Dividend Income Update – February 2015

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, getting closer to covering oneโ€™s expenses.

Two months into the year and the trend of getting paid for essentially nothing continues. And what a wonderful trend that is! Well, I shouldn’t say nothing. Rather, hard work and great decision making of yesteryear continues to pay dividends – literally – in the present and very likely will for the rest of my life. It’s amazing that just one decision can pay off for decades. Repeat great decisions over and over again and, well, your entire life can change.

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:

February 2015 Dividends Received

  • Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) – $21.45
  • Deere & Company (DE) – $18.00
  • AT&T Inc. (T) – $23.50
  • Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) – $11.43
  • Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) – $42.86
  • Raytheon Company (RTN) – $15.13
  • General Dynamics Corporation (GD) – $12.40
  • Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (APD) – $15.40
  • ONEOK, Inc. (OKE) – $33.28
  • Clorox Co. (CLX) – $25.90
  • Realty Income Corp. (O) – $13.23
  • Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) – $32.82
  • Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (OHI) – $31.80
  • Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) – $81.00

Total dividends received during the month of February: $378.20

Bam! Almost four hundred dollars in my pocket. The Jason from the years 2010 to 2014 put in the hard work necessary so that the Jason of today can enjoy this capital and reinvest it so as to grow this total even more. Thanks, past Jason!

What’s even better is that I think I’ve done a fairly good job at managing risk and not going after low-quality businesses simply for yield. Sure, I could easily increase my dividend income by going heavy on mREITs and royalty trusts. But I keep it simple,ย diversify, and focus on quality. I feel very confident about the future prospects for each one of these companies. Thus, I think the odds are quite high that each company will be paying me more dividend income next February and every February thereafter for the foreseeable future. I don’t have to worry about whether or not Clorox will sell bleach, and I know that Kinder Morgan is going to continue transporting natural gas across its pipelines and collecting fees for doing so. I sleep very, very well at night.

This total is 12.4% higher than the dividend income my Freedom Fund generated in February 2014. That’s a pretty solid improvement, though these year-over-year increases are slowing down in percentage terms as the absolute numbers grow. That’s a good thing, however, as it’s the actual income I’m after. In addition, I’m making less moneyย these days, which is slowing the rate at which I can invest by virtue of having less fresh capital to deploy. Also, my dividend income this February faced a couple headwinds in the form of a smaller dividend from Vodafone after the sale of its Verizon Wireless assets to Verizon, and the loss of a fairly sizable monthly dividend from American Realty Capital Properties Inc. (ARCP). All in all, it’s still a solid move in the right direction.

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I was able to cover 21.2% of my personal expenses this past month via dividend income alone. I’m pretty happy with that result seeing as how this will probably be one of the lightest months for passive income. The expense side of the coin was held in check this month with nothing abnormal, which I’m also proud of.

This is really just more of the same, which is to say that dividend income is wonderfully consistent in its regular and reliable nature. And that’s one thing I love so much about dividend growth investing. Stocks go up, stocks go down. Can’t predict it or really give a good reason as to when or why it happens. But the dividends just roll in like clockwork, limiting the chance of doing anything dumb as an emotional response.

Looking forward, March’s dividend income should be a blockbuster, which will go a long way toward keeping me on track this year. The broader market still hasn’t really been as volatile as I’d like it to be, which has limited opportunities to some degree. But I’ll just continue marching up Mt. Freedom by regularly combining fresh capital with reinvested dividends to purchase high-quality stocks at a fair price or better. It’s the easiest and best way up the mountain from where I’m standing.

One of my goals this year is to receive $7,200 in dividend income during the calendar year of 2015. With two months in the books I’m behind, with only $811.74 received. That’s 11.3% of my goal for the year. I think March will catch me up quite a bit, but I’ll also have to make up some ground toward the latter half of the year. It’s going to be tough, but I decided to put out a very difficult goal on purpose just to see how I’d do. I’m excited to continue climbing!

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

Full Disclosure: Long all aforementioned stocksย except ARCP.

How was February for you? Are you on pace for your yearly goal?

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: holohololand/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Edit: Added in Procter & Gamble.

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142 Comments

  1. Hi Jason,

    I am like you, I am finding insane to receive that much money by just investing some time and money in some high quality companies.

    Since I am following you, I am more an more inspired to blog and describe how we do here on the other side of the Atlantic.

    Well done amigo and keep well.

    Cheers, RA50

  2. Great job as always Jason. And this is on one of your lighter months at that. I’m getting married later this year and have slyly convinced my fiancee about DGI investing. She’s smart (or kind) enough to agree with me, so she recently rolled over some chunks of money she had in a Roth and I’ve been able to start investing that in individual stocks. Recent pickups include EMR, TROW, UPS, CAT and KO. Looking forward to what other stocks you’re targeting over the next month or two….

  3. DM,

    Glad to see the progress again! A 12% raise from last February is pretty solid for doing something one enjoys. I can’t wait to get my snowball growing at the rate yours is, only a matter of time and continuous saving.

    I’m happy to see you mentions Kinder Morgan in the write-up, I actually just picked up a few shares of the company this morning after sitting on the sidelines for 6 months or more.

    Just to get an idea, at what point to you anticipate no longer DRIP’ing your stocks and just allowing the cash to build up to make unique purchases? That is if you ever decide to stop auto-reinvesting.

    Keep it up!

    Regards,
    Dividend Odyssey

  4. Hey Jason,

    Well on your way to success! Nice improvement over last February. The numbers are progressing nicely, and you should be very proud of your efforts.

    Keep cranking,

    Robert the DividendDreamer

  5. Hi Jason,

    The Feb-May-Aug-Nov months are pretty slow for me, when picking my next few positions I am considering taking that into account. Is that a wise choice or should I just stick to what I have been doing? To give you an example, I received only $24 in Feb. but $245 in Jan. and $231 in Dec. These smaller months I receive ~10% of what the larger months pay out.

