I received $116.09 in taxable September 2018 dividend income. This is low for my typical end-of-the-quarter month, but for some reason VTI is paying in October this time and that is my largest holding.
I’m a full month in to my new job and the December wedding is just about all planned. These things have kept me pretty busy. I fully intend to write a full post (or more) about all these changes! 401k rollover, Traditional IRA rollover, contributing to two 401k’s and HSA’s without going over the limits – it goes on and on. For now, I can sum up my portfolio management in one word: efficiency!
How have I maximized my portfolio efficiency when I hardly feel like I have time to make dinner?
I just built up my VTI position this month. This required little brain power and gives me a little bit of everything. It also pays a (generally) growing dividend! The rest of my portfolio has remained on autopilot, and I prioritized other things that needed attention.
Anyways, let’s see how my dividends did this month.
September 2018 Dividend Growth
Any time I get double digit raises, it makes me happy. I see my dividend income stream as another paycheck coming in (even though I reinvest it). Dividends are a bit more tangible to me, even despite my lower portfolio yield. This month, I would have had to invest $194 to generate the additional future income I got from dividend raises instead.
September 2018 Forward Dividend Income
My favorite chart of the month. My September was similar to August in terms of generating future cash flow. I’m back to making contributions, so my future income from new investments is showing up as gray bars again.
September 2018 Purchases – VTI
10 shares of Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) @ $149.17/share; and 10 more shares @ $149.41/share
I spent about three minutes on my portfolio this month. My new job is keeping me much more stimulated, and honestly, I spent free time at my old job working on my portfolio. Without that free time this month, VTI was perfect for me. I don’t worry about timing the market, so I dumped some funds into VTI in my taxable account without even thinking.
I don’t have many goals, but I do want to bring my VTI position into the dollar range as all my other dividend growth investments put together. After September’s purchases, my VTI position is about a quarter of my taxable portfolio. Why do I like VTI?
- I don’t have to think about it.
- It’s automatically re-balanced as long as I own it.
- Its wide range consists of great companies like GOOG and AMZN that I want exposure to. It also includes smaller companies that are not on my radar.
- It pays a dividend, and has maintained an 8.4% growth rate the last five years.
- I hate to admit it, but it performs about as well as my own portfolio.
Head on over to my portfolio page if you’d like to see what companies pay me in other months!
Dozer –
Hell yeah and congrats on MANY fronts! Over $100 is awesome and that VTI position just makes sense. Maximize the heck out of it, if you can, and let it do it’s thing. Dollar cost averaging is fun and takes the timing and emotion out of it, no doubt.
-Lanny
Thanks Lanny! VTI is boring but works, especially when I’m a little busy. Looking forward to your update!
Well Dozer, that sounds great! As Lanny said it’s awesome to see you over $100 a month. It something I aspire to do at next years end. (Well I was challenged to anyway).
Thanks Mr Robot! I don’t do too many goals but I am looking forward to a minimum of $100/month 🙂
Hi Dozer,
Great month, especially considering that the VTI didn’t pay this time. I hope to reach $100 at some point as well, but I should start at reaching $10 every month firstly 🙂
BI
If you’re making $10/month in dividends, think about each $100 contribution as a leap forward by ten months! Pretty soon you’ll be wanting $200/month.
That VTI dividend should be in your account now, Dozer. I never understood why they sometimes pay in late Sept. vs. early Oct. In any case, I think continuing to add to VTI is a solid play. It’s simple, yet effective.
Quite a long list of payers for Sept. Many names in there I’d still like to add to my portfolio. I think I may have missed my chance on BA about 1.5 months ago. I was so close to initiating a position just below $330, but didn’t do it. Maybe another chance will present itself.
Good to see the forward dividend income gather steam, too. I see you are powering towards $100 just due to dividend raises, and $200 due to capital investment.
Nice work all around, Dozer.
I think we look for a lot of the same qualities in our stocks so it’s always great to cross-pollinate ideas! I also haven’t added to my BA in a while, but it may be time to add a share in the next few months. Their backlog is what I like most.
Great job on reaching a new milestone, Dozer! I’ve known for years the power of DGI on a theoretical level, but it wasn’t until I started investing last year that I came to realize the real benefits of DGI. I imagine my affinity for DGI will only be reinforced with every milestone of my own. It’s such a great feeling knowing that as I type this our money is working for both of us. Keep it up!
Thanks Kody! It’s great to have a trickle of income.
Slowly but surely you are building up a nice passive income stream even with the VTI payment coming in this month. It happens every now and then that a payment is made in a different month. As long as your annual progress is intact all is good. Always nice to see some names in common paying us both. Keep up the good work.
Congratulations Dividend Dozer! Gotta love these results right here. Over $100 is amazing and you are building quite the foundation in your portfolio. Keep at it!
Bert