Dividend Income Update – August 2012

Another 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.

I’m going to post the details below of my dividend income from the month of August. I’m also going to include numbers for dividends from the months of May, June and July as well. I wasn’t actively blogging for a couple months, but I was of course keeping track of my dividends and you can see what the totals were below. So, this is going to be fun!

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 other interests than full-time work. Without further ado:

August 2012 Dividends Received

  • AT&T Inc. (T) – $22.00
  • Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) – $99.08
  • Raytheon Company (RTN) – $12.50
  • General Dynamics Corporation (GD) – $10.20
  • The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) – $28.66
  • Abbott Laboratories (ABT) – $36.21

Total dividends received during the month of August: $208.65.

Fantastic! Dividends really excite me. Maybe they’re not all that exciting to you, but over $200 in income that I didn’t have to clock in and do physical labor to earn is amazing to me. The number continues to grow over time as the companies that I’ve invested in continue to raise their payouts and I also continue to invest freshly allocated capital from my day job. It’s a true recipe for success if you think receiving enough passive income to exceed your expenses and inflation is success.

This total is a little higher than the total dividends received in April, my last published update. It’s also over three times the amount I received in August of 2011. I like it! This month’s dividend total covers 16.9% of my expenses. I’m counting down to the day that number hits 100%!

As promised, I’m going to publish my dividends from the prior three months. For the sake of brevity and not making this an extremely long article, I’m not going to list each individual dividend but rather month-end totals. You can see that during the month of June I received more than $300 in total dividends in one month for the first time ever. The progress is astounding.

May 2012 Dividends – $97.07
June 2012 Dividends – $315.70
July 2012 Dividends – $145.69

These totals have allowed me to make great progress towards my goal of receiving $2,000 in dividend income through the year of 2012. I have now received $1,491.90 in total dividends during the calendar year of 2012 and am 75% of the way there. With only four months to go it looks like I will exceed my goal.

I’ll update my dividend income page to reflect August’s (as well as May-July) dividends.

Full Disclosure: Long all aforementioned equities.

Photo Credit: sscreations

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32 Comments

  1. Maybe they’re not all that exciting to us?

    Of course they are, this is super income that will be converted back to more stocks and more dividends, I wish I was already at this level!

    Nuno

  2. Great progress. Already 1/6th of your monthly expenses. You’ll be at 100% before you know it. Good job on getting over $200 in dividends in August. It’s a bad month for dividends for me. Though with September starting I’m really looking forward to the big month of dividends that kick off today with WMT, COP, and AFL all paying today.

  3. Nuno,

    Of course dividends are exciting to us dividend growth investors, but you never know who’s going to read that article. I’m glad to hear you’re just as excited about them as I am!

    Keep up your progress and you’ll soon reach this level and far surpass it!

    Best regards.

  4. Investing Early,

    Thanks for the support!

    I also think my goal is well within my reach. It feels great to put a goal on paper and stick (for the most part) to the plan. Let’s hope we can all continue the good fortune!

    Take care!

  5. Chad,

    Thanks. It does feel good knowing that even if I were to lose my job, I could still cover a healthy chunk of expenses. I could make significantly less money and still be okay due to the investing and frugal living. That safety net allows me to sleep well at night.

    September should be a great dividend month indeed. Looking forward to some healthy distributions and some nice dividend increases!

    Best wishes.

  6. Great update. I feel a little geeky being so excited about my dividends each month. I even have marked on my calender the day the dividends are due, so I can check my brokerage account first thing in the morning. Its so exciting! Doesnt take much to amuse me, I guess, but I love watching my hard earned money grow.

  7. Hello DM,

    Awesome post!! Your whole idea of documenting your progress as you grow your dividend income itself is inspiration for many.

    Please keep up the good work. Your goal of $2000 is well within your reach now!

  8. Hola

    I’m very new to all this and there’s definitely things I do not understand on how dividends work. It feels as if you sorta have to get into it to know how it really works. I have some questions I would like to ask you. Is there any way to reach you by email?