    I would like to hear your opinion and anyone else’s on this.

    Thanks,
    DGI under 25

  6. Hi Jason!

    You are doing very well over there. Over 20 % of expenses covered is really solid. Read a tweet that you made a purchase this month. Looking forward to the recent buy article!

  7. RA50,

    It’s really amazing, right? Make one good decision and you’ll probably collect a nice little check for the rest of your life. Repeat those great decisions over and over again and life changes pretty dramatically. It’s a Thursday afternoon here in Sarasota. It’s 80 degrees and sunny. And I’m at a little coffee house/deli, enjoying life. I’d never be able to do this without making solid decisions over and over again.

    Thanks for stopping by. Appreciate the support!

    Best regards.

  8. I don’t think it matters too much unless for someone who is young and in the asset accumulation phase. This would be more important for someone nearing retirement to have an “even” flow of cash each month. But even in this situation, if one can be smart about their spending it doesn’t matter if you receive all dividends at one moment and spread out your spending as to not run out of cash.

    However, I am also pretty young (22) and I like the idea of getting paid at least once a month, preferably more. For this reason, I plan to make purchases keeping in mind the months which they payout, but its definitely not a priority; just person preference.

    Regards,
    Dividend Odyssey

  9. DO,

    KMI is very solid. I spent a couple of years building up that position. Takes time, but you can clearly see the benefits. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I actually don’t DRIP any of my dividends. I allow the dividends to accumulate over the course of a week or two or three and combine that with fresh capital to make my purchases. I actually wrote about that a little while back:

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

    Best wishes!

  10. DM,
    We’re both on the same page, aiming on the higher side in terms of setting the dividend goal. I did this to motivate myself to invest regularly to keep me on the right track. I am expecting a monster March for your dividend income, and for mine as well.
    Take care,
    FFF

  11. Robert,

    Thank you. Appreciate the kind words. I’m just cranking away, making each new day better than the last. That’s really what it’s all about. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Looks like you’re enjoying some substantial dividend income as well over there. Life is good!

    Take care.

  12. DGI under 25,

    I never factor a stock’s dividend payout schedule into whether or not I’ll purchase shares. In my opinion, that should be last on your list of concerns. Focusing on quality and valuation are much, much more important. If you build a diversified portfolio, that’ll tend to smooth itself out over time. Then again, it doesn’t really matter. If you’re the type of person who’s going to budget and live below your means in order to have excess cash flow to invest, then fluctuations in dividend income shouldn’t bother you one bit.

    Once living off of my dividend income, I’ll simply save up any excess dividend income from one month (like March) and roll it over into a lighter month (like April). Unless you earn an hourly wage and work the same number of hours every week, it’s likely that your active income sources will vary a bit as well. But, again, having some semblance of an ability to budget will smooth out those fluctuations, which is something you should be good at if you’re going to regularly live below your means and invest. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Hope that helps!

    Cheers.

  13. Sampo,

    I’m pretty happy with the result. Expenses were largely kept under control, so 20% coverage on a relatively light month isn’t bad at all. Just another step in the right direction.

    I’ve got a few posts in the hopper, but I hope to get the article about the stock buy out within the next week. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Hope you had a great month over there as well!

    Best regards.

  14. Gotta love receiving money for doing absolutely nothing at all. Bang almost $400 in your pocket. I love it. Being able to cover 21.2% of your expenses with the dividend income is awesome too. I’ll need to tally our Feb dividend income shortly.

  15. Tawcan,

    My pocket loves to be constantly refilled with fresh cash, thus my love affair with growing cash flow. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Looking forward to seeing how you guys did!

    Cheers.

  16. Congrats Jason! Almost $400 is a great total for one of the slower paying months and I know your March is going to be outstanding. 12% YoY growth and 21% of your expenses covered is a great accomplishment. It’s pretty amazing what a few years of being dedicated to DGI can do. As your blog shows you haven’t been receiving a huge income to spur your journey along, rather it’s been a middle class income with a middle class lifestyle. If that doesn’t prove to anyone that they can do it too then I don’t know what will. Keep up the good work and looking forward to your write up on your latest purchase. The share price decided to jump up some today but I’m hoping to add some shares closer to $82 before the ex-div date next week. Hopefully a disappointing jobs number tomorrow will bring about some better prices.

  17. My goal for this year is $2,300. February brought in $134. So far I am behind pace for my goal, but like you said, March will be a bigger month for me too. This month was up 458% from February of 2014. This will be the last month I have an increase like that, because March marks one full year since I have been actively engaging in dividend investing.

  18. 21.2% of your monthly expenses off $378? That’s pretty incredible, for not only are you getting hundreds of dollars a month for doing nothing, but you have been able to adjust your life to not only survive in this world for under $2k a month but live comfortably as well. Keep that momentum going Jason!

    Have a great day ๐Ÿ™‚

    Ace

  19. I am inspired. $400 in a month is awesome. I agree with you that March should give you a gauge of your yearly target. March is my biggest month for dividends so I assume the same is true form most of us who share similar portfolios. Keep up the great work.

  20. Not sure if I have asked this to you, or if you have addressed this, have you ever thought about selling puts to enter a value stock? I figure, why not get paid to buy stocks at a discount?
    I am a fan of doing that for my dividend paying stocks. I actually sell covered calls deep otm once I have the shares. I have taken my 3.5% dividend avg to 8.5% and the year hasn’t ended yet.

  21. Whew, been a crazy journey over these past few years, and your continued growth is an example of that. Percentages increases are great, but dollars are what get deposited in the bank. You’ve done a great job these last four years, and in four years from now, I’d imagine you’ll look back and have gone even further. Compounding and consistency are king in this pursuit, and you’ve put both on your side.

  22. Dividend Mantra rocks the casbah!

    Well done Jason. In a way, dividends certainly looks like free money! Of course, then again, you need to buy these stocks first.

