Dividend Income Update – June 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 publish articles updating my 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.

I don’t know what other word to use than incredible for June’s dividend income tally. My second-highest month ever, I received hundreds of dollars just for being me. I mean, I think I’m a pretty solid guy. But I never thought that would translate into getting paid just to be me, just to wake up and be alive. I feel like I have this invisible benefactor paying for a significant portion of my expenses in life. But that invisible benefactor is actually the me of the past, hooking the me of today up with significant passive income. Thank you, me!

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. What youโ€™ll see below is a list of every dividend I collected over the prior month, which company paid the dividend, and the amount of the dividend. Without further ado:

  • Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) – $33.75
  • Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) – $18.62
  • Phillips 66 (PSX) – $15.12
  • ONE Gas Inc. (OGS) – $2.40
  • ConocoPhillips (COP) – $40.15
  • Aflac Incorporated (AFL) – $39.00
  • Visa Inc. (V) – $2.40
  • Unilever PLC (UL) – $31.40
  • Southside Bancshares, Inc. (SBSI) – $17.02
  • Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – $75.00
  • Target Corporation (TGT) – $36.40
  • Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) – $41.30
  • Lorillard Inc. (LO) – $33.00
  • International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) – $19.50
  • Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) – $14.60
  • Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) – $28.20
  • Chevron Corporation (CVX) – $42.80
  • Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) – $7.75
  • Harris Corporation (HRS) – $18.80
  • Avista Corp. (AVA) – $18.15
  • McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) – $51.00
  • Praxair, Inc. (PX) – $7.15
  • Realty Income Corp. (O) – $13.27
  • BP PLC (BP) – $47.60
  • Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.B) – $23.50
  • National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV) – $29.90
  • T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW) – $13.00
  • Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR) – $55.25
  • PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) – $54.09
  • Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) – $8.25
  • Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV) – $6.10

Total dividends received during the month of June: $844.47

Almost $900. That I didn’t have to work for. Amazing, right? What’s really amazing, in my view, is that it didn’t actually take that long to get here.

I started this strategy in mid-2010 with very little money. So we’re talking a little over five years now. Is five years a long time? Unfortunately, it’s not. Life is short. But the fact that five years can go by quickly is exactly why one should be living below their means and regularly investing excess capital in high-quality businesses that pay and grow dividends.

And once you’re able to get that snowball rolling, it rolls by faster and faster, even without as much input from you. That works in real-life. Think about it. The $845 I received in dividend income in June was reinvested almost as fast as it hit the brokerage account. But that was all money I didn’t have to work for. However, I was working in June. Incredibly hard. Perhaps harder than ever. So I was working at the same exact time my money was working. So you’ve got this concurrent income generation going on, supercharging my capital deployment abilities.ย I earned thousands of dollars from active income, which was mostly invested, while the passive income added up to almost $1,000 all by itself, and it was all reinvested as well.

I remember when I first started investing, it was difficult for me to come up with more than $1,000 in any one month with which to invest. That’s a lot of money, folks. I think we sometimesย becomeย numb to these figures when we constantly immerse ourselves in personal finance, but it’s hard for a lot of people to save four figures in a month. What’s wonderful here is that almost $1,000 came my way before I even picked up a finger.

What’s also fantastic is how many “paychecks” came may way this month.

For most of my life, I’ve relied on just one paycheck. I went to work and I was paid for my time. But that relationship is fragile and fickle. If an employer no longer requires my services, I lose 100% of my income.

But I now have dozens of companies – each with thousands of employees – working for me and sending me dividends. I received 31 “paychecks” this month. Better than just one, no? And, even better, I didn’t actually have to work for any of them.

One paycheck you work for. Or dozens you don’t work for. It’s far better to be an investor than a worker.

Oh, and I’m receiving regular pay raises as well, which helped propel my dividend income in June 2015 to finish 20.7% higher than what my Freedom Fund generatedย in June 2014. That’s really solid YOY growth in passive income, especially considering that it’s coming off of such a large base.

DividendIncomeUpdate

I was able to cover 48% of my personal expenses this month via passive dividend income alone. I feel fantastic about that. Covering nearly half of my expenses with income I don’t have to work for feels really, really good. That means before I even tried to earn a living, my “invisible benefactor” covered almost half of my expenses last month. Thanks again, me of the last five years!

And thank you all. Your support over the last five years has been tremendous and has allowed me to continue saving, investing, and working hard through all the ups and downs. I can only hope that I continue to repay you through inspiration, motivation, and great content.

2015 is turning out to be one of my best years yet. I just broke records in June for total transactions and total capital invested, which shows just how excited to achieve financial independence I remain and how aggressive I continue to be. And I think the foreseeable future looks great. The fact that I’m doing this while working for myself is just a true pleasure and a real gift. But I’m not resting. I’m still giving it my all, every single day.

One of my goals this year is to receive $7,200 in dividend income during this calendar year. We’re now at the halfway point, which allows for some solid perspective. With June’s numbers in the books, I’ve received a total of $3,405.32 in dividend income in 2015. So I’m a bit behind here. That’s only 47.3% of the way toward my goal. But I’m quite confident I’m going to hit my target this year. I continue to aggressively buy high-quality dividend growth stocks, which will start to pay dividends – literally and figuratively – in the second half of the year, and a few dividend raises here and there will also help propel me closer. It should be an exciting finish. Stay tuned!

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

Full Disclosure: Long all stocks except LO.

How was June for you? Dividend income up to your expectations? On pace for your goals?ย 

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: holohololand/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Note: Affiliate link included.ย 

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150 Comments

  1. Another awesome month for you; congratulations! Your continuing success shows that dividend investing over time does make sense; over $800 in one month for being a loyal share holder is fantastic! Imagine how many hours you’d have to work to earn that kind of money and yet here you are, receiving it anyway. I’m sure you’ll hit your dividend target for the year, the rate you’re going.

  2. That is an impressive month. Gotta love received those “no work” paychecks ever month just for being a shareholder. On top of that, you get rewarded from time to time with a dividend raise for being a shareholder.

    The vast majority of work is done prior to the initial investment.

    Congrats on the $844 in dividend income

  3. Hey Jason,

    Congrats on another month of passively collecting them dividends! Covering about half your expenses with your dividends is awesome man. Just added mine up myself too, not too bad. Always fun to build up the passive income machine.

    Best regards
    DB

  4. Hi Jason,

    Seems you had an awesome month june. 10 buys and 845$ in dividend income. I think most people would want to sell one of their kidneys for such month.