  9. Dividend Mantra, your’e doing great! I just read your About Me page, where your started with only 7k back in 2010 – and look where you are now (10x that amount). I think you are very close to 2K in dividends per year. 🙂

    Cheers
    The Dividend Ninja

  10. Anonymous,

    I get geeked out when the dividends are deposited into the brokerage account too! You’re definitely not alone on that. I guess I’m easily amused as well, but that’s okay with me. Makes for very cheap entertainment. Actually, it’s entertainment that pays me! Even better. 🙂

    Best wishes!

  11. Anonymous,

    Thanks, I’m glad you enjoy the updates. Inspiration is the name of the game here, and that’s the sole reason I started, and maintain, the blog.

    The goal is definitely well within reach. I hope you’re exceeding your goals as well!

    Best regards.

  12. Ninja,

    Thanks for your continued support. It’s very much appreciated, as you know.

    Actually, in my About Me page the $7k I started with was all the money I had in the world in my checking account. I actually started with much less than that, as I took about $3,500 from the checking and used it to jump start my brokerage account. I’m certainly very appreciative of the success I’ve seen so far!

    You’re doing fantastic as well, and your progress inspires us all.

    Best regards.

  13. MOA,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    It’ll be great when those companies will be paying enough to buy another share every single quarter.

    I’ll head over and see your update soon. Your progress is inspiring. Keep up the great work!

    Best wishes.

  14. Great results, as usual! $200/month is nothing to sneeze at, and is already going a long ways to helping you achieve FI. Amazing that you are already 17% of the way there. Slow down, I’m trying to keep pace 😉 I’m sure it won’t be long until you encroach upon 50%. Just keep the “nose to the grindstone”. Freedom will be yours before you know it!

    Best wishes!

  15. Wes,

    Thanks so much for the support. I hope my progress inspires you and all the other readers. I’m extremely fortunate to be on this journey, and I appreciate it every day.

    Best wishes!

  16. FI Fighter,

    Thanks! Yeah, $200/mo is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Even if I were to stop investing today that $200 could already start to cover monthly expenses to a significant degree. The tangible effect of dividend investing is wonderful!

    You’re doing great on your journey as well. Mutual inspiration is a powerful force! Keep up the great work.

    Best regards.

  17. The great thing to see is that with consistent investing and time passing by, your dividend income for August 2012 is more than three times what it was in August 2011. Magnificent!

    I have no doubt that continuing down this path will lead you to financial freedom. Keep up the good work!

    Take care,

    -Samir

  18. Samir,

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I appreciate your support!

    Yes, I also believe this is a surefire way to long-term wealth building and overall financial success. It’s certainly not a get-rich-quick scheme, but it’s definitely a get-rich-slowly plan.

    Best wishes!

  19. That is awesome! Good job on keeping up with it! I am just starting to buy dividend stocks every two months. I reinvest the dividends in hopes of them earning me more dividends in the long run.

    My wife an dI just started a blog to become debt free. Feel free to check it out passingthroughdebt.blogspot.com

  20. Brad,

    Thanks for stopping by. Congratulations on getting into equities, especially dividend growth stocks. A very exciting world.

    I’m sorry to see you have such a mountain of student loan debt. Don’t feel alone though, as you are just one of many. Count me as one of the many, as I also have some student loan debt from my university days. Overall, I found the investment to be unfavorable…but different strokes for different folks.

    Best of luck on your journey!

    Take care.

  21. Steve,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Congrats on your success as well. You’ve achieved real, tangible investing progress in a short period of time and that feels great. Keep up the good work!

    Best wishes.

  22. Congrats on the progress. I cashed in my mutual funds worth $50k and am sitting close to $120k after 3 years. It doesn’t take long to see the benefits of dividend investing.

  23. How many shares per stock did you buy and what do you have now in them?

    Keep up thr good work…

    I’m just starting…

    Thanks

  24. Anonymous,

    I’m not quite sure I understand your question, but you can click on the ‘Portfolio’ tab at any time at the top of the page. That will show you exactly how many shares of each position I have.

    Best regards.

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