    Just shared your story with my neighbour who has always all sorts of reasons not to become wealthier : “not enough money, not enough time, not enough all of things”. (bla bla bla)

    I’d say it’s more of a question of “not enough discipline and will”. Hence your example (and the ones of a lot of bloggers around here) speaks volume.

    Keep on rocking’ for all those sinners out there! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  23. Those are pretty solid numbers. 20% is awsome, more because it is a low-dividend-month to you.
    When you think about buying a stock, do you ever think about the months it pays dividends? In doubt about 2 different stocks, would you consider to buy the one that pays dividend say, in feb-may-aug-nov to make your decision?

  24. DM,

    Congratulations on another solid month of dividend income over there. Success breeds more success and sharing your journey is living proof. Like many others, we are all looking to see you continue to add bricks to your growing empire. All the best.

    FD

  25. Almost $400 in your pocket is not too shabby! All because you were careful in the past and it’s paying for you now ๐Ÿ™‚

  26. JC,

    Thanks so much. I think my journey and results proves that you don’t need to make a lot of money to make your dreams come true. Certainly earning $80k or $100k+ per year would help move things along, but it’s truly unnecessary. Careful management of your lifestyle and realizing that living below your means isn’t really a big sacrifice here in modern-day America (and definitely not as big a sacrifice as working for most of your life) is far more important than making a lot of money.

    TROW seems pretty solid here. I know you mentioned the futures being lower today and possibly leading to a better price, but I think today’s price action just goes to show you that you can’t really time stocks or the market. Find a great stock at a fair or better price and then just pull the trigger. Plus that special dividend knocks delivers $2 back right away. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!

  27. BCS,

    Awesome work over there. March should put you back on pace for your goal over there. That’s a goal of basically $200 per month, which is awesome. That alone can change your life by covering your utilities, or a good chunk of rent. Keep it up! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best wishes.

  28. Ace,

    Thanks for the support! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Not only am I spending less and earning more passive income than I was five years ago, but I’m also much happier than I was back then as well. Gotta love it.

    Looks like you had a great month over there as well. Keep it rolling!

    Take care.

  29. DD,

    Glad these reports continue to inspire. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Yeah, March should tell me where I’m at. I think I’ll be 20%+ of the way there after looking at the first quarter’s results, which is 80% on an annual run rate. So I’ll just have to keep busy with putting away fresh capital over the coming months. However, even if I miss the annual goal I’m still on pace for the long-term goal of $18k by 40. We’ll see how it goes!

    Keep up the great work over there. You’re off to a great start this year.

    Best wishes.

  30. W2R,

    Thanks for the support!

    Consistency is really important. You don’t need to make a lot of money, but if you can manage to save a little every month and continue to put it away, wonderful things can and will happen. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Keep up the great work over on your side as well. 2015 is starting off pretty great for us.

    Best regards.

  31. The Great Escape,

    Couldn’t agree more. People have a lot getting in the way of saving and investing, including excuses. There’s always going to be an excuse as to why you can’t save and invest. Won’t happen unless you will it to. Now, some people just aren’t in a good position to do this. But I’d be willing to bet that the vast majority who don’t save and invest could if they really had to. But it’s not my life. I just aim to inspire those who are willing to be the change they want to see.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Cheers.

  32. FFF,

    I don’t like to set unrealistic goals, as I’d never want to be personally discouraged or support the idea of it. But I do believe in pushing yourself to the max. And my goal is really at the tippy top of what I’ll reasonably be able to do this year. So we’ll see. I’m excited! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Looking forward to seeing where we stand after the first quarter.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best wishes.

  33. Nuno,

    Thank you. I’m considering it a pretty successful month, all in all. ๐Ÿ™‚

    As far as your question goes, I already answered that same question a few comments ago for another reader. If you scroll up you’ll see that.

    Take care!

  34. Nicola,

    Thank you!

    Almost $400 isn’t chump change, that’s for sure. I’m just glad the Jason of yesteryear got his act together. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!

  35. FD,

    Success indeed begets more success. And that’s especially true – in a visible and tangible way – here with dividend growth investing. As you reinvest the dividends, invest fresh capital, and benefit from dividend raises, the income just grows and grows. Life is good! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for the support.

    Best regards!

  36. Way to go, Jason. Thats $400 the younger Jason earned for you ๐Ÿ™‚
    Chalk about the ARCP as experience…keep up the great work!

    R2R

  37. The younger Jason would be really proud of the current Jason and older Jason is super excited what future holds for him. Great month and keep doing what you are doing!

    Nothing but the best.

  38. Nice work, Jason. We are pretty close on our portfolio and dividend amounts,but I have a few more that pay Feb dividends. I recently converted my portfolio to dividend investing, so I have a 300% increase from Feb 2014.

    Great to see your snowball getting bigger and bigger. The traction and success are great motivators.

    Can’t wait to see your results from March and how close you come to your goal for 2015!

  39. Keep on rocking. Those are some solid dividend income numbers from many names I like and have in common. As you stated it’s more about the growing dividend income than the value of the portfolio as stock prices rise and fall on a seeming whim. As long as those dividend payments keep rising we’ll all be happy. Just posted my results today as well. Thanks for sharing.

  40. DGJ,

    Thanks so much. I’m very happy with the progress thus far this year. A little behind my 2015 goal, but also ahead of my long-term projections. All in all, life is very good. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best regards.

  41. DV,

    Thanks so much. Another big step in the right direction! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Hope all is well over there for you guys with everything, including the house.

    Best wishes.

  42. DGI Novice,

    Awesome work there. That’s a big YOY increase. Very, very nice!

    Keep at it. Every dividend received and reinvested is another bigger dividend you should collect in the future. It just keeps getting better.

    Take care!

  43. DH,

    Indeed. As long as the dividend income keeps growing, I’m that much closer to financial freedom. One day at a time. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  44. Awesome job! Love seeing your updates and following along. Will be interesting to see if you make your goal for the year (I think you will), but I like that you’ve set an aggressive goal for the year as I think it keeps you pushing towards it and motivated.