    Cheers,
    G

  5. Wow almost $900 in dividend income, that’s very impressive Jason. Looks like strong dividend incomes in March, June, Sept, and Dec if I can just extrapolate from your graph. Very impressive growth and being able to cover 48% of your monthly expenses just means that you’re getting very close to FI.

    Any thought on purchasing stocks so you have less variations in monthly dividend income?

  6. Fantastic Jason. I don’t get paid that much “just for being me” ๐Ÿ™‚ In all seriousness, you have a diversified mix of dividend sources which are growing faster than inflation. Soon you’ll reach FI, even with your writing taken out. Have fun buddy. I hope you’re enjoying your summer.
    -Bryan

  7. Good point that you receive regular pay raises with increasing divident payments each year. Not everyone can say that with a typical 9-5 job. We’re on track to hit our financial goals as well for the year.

  8. I am extremely happy to see you cover almost 50% of your expenses just by dividends but slightly disappointed you did not break the $1000 dollar dividend mark haha.. I thought maybe this would be the month after your March income but it wasn’t quite to be. I suspect you had a couple semi-payers or perhaps a couple companies that paid in different months rather than the norm. Either way, a very impressive total and now I’ll look forward to future posts a perhaps that elusive $1000 dividend month!

    My wife and I had a pretty stellar June as well. We cleared the $450 mark and I’ll be getting a post up here soon with an exact update. This journey is so much fun to be a part of!

    Congrats again on an awesome June! Look forward to future posts!

    ADD

  9. Hi Jason,
    another great month for you! Great Job! Love it to see your process! Cheers

  10. Nicola,

    Absolutely. I remember waiting tables in college; it used to take a couple weeks of working until 1 or 2 in the morning to earn that much money. A lot easier these days! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate all the support. Best of luck with the NSDs and everything else this month.

    Cheers!

  11. IP,

    It’s far better to be in the investor class than the working class. I see that now. ๐Ÿ™‚

    We’re all buying freedom and making our lives just a little better with every single day and every single new investment that passes. The future is bright!

    Best regards.

  12. DB,

    Congrats to you as well on your $50 in passive dividend income. Feels good to earn cash without having to go out and actually work for it. Maybe I’m just lazy, but I much prefer collecting money that way. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Let’s keep rolling those snowballs!

    Cheers.

  13. Geblin,

    I’m so fortunate. June was a blockbuster across the board for me. If I can hit a month like that every, say, three years or so, I’d be very happy. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Hope your dividend income is meeting your expectations this year. Gotta keep hitting those goals!

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Best wishes.

  14. Tawcan,

    Yeah, it seems like the majority of the companies I (and a lot of others) focus on tend to pay dividends in the third month of every quarter. Just one of those things. I don’t have any active plan or desire to smooth out the dividend income. If I’m good at controlling expenses (I’ve done well there), then I’ll easily be able to budget for any dividend income fluctuations. When dividend income is more than what I need, I’ll just roll the excess over into months where it’s lighter.

    I don’t think I’ve ever once in my life had a job where every month’s paycheck was exactly the same. It always varied, especially in the auto industry where everything is based around commission. So I see no reason why that would all of the sudden be a problem when the income is passive. Money is money. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  15. Bryan,

    Ha! Well, I suspect we all get paid a little something just for being us. That sure feels good. Like we’re celebrities with trust funds or something. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Having a great summer. Hot, though. Very hot. We just got back from walking to and from the grocery store for our weekly shopping. Brutal!

    Hope you’re having a great summer up in your neck of the woods as well.

    Cheers!

  16. Dennis,

    Thanks so much. Very much appreciate it!

    Our younger selves make life great or not so great for our older selves. I’m fortune in that the me of 2010 had a pretty bright idea. Makes up for some big mistakes he made before. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Hope you had a great month over there as well.

    Take care!

  17. DF,

    Time flies by. And that’s why it’s so important to get started right away and start rolling that snowball. You can either be sitting down five years down the road kicking yourself for spending all your money, or you can be sitting there in the shade because you planted a tree. Either way, the time will pass.

    Those of us living below our means and investing intelligently are indeed planting trees. And the shade will be wonderful. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best wishes.

  18. Mrs. B,

    I’ve worked at a few jobs now where raises were incredibly tough to come by. But I don’t have to ask anymore. They just come my way. I like that. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Glad that you guys are on track for your goals this year. It seems like 2015 is turning out to be a great year for so many people. That’s fantastic!

    Keep it up over there.

    Take care.

  19. divorcedff,

    Congrats on hitting over $100 in passive income for the first time! The first of many, I’m quite sure. Feels good to earn three figures without working, doesn’t it?

    Keep rolling that snowball. It’ll accelerate before you know it. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!

  20. Nice job! Can’t help but feel good about money like that rolling in. Best wishes.

    Keep cranking,

    Robert the DividendDreamer
    AKA — Seeking Dividends

    Follow me on Twitter– Seeking Dividends@DividendDreamer

  21. ADD

    Yeah, I have a few semi-annual payers. BBL paid a rather large dividend in March, so that really boosted March’s total. I noted in that report that the numbers were inflated (though, not artificially) due to that large semi-annual dividend. But I think that four-figure mark is just around the corner. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Congrats on the $450. That’s a good chunk of change, my friend. And you guys are reinvesting it, meaning it’ll only grow from here. Factor in some dividend raises, and boom! Next year is that much more.

    Thanks for all the support. It’s definitely fun to be on this journey. Freedom, flexibility, and autonomy is out there for us. And we’re more free every single day. Good stuff!

    Best wishes.

  22. T,

    Thanks!

    Yeah, I do enjoy the months at the end of every quarter. Allows me to reload my little BB gun that much faster. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Congrats on your solid month as well. There are a lot of us investors out there earning some significant dividend income. Great to see the community grow in both numbers and overall wealth.

    Cheers!

  23. Patrick,

    Thanks so much. It’s another great month in the books. Looking forward to keeping up the momentum. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Hope you had a great June as well!

    Take care.

  24. Robert,

    Indeed. How else can one feel other than great when any passive income at all is hitting the account? But especially so when it’s covering a rather large portion of expenses. I’m fortunate. And I continue to work hard and keep pushing things forward. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  25. Absolutely amazing! I had a great month too. Not as great as yours but my greatest ever. Things are improving every month and it feels great to see that we’re all getting closer and closer to our goal.
    Cheers,

  26. LOMD,

    I know nothing other than 100% when it comes to reaching a goal I’ve set. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Hope you had a great month as well!

