As many of my readers may know, I love dividend stocks and believe dividends provide a great source of passive income. Quarterly, I provide updates regarding my dividend income, dividend goals and if I buy dividend stocks.
Using ‘The Dividend Report‘ section of my blog, I share the progress of my goals. I also share dividend growth stock ideas and thoughts. Additionally, I will share the rationale behind any future purchases or sales. Dividends are truly a wonderful thing.
The Dividend Report
For over three years, I have been working towards the same goal. I want my average dividend income to provide $1,500/month. As I solidify my path to financial independence, I want dividends to be 25-33% of my monthly retirement income. This goal may be revised upwards over time. I track my dividend income with Personal Capital and store the data on a Google Sheet.
In case you were wondering, real estate provide the rest of my retirement income.
Q1-2019 Dividend Income
I’m pumped to share this dividend report with you. Quarter 1 of 2019 (Q1-2019) marks the start to another year. This means a lot of things.
2019 is my 7th year of tracking dividend data! I cannot believe I’ve been tracking my progress for so long. It’s fun to watch the progress I’ve made over time.
The graph below shows my dividend income history since 2013:
The table below shows my dividend history since 2013:
As you can see from the chart and graph, my dividend income has slowly and gradually increased over time. This is one of the many joys of compound interest and dividend growth stocks.
Q1-2019 vs Q1-2018
Last year’s Q1 dividend income was $492.98. This quarter I earned $1,288.85. This is $795.87 or 161.44% more compared to the same time period last year. Imagine if your job paid you almost 3x more this year. The large increase stems from a combination of more money being invested and most of my stocks increasing their regular dividend payments. I also drip (dividend reinvestment plan) some of my dividend stocks. This means each quarter I own more shares and collect even more dividends.
This quarter vs. last quarter
My Q1-2019 dividend income was $1,288.85. Last quarter (Q4-2018), my income was $2,458.38. This is not a great comparison as several of my funds pay two dividends in the 4th quarter (and do not pay a dividend in Q3).
Progress towards my goal
My average monthly dividend income is now $482.22 ($5,786.64 / 12 months = $482.22), which is 32.15% of my goal of $1,500/month. Previously, I was at 27.73% of my goal. I hope to build off this success and get even closer to my goal this year. My stretch goal is to achieve $1,500/month by the end of 2019. Candidly, this will be near impossible. However, I will continue to offensively build wealth and invest regularly.
New Purchases
I made three individual stock purchases in Q1-19. The market was still recovering from the December route. A few of my favorite stocks had their own problems which presented great buying opportunities.
Apple ($AAPL) – I’ve owned Apple since 2013. This is one of the greatest companies in the world. Their products speak for themselves and their management team is top notch. The stock nosedived from ~$230 to ~$145 for no logical reasons. There is a famous saying, “the market can stay irrational longer than you and I can stay insolvent.”
I rarely violate my basis in stocks, however, I could not pass up the opportunity to buy more Apple shares in the mid 140s. I quickly scooped up a few dozen shares near the stock’s 52 week low as the company was clearly undervalued. As I expect, the stock came roaring back. My only regret was not having more cash available to buy more shares.
Exxon Mobile ($XOM) – I also added a few shares to my position in Exxon during the beginning of the year. The company’s stock has an excellent dividend track record. Buying shares of a company with a rock solid balance sheet at a 5.0%+ yield was a no brainer.
Amazon ($AMZN) – As I mentioned in my last dividend report, I bought 1 share of Amazon. Well, I decided to buy 3 more shares when the stock price dropped again during the first quarter. This still remains the only stock I own that does not pay a dividend. However, I believe in the company’s long term prospects. Let the good times roll.