  45. You are doing a great job. I’m a dividend growht investor too, my portfolio generated $118 dollars in February, and febraury is a slow month for me. March is a bigger month for me, I’m projecting about $220 for March. Looking at your dividend income page, I’m probably 2-3 years behind you and im investing about the same amount as you, about $1500-$2500 a month (my income fluctuates a lot. I’m very excited about where I stand 5 years from now!

    That being said, it becomes diffecult to find attractive investing opportunities in the stock market. The stocks that grab my attention are EMR, DEO and some energy stocks.

    Keep up the good work!

  46. Another great month, as usual! I’m still waiting for Robin Hood to report our dividends for the month, but I suspect we will be coming in at about $40–not bad for our first month of having a diversified (non etc) portfolio!

    I’m looking back over your older dividend posts and just hoping we see the same growth!

    By the way, did you track how much money you actually added to your account each month, rather than just portfolio size?

  47. DH,

    Thanks! ๐Ÿ™‚

    We’ll see how it goes. It’s going to be a tough goal this year with decreased income and a tax bill, but I’m definitely giving it 100%. Should be a great year, either way.

    Hope all is well!

    Best regards.

  48. I found your monthly budget page with savings info. Great data! I’ve been worrying about our own savings rates since my wife left her job, so we’ve been scrambling to see how we can still manage to save more than $1,000 / mo with the reduced income.

  49. Bo,

    You’re coming along very well over there. $200 turns into $300 turns into $400. So on and so forth. Just stick with it and you will see the rewards. Every dollar you invest is putting you that much closer to financial independence.

    Keep it up!

    Best wishes.

  50. Great job Jason – any $$ coming in is a good thing regardless of how much. 2H should be a lot better for me aswell, i’ve been rejigging like crazy lol ‘hopefully’ things pay off but we’ll see. I am liking the way ARCP is going so i expect that dividend to come back again although not as big – at least the house is clean as it were. One of the rare times a company does manage to turn things back around. Keep up the good work. T

  51. T,

    I also hope the rejigging is working out for you, my friend!

    Glad to hear ARCP is turning it around. I personally won’t consider an investment in the company again until they have 5+ years of dividend raises under their belt, as there are just too many high-quality companies around to mess with it. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Cheers!

  52. Charles,

    $40 is better than $0. Even better, it’s the gateway to $100 and then eventually $1,000. Can’t get to the top of the mountain if you don’t start climbing. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best of luck with the savings goals. Maintaining a high savings rate is by far the most important financial aspect of all of this. Your savings rate will matter much more than your investment returns as it pertains to financial independence, unless you’re going to be investing for like 30-40 years. Even 20% returns on very little money is still very little money. Keep at it!

    Take care.

  53. Dividend Mantra,

    Another solid month of dividend income for you. It definitely feels great when we see those dividends being deposited into our respective brokerage accounts. I don’t mind at all when they increase them as well with no effort on my part. I am sure you don’t mind either LOL..

    Is a video about a investor with a low wage raising a family on top of it.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlUIOxQr3bo

  54. Yeah I had missed my limit order the day before and with the futures showing a decline I was hoping to pick up shares for cheaper than I was planning. Of course we all know what happened yesterday. I’ve got my limit order set for this morning but who knows what will happen in the stock markets. Hopefully they decline and I can pick up shares where I really want but I’m also planning on making the purchase today as long as the price doesn’t go crazy.

    Just complete my stock analysis on TROW and it’s now up on SA.
    http://seekingalpha.com/article/2978366-why-t-rowe-price-group-inc-is-at-the-top-of-my-watch-list

  55. Jason, hello from Scotland. The only company I have shares in are GE, they are bought every month through the companies DRIP scheme. I have 1000 shares that brings me about $780 in dividends after tax. You truly are an inspiration to me, I have a few thousand dollars of credit cards that I’m clearing off and hopefully will then be able to diversify a little. Thanks once again.

  56. February was good to me. $15.27 in dividend income.. Obviously not a lot compared to the majority of others reading this blog but I’m happy with anything. I have a small portfolio and have to grow it slowly, but it’s growing which is the most important thing.

  57. Jason- I was already looking to go long with TROW, it helped ease my mind knowing that you were considering to jump in too. Get in soon for that $2 special dividend!

  58. great video….small beginnings, can lead to big things…pay your self first+ invest in great divvy paying companies!

  59. Awesome post! I have been following you for a while and you have inspired my husband and I to start investing more in dividend stocks! Our new portfolio is small but it makes me happy every time I look at it! ha! Thanks for all of your awesome information! Love it!

  60. Nice passive income! 20 % coverage of your monthly costs sound also good. You wrote about your dividend income target for 2015. Is this in the same range of 20 % to cover your life costs per year, or even higher? Are you still in time to reach your goal to become financial independent by 40 years?

    Regards

    Marco

  61. IP,

    Thanks for sharing that video. I ran into his story a while back. Pretty great, right? I think I shared it on one of my weekend reading compilations some time ago. Good for him. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Just another great month to be an investor for both of us. Keep it up!

    Cheers.

  62. DM,

    Even with the loss of ARCP you still were around $380 in a typically off month. Not bad at all. Especially considering the YOY growth at this level. However, as you said March should be a blockbuster, that should be a fun one to write and read.

    – Gremlin

  63. JC,

    Thanks for the analysis. Largely agree. Near the bottom of its recent historical valuation range and near the top of its recent yield range, before even factoring out the special dividend. Add that in and it seems like a no-brainer. A little concerned about outflows and AUM if the market severely corrects, but they’ve been there and done that.

    I’m definitely glad to buy here. Seems like a solid value on a high-quality company.

    Best regards!

