I received $78.89 in taxable August 2018 dividend income.

Big life changes in the last month! I accepted and started a new job. I am thankful for all I have learned in the last year or two. I’ll take full advantage of the pay increase without much lifestyle inflation, and I’ll also take full advantage of the improved 401(k) offering from my new employer. I’ll have to write at least one full post about changes in my strategy because it is too much to write about here! I’m still waiting to get a few paychecks in before I evaluate my new take-home income, so no major changes yet.

August 2018 Dividend Growth

Only two raises this month, but they were both well into the double digits. The $10.56 in added income would have required a $474 additional investment at my current yield of 2.31%.

August 2018 Forward Dividend Income

I’m loving this visualization. When it comes to building a passive income stream, each gray and red bar represents additional income I can count on (and should only grow) for years into the future. All my new purchases this month added about $60 in annual income, and raises/reinvestments added about $12 on top of that. That is significant!

August 2018 Purchases – MCD, MDT, MSFT, ADM, V, IFF, TXN, CSCO, HRL

3 shares of McDonalds (MCD) @ $153.47/share; and 1 more share @ $161.24/share

I’m feeling good about my portfolio being well-rounded. McDonald’s is shaping up into one of my core holdings, as it should have been from the start.

4 shares of Medtronic (MDT) @ $90.00/share; and 5 more shares @ $90.93

Another newcomer to my portfolio core, Medtronic is one of the largest medical equipment companies in the world. 

2 shares of Microsoft (MSFT) @ $106.06/share

This was an interesting purchase. It vaulted MSFT into my top individual holding in my portfolio. This is a case of “Water the growers, pull the weeds.” It is tough to purchase stock I previously bought for far cheaper, but MSFT has been doing great for me. I feel great having them as my top holding, and consider them to be the utility company of the tech world.

4 shares of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) @ $49.75/share

ADM has been one of my go-to purchases any time I earn enough dividends (mainly because its share price is in the $40-$50 range). As often as I pick up single shares here and there, I realized it was under-represented in my portfolio so I picked up a few more shares. I’ll continue to add ADM when my dividends accumulate, but I also need to build this legendary DGI stock position in my portfolio a bit more proactively.

2 shares of Visa (V) @ $140.42/share

Similar to my MSFT purchase, it was time to water the growers. V has been exactly that, and I love having them as one of my top three holdings. This is a case where I am not too worried about the current dividend yield. I do have high hopes for my yield on cost ten years from now!

2 shares of International Fragrances and Flavors (IFF) @ $132.45/share

IFF was one of my earlier purchases, and I haven’t given it much attention since then. I like IFF’s spread of customer base and products too much for it to fall behind some of my other positions.

3 shares of Texas Instruments (TXN) @ $110.66/share

I’m catching up this month for my lack of activity earlier in the year! Another case of “Watering the growers,” TXN fits the balance of growth and dividend income that I like having in my portfolio. I’ll enjoy having TXN as one of my top ten holdings.

1 share of Cisco (CSCO) @ $45.22/share; 1 share of Hormel @ $37.58/share

Like ADM, I enjoy adding Cisco and Hormel when I have enough left over after other purchases, or when my dividends accumulate enough. I will eventually want to add larger chunks.

 

Head on over to my portfolio page if you’d like to see what companies pay me in other months!