than me, I was about 43% so it’s good to see I’m at least close to your growth rate. Like you said though the growth numbers will likely decrease as a percentage but our dividend totals will continue to grow and grow. Good work this year DM.

  29. Congrats Jason on a wonderful year all around! Your 45% increase comment motivated me to look at ours. Although not as high a dollar amount the % was a very respectable 59% y on y. Steady as we go!

  30. It looks like you’ve had a great year in so many areas of your life. Congratulations on meeting your financial goals, escaping the 9 to 5, getting engaged. I look forward to hearing about 2015!

  31. Robb,

    Yeah, I wish they still had the program open. It’s a great way to flexibly reinvest dividends with no costs. I’m not quite sure why they shut it down to new users.

    Best regards!

  32. Bert,

    I’m with you, bud! I love this stuff. But it’s hard not to love receiving more and more cash flow. ๐Ÿ™‚

    2015 is another huge opportunity for all of us. I’m also very excited to see what’s in store for all of us. I think we’ll all be healthier, wealthier, and closer to financial freedom by the time the year is done. And that’s what it’s all about!

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Best wishes.

  33. David P.,

    Great point there. I never really looked at it that way because I don’t DRIP my dividends, but that’s a great perspective. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I hope many of your stocks have afforded you that opportunity!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Take care!

  34. Captain,

    Thanks. It’s taken years for this list to become what it is. I’m glad I was able to load up a bit on JNJ at cheaper prices, but I don’t think one would do bad by buying JNJ now if they’re in it for the long haul.

    It’s definitely great to see income increase by that much in percentage terms, but it’ll naturally decrease as the absolute numbers increase. In fact, I’m looking forward to the day when I report that income only increased by 10% YOY, because that’ll mean I’m working with some serious dividend income! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Congrats on your YOY growth. Keep at it. 2015 is full of opportunities for us.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  35. FFF,

    Thanks so much. Appreciate the support!

    My long-term spending goal is actually $1,500 per month. That’s personal spending, so that’s backing out the blog expenses, which run quite a bit. But the dividend income is now covering about four months of expenses at that level, which is right about where I want to be. Things are looking up! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Congrats on your very successful 2014 as well. I hope 2015 is just as successful for you.

    Best wishes.

  36. Seraph,

    Haha. It’s really crazy, isn’t it? I wrote an article a while back that showed how I was basically a guaranteed millionaire. Now, that was looking more at the portfolio balance. But the dividend income would grow quite a bit even if I permanently stop investing fresh capital. The rule of 72 means it would probably double every seven years all by itself, so I’d be looking at over $11,000 in annual dividend income by the time I’m 40 even if I stop right now. That wouldn’t be enough to cover my expenses, but it would cover a pretty healthy chunk.

    It’s just incredibly important to start the compounding as early in life as possible.

    Congrats on your very successful 2014 as well. You’re doing fantastic over there. Keep it up!!

    Cheers.

  37. Zee,

    It was an incredible year. Some of the family stuff was rather unfortunate, but this year was amazing across the personal, financial, professional, and health facets. I’ll definitely not soon forget 2014.

    Looking forward to 2015 for all of us. It’s an incredible opportunity at our fingertips here. Let’s make the most of it. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by. I hope you enjoyed your time in Japan!

    Best wishes.

  38. Chris,

    Congrats on the big YOY jump. That’s fantastic. Onward and upward.

    Keep up the great work! We’ve got another year in front of us to move even closer to freedom. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers.

  39. Congrats on hitting your dividend goal!

    What is the total profit/loss of the portfolio for 2014?

  40. That’s a great way to think about things.

    I have some very general goals, but I often wonder about what it would be like if investment income was enough to cover basic expenses like housing, transportation, health ins, etc. Seems to give “work” a new meaning when you know it’s only so you can have fun with the extra money, or simply find work that is enjoyable on its own even if you don’t make anything from it.

  41. Well done, Jason!

    Another huge month in the books. It’s incredibly inspiring to see your numbers climb month after month and year after year.

    What I really like about these numbers is how evenly distributed your income is, both in terms of positions and industries. Having almost 25 companies pay you a piece of their profits definitely provides the long-term security for your dividend income. Even if one of them fails, there’s 24 others to pick up the pace.