  64. buck_fast,

    Thanks for dropping by from Scotland. Much appreciated. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Sounds like you’re off to a great start over there. That’s a big position in GE, but those dividends can be funneled into other stocks over time. Best of luck building out your portfolio!

    Cheers.

  65. Duffy,

    Don’t worry about comparing your situation to others. The readership ranges from people in their early 20s all the way up to retirement age. And then you have to factor in lifestyles, family choices, geographical location, education levels, etc. That’s why I wrote that article recently about not comparing yourself to anyone else. $15.27 is a lot better than $0. Even better, it’ll surely compound over time and grow for you. We all have to start somewhere, and you can go back to some of my earliest dividend income reports showing $30 or $40.

    Keep it up! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best wishes.

  66. Brian,

    Yeah, I like TROW. I’ve been discussing it for a little while both here on the blog and elsewhere. I initiated a stake in the company a few days ago, which I’ll be writing about next week. Got in before the regular and special dividend, which is very nice. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!

  67. vince,

    Indeed. Success begets success. The snowball starts small, but every month is an opportunity to grow it and roll it that much faster. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Take care!

  68. klinel01,

    Thank you so much. Glad you’ve found the blog informational and motivational. That’s my aim! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Keep growing the passive income over there. It takes a little time to get things moving, but the rewards are well worth the hard work.

    Best regards.

  69. Marco,

    Yeah, the $7,200 in dividend income should cover somewhere around 30% of my personal expenses on a current run rate. That puts me about 1/3 of the way there and about 1/3 of the way along my journey. Things will pick up speed as I go along due to the compounding and growth of the dividend income as well as certain expenses coming offline. For instance, the student loans should be paid off by the time I’m 40, and that alone will markedly reduce my monthly outlays. So that adds in a margin of safety to factor in for inflation of the other expenses (rent, food, etc.). I figured I’d be somewhere around $6,000 in dividend income this year when I initially ran my projections back in 2010, so I’m ahead of pace.

    I hope you had an excellent month as well!

    Cheers.

  70. divorcedff,

    Thanks so much. It was definitely a successful month considering the loss of some key income generators in ARCP and some of VOD. I’m very happy. ๐Ÿ™‚

    March should be pretty epic. It’s set to be my highest ever. Looking forward to that.

    Appreciate the support. Appears that you had a great February over there with the special dividend from COST. Keep it up!

    Best wishes.

  71. Hi Jason,

    A quick question about KMI: If you didn’t have any, would you be a buyer? I did a quick check and read one article of the company and seems really promising. Very attractive yield and nice dividend growth. The only thing that I wonder is the high P/E ratio which seems to be, depending on source, in the 30-40 range. I know you have a pretty large position so you must like the company but would I be overpaying if I bought now? Thanks in advance and I wish you a nice and relaxing weekend!

  72. Gremlin,

    It still turned out pretty well even with the loss of some income from ARCP and VOD. All in all, I’m very pleased. Goes to show you how important a diversified portfolio is, however. If ARCP were a large position for me, it might have taken some time to rebound from that. Instead, I didn’t even notice.

    Definitely looking forward to March. Should be a lot of fun to write about. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Looks like you had a great February over there as well. Keep it going.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  73. Sweet! The passive income is convering over 20% of your expenses, that’s definitely an improvement from the 2010 Jason =).

    Everytime I see a nice dividend income report like this one I can’t help but think of that card in Monopoly showing the guy leaning back and enjoying a cigar.

  74. Sampo,

    If KMI can hold to its 10% dividend growth, then I would definitely be a buyer today. A large chunk of its business is fee-based, which is why it’s held up relatively well lately. There aren’t many stocks where you can find a yield of 4.5% and growth of 10%.

    The P/E ratio is misleading, however. Up until recently it was part of a GP/MLP structure. And, like with REITs, you can’t really value MLPs based on EPS. However, I suspect that now that they’ve consolidated the stock will normalize at some point and it’ll be easier to value going forward.

    Keep in mind, though, that its still an energy play. So it’ll be volatile. If you can use that volatility to your advantage, then you should be fine.

    Cheers!

  75. Spoonman,

    I love that Monopoly card. I’m lucky enough to have my own framed copy, thanks to a very thoughtful friend. ๐Ÿ™‚

    The Jason of 2015 is in a great spot thanks to the Jason of yesteryear. And I imagine the Jason of 2020 is going to be in an even better spot. The future is bright for all of us!

    Thanks for dropping by. Hope all is well over there.

    Best wishes!

  76. Hey DM,

    Nice progress once again, each and every month seems to be an improvement. Each added position adds a little extra income for years to come, you are right.
    Im excited to get my tax returns back soon, ill be able to put much of that towards some positions that will pay me for years to come as well!

    March is a good month, winter is breaking here in the northeast, and i have a feeling some good div’s will follow!

    good day!

  77. Dividend Mantra,

    That’s a pretty awesome month preceding March where will likely smash last years monthly totals. How can one not enjoy reading these reports and want to do it themselves?

  78. About a year ago I was hired by Kroger (KO) for a new project they were starting. I was in their meeting and they were talking about all their future plans. That day I went home and invested what I could at the time, 16 shares at 38 something. Never invested before, made a new account and all. I recently discovered this blog from J$ on a podcast he was on and just strolled around his site. Fast forward to yesterday I just sold all my kroger shares at 73 something and bought 15 coke and have 500 to still invest. This blog has truly changed lives. Thanks DM!

  79. DM,

    Whoa!! 378 is awesome and great growth from prior year. Definitely have a great listing of stocks paying you last month. Also,it is an off month which is a telling sign for March given how nice Feb was. Keeping it simple and simple pays. Congrats and great job Jason!

    -Lanny

  80. Hey DM,

    Great job man, keep up the progress. You have lit a fire under me immediately upon coming across your blog a few days ago. I’m pressed for time and just wanted your opinion on a thing so forgive me if this has already been asked. I noticed O took a little 4% tumble today, being as it is one of your higher yielding stocks what price would you like to see it at in order to pick up some more shares?