    Best regards.

  27. Allan,

    Congrats on the solid month over there. You’re doing great. Every month is a new opportunity to add snow and push that snowball even harder. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Looks like the online income is doing great, too. Keep it up. We’re definitely getting closer and closer to our goals!

    Best wishes.

  28. Congrats on an awesome month Jason! $850 in dividends for being yourself is awesome. Even better is that those dividends are increasing from dividend raises and reinvestment. That’s how you get your snowball rolling. I remember when you were crossing the $100 per month mark and it seemed like you were still having to push your snowball yourself. But with almost $850 in dividends in June your snowball is really picking up momentum. Keep up the good work!

  29. I’ve recently started poking around the dividend growth/income community on the blogosphere. I really appreciate your blog, and I am considering tinkering around with this concept myself. Hearing the big shot stories of people making thousands over a short period of time on stocks like $AMZN is exciting. However, I’m not smart enough to time the market that well. Having the security of diversified dividend income to take care of yourself and your family, no matter what, is more exciting I think. I had some experience with $WMT share dividends increasing when I held those shares, so I can certainly identify with how powerful dividend raises are.

    Thanks for what you do here, I’m looking forward to following your blog more and maybe even giving this stuff a try myself.

    — Caleb

  30. JC,

    Yeah, it’s been a lot of fun. I remember those months as well. I remember crossing $100 in one month and thinking to myself that this could really work. And work it has! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate all the support. It’s great to be buying myself freedom like this, but even better when we’re all doing this together as a community. The mutual support toward our individual aspirations is really incredible.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  31. Caleb,

    Thanks for stopping by. Glad you found the blog and the community. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I definitely don’t know what’s boring about collecting growing passive income. It’s incredibly exciting to log into your account see money there that wasn’t there yesterday. It’s like Christmas morning over and over again.

    I’m confident that some people out there are making a lot of money off of swing trades or moving from one growth stock to the next. But that involves risks that I don’t want to take and that I don’t find necessary to take. When financial independence can be achieved within a little over a decade by investing in great businesses and reinvesting the dividends, why bother with taking on a lot of risk?

    Best of luck as you decide what works for you and your goals and move forward. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Stay in touch.

    Take care!

  32. Jason,

    Congratulations on your accomplishment. I am wondering how lumpy your dividend income is. Are the 4 quarters usually your biggest months in which you need to “save” some of the income for the leaner months?

    Thanks and keep up the good work

  33. $7200 in yearly dividends. That’s like having a full time job paying $3.46/hr. It’s not minimum wage, but you aren’t even showing up, and yet you can’t get fired. In short order you will earn the minimum wage, and could eventually far exceed it. It’s so genius in its simplicity, but yet few will take this approach.

  34. What a finish, Jason! Those are some outstanding numbers. I can only imagine how humbling its been to reflect back to those days you mentioned when contributions were few and far between. You’ve set such a great example of what is possible and I continue to marvel in your progress. Keep at it my friend, thanks for sharing!

  35. Wow, ecstatic half of the year! $7200 is the take home pay, I now realize the important of cash flow. It’s the essence of early retirement, thanks to bloggers like yourself.

    Congrats! Thanks again for sharing and inspiring.

  36. Hi Jason
    no doubt this was a awesome month for you. Hope the rest of the year is just as profitable. Just stay the course and profit. well done Jason. Cheers

  37. Kelvin,

    I’m going to copy and paste an answer above only because I think I answered that question about as well as I can:

    “Yeah, it seems like the majority of the companies I (and a lot of others) focus on tend to pay dividends in the third month of every quarter. Just one of those things. I donโ€™t have any active plan or desire to smooth out the dividend income. If Iโ€™m good at controlling expenses (Iโ€™ve done well there), then Iโ€™ll easily be able to budget for any dividend income fluctuations. When dividend income is more than what I need, Iโ€™ll just roll the excess over into months where itโ€™s lighter.

    I donโ€™t think Iโ€™ve ever once in my life had a job where every monthโ€™s paycheck was exactly the same. It always varied, especially in the auto industry where everything is based around commission. So I see no reason why that would all of the sudden be a problem when the income is passive. Money is money. :)”

    Some investors like smooth dividend payouts, but forgoing value/quality/diversification just in the name of trying to smooth out dividend income would be a mistake, in my view. The lumpiness honestly doesn’t bother me in the least. If I always wanted to make sure my income never varied from month to month, I wouldn’t be working from home and writing for a living, that’s for sure.

    Hope that helps!

    Best regards.

  38. Jason,

    Congratulations on your excellent result. I had 6 companies (V, UL, IBM, TGT, CVX and MCD) pay me $3840.16 in June. Not quite the war chest of diversification you have going on with almost 30 companies paying you in a month, but i’m working on that slowly but surely. It’s a lot of fun watching the waves roll in and to be able to fully reinvest this while working full time is a great feeling.

    Onward and upward!

    -Mike

  39. TBDM,

    That’s a great way of looking at it. I’ve broken the dividend income down like that before – an hourly wage – and I love to think about how much I’m earning as an “hourly wage”, even though I’m not actually working for the income. And you’re right – I can’t be fired. ๐Ÿ™‚

    But the community of people that see the beauty of this strategy is definitely growing. And it’s wonderful to see that.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  40. Ryan,

    Doing my best to blaze the trail and show what’s possible. Big things can and do come from humble beginnings. And we’re proving that every single day. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for all the support. Let’s keep setting that example!

    Best wishes.

  41. Vivianne,

    It’s a really solid first half of 2015. I think the second half will be even better, which sets things up for a great finish. Looking forward to continuing sharing the results, and I hope others continue to find inspiration in that. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate the kind words. Hope your 2015 is off to an even better start!

    Cheers.

  42. michael,

    Thanks so much. Staying the course is the name of the game, my friend. I know no other way. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate the support. Hope the rest of the year is very profitable for us both!

    Thanks for stopping in.

    Take care.

  43. Mike,

    Wow. That’s an incredible result. Almost $4,000 in one month? I’d be financially independent twice over on that kind of passive income. And all of them are high-quality companies as well; no high-yield junk stocks.

    I think it’ll be a long, long time before I’m hitting that kind of dividend income in a month. Enjoy the good life! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best regards.

  44. Congrats DM! $800+ is awesome. Dividends also starting pouring into my account since last month of June and super excited to post. I am sure that you will not only hit the target but exceed it!!