    Looking forward to your 2015 dividend goals and to what you’ll be doing to achieve them.

    Cheers,
    NMW

  42. Huge month, huge year. As you always say dividends are real cold hard cash and you can’t argue with those figures nor fake them. Congrats on finishing the year on a strong suit. Just imagine what all those 2014 dividends will turn into in 2015. These are the best posts any DGI blogger can write. Thanks for sharing.

  43. Awesome result, Jason. Itโ€™s the result of all those years of your hard work. And the best is yet to come ๐Ÿ™‚
    Well done man!

    Cheers.

  44. Hi DM,

    wow that is an nice sum of money. A good month to end a good year.
    Congrats on crushing the 5200$ mark!
    The snowball seems to grow only larger at a faster rate, just amazing… It boggles my mind that so many people can’t see the power of compounding…

    Cheers,
    G

  45. Your portfolio is very very strong. You havenยดt only a snow ball, you have the strenght of wind help you.

    Congrats!

  46. Hi DM

    Good to catch the train of your final month of dividends for the year.

    2015 was a big year for you in terms of how you out achieved your $5.2k target and your being together with Claudia. Definitely a new year is in store for you and just great to see the snowball rolling further and further again in the upcoming year ahead (in fact we are already into the 5th day of the new year ๐Ÿ™‚

  47. Nice work on surpassing your yearly dividend goal DM! Hope you do the same this year as well.

  48. Great job again DM! As my first year as a dividend investor has come to a close, December was the best month ever for me with $363 dollars in dividends, an 81% increase over December of 2013. I received a total of $1,689 in dividend income over the course of the year which was 69% better than my goal. Very excited to see it snowball thourghout 2015!

  49. Hi Jason,

    Congrats on a milestone year! Your train has picked up steam and is rolling very well for you down the tracks!

    Happy 2015, and here is to a good year for all of us!

    Ray

    PS: Back in Minnesota now – Maui could not last forever! We missed the “cold” weather – haha….

  50. Wow! Wow! Wow!

    No body get more than 45% pay rise except dividend growth investors ๐Ÿ˜€ .

    Average person has to work at leat 2 months or 8 weeks to make $5700 income, but you make while you sleep, work or relax โ€“ this is the nice things about passive income. Amazing man!

    My portfolio generated around $3500 dividend income last year. And, my 2015 goal is receive $5000 dividend income.

    Thank you for sharing.

  51. Congrats on a fantastic month and a year, Jason. Your hard work sure is paying off and the charts speak for themselves. Also congrats on smashing the annual goal.

    Best wishes for 2015 and beyond
    R2R

  52. Jason,

    Another great year for you in terms of dividends and growing the net worth. Almost 700 bucks in dividends is awesome, and 5700 in annual free money is worth it. I feel a bit short of where I wanted to be dividend wise for the year, but my December was great, I made around 1500 dollars. I have some mutual funds, and index funds, that pay semi-annually. Good luck in 2015.

  53. congrats jason, that’s a fabulous end of the year! Great way to close out and an even better way to start the new year. Looks like energy is going to open up some awesome opportunities, still not there yet but the valuations are getting interesting. I’m waiting for the earnings to come out first from the energy sector, looking for some outright panic then scoop some quality up. all the best

  54. Ravi,

    Right. One doesn’t necessarily need to even become financially independent in order for this strategy to have a major impact on their life. Even if you just get to the point to where dividend income covers only half of your personal expenses, your whole life has changed. You can take on work that’s meaningful, worthwhile, and fun, if you so wish. It’s not all about the money any longer.

    So it’s not something to where you have to cross the finish line to receive the benefits. The benefits are already there. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best wishes!

  55. NMW,

    Appreciate the support. I’m definitely pleased with the way 2014 progressed. No complaints here. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’m still diversifying the portfolio even more. There’s some industries/companies out there that I’d still like exposure to, and many of these positions will be much larger over time. Can’t wait to see what these reports look like in five years.

    You had a fantastic 2014 as well. It’s amazing to think that 2015 could be even better for all of us. Onward and upward!

    Best regards.