    Thanks for your time

    S.J.O.

  81. DY,

    That’s fantastic. Glad to hear you’ll be getting some tax money back that you’ll be able to put to work. I always try to end up with a net zero tax bill so as to not give the government an interest-free loan, but this year will be a rude awakening since I’ll owe north of $5k due to the fact that my quarterly estimated taxes weren’t enough to keep pace with my rising online income over the latter part of 2014. Oh, well.

    Spring is on its way and with it more dividend income as well. Life is good! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Keep it going.

    Best wishes.

  82. SWAN,

    Indeed. How can one not enjoy collecting almost $400 or so in a month? ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by. Looking forward to catching up to my annual goal after March.

    Looks like you had a great month over there with $150. Keep it rolling!

    Take care.

  83. Teach,

    Looks like you did well with Kroger there. Very nice! Keep in mind as well that KR is a dividend growth stock as well with nine consecutive years of dividend growth. From what I understand, they’re doing quite well. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Glad you found the blog, though. I’m truly blessed to be in a position to affect others’ lives for the better. I just hope to continue doing so. Financial freedom is attainable for many of us, even those that are earning a very modest income. Financial independence isn’t reserved for just the wealthy. We can have it too!

    Best wishes.

  84. Lanny,

    Thanks so much, bud. I’m really pleased with the way 2015 is starting out. I was originally forecasting $6,000 in dividend income for this year way back when I first started, so being on pace for somewhere even close to $7k is awesome. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate all the support. You and Bert are doing well over there as well. Keep up the great work!

    Cheers.

  85. SJO,

    Thanks so much!

    Glad to hear you’ve got that fire. It’s crucial to have that – you have to really want it to achieve it.

    I think O is roughly fairly valued somewhere around $44 or so. I might be personally interested in adding to my position below $44. I think it’s still priced at a premium here, though it’s a premium company. So you have to factor that in as well.

    Have a great weekend!

    Best wishes.

  86. That is an AWESOME amount esp for a traditionally light month!!! bravo!!! i was only at $205 for feb. better than last year at this time (25% increase) BUT i liquidated some LO (bought for 37 sold for 67) since i had too much tobacco (PM, LO that split by 3 and shot up. hung onto 50 sh but big loss of dividends). with the new-found money (and 2015 roth contribution), went on a buying spree over the last month including today: PG, EMR, NOV, BBL, VZ. still only $5600/yr forward looking but heading in the right direction! GO US!

  87. Great to see. I got my first dividend in February also, $48.40 from OKE. It feels good to finally get this ball rolling. Man several were down 3-5% today. Most would be worried. 4 stocks I was watching moved into the value category for me. Now I have to decide which to buy. What a problem to have.

  88. Like you, I’m not off to the best start either, being only about 10% of the way towards my dividend income goal…though it looks like I’m going to gain some ground in March.

    Regardless, isn’t it nice to know that you got 13 paychecks this month? ๐Ÿ™‚

  89. ToughMother,

    Nice moves over there. That’s some serious buying right there. I’ve always maintained that I enjoy buying stocks as much or more than someone else might enjoy going on a shopping spree at the mall. Except stocks are the gift that literally keeps on giving. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Enjoy those dividends!

    Best regards.

  90. Pygmycoho1,

    Awesome! Congrats on your first dividend. First of many, I’m sure. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Let’s hope the recent volatility amplifies and continues. I’d love to see stocks across the board drop another 10% or so, as I’m sure you would as well.

    Have a great weekend. Thanks for dropping by!

    Best wishes.

  91. Long time reader, first time commenter. You are doing a wonderful job. I have a teenage son that I am hoping to get started on the right foot financially. He’s reading “The Richest Man In Babylon” right now and after that I have “The Wealthy Barber” for him. Hopefully I can get him to start reading your blog. Imagine starting on this path when you were 18 years old. Anyhow, my dividend income for this month was $575 from investments in JPM, KMI, PSEC, NMM, STON, T, VZ, and WPZ. My situation is such that I am unable to deploy fresh capital for the foreseeable future. I would guess my snowball will take just a bit more time to form as I would like it. It’s going to have to get rolling on its own momentum from this point forward. Thank you for writing such an inspiring blog and much luck to you with all future endeavors.

  92. DM, your success is great! Congratulations!

    Funnily enough, this SA article partly and indirectly questions your success:

    http://seekingalpha.com/article/2979656-dgi-investing-its-riskier-than-you-probably-think?ifp=0

    It is quite new and judging from the huge amount of comments very controversial.

    I refrain from commenting there, would not know where to start/end. I just follow my portfolio and your blog, so I know I am on the right track!

    Best wishes
    Thorsten

    PS: Frugal … is ok … but, pop a champagne on your success! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  93. DM

    Love the articles, had a question, I notice you own 51 companies and want to invest in more? I was wondering do you find it beneficial to own lots of companies or would it be better to automatically reinvest the dividends back into the great companies you already own and build those positions to generate larger dividend checks from the 51 companies you already own.

    I guess is more companies better or larger positions better in companies you already own. I notice Warren Buffett has the majority of his wealth in anout 10-12 companies.

    Thanks Daniel!

  94. Seraph,

    The more paychecks, the merrier. Actually, if I count all the sources of online income as well, I basically received income from 18 different sources this past month. Sure beats one single paycheck. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I think we’ll catch up toward the latter half of the year on our goals. But it looks like you had a great February over there, which is putting you on track for a great run this year. Keep it up!

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Cheers.

  95. Mike,

    Thanks for he support. Much appreciated!

    Sounds like your son is starting out great there. A couple of classics. And you’re obviously setting a great example, which provides an excellent educational tool all in itself.

    Keep it up. I hope your son finds even half as much interest in this as I do, in which case he’ll off to the races.

    Best regards!