  45. Awesome Jason. See all the support you get bud. You deserve everything awesome in your life for being an inspiration. I respect you. You keep showing what’s up and I’m glad I’ve found you my friend. Keep up the hustle and always a pleasure visiting you. Take care.

  46. Amazing Jason, so great to see those dividends growing and growing. It’s incredible how putting in the effort little by little accumulates into something so big, and the momentum just gets even better and better. Just keep on doing what you’re doing!

  47. A 20% raise is phenomenal! Soon, very soon, you’ll start seeing four figure monthly income!

    It’s amazing to look back at your figures and see only about $200 for the entirety of 2010. Now you make double that in a BAD month! In a single MONTH, what it once took an entire year to make! If that’s not progress in dividend investing, then I don’t know what is!

    Sincerely,
    ARB–Angry Retail Banker

  48. It is great to see the constant improvement.

    Next week looks to be a great week for shopping as you put it.

    EU may eventually bail out Greece anyway but we’ll probably get lower stocks and some good volatility, I hope EU doesn’t come to their rescue again…it’s time the socialists learned that you need to learn within their means. Maybe Tsipiras should read your blog.

  49. R2R,

    It’s a solid month, all in all. I’m extremely pleased with the progress this year. Very, very fortunate to be in this position. ๐Ÿ™‚

    You’re putting away a ton of capital over there. That snowball might roll away from you at that pace. Keep it up!

    Best regards.

  50. Tyler,

    Thanks so much, man. The community is incredible. I still remember the “community” being basically me and a few other bloggers back in 2010. My, how it’s grown!

    We’re doing some incredible things as a group. And we reach new people every single day. It’s a great thing.

    We’re achieving our dreams and helping others achieve their dreams in the process. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!

  51. Jason,

    You’re absolutely right. It’s a little effort here and a little effort there, and it builds incrementally into something really massive. Better yet, the work is all front-loaded and only necessary once. Then you’re paid for life. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate all the support. Thanks again for the interview. Hope it reached a new audience!

    Best wishes.

  52. ARB,

    It’s a lot of fun to look back on the old numbers and reminisce. I had this vision in my head of what was possible, and seeing it come true in real-time is amazing. I feel equal parts vindicated, grateful, and excited. It’s been an incredible journey thus far, yet there’s still potential for so much more.

    There will come a day when $7,200 comes in a quarter. And then a month. It’s crazy to even think about it.

    Thanks for all the support. Hope everything is going well at the bank!

    Cheers.

  53. dzogen,

    We’ll see what happens next week. I’d be surprised if we don’t get a lot of volatility. I expect to have some capital to go shopping with, so bring on the sales! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Have fun over there!

    Take care.

  54. Hi Jason,

    What an awesome month, very inspiring to see! I had a nice Q2 as well with a little over 200 โ‚ฌ in dividends. I’m really hoping for some volatility here this week as I’d like to average down on some stocks. Thanks for the update and keep up the great work!

  55. Sampo,

    Very nice Q2 over there! Even better, that’s a new baseline for you from which to grow. Next Q2 will thus be even better. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’m also hoping for some volatility next week. I anticipate having a little capital to go shopping with, and I have my shopping list ready. We’ll see what we get!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Cheers.

  56. Thanks again Jason, the interview was fantastic, and seemed to be very well received by readers. Your story and approach to investing is a great example to share with others, and really hope it gets out as far into the world as possible! Keep spreading the message on your end, and keep up the great investing!

    Cheers,

    Jason

  57. “I received hundreds of dollars just for being me. I mean, I think Iโ€™m a pretty solid guy. But I never thought that would translate into getting paid just to be me, just to wake up and be alive. I feel like I have this invisible benefactor paying for a significant portion of my expenses in life. But that invisible benefactor is actually the me of the past, hooking the me of today up with significant passive income. Thank you, me!”

    Those words did inspire me, thank you!

  58. Congratulations! You are living proof that this investing method realty works. ๐Ÿ™‚

  59. This is a really nice sum for June. In September you might get over 1.000 $ the first time. So this is a really good development and the growth will accelerate in the future. Next year you will have four months with more than 1.000 $ and after this it will get normal for you to have these months. Congratualtions.

  60. You’ll be achieving these numbers about 10 years after you retire, if not sooner. Perhaps much sooner that the way you are going. I’m still working as hard as I can to push the snowball. With a 2 year old daughter and thinking about another child, I see the heavy costs of raising them on the horizon. This passive income is to cover their education costs before covering our retirement.

    Well- time to get back to getting that wet snow and start patting and pushing! Now is the best time for me to do this as I have energy and passion, something that may fade one day so better to get in while the getting is good.

    -Mike

  61. Jason, Congrats on second-highest month ever!
    I was thinking about my expenses. I live in Europe, but if I convert my monthly expenses to dollars, I end up with approximately $800. So from my point of view that $844 doesn’t look bad at all:-)

  62. Wow! Incredible progress, Jason! You have now received more than 17000$ since the start of your jorney. Simply amazing!

  63. Amazing job Jason! I was really looking forward to this post to see just how awesome you would do and you did not disappoint. You really have inspired me to take the same path as you and I hope that one day I can be thanking the me of today as well.
    Good luck on July!

  64. Congrats!! I recently initiated my first two purchases in KO and WMT in a Roth IRA. My 403(b) is mostly in low cost index funds. I’m super excited. I hope and plan on contributing as much as possible. On the way to work I was thinking that I will own these companies for the rest of my life and they will keep generating income for me.

  65. Great month Jason! It’s so great when your money is working for you. I’m glad my mind has made that switch from spending money to making it work!

  66. Hi Jason,
    Congrats on another great month. Thanks to you this dividend growing strategy is really growing on me. Aside from maxing our 401(k)s, we’re saving to buy our first home abroad, put some cash aside and then enjoy “retirement” from Corporate America. At that point we plan to roll over our 401(k)s into IRAs, then gradually roth and then pursue dividend stocks. It’s going to take us less than 3 years to get there. Just the thought that we can plan to live off the dividends and never have to sell sounds very appealing.

  67. Jason,

    Portfolio is nearing (was over) $200k, dividends are steadily approaching 4 figures themselves (at least in quarter end months). All in all its a pretty good day to be you.

    Sweet stuff,
    Gremlin

  68. Hey Jason,
    $800+ dollars in div income this month is awesome! Do you have any stocks which have a dividend payment scheduled for say June 30th but only got paid on July 1? In terms of your own personal tracking would you just count the day it hit your account or the actual stated “payable date” by the company.
    Thanks,
    -Rich

  69. Hi Jason,

    Awesome month for you! It is great to see someone’s portfolio that is a year or two ahead of mine starting to gain that mega momentum. Something for me to look forward to!