  56. DM,

    Congrats that’s absolutely awesome, keep up the good work. I’m looking forward to 2015 as well. I started off this morning with buys of NOV, OKE. Just see great value in these shares. Need to wait for some funds to iniate my position in UL. Very exciting stuff!!!!!!

    Thanks,

    j-harr

  57. DivHut,

    Yeah, I’m very excited to see what these reports look like in 2015 and beyond. Every dividend increase, reinvested dividend, and new investment ups the ante. Should be a great 2015 for many of us. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  58. Jos,

    You’ve got it. This stuff doesn’t happen overnight. But hard work does come with big rewards. You just have to believe in yourself, stay consistent, persevere, and keep your eye on the long term. The numbers will come.

    Appreciate the kind words. Looking forward to what 2015 has in store for all of us! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best wishes.

  59. No ARCP anymore but you barely notice it!! awesome, keep it going! I will see how everything ends with ARCP don’t suspect them to go any lower. ill take the pain of no dividend for now and will wait till the reinstatement of the dividend to see how big the hit is. maybe after decide to relocate my investment but for now everything is right on track. Have some pretty hefty goals for 2015! how about yours?

  60. B,

    Thank you very much for the support. Much appreciated! ๐Ÿ™‚

    2014 was definitely a crazy, but great year. I suspect 2015 will be even better, however. And that’s what’s really great about building wealth. Every year, when looked at over a long period of time, is like climbing stairs. There’ll certainly be some setbacks along the way, but consistent saving and investing produces results. 2015 should be just another step toward freedom. Looking forward to it for all of us.

    Best of luck throughout the new year!!

    Cheers.

  61. Geblin,

    It’s a shame that more people lack the perspective to see how compounding works. It’s difficult to delay gratification in such a way for most people, but it’s not difficult to me since financial independence is the ultimate form of gratification, in my mind. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for all the support. Looking forward to another great year for all of us!

    Best regards.

  62. Congratulations on the dividend income! Love coming here to see in real time how this is working!

    Question on your previous post. Do you have to pay FICA taxes on dividend income? I’m pretty sure you don’t but I thought I’d ask. Thanks!

    Cheers to 2015!

  63. Antonio,

    Thank you.

    That’s a great analogy there. A tailwind is essentially what compounding is. It’s definitely a wind at your back, helping you along the way. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I hope your snowball is accelerating its pace downhill as well!

    Take care.

  64. BCS,

    Congratulations! ๐Ÿ™‚

    That’s a pretty fantastic performance. I didn’t even crack $500 in dividend income my first year, although I didn’t seriously get into it until it was almost summer. Keep up the great work!!

    Cheers.

  65. Ray,

    I hear Minnesota is going to get smacked with some pretty cold weather over the next few days. It’s funny that you’re arriving just as soon as my buddy Kraig from the Minneapolis area is leaving for a trip to Florida. I guess he needs a break from the cold up there, so he’s coming down to Sarasota for a few days with family. Stay warm up there. ๐Ÿ™‚

    To a very successful 2015!

    Best wishes.

  66. FJ,

    The life of a dividend growth investor, right? ๐Ÿ™‚

    And it’s not just the total increases in income, but the sheer amount of raises throughout the year. It’s great to receive 40 or 50 pay raises over the course of 52 weeks. Sure makes investing a lot more fun!

    Congrats on a really great year over there. And I hope you crush your 2015 goal!

    Cheers.

  67. R2R,

    Thanks for the support. Really appreciate it! ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’m just incredibly grateful for all that’s happened thus far. I’m so happy that the me of 2010 decided to get in gear and start down this path. I can only imagine how grateful the me of 2022 will be. It just keeps getting better.

    Here’s to another fantastic year!

    Best regards.

  68. RichUncle EL,

    Wow. That’s a huge December right there. That’s more than the annual haul for some investors out there. Great way to cap off the year. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for stopping by. Good luck to you as well in 2015!

    Best wishes.

  69. Tales,

    Yeah, I imagine earnings season will be very interesting regarding some of the energy plays out there. Really all depends on how protracted this drop in oil is. But if it stays like this for a while, further opportunities will surely appear.

    Appreciate the support. It was a great 2014. Looking forward to an even better 2015 for myself and everyone else out there!