  96. Thorsten,

    Yeah, that article linked back to my site because of the way WordPress picks up trackbacks. I didn’t really bother reading much of it or the comments. Seeking Alpha generates a lot of controversial content and I have better things to do then get involved in internet debates. Seems like “clickbait” to me.

    I could actually be given a billion dollars and I still wouldn’t pop a champagne. I don’t really drink. I guess I’m lucky in that way, as frugality just comes natural to me in some respects. But I’ll pop a Coca-Cola instead. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by. Hope you’re having a great weekend!

    Best wishes.

  97. PIM,

    Appreciate the support! ๐Ÿ™‚

    You’re doing great over there as well. Looks like we’re off to a great start this year. Let’s keep it rolling.

    Cheers.

  98. DM,

    We both have high expectations! I’m exactly 11% to my goal of $5,250 in annual dividends. March will certainly be a good month, but fresh capital contributions will be a little light this year so it will be close! Thanks for the updates.

  99. Jerry,

    Looks like we’re in a very similar spot, both in terms of progress toward our annual goal and dividend income generation.

    I hear you on the capital contributions part. It’ll likely be a little light this year for me as well, and perhaps forever. But I’m okay with that. I’d rather continue on like this than earn $100k/year back at my old job.

    Keep up the great work!

    Best regards.

  100. I’m sitting at 11.5% towards my goal of earning $6,000 in dividend income in 2015. Interesting how a few of us are more-or-less at the same percentage after two months. There’s some catching up to do, but, as you say, March would certainly be helpful…

    Nice write-up Jason, keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing how your fare!

    Cheers
    FerdiS

  101. FerdiS,

    I guess that just goes to show that a lot of us are being aggressive with our goals this year, which certainly isn’t a bad thing. ๐Ÿ™‚

    It’s likely we’ll catch some momentum over the course of the latter part of the year after some reinvestment and dividend raises take hold. Looking forward to it!

    Keep it up. You’re off to a great start over there.

    Cheers!

  102. DM

    Late last year we went out for dinner with family friends. They are sisters and seniors in their early 80s. We got to talking and finances came in to the conversation. Long story short, the conversation bounced all around then it touched on how they were making an income greater now than she was when she working, 20 years ago. Investing and dividends.

    Ive had a trade account for years. Simple trades here and there for fast cash was the norm, but never really made much. So after that conversation and dinner. I went home and searched dividends. You popped up. I spent a couple weeks fiending on info.

    Recently I have shuffled funds around, added my tax returns and started to reinvest again. This time DGI. I just love the numbers.

    I want to thank you for all the info you have set forth. I applaud your openess and willingness to share. I have been inspired and look foward to taking a path that hopfully will lead to an easier financial outcome years from now. Im in my 40s, so maybe I can walk from the working scene in my late 50s…maybe.

    Take the very best of care. Great posting and info. Keep up the wonderful work, and thank you again DM.

    grez

  103. grez,

    Thanks so much for sharing that. It’s fantastic that you’ve come across the blog and this strategy. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Dividend growth investing is really robust, especially for those seeking financial independence. The cash is tangible, it’s typically growing at an attractive rate, and you can compare that cash flow against your expenses which literally shows you exactly how FI you are. And the total returns are pretty attractive, as you’re generally taking the best of the market.

    I’m happy to share. The support I’ve received has mostly been overwhelming positive, which makes this all worth it. I’m out to prove that it doesn’t take aristocratic wealth to become financially independent. We can almost all achieve it if we really want it.

    Stay in touch!

    Cheers.

  104. Happy,

    Thanks so much!

    These results are really the “proof in the pudding”. This strategy works. The cash flow is real money and it’s growing month after month, year after year. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Looks like things are going well for you over there as well. Keep it up!

    Best regards.

  105. Jason,
    Love what you do.
    The more I follow your financial journey, the more obvious it becomes that this is the way to go.

    Regarding the chart in your Dividend Income Update:
    Would it be possible to have one bar for each year, comparing the accumulated dividends for the same period previous years?
    In your next update, the left bar would then show accumulated dividends for Jan/Feb/Mar 2011, the next one would show Jan/Feb/Mar 2012 and so on.
    I believe this would be a much more interesting chart to watch.

    I’ll even provide you with the numbers for each bar for your March update:
    2011: $ 157.01
    2012: $ 563.53
    2013: $ 786.31
    2014: $ 1,393.39
    2015: $ 811.74 plus March dividends.

    Thank you Jason for providing so much common sense in a world full of ‘noise’.
    Keep up the great work!

  106. Rooney,

    Thanks for the readership and following along. Glad this all makes sense to you. Some people don’t get it, which is fine. But I can’t really see it any other way. It’s just too easy and wonderful. Best of all, it’s clearly working.

    Unfortunately, the software I’m using doesn’t allow side-by-side bars like that, so I can’t install YOY comparisons inside the chart like that. The best I can really do is link out to previous reports and then you can see the total annual YOY changes in the page linking all of my reports. I may change software at some point to allow that, but I’ve also seen some other charts out there that have all of those bars and they kind of look like a mess to me. At some point, I’ll have more than a decade worth of dividend data, and I’m not sure I’d like to have more than 100 bars in one chart.

    Appreciate all the support! I hope your journey is going just as well or better than mine.

    Best wishes.

  107. I’m sure you’ll do what has to be done in order to achieve your goals. I have no doubts about it! ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Couldn’t agree more on focusing on quality rather than only high yield. Growth brings more returns to me than does high yield (of course a combination of both is the best!).

    Cheers to that great month!

    Mike

  108. Mike,

    Thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated! ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’m with you. I’ve noticed that the bulk of my total returns have come from what I call Stage 1 and Stage 2 stocks – lower yield/higher growth. The stocks that provide big yield are wonderful as well, but the total returns have generally lagged. Either way, I like them all.

    Best wishes!