    I hit my first month over $600 in dividends, but am only at 45% of my goal to $5,250 in annual dividends. Looks like we are both just below that 50% mark halfway through the year. My contributions will slow down a little the next few months. Let’s hope for some nice dividend increases from our big positions.

    Thanks,
    Jerry

  70. Congrats on that beautiful tally! $845 is a force of its own! You are very close to the coveted $1000/month, my friend. Dividends are now becoming a substantial fraction of the total amount you invest every month. I have very fond memories of reaching these milestones, when the reality of FI is close enough to taste.

  71. What a list of companies paying out in one month! It almost looks like an entire portfolio list! Indeed, you almost had as many companies pay a dividend as I do in my entire portfolio!

    You’re not far behind your goal so I am not surprised that you still expect to meet it. Seeing as most US companies pay quarterly dividends you have the benefit of that right up the the end of the year most investments should provide you some small income before the year’s end.

    Excellent progress, Jason. Truly excellent. Here’s to the next 6 months!

  72. Awesome month Jason, you keep on crushing it!

    I really enjoy hearing all these different kind of dividend growth investing analogies. Therefore, I love the way you use the “invisible benefactor” analogy as an example. That is genius and the more analogies the simpler the concept becomes, which in turn becomes easier to draw a picture in someones head.

    All the best!

  73. Sensim,

    That’s my aim, and it’s been my aim all along. I want to prove that this strategy is robust and it works, and that it’s possible to become financially independent fairly early in life even on modest means. My means have become less modest over time, but much of the foundation was built on unimpressive income.

    Stay in touch. Lots more to come! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best regards.

  74. olli,

    That’s one thing that’s so wonderful about dividend growth investing. Assuming no sales (an no dividend cuts), every new milestone then just becomes a baseline. So this might be my most successful June ever, but it’s now just a baseline from which to grow. And as the baselines grow, the absolute growth you can achieve also increases. Just like rolling a snowball, the bigger it gets the faster it grows. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for the support. Hope you had a great month as well!

    Best wishes.

  75. Mike,

    I can imagine that children complicate matters quite a bit. I’m always impressed when I see others out there retiring in their 30s even with children.

    “Well- time to get back to getting that wet snow and start patting and pushing! Now is the best time for me to do this as I have energy and passion, something that may fade one day so better to get in while the getting is good.”

    I know how you feel there. I wonder sometimes if my passion for investing at some point will fade. I suspect my passion for writing about it would fade first, but it’s something I wonder about. Kind of relates back to the article I wrote on lifetimes. If it does fade, so be it. But, like you, I’m on it 100% while the passion is in peak form. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Let’s keep it rolling!

    Cheers.

  76. DL,

    Nice! $844 in dividend income (if it were coming in every month) would free you. That’s a pretty low bar. Makes it quite easy to become financially independent with expenses that low. If you’re able to keep your expenses that low by avoiding lifestyle inflation, it won’t be too long at all.

    Keep up the great work. Keep those expenses low! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Take care.

  77. Per,

    It’s been really incredible. I’m so glad that I realized the error of my ways when I first started and quickly switched to dividend growth investing. It’s been very good to me. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate the kind words. Lots more to come, so stay in touch. Hope you had a great month over there as well!

    Best wishes.

  78. Brantley,

    Thank you very much! ๐Ÿ™‚

    The you of today has incredible power. You’re like the puppet master, pulling all the strings of the future you. Just imagine what the you of 10 years from now would say to the you of today if he could travel time. You have the power to change the future. Really incredible stuff.

    You can achieve these results and more. They key is just to get started and stay consistent, month in and out.

    Good luck to you, too!

    Take care.

  79. moneylifehappiness,

    Exciting stuff. Glad to be a fellow shareholder! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Yeah, it’s really amazing to think of the possibility of being paid for the rest of your life. Years and years of collecting dividends. Makes me smile.

    Best of luck as you grow your money and achieve happiness in life!

    Cheers.

  80. FF,

    Money can work harder and longer than we ever could. Feels good to have something like that on our sides. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Spending money can be fun here and there, especially on experiences. But having it work for you is far more fun, in my opinion.

    Keep it up!

    Best regards.

  81. LD,

    Thanks so much. I really do my best to inspire and motivate. Financial independence is possible for almost all of us. We just have to want it bad enough and be willing to do what’s necessary. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate the support. Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  82. Mr. Enchumbao,

    Sounds like a great plan to me. I’ve considered living outside the US from time to time as well, especially in SE Asia. Lots of possibilities for those that are geographically and financially independent. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Living off of dividends seems to be this mythical lifestyle where it sounds amazing but nobody actually does it. Well, I’m here to show that it can work and does work. And it’s not all that difficult. We’ll see how this lifelong experiment pans out!

    Three years isn’t a very long time. You guys will be there before you know it. Enjoy the ride.

    Best wishes.

  83. Gremlin,

    Thanks so much!

    Yeah, it’s really crazy. If I could tell the me of 2010 that I’d be here in 2015, he’d probably just jump in the air and scream: “YES!” ๐Ÿ™‚

    But it really just goes to show the power of consistency and persistence. I’m honestly nobody special. But I believe in this. And I live and breathe it every single day. I stick to the plan and the plan sticks to me.

    Appreciate the support. Let’s keep those snowballs rolling!

    Best regards.

  84. Rich,

    That’s a good question. I suppose you could run it either way. I actually ran into a problem where I recently discovered that TradeKing credits the account one day after the dividends are paid, so I had to call up to their customer service line to get my TRV and UNP dividends credited the same day.

    I generally try to make sure all dividends that are supposed to be paid in a month are credited to that month’s dividend income report. I’ll run into something once in a great while where my account is credited the following day (especially ADRs), but I generally include those dividends in the month they were actually paid to keep reports comparable.

    I think I’ve missed this on one or two occasions where a foreign stock paid out a day late and I reported it on the wrong month, but I try to keep things uniform.

    Cheers!

  85. Jerry,

    Yeah, you’re not far behind me at all. Your dividend income goal is the same as my goal was last year. So you’re right there! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Let’s indeed hope for some solid dividend raises. Let’s also hope that our contributions exceed our expectations.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Best wishes.

  86. Spoonman,

    Thanks for the support. Really appreciate that.

