Dividend Mantra

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Dividend Income Update – November 2012

By 28 Comments

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.

These are probably my favorite posts. Dividend income is why us dividend growth investors do what we do, and the harvest this month was once again bountiful. I guess I’m easily entertained. Where some people crave going out for a night on the town and slamming down as many drinks as possible I truly enjoy tallying up my dividend income for the month and realize I’m one month closer to financial freedom. Call me an old soul.

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:

November 2012 Dividends Received

  • AT&T Inc. (T) – $22.00
  • Raytheon Company (RTN) – $12.50
  • General Dynamics Corporation (GD) – $10.20
  • Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) – $36.00
  • Abbott Laboratories (ABT) – $36.21
  • The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) – $28.66

Total dividends received during the month of November: $145.47

Bam. Just like that I made over $145 this month, passively, just from being a loyal shareholder of high quality companies. There will be a day, many years from now, when this is small potatoes. One day I’ll be a seasoned dividend growth investor with a portfolio well into to the 6-figures. But, the dividends I’m receiving now really puts a smile on my face. I haven’t lost sight of where I started, and my perspective needs no refreshing.

This month’s total is in-line with what I received last month. Unfortunately, this total does not compare very well with the amount of dividends that hit my brokerage account in November 2011. This is mainly because I received a very large dividend from Telefonica S.A. (TEF), a stock I no longer own. I liquidated my entire position in TEF late last year because I felt the outsized yield was unsustainable (and it was).

This month’s dividend income covered 11.6% of my expenses for the month of November. That’s awesome! I was able to cover over 10% of my expenses purely by way of dividends, and that’s during a month that’s not particularly strong for me as some of my larger positions do not pay out this month.

With November’s dividends tallied, I have now received a total of $2,150.11 in dividend income through the year of 2012. That’s well above my goal, and I still have one month to go! Fantastic. It looks like I may cross the $2,500 passive dividend income mark this year. I can’t wait to finish the year strong and put together a really tough goal for 2013.

I’ll update my dividend income page to reflect November’s dividends.

Full Disclosure: Long T, RTN, GD, KMI, ABT, PG

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: sscreations

Comments

  1. And they keep on rollin in… Gotta love it! The best part is, the best is yet to come! I’m anticipating this last month being a personal best for a lot of dividend investors.

    Cheers!

  3. Your updates are an encouragement to me. I just bought my seventh stock this month. I am up to about $50 per month in income which won’t even put gas in my car for the month. It can be discouraging to look at the finish line and have so far to go. Like being on mile 3 of a 26 mile marathon. The thing that keeps me going is compounding interest. I know that as my portfolio grows, the gains will accelerate.

    Thanks for the update.

  4. Just thought I would let you know that a few months ago I was perusing the Internet looking for dividend investing blogs when I came across yours. Since that time I have been following your blog regularly, as well as those of several others who focus on dividend investing. I had been telling myself for quite some time that I was going to start blog with a similar theme, and a few days ago finally got around to publishing my first post! I can honestly say that your blog, as well as others I have been following, played a large part in me finally taking the plunge. We are at very different stages in terms of age, work and investing, but I think this is one of the things I find interesting about your blog, as it provides me with a perspective different than my own. Anyway, good luck with your plan going forward and I will continue to check back to see how you are progressing.

  6. Based on past performance, it looks like you will breeze past your goal of $2500/year in dividend income. Terrific!
    It is also nice to see that dividends covered over 11% of your expenses for the month. That is fantastic progress. Keep up the great work!

    -Samir

  9. “and that’s during a month that’s not particularly strong for me as some of my larger positions do not pay out this month.”

    Not too shabby to cover 10% of your expenses in a BAD month! Can’t wait to see how strong December will be for you.

  11. Hi DM,

    Congrats on a great month and being ahead of your goals!

    Oddly enough, I don’t own any of your November payers but would like to at some point, I was close to buying PG earlier in the year and KMI is high on my list still. I have VZ instead of T, and I hold LMT instead of RTN or GD.

    Keep up the good work!

  12. FI Fighter,

    I’m also anticipating December being a big month for many of us. Many of the popular dividend growers pay out in December, so this bodes well for the holiday season! Ho ho ho. 🙂

    Keep up the great work.

    Best wishes.

  14. Steve,

    A million-mile journey always starts with one step. It’s cliche, but true.

    You can look back at my dividend income and see I was earning less than $40 per month in early 2011, and that was after I had been dividend investing for the good part of 2010.

    Stay the course. Persistence will pay off.

    Best wishes!

  15. A Better Place To Be,

    I’m so glad you stumbled upon my humble little spot on the internet! I’m glad you were inspired to start your own chronicle, and I look forward to checking in and seeing how it’s going. Blogging is tough going sometimes, and it can be pretty time consuming. But, the rewards are well worth it.

    Please keep in touch!

    Take care.

  17. Samir,

    Thanks for the support. I really appreciate it.

    I look forward to seeing your portfolio update! It looks like 2012 has been very kind to us. You’ve made tremendous progress as well.

    Take care!

  18. Patric,

    Hey, thanks for stopping by from Sweden! I hope all is well on that side of the world.

    Thanks so much for following the journey. I hope your journey is going just as well!

    Best regards.

  20. Headed Home,

    Congrats on getting back home so quickly.

    I’m very grateful to be able to cover a not-insignificant portion of my expenses on an off-month of dividends. It was also nice that my expenses were well in-line, so that made it easier.

    December will be higher in terms of dividend income, but expenses will also be higher due to Christmas. Either way, I’m just really happy to be on this journey and getting closer to that elusive 100% mark.

    Take care!

  21. Shop Teacher,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    It sounds like you have a pretty good record of discipline yourself, growing your portfolio by a good amount of 2012. Keep up the persistence.

    Best wishes!

  22. All About Interest,

    Wow, I didn’t realize you weren’t long any of these stocks. I know PG is fairly popular, although I find it a tad expensive right now. KMI is on my list for another addition in December.

    At the rate you’re at you’ll own all of these stocks and then some soon enough! Keep it up. It’s definitely fun to watch, and inspiring.

    Take care.

  24. Over a 10% expense coverage ratio in a bad month is awesome. I’ll possibly hit 20% in December but that’s no where near my average. I’m hoping that some big horrible news story will come along to push the market down and let me put some capital to work. I have just under $6k that needs to start earning some dividends for me. Congrats on another solid month.

  25. Engineer,

    Thanks for stopping by.

    I agree 100% Every month that passes is just another month of opportunity and wealth building. I really enjoy the journey, and I love watching others and their respective journeys even more.

    Best wishes!

  26. Pursuit,

    I’m just hoping to keep up with you!

    Having $6k at your disposal is simply fantastic. I have a little over $3k to work with after a very recent transaction which I’ll be talking about very soon.

    Happy hunting, and looking forward to seeing what you buy.

    Best regards.

  27. Good job. I only get half of your income, but feel it positive and building my larger portfolio to get to bigger income later. For 2013 year I plan to reach 100 a month worth of income in dividends. Reinvesting and compounding it would bring great results over time. I wish I had more cash (or not lost that much in past by my adventurous gambling).

  28. Martin,

    Great goal there to reach $100 per month in 2013. That’s exactly where I finished 2011 at, so you’re really not far behind me. Keep up the great work!

    I wish I had a bigger portfolio too, as we all do. I’ve made some horrendous mistakes in the past…but the key is to keep looking forward and keep building for the future.

    Best wishes!

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