  109. You were mentioned in this article ๐Ÿ™‚ http://seekingalpha.com/article/2979656-dgi-investing-its-riskier-than-you-probably-think

    “DGI investing, as many folks are now practicing it, is a deeply sub-par, non-optimal investing strategy that will greatly under perform a global all-stocks index fund over a long-term time horizon. With the current obsession on mega-cap Dividend Aristocrats, DGI investing has, for many, even turned into closest large-cap indexing. It will offer significantly lower returns during economic expansions and only moderate protection from draw downs during an economic contraction.”

    Another criticism of course is the focus on US based companies. For myself, I am looking at index funds like VYM and the like, but these funds tend to invest in companies that do a lot of international business it seems as well.

  110. CTguitarguy,

    Yeah, I don’t really bother addressing criticism or anything like that anymore. My results speak for themselves, so I see no need to really discuss any of that. If I would have bought the S&P 500 all along, it looks like I’d have less total wealth and I certainly would be producing less organic income (by about half). As far as drawdowns, one only needs to look at how some of these companies performed during the financial crisis.

    In the end, whether you invest in a fund or not you’re still going to get exposure to the same companies for the most part. Just different percentages.

    Take care.

  111. Well done and impressive. Dividend growth and the power of compounding returns is truly a spectacular thing to watch. Most do not have the fortitude and patience to start the “garden” of dividend growth and to watch it grow over time. Simply “pull the occasional weed and continue to water the flowers in your garden” and the growth will continue (yes it is a tacky metaphor but one I live by). I am 49 and have been invested in dividend growth companies for many years (Canadian/US/European companies). My current dividend income is well over $3,000/month and continues to grow. The dividend growth plan does work!

    Your blog and the educational value it offers is fantastic. Keep up the great work and continue to motivate and inspire others.

    Perry

  112. Perry,

    Thanks for the support and kind words. Much appreciated!

    Congrats on your success over there. $3,000 in monthly dividend income is just amazing. Even better, you achieved that when there were a lot less resources out there, as the community has really exploded over the last few years.

    Indeed, I compare it to gardening somewhat as well in the form of a tree. My portfolio is a tree, each position is a branch, and each branch produces fruit in the form of dividends. I plan to live off of the fruit only one day, leaving the branches intact. The tree will grow, the branches will grow, and with it the fruit. This is instead of those who sell off their assets slowly to fund their retirement, cutting off branches slowly, hoping the branches will grow back faster than they cut them.

    Keep up the great work. And enjoy the fruits of your labor (pun intended). ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!

  113. Congratulations on still getting a good dividend income. I love this goal of yours “One of my goals this year is to receive $7,200 in dividend income during the calendar year of 2015.” I too have been trying to achieve goals of mine. I almost achieved one of them which is 1k visitors to my site in a single month. http://www.dreamchecked.com/2015/02/19/my-dream/ where I try to achieve my whole bucket list as I go through life. Your blog is pretty amazing and seriously keep up the good work.

  114. DCE,

    Best of luck with your bucket list over there!

    I wouldn’t mind creating something similar to that, but it’d likely be down the road when I’m a bit older. For now, I’m focusing on the financial side of the house and achieving FI, which will give me more flexibility and freedom down the road to really do what I want.

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Take care!

  115. jen,

    Feel free to search around the blog and read the content. I’ve answered this question ad nauseam before, except you can substitute YMLP with any other number of ETFs.

    Let me know if you have any other questions or need help searching around the blog. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!

  116. I think I saw some maybe not all of your ETF post… actually that is how I found your blog. Why I was specifically asking about YMLP or any other ETF that has a HIGH dividend return in this case it is 12% double what you are getting… You mentioned in your blog that people by ETF to flip them “cutting of the branches” at 12% dividend I do not intend to cut any branches I collect my fruit… just like you just that my fruit tree is twice the size… I guess I didn’t see the post that object ETF if they have double digit returns and why they would be bad if my purpose is to live of the dividend and not sell ever ….
    I am somewhat new to investing I cam across these high dividend ETF and I trying to figure out the downside… and the ones you listed made sense for ETF that range 4-6% just like regular stock but not for ones that have higher returns. if there is post about that please point me in the right direction i am really just trying to learn… would love to retire before 40 and living of dividend makes total sense to me… like a rental property without the pain in the butt tenant ๐Ÿ™‚

  117. jen,

    Well, I guess maybe you should tell me what in particular you like about this ETF. It sounds like you’re concentrating only on the yield, which is a huge mistake.

    As always, you should think like an owner and understand exactly what you’re investing in. Can you answer these questions fairly quickly:

    What are the top holdings?
    What are those holdings’ debt profiles? Growth profiles?
    What’s the diversification like across the ETF and individual holdings?
    How sustainable is the yield? Is it growing? Is it declining?
    What are the tax implications of an MLP ETF?
    How leveraged is this ETF? How does that look against the leverage within the individual MLPs?
    What’s the expense ratio? How much are you paying in fees for someone else to buy stocks you could yourself?
    How long has this ETF been in existence? Does it have any kind of track record?
    What’s management’s reputation?

    I think that’s a good start. I’m not trying to rain on your parade, but if you have no idea where that income is coming from you could be taking on much more risk than you really know or are comfortable with.

    Best regards!

  118. Hey Jason,

    I apologize in advance if someone already posted this or pointed this out but I’ve been going through your pages and adding stocks to my watch list and I noticed on this month (February) you are missing Proctor and Gamble from your earnings. They paid a dividend on 2/17/2015. Anyway, hope this helps!

    Cheers,
    Evan

  119. Evan,

    Thanks so much for pointing that out! ๐Ÿ™‚

    The amount is correct, but I somehow didn’t transfer over PG’s dividend. I’m correcting it now.

    Cheers!

  120. No problem! Didn’t know if that $32 would make or break you at the end of the year on your goals but I figured I’d point it out anyway just in case it wasn’t added. Anyway, congrats so far this years goals. I believe you’ll break them!

    Regards,
    Evan

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