    Getting over that hump – seeing that critical mass occur – is a really wonderful feeling. It feels like you have help. Like you’re not alone. Your money is now working for you and it’s not so stressful anymore. Plus, you can actually see financial independence off in the distance. It’s not some impossible concept at all. You can actually see it!

    Hope you guys are enjoying the fruits of your labor over there. The accumulation phase is a lot of fun. But I’m just as much looking forward to the next phase. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best wishes!

  87. TDD,

    Yeah, I suppose this list of companies isn’t a bad portfolio all by itself. A lot of ways to run a portfolio in regards to how concentrated you want to be. But I do quite enjoy the breadth. ๐Ÿ™‚

    We’re pretty fortunate here in the US with our (mostly) quarterly dividends. I don’t think this strategy would be that much more difficult with more semi-annual or even annual payouts, but it would probably be a little less fun. I do quite enjoy seeing those dividends roll in fairly frequently. And it allows you to reinvest that much faster.

    Thanks for the support. Here’s to the next six months for both of us!

    Cheers.

  88. Congratulations on the $845 in dividend income!

    You actually did work for it by being tenacious, frugal, and investing time in researching good quality stocks. That work up front and by keeping an eye on your portfolio, now allows you to enjoy the fruits of that earlier time investment.

  89. DV,

    Thanks so much!

    Glad you enjoyed that analogy. I have all of these thoughts in my head that are constantly circulating. For me, this is just such an exciting, robust, and tangible way to invest, so I have to sometimes write my ideas down so I don’t forget them. But I’m always coming up with new ways as to why this is such a great way to think about life, investing, and financial independence. I just really lack the time to write that much, to keep up with my own mind. A good problem to have, I suppose. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Keep up the great work over there as well. We’re achieving freedom one day at a time!

    Best regards.

  90. Bryan,

    Indeed. The work is mostly front-loaded, but what’s great about this strategy is that the work can be potentially rewarded for the rest of your life. I remember waiting tables in college; I would receive a tip for about an hour or so of work. But once that table left and the tip was in my pocket, that was it. The work was done and I was paid, but I had to repeat the process all over again to make more money. This way is much better, where you do the work once and potentially collect forever. It’s surely a lot easier and a lot more fun! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best wishes.

  91. Pat,

    No need to be jealous. I’m confident you’ll reach this level and beyond if you keep working hard and rolling your own snowball over there. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate the support. Thanks for stopping in!

    Cheers.

  92. It’s surprising to see that your total dividend income for Q2 looks to be lower than for Q1. Do you know why? Semi-annual dividends paying out in Q1?

    Thanks for the insight.

    Eric

  93. Wow, that’s fantastic! I love the third month of the quarter. At this rate you’ll pass us pretty soon. ๐Ÿ™‚

  94. Congratulations Jason, you are a having a very successful year, and we are only half way done. That $3,400 that you didn’t have to work for can go a very long way, keep up the great job!

  95. DD,

    Thanks for the support. Much appreciated!

    I think it’s very likely that I’ll break four digits in dividend income next June. I’m not far off from hitting that level every last month of the quarter, which is really incredible. Just proves how powerful this strategy is if you live below your means and stick with it. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Let’s indeed keep our snowballs rolling!

    Cheers.

  96. Shawn,

    Thanks for following along. Appreciate the comment!

    Nice article there. Couldn’t agree more with the last point. I receive emails almost daily from people asking why I don’t invest in Stock X or Fund Y that is paying out a yield of 10%+, and it’s like these people don’t even look at the long-term returns or destruction of value. I don’t know what I’m investing in, how much leverage there is at play, how that yield is generated, and apparently don’t care that the dividend is constantly being reduced in kind with the stock price. Sign me up! Crazy stuff.

    But I do my best to drop logic every single day. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Take care!

  97. Eric,

    Right. If you go back through the reports, you’ll see that two fairly hefty payers for me, VOD and BBL, pay semi-annual dividends, and both paid the first of their two dividends of 2015 in the first quarter. Not every stock pays uniformly. Some pay quarterly, monthly, semi-annually, or even annually. And some don’t even pay on the same month of every quarter. Just varies. Which is why I don’t really worry about the month-to-month variances too much. As long as the long-term trend is up, I’m happy. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!

  98. Joe,

    Not so sure about that. You guys are still saving and investing a lot of money over there. Doing my best to keep up with my goals, though. And I’m so far on track in that regard. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  99. FFF,

    Thanks so much. I’m incredibly fortunate across the board. Very, very happy with the way 2015 is progressing thus far.

    $3,400 is approximately three stock purchases that I didn’t have to fund from active income. The snowball is rolling on its own now. ๐Ÿ™‚

    You’re doing incredible as well. Keep it up!

    Best wishes.

  100. Congrats on hitting another milestone, Yeah I still can’t fathom how easy it is for you to invest big amounts consistently while working from home on freelance income. Good job and good luck in the second half, its a race for the ages to hit our dividend goals.

  101. Fantastic DM – Keep it up.

    I first read your articles in 2012 – on Seeking Alpha.
    Some great people on that site – and fantastic knowledge and experience to help young investors get started out.
    At that point I never would have considered investing for Dividends – was looking for a home run!
    Iv never hit one yet – but I am getting a lot of singles in by following DGI.

    Unfortunately Seeking alpha community is developing – much like your community here – however Seeking alpha appears to be progressing toward a professional style paid for service, with the quality of information for “average Joe” type investors diminishing by the week. Hence the reason I am moving towards your website, and hope that your “community” can provide excellent information and advice to investors such as myself.

    Unbelievable the time in which you have managed to develop that level of passive income – the rate you are going at you are going to smash your target of FI by 40 by a couple of years.

  102. RichUncle EL,

    It’s been a really crazy ride. I’m just holding on for dear life over here! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Definitely a race for the ages. Financial independence is the name of the game, and I am to win.

    Let’s keep running toward the light. Freedom is out there for us.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Take care.

  103. DF,

    I hear you on hitting singles. Singles and doubles might not be as exciting as hitting that home run, but that also means you’re not striking out as often. And you’ll eventually round the bases. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Seeking Alpha has, in my opinion, deteriorated somewhat over time. I no longer allow my content to be republished over there because the comments have become almost circus like in a lot of circumstances. It just seems like a bunch of people arguing with each other. I almost never stop by there anymore.