    Cheers.

  70. Adam,

    Absolutely. That’s the power of consistent saving and investing. Money will work really hard for you if you just give it the chance. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  71. j-harr,

    That’s the way to start the year off. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’m looking at NOV myself today. Impossible to say how long this drop in oil will last, but NOV seems to be well-positioned to prosper through almost any environment. They’ve done just fine through longer periods of much lower oil prices. This recent volatility is really nothing when you look at the oil industry through a historical lens.

    Keep it rolling!

    Best regards.

  72. YOLO,

    Good question. You don’t have to pay SS or Medicare taxes on dividend income. Dividends, like capital gains, are taxed fairly advantageously, especially in comparison to normal/conventional sources of non-investment income.

    Take care!

  73. Wow great job Jason!

    You got the edge on me this year with annual dividend income. As always good job beating your annual dividend goal and it is nice to be able to see the snowballing affect of your dividend income.

    Have a great 2015!

    Mr. Captain Cash

  74. Congrats on crushing your 2014 goal completely. That is totally awesome. The snowball effect is definitely coming in hand. We both love our money working hard for us. ๐Ÿ™‚

  75. DM,

    Simply amazing. You are firing on all cylinders in all areas of your life. Here’s to a great 2015! I also love seeing the dividends from JNJ. I have to add that company sometime this year.

    MDP

  76. Grats on reaching your goal for 2014 as u easily beat it. Looking forward to your progress in 2015. Best wishes this holiday season. Hopefuly u should average over $500 a month for 2015 or even push $600 by years end!

    Good day and grind on!

  77. As a long time (silent) reader I would just like to congratulate you on a very nice month and achieving your dividend income goal for the year! Hopefully you and everyone else has an equally good if not a better year this year. ๐Ÿ™‚

  78. DM,

    Yes. I like NOV balance sheet and should be able to grow and raise div going forward. What’s not to like.

  79. Congrats on having such an awesome dividend income month and shattering your income goals for 2014. I remember the days when you were just making $150 a month in dividends, you’ve come a long way since then. The snowball is gathering momentum!

  80. SWEET job Jason!!!

    That’s is a crazy awesome amount of work-free money, right?

    As for myself, I collected $607 during December with a 2014 total of $4803 (which is a 65% increase over $2905 for 2013).

    Like you, 2015 won’t be quite as dramatic an increase (I’m now shoveling money into my pre-tax 457 account at work), but my main goal will just be MORE MORE MORE.

    Happy New Year and may it be filled with many sweet dividends (of all sorts)!

  81. Awesome dividend income! Mine were pretty good this month as well. Those larger positions of yours really do contribute quite a bit! Overall 2014 treated me pretty well and with a steady and noticeable increase in dividends since January, I’m very excited to see the difference after this months dividends to compare and kick off the new year right!

  82. DDI,

    Haha. Yeah, the ARCP fiasco was unfortunate. But I think my experience and results there prove the necessity and importance of diversification. The capital loss and dividend income reduction was barely felt since it was a small position. ๐Ÿ™‚

    You put forth some great goals for 2015. Living with the folks definitely helps. Best of luck with everything this coming year. I hope you exceed every goal!

    Cheers.

  83. MDP,

    Thanks, bud. I’m just trying to keep up with you, which I’m failing miserably at! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best of luck throughout 2015. I’m incredibly excited for what’s still in store.

    Cheers!

  84. A-G,

    Thanks. It was a really successful year. I have no regrets across the board.

    2015 should be a solid year for dividend income, but I’ll be somewhat limited in terms of how much capital I can put away. I hope the second half of the year opens up a bit for me, but I’ll be constrained quite a bit around tax season since my quarterly estimated taxes were low. We’ll see how it goes!

    Thanks for dropping by. Keep up the great work over there!

    Best wishes.

  85. MCC,

    I’m sure you’ll catch up and exceed me in 2015. My capital is going to be limited, especially for the first few months. I’ll be lucky to even get one investment per month in through April. But I’m still excited to see where things go. Hopefully a cheaper stock market comes our way, which would benefit us all. ๐Ÿ™‚

    You have a great 2015 as well. Onward and upward!

