August dividend update
Last month I saw a 22% bump in my dividend income and I’m hoping that can continue with this month’s dividend update.
Both July and August are slow months for me and my dividend employee Steve but we’re into September now which is one of the four big months four me due to my mutual fund and ETF exposure.
I’ve added more money into my bond funds that pay monthly recently due to the strong stock market performance leading to bonds becoming under weighted in my portfolio and that has helped spur growth in these off months a little bit.
Last year’s August income came in at $81.26 so that’s the base I’m working with when setting my expectations for the month. Let’s take a look at the August income.
August’s dividend income comes in at $101.60. It’s not a huge month compared to the quarter ending months but it is nice to see continued growth each month. The total represents a 25% increase over last year and speaks to the power of continued investing.
My bonds are the only things I own that pay monthly so adding more money to those funds if the stock market continues performing as it has will help spur growth in these months. The exciting thing about this month is that it’s the first $100+ month of the year when you don’t consider the four high performing months. It’ll be good when I get to a point where all these months are over $100!
The bond fund was the main payer this month but my Apple holdings were also included in this total.
The great thing is that even these small months help my future income as this money was reinvested and will generated about $2.24 in forward annual dividend income or an extra $0.19 per month. It may seem like small fry but every little bit helps in the long run!
My dividend employee Steve took it easy this month in preparation for next month. Steve’s hourly wage was $0.61/hr and his annual wage drops down to $2.56/hr but is sure to spike up in September as the busy season starts for him again!
This month brings the annual total to $3412.73 which is still a far cry from my annual goal of 8k+ but I still have September and more importantly December which are two of my biggest months coming up.
Here’s another look at the data since I started tracking this. As a side note, for proper tracking purposes, I went back and updated the December 2015 data to remove the long term capital gain that was tracked as a dividend within that data.
You can see that September and December will serve to spike up my annual total. I’m not sure I can expect as much growth in September as I saw in June but I’m still hoping for a decent bump there.
That’s it for this month. I’m glad to see another month of 20%+ growth especially after the insane 46% growth I saw in June and I’m super excited to see what September has in store for me.
How was August for you if you’re tracking dividends?
August Total : $101.60
2017 Total : $3412.73
Portfolio monthly hourly wage : $0.61/hr
Portfolio annual hourly wage : $2.56/hr
12 Comments
BrokeInvestor
Great progress year on year! Keep reinvesting those dividends and I am sure that you will reach 100$ every month shortly!
moredividends
It looks like you had a good month. Every little bit helps when it comes to compounding. You are showing some great year over year growth. Keep up the good work. Thanks for sharing.
catfishwizard
What bond funds do you own?
I use CEFs to invest in bonds. The fees are pretty high, but I feel like those guys can “earn their keep” over an index by selectively picking bonds. Plus the CEF structure lets them use leverage and they don’t have to manage the portfolio with an eye to being able to redeem shares at NAV.
timeinthemarket
I just have the vanguard total bond market index fund. Which CEFs do you like?
catfishwizard
I’ve picked 10 funds based on my desired mix of credit quality, duration, asset allocation, etc.
The tickers are PIM, PPT, EGF, MIN, PFL, BKT, CIK, BLW, DSU and EAD.
My aggregated mix earns about a 7% yield after fees.
The goal is to earn ~$5K of income in my inherited IRA to cover the required minimum distributions (RMDs) of ~$4-5K.
Full list is here: https://catfishwizard.com/stock-watch-lists/
Meow @ Money with Meow
Even though good old Steve took it easy this month he is still working hard for you. So glad it’s September – that’s when most of my payers come through. Though I just tallied up my August and it was not a bad month for me either.
timeinthemarket
Steve needs to relax everyone once in a while too! I’m definitely looking forward to see what September has in store for both of us.
wealth from thirty
Looks like a great month TITM. At least Steve could put his feet up – September should give him a bit of work to do. My August dividends were the first for my portfolio which was kinda exciting.
Dividend Diplomats
You’re darn right, every small fry helps in the grand scheme of things. You received over $100 in an “off month” which is not an easy feat. Congrats on the great growth rate and keep on working your butt off to increase your income. LETS GO!
Bert
in10jaarfinancieelvrij
Solid results and congrats on crossing the 100-mark. Keep it upt!