    It’s funny that you mention the membership thing. That’s where a lot of content is going now. The internet is still relatively young, but it’s changing quickly. The days of really high-quality content just being free for the masses will eventually disappear. I’ve had multiple offers to move to new platforms where there would be a membership involved, but I’ve not yet found a compelling reason to do that. Sure, more money is nice. But I find a lot of personal value in providing great content for free and inspiring people to reach for their dreams. This is the slow way to do it, but I’m on pace for my goals. No need to go crazy.

    Appreciate the support. And I’m glad that you appreciate the work I put in over here and the fact that I continue to provide everything for free just like always. It’s not in my interest to hide things behind a paywall. I may eventually need to take on a partner or something as the blog grows (running this site is extremely time consuming), but I plan to continue the status quo (in terms of the site being free) ad infinitum. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Best wishes!

  104. Love the fact that you do this for free, I come here because I enjoy the content and the positivity from the comments section. I have my seeking alpha emails come in on all of the stocks I own, but it really has turned into a negative argument about feelings around stocks and not true discussions on the underlying values. Owning Bank of America has exposed me to a lot of those trolling the forums. It’s nice not having to deal with nonconstructive bias.

  105. Hi Jason — excellent month of dividend income! That’s an amazing list of dividend checks — congratulations and here’s to keeping the snowball rolling!

    Cheers
    FerdiS

  106. I remember when I first started investing, it was difficult for me to come up with more than $1,000 in any one month with which to invest. Thatโ€™s a lot of money, folks. I think we sometimes become numb to these figures when we constantly immerse ourselves in personal finance, but itโ€™s hard for a lot of people to save four figures in a month. Whatโ€™s wonderful here is that almost $1,000 came my way before I even picked up a finger.

    You’re exactly right; we have become numb to these large figures. One thousand dollars is a lot of money! This is something I try to keep in perspective though, because it is SO easy to lose track of the value of money when you’re just shoving loads into savings and investments. I just think — at some point in my life, $1,000 was more money than I had ever seen or held.

    But like you say, now we’re doing things that generate that kind of money while we’re sleeping. It’s an excellent feeling.

    Cheers to another excellent month gone by!

  107. DD,

    Thanks for the comment there.

    I’ve tried to keep this a very respectful and positive place to discuss stocks, frugality, and financial independence. I don’t mind opposing viewpoints, but I do mind disrespectful comments. It seems, for whatever reason, those that oppose someone else’s perspective seem to also want to be disrespectful and forceful about it. I’ve never had any patience for that. I’m just too busy accomplishing my goals and building wealth/income to deal with that. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Doing my best to keep this place inspirational, creative, and supportive. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!

  108. FerdiS,

    Thank you! ๐Ÿ™‚

    June was a really solid month. I have zero complaints. I just hope I can keep that snowball rolling and finish 2015 as strong as I started it.

    Let’s keep it up. We’re doing amazing things as a community.

    Best regards!

  109. Great month Jason! You’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to keep up with all your updates and new purchases! That’s great news for both of us, you have more workers earning you money while you enjoy life and I have more articles to read and keep me motivated!

    Congrats

  110. FI Monkey,

    I know exactly what you mean. I try to keep perspective and remember what it felt like to be me five or so years ago when coming up with $1,000 was terribly difficult. Like I recently wrote about, the portfolio value right now is basically “lottery money” to me. I never thought I’d have this much wealth, so it’s still sometimes shocking that I’ve done what I’ve done. I come from such humble beginnings. I remember just being able to eat dinner was a wonderful accomplishment. Now I’m used to investing thousands of dollars per month. I’m a long way from Detroit! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing. Let’s try to keep our perspective. We have to remember just how fortunate we really are.

    Best wishes!

  111. RTR,

    If we could have that win-win every month, I’d be really happy! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Appreciate the support. I think this month will be a lot slower, so you shouldn’t have any problems at all keeping up. Maybe three or four stock purchases, tops. I’ll be fortunate if I get that.

    Plenty of motivation still to come. Stay in touch!

    Cheers.

  112. Nice work DM! All your past hard work is paying you now and forever, gotta love that. I really found you’re statement about saving up $1K to invest, to be so true. I think the more I focus on personal finance and stocks/investing, the more I fail to understand people’s statements about not being able to invest or save. However, the truth is that it is hard for a lot of people and we are in fortunate positions in that we wised up and put our money to work for us. The future just keeps getting brighter! Keep up the good work.

    – HMB

  113. Jason,

    Do you know if the Unilever PLC dividend (UL) is a qualified dividend in the US?

    By the way…heck of a month!

    Thanks,
    Mike

  114. HMB,

    Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s easy to lose perspective after you blaze that trail and you find yourself 10 or 20 miles down the road. It can be difficult to empathize with someone just starting out. I try to never lose that point of view, the memory of how hard it was to start and get that snowball rolling with just a single snowflake.

    But the great thing is that the more you save, the more you want to save. The more dividend income you earn, the more you can reinvest and earn the next time around. So on and so forth. Success begets success. It’s a wonderful cycle. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing!

    Best regards.

  115. Mike,

    UL’s dividend is qualified as far as I understand. That’s assuming you bought the ADRs on a US exchange.

    Thanks for stopping by. Hope you had a great June as well!

    Cheers.

  116. Hey Jason congrats on your nice month! Are you putting out a watch list for July article this month? I always look forward to those ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks

  117. Brazo,

    Thanks so much!

    I’d love to discuss some stocks on my watch list, but it would be really boring. I’m likely to keep buying much of what I’ve been buying over the last few months: WPC, TRV, OHI, UNP, etc. So there isn’t much stuff to talk about.

    But I’m likely going to be done building positions out in these stocks pretty soon, and then it’ll be on to some new stocks. In the meanwhile, I’ve got a lot of great topics to cover this month. Stay tuned! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!

  118. Nice work Jason. You continue to inspire. June was a fantastic month for you by way of adding quality stocks to your portfolio. I never thought about collecting paychecks from each company I am invested in. This perspective helps to set a safety barrier for my brain. If one company fails, I still collect 30+ paychecks.

    Keep on doing what you’re doing and thanks for sharing.

    Dividend Dreams

  119. Im with ya! Thanks for your response and I will be checking your site daily just like always.

  120. Wow, now that’s a big number. Over 800$ per month. Congratulations! I recieved by first dividends this year and its 160$ in whole year (Companies in europe tend to pay one single yearly dividends), so your making 5 times more in a month then my in a year ๐Ÿ™‚ Something to cash up to ๐Ÿ˜€

  121. furidolt,

    Thanks for sharing!

    You’ll get there one day if you stick with it. You can look back through my dividend income history and see that in my first year of investing I earned less than $300 for the whole year. Now I earn that in less than a month. It happens fast. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Keep it up. You’ll be amazed at what’s possible.