    Cheers.

  86. Great job staying consistent and exceeding your goal! This dividend investing is the real deal and I love these posts. It’s all the encouragement anyone needs to see the power of compounding and consistently reinvesting. I sure hope the market keeps it’s downward trend for a bit. Perhaps it will make it easier to initiate positions in companies that are currently trading too high for my taste. I’m sure you’ll have a smashing 2015, good luck!

    – HMB

  87. Spoonman,

    It looks like we’ve both come a long way. I’m still marching aggressively toward FI, but you’re already there. ๐Ÿ™‚

    It’s amazing to me how fast all of this happens. We often say how time flies by, but it’s wonderful to know that you put that time to good work. I’d be really bummed out if I had never started down this path, and I was staring down 2015 as yet another grueling year in the auto business with no hope in sight. Instead, the light at the end of the tunnel just keeps getting brighter.

    Thanks for all the support. Hope all is well up in the PNW.

    Best regards.

  88. Investingfortime,

    You and I are investing for the same thing. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate the support and readership very much. I wish you all the same for 2015. I’m optimistic that this is going to be the best year yet for many of us. Let’s keep rolling our snowballs!

    Cheers.

  89. ToughMother,

    That’s a fantastic result. You’re just a few months of capital investment behind me. Awesome work! ๐Ÿ™‚

    I hear you on 2015 perhaps being a bit slower. But the good news is that all this capital that we’ve already put to work will continue working on our behalf. Things are definitely looking up.

    Keep up the great work over there!

    Best regards.

  90. DW,

    Keep it rolling over there, my friend. You’ve remained steady and consistent, and that will continue to pay off for you. 2015 is going to be even better, thanks to the moves you’ve already made. The excitement is in the air. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Looking forward to seeing how things turn out for us this year.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  91. Hey Jason, I’ve been following for quite awhile now and your journey has been impressive. My only regret is not finding your blog earlier! I really appreciate all the information you’ve shared over the years! 2015 will be the year that I’m finally in a position to start my own dividend investing as well, so thank you for the inspiration and proving that it can be done.

  92. DM,

    Long time reader of your site (2+ years or so) but have never commented. You have been and continue to be an inspiration to me with your dividend income investing style. I loved it so much, I started doing it myself a few years ago not long after I started reading your website. Following your footsteps, I have started a blog to hold myself more accountable and to track my progress as well. It will be nice to look back years from now and see the steps I/we have taken to solidify a greater future. These posts are my favorite as you can’t beat cold hard cash! Keep up the great work and I’ll try not to be such a lurker in the future… Keep doing what you’re doing and I look forward to the day you can call yourself “retired”

    Scott

  93. DM – Great progress here – its always fun to see these updates, and its really cool that you’ve tracked and shared all this from early on in your journey.

    for me Dec. dividends were: 1509(taxable) + 770(401K)
    2014 total: 15517(taxable) + 4741(401K)

  94. HMB,

    Thank you!

    I think I’m most proud of my consistency, out of everything. It’s easy to say that you’ll save a high percentage of your net income and invest it all for years on end all while publicly tracking it along the way, but it’s a lot more difficult to execute it in real life. The power of consistency is real. I’m nobody special. Just a guy who knows what he wants and goes after it with every fiber in my being. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Congrats on building a fantastic portfolio over there. You’ve got some great stocks, and some of the best index funds available. You should do very, very well over the long haul with the quality of assets you now have in your name. Keep it up!

    Best wishes.

  95. Scott,

    Appreciate you stopping by and commenting. Comment as much or as little as you’d like, though. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Great job with the portfolio over there. Some really high-quality names there. And congrats with the monster month of dividend income you had in December. You’re set up for a great run in 2015 and beyond. Looking forward to seeing you continue to succeed and prosper. It’s even more amazing that you’re much younger than I am. You started early, which is tremendous. Compounding is especially powerful with a really long runway, and you have one about as long as you can get. By the time you’re may age, you’ll be far, far ahead of where I currently am. Keep at it!

    Best wishes.

  96. pacer45,

    I’m really glad that I’ve been tracking this almost since the beginning. I only wish I would have started from $0. But blogging just wasn’t nearly as popular back then, and the idea didn’t spark for me initially.

    Congrats on the huge, huge month over there. That’s fantastic! I’m telling you, I’d be very close to FI on that kind of passive income. I hope to catch up to you by 2022, but you’ll be far beyond that level by then. Keep the moving target going. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!

  97. DM

    Congratulations on another great month. My December dividend growth rounded out as follows:
    December over December growth โ€“ 20.71%
    4th Quarter over 4th Quarter growth โ€“ 22.96%
    Year over Year growth โ€“ 27.03%

    The trend is slowing for me as well. Iโ€™m expecting 2015 organic dividend growth to be about 17%. Eagerly looking forward to seeing your 2015 goals.

    Happy New Year.

  98. E man,

    Ha! That’s a great way to look at it. You’re right. I could fund a Roth and then some every single year without saving another dime, which would grow all by itself as well. Crazy, isn’t it? The power of dividend growth is pretty awesome. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Take care!

  99. Dividend Arena,

    Hey, we all wish we would have started earlier. But the key is that you started. And I’m certainly glad you found the blog. Even more happy you started your own. ๐Ÿ™‚

    The journey of a million miles starts with that first step. You’re on your way, my friend. Stick with it!

    Hope you stay in touch.

    Cheers.

  100. PIM,

    Thanks so much. It was really nice finishing the year on an up note and exceeding the goal by a pretty wide margin. I’m on track for my long-term goal of FI by 40, which is even more important. Things are rocking! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Congrats on a great year to you as well. The portfolio is growing and so is your dividend income. Each month brings us closer to where we want to be.

    Best regards.

  101. LDG,

    Great, great work over there. Love the increases. Good stuff! ๐Ÿ™‚

    I hear you on a slightly slower 2015. We’re all still marching closer to where we want to go, however. Sometimes the pace is a little quicker, sometimes slower. But we’ll keep moving along, which is what matters the most.

    Happy New Year to you as well. Keep it up!

    Best wishes.

  102. Congrats Jason!

    December sure was a monster month for dividends, almost $700, wow. You also not only beat your annual dividend target, but killed it.

    What are your thoughts on the markets in 2015? I am expecting a challenging year with less growth expected in my portfolio from the last several years, although as long as the dividends keep on increasing and chugging along, I have nothing to complain about.

    My yearly 2014 dividend total was slightly over $6,200. It feels great to achieve an average of $500 in dividends each month… by doing absolutely nothing.

    I hope 2015 will be another fantastic year.

  103. Winston,

    Thank you. I’m really pleased with the way things are going. I’m really actually ahead of pace at this point, so things are looking good. If I can have this kind of success in a relatively short period of time on a fairly modest income, the possibilities are out of this world for anyone out there that makes some serious coin.

    Really impossible to say what’s going to happen with the stock market over 2015. If I knew, I’d probably already be a millionaire. ๐Ÿ™‚

    But seriously, I can’t imagine the market continues going up much from here. It seems to be modestly overvalued as it is, and I don’t see any catalyst on the horizon that will continue to propel it. The ending of QE and falling oil prices may be the impetus that causes increasing volatility, rising rates, and a rough market. But really impossible to say. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing the market fall by 10% or so over the course of the year. That would not only be a healthy correction, but would allow some of us to kind of catch up and put capital to work in more attractively valued stocks. We’ll see!

    Congrats on the big year of dividend income over there. That’s fantastic! $500 per month covers a car payment and then some for most people. That covers my rent. I could live for free forever on your dividend income. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Keep up the great work over there.

    Best wishes.

  104. Wishing you and your family a happy and successful 2015. Thanx for thinking against the grain.

  105. Jason! Im a new follower from Scandi, who have taken an interest in your views and thoughts on the market. Thank you for a brilliant and inspiring blog. i have a question: I recently inherited a huge pile of cash (mus 2) which I want to use to build a dividend portfolio. I am just dead scared of investing all at the ‘peak’, a 20% correction of the stock market would kill any 4-6% dividend yield for a number of years. How would you do? How would you reason?
    All the best

  106. Man, I’m just now getting on the dividend train and as my (trading) portfolio sits, I should hit $200 in FY15. Long way to go to get to this level!