    Cheers!

  122. Hi Jason, I came across your website a few weeks ago and I’m a big fan. I’m trying to accomplish this with my money, I’m married with stay at home wife and 2 kids, and helping my parents who are both 51 try and snowball. I started at 22 mainly back in 2011 and have done okay, getting close to the 80k mark and my my parents are just starting and they don’t ahve any retirement but have their house paid off, they want to start putting away at least around 13k per year. What would you suggest for them in this high market? Do you like MLP’s, I’ve held AMLP and YMLP for a while, they ahve high dividends but I’m sick to my stomach on how their stock prices have fallen due to Oil.

  123. Josh,

    Good for you for not letting your personal circumstances hold you back. Everyone’s situation is a bit different, and some will find it more difficult than others. Mt. Everest might be taller than every other mountain, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be scaled. Just have to right-size your expectations to your abilities. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’m a fan of MLPs, but I only like the general partners. Better growth, better total returns, and easier when tax time comes. That’s just me. But I think you have to be careful in regards to your exposure there. They can be very volatile and they’re generally highly-leveraged entities due to the business model and asset-intensive nature. So they’re pretty high on the risk-reward scale. I have exposure there through KMI and OKE, but we’re talking a rather small portion of the overall portfolio.

    Keep it up!

    Best regards.

  124. “I was able to cover 48% of my personal expenses this month via passive dividend income alone. I feel fantastic about that. Covering nearly half of my expenses with income I donโ€™t have to work for feels really, really good.”

    Great stuff!!

    I hope to hit $11,500 this calendar year in dividend income. Will keep you posted!
    Mark

  125. Mark,

    Covering half of June’s expenses via dividend income alone is great. Means I don’t need to stress out about earning a paycheck, that’s for sure. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Congrats on nearing $1,000 per month in dividend income. That’s fantastic! I’m sure that’s covering a healthy chunk of your expenses as well. Life is good!

    Cheers.

  126. I was at 4784 Divi income vs 2625 last year in june mostly because I bulked up on Oil majors during the down turn. Amazing increase but sadly I won’t see such a jump again as I put a lot of stored up Savings to work. If every month was like March, June, Sept, and Dec I could retire right now! Still haven’t reached passive income level to meet expenses.

  127. DD,

    Wow. That’s a hell of a month right there. Your snowball is rolling along incredibly quickly now. You might have deployed a lot of savings, but the additional cash flow you bought with that stored up cash will serve you well. Even better, it tends to regenerate itself automatically. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Keep up the great work over there. I can’t imagine you’re too far off now. You’re near a middle-class income just from passive dividends alone.

    Cheers!

  128. Excellent work and keep it up!

    I am very curious as to what your thoughts are concerning the market environment right now. I have just done a post on Post-Fed Rate Hike Investing (www.amoresuccessfulyou.com/personal-finance/post-rate-hike-investing/) and was wondering if you thought dividend stocks might become less attractive if fixed income yields increase due to the US Fed raising rates? If fixed income yields approached 4-5%, would you consider investing in those?

    Have a great day,
    Erik

  129. Erik,

    I don’t really worry about macroeconomics at all. Interest rates come up exactly zero times when I think about investing. Warren Buffett was asked a similar question at this year’s BRK meeting and he answered it basically the same way.

    As far as interest in fixed income, I probably wouldn’t be all that enthusiastic about fixed income at 4% or 5%. Like I’ve written about many times now, fixed income badly trails stocks in terms of total returns over the long haul. I don’t know why anyone who has a long time horizon and doesn’t mind volatility would be interested in a lot of exposure to fixed income. If the spread is quite large between inflation and the income I can get there, I might be a little interested, but my enthusiasm would be pretty tempered.

    Cheers!

  130. Thanks for you response. Yes in terms of growth, fixed income does badly trail the equity market. I think my question was more geared towards the passive income side of things (which I failed to clarify). Once you have built a sizeable net egg, you will be taking out all dividends and payouts. If the yields are almost the same, it could act as a diversification. In the near term though, dividend stocks win out due to reinvesting the payouts.

  131. Erik,

    Ahh, gotcha. Well, it’s not really all that difficult to grab high-quality dividend growth stocks yielding in that 4% to 5% range now. In fact, I’ve bought quite a few of them over the course of the year and over the course of my investment career. And if rising rates do indeed force stock prices down (which would increase yields), then the proposition becomes that much easier.

    I just don’t see why anyone would want to trade equity for debt when the income isn’t that far off (or not off at all), especially when you’re talking about one income source growing and one not.

    Just my take on it.

    You can read more here:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2014/07/a-0-allocation-to-fixed-income/

    And here’s Buffett’s take (hint: it’s the same as mine):

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2015/03/warren-buffett-on-volatility-and-risk/

    Cheers!

  132. I’ve been reading various blogs on personal finanace, such as Mr.MoneyMustache, Afford Anything, and Jlcollinsnh and have been learning about personal finance and investing. I came across your blog recently and have been divulging in the content, which is great btw. I was curious though, if you’re trying to make a living off dividends, which is what I just started trying to do, why wouldn’t you invest in stocks that pay the highest dividends? I googled it, and there are stocks that are paying a 42.77% dividend yield. I was looking through your stock portfolio and almost all of your dividend yields are under 10%. You’re obviously doing great with the passive income, but I was just curious as a beginner investor.

    Kindly, Mimi

  133. Mimi,

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Generally speaking, anytime something is new to you it pays to really read as much as you can so that you understand what you’re getting into. That should be no different with investing, obviously. So my first recommendation would be to get some great books on investing in general and then dividend growth investing specifically, and then kind of go from there.

    High-yield stocks are generally that way for a reason. It’s because the risk is quite high and investors are passing. The only stocks I know of with yields that high are oil royalty trusts, and you have to know what you’re getting into there. But I’m after sustainable and growing dividend income. And I’m also interested in attractive long-term total returns. As such, I stick to high-quality companies with excellent fundamentals, competitive advantages, and lengthy track records of rewarding shareholders with solid decisions and increasing dividends. To collect a 40% yield while seeing my investment tumble by a fairly equal amount year after year (in addition to seeing the dividend amount get reduced regularly) isn’t a good investment; that’s the opposite of a good investment.

    So I would kindly recommend some heavy reading on investing before delving into anything. I’ve put together some solid recommendations, but it’s just a start:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/getting-started/

    Hope that helps! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers.

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