    Jay

  107. Great job with your dividend this year. You are so on top of it.
    We almost reached $9,000 with our dividend income, but probably could have done a better job of reinvesting. I’m just slow when I make transactions.
    To Carl above, I think we just need to keep investing. If your investing timeline is 20 years or more, I’m pretty sure any correction will recover. Just keep invest during the down market.

  108. I just added up all my dividends (almost all in my Roth 403(b)) and realized I took in just over $6,500 in dividends during 2014. This is with a year end balance of $101,000. I am fairly evenly spread between mutual funds of Large Cap, Mid Cap, Small Cap, International & a little in utilities and REIT. I almost fell out of my chair when I added up the numbers.

    A side note, your site is getting enough traffic, you should survey your readership. I (and I assume many others) would be interested to know the make-up of those in this investing lifestyle who read your blog. Such as age categories, overall net worth, investment balance, how much they invest each month, number of securities they are invested in, and any other interesting information. This would really help to gauge where we are at in our own investments and possibly challenge us to go to greater heights in the new year. Just a thought.

  109. Don’t put the full amount in if you are scared of a correction. Dollar Cost Average in your money. Make a plan to invest it in intervals, such as a 1/4 now, a 1/4 in 3-4 months, a 1/4 3-4 months after that, etc. Doing this allows your money to start working and the opportunity to monitor the markets and be able to take advantage of downward trends. Keep in mind, this is for the long term.

  110. Carl,

    Thanks for your readership. Glad you stumbled upon the blog! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Your question is hard to answer. It’s really a personal decision. I can tell you that all the research says that you’re better off investing all of your cash right away in a lump sum, rather than dollar cost averaging it in over a lengthy period. If you’re looking for some research on this, you’ll find some solid reading here:

    http://pressroom.vanguard.com/content/nonindexed/7.23.2012_Dollar-cost_Averaging.pdf

    That said, I’d personally do it differently. I’d DCA the money in over a period of time. And that’s only because I don’t know if I could build an entire portfolio all at once. That would assume I could pick and choose, say, 50 stocks that were all attractively valued at once. That would be difficult right now. So if I had $50,000 all of the sudden, I’d probably invest $5k at a time, which would mean I’d have time to pick my opportunities, rather than rushing the money in. The risk to this, of course, is that the market rises over that period, meaning I would have been better off investing it all right away. I’d also miss out on dividends. But it’s also a hedge against a big fall.

    Keep in mind that a “20% correction” is always a risk. Even if the market falls by 20% next month and you invest all of your money, there’s nothing saying it can’t fall another 20%. So the best defense you have against the market is you. Be psychologically ready to invest for the long term or you won’t succeed either way.

    Best regards!

  111. Jay,

    $200 is a great start, my friend. I didn’t hit much more than that throughout the year of 2010. The snowball rolls quickly if you’re putting your legs into it. You’ll get there. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Stick with it!

    Take care.

  112. Joe,

    Man. $9,000 in dividend income is huge. I know you’re actively looking to increase that source of passive income, so I know it’ll be even larger in 2015. You guys are doing great over there with the income diversification and everything else. Keep at it! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best wishes.

  113. David,

    Congrats on the dividend income. $6,500 is more than $500 per month. I was mentioning to someone else that that could cover my rent, so I’d have a free roof over my head at that point. Good stuff! ๐Ÿ™‚

    That’s a great idea there. I’ll definitely have to do something like that sometime soon. It would be really interesting to see the results. It would only be accurate insofar as those who participate, but I think it would give a pretty clear picture on where others are at. I do hesitate to focus on stuff like that, however, as I believe that using peers as benchmarks isn’t always a great idea, as that’s just another version of chasing Mr. and Mrs. Jones. However, I think there’s some value in it.

    Thanks for the suggestion!

    Cheers.

  114. Hi. How big was your portfolio(money invested) when you first time broke 100 dollars in dividends in one month?
    I’m hoping, that I can break 100 dollars this year.

  115. niko,

    The first time I broke $100 in one month was June 2011:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2011/07/dividend-income-update-june-2011/

    If you cross-reference that against the portfolio update for that month, the Freedom Fund was worth $33,613.91:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2011/06/freedom-fund-update-june-2011/

    It’s kind of crazy to look back on those early numbers. But it’s also funny because it wasn’t that long ago. That was just a few years ago. And the time has seemingly passed by pretty quickly. So don’t be daunted by just starting out. Things will probably move along quicker than you expect. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Take care!

  116. So, you hold your US stocks in TFSA or NON-REg? In the US$ account or CAD $ account. Love your site, thanks for posting.

  117. Bought some PEP @ 93 and DEO @ close to 108 to start 2015. I want to build bigger and bigger stake in PEP so decide to average up. Last time I bought the stock it was in 70’s.

    May buy UL around $38 or lower.

  118. Alex,

    Thanks for dropping by!

    I’m not a Canadian investor, so those terms/accounts do not apply to me. I was born and raised (and still live in) the US.

    Cheers!

  119. AJ,

    Nice moves there. PEP is one of my larger positions. I really like the diversification across snacks and beverages. And Nooyi seems to be guiding the ship really well.

    DEO is another great company. Hope to own a stake at some point.

    Keep up the good work!

    Best regards.

  120. Hi Jason,

    Great result! I doubt I will ever be able to reach these numbers, but I’m definiately giving it a try.
    Please keep inspiring people in 2015. Wishing you and your family all the best.

    DfS

  121. Jason, really appreciate your thoughts, many thanks (and to you as well David P.). Keep it up.

  122. DFS,

    I’m quite sure you’ll be able to reach these results if you stick with it. Perhaps not as fast as I have, but some out there have done it even faster because they make more money. However, the key isn’t really to compare yourself to anyone else. The key is to set realistic goals relevant to your own journey and achieve them. Some people out there might laugh at my goal of $18,000 in dividend income by 40. Some others might think that’s way too much money. All that really matters is that you’re doing right by yourself and what you want out of life.

    Keep at it!

    Best regards.

  123. DFG,

    Not much to dislike about December. Huge dividends, time with family, holidays, and celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of another. All good things. Life is a gift. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Congrats to you guys on the over $460 in dividend income for December. That’s fantastic. Things are starting to roll over there for you. Keep at it. 2015 should be very, very exciting.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  124. Steve,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Glad you found some inspiration in this. I do my best to inspire others to reach for their own versions of freedom. I hope your own journey over there is treating you well. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best wishes.

  125. Nuno,

    Thank you. It’s another big step in the right direction, which is what really matters. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’m hoping for $600 per month in 2015. We’ll see how that goes!

    Hope you had an excellent year over there as well. Every day, week, month, and year is another opportunity. Have to make the most of them.

    Best regards!

  126. It would be very illustrative to know, for instance,

    1.how many of your dec/31/2013 holdings increased/mantained/decreased dividends and the average variation through 2014.

    2. how would your portfolio behave if you stoped buying stocks in dec/31/2014 and didn’t sold or buy any stock.

    and more questions you would have, since now your portfolio has a size that you can make these reports.

  127. Nuno,

    I think I should start reporting on how many companies I’m invested in have raised dividends. That would be interesting to see.

    However, I’m not sure I see any value in trying to report on what the portfolio would do if I were to stop buying stocks. That has no relevancy to what I’m doing or what I’m trying to achieve.

    But I’ll see what I can come up with in regards to dividend increases and someway of accurately tracking those. Maybe a new page. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for the suggestion!

    Cheers!

  128. I agree. Maybe nยบ of increases/flat/decreases would be enough, and an average of the variations would be good to illustrate the power of growing dividends. It’s like a paycheck raise.

  129. Hey Jason,

    wonderful development. I really like your blog.

    Do you know your average dividend growth rate of your portfolio? Is it realistic to calculate with a growth rate of 7-9% per year?

    Best regards!

  130. Tim,

    I’ve been lax in keeping good track of it. I had a generally good idea up until 2014, and it was about 7%. I plan to keep better track this year, perhaps even adding that element to the blog. But I think if your going after 10% total returns, your growth rate will likely be what’s left after backing out your yield. My portfolio’s yield is about 3.5%, which explains the 7% dividend growth. Makes sense when you back out the numbers like that.

    Best wishes.

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