Thankfully, June is over! What a crazy month that was for me. What’s more is that 6 months of the year is now gone. Some dividend growth investing (DGI) bloggers did the smart thing and set mid-year goals. Looking at you Dividend Dynasty. Other bloggers, such as myself, are lazy and didn’t set mid-year goals. Still, I’m looking to finish the year strong and hopefully, the second half will be stronger than the first. As we look to celebrate independence day, I am steadily working towards my goal of achieving financial independence through dividend growth investing. But until then, I’ll continue to steadily contribute to my portfolio and track my progress on this blog. Let’s see how I ended the second quarter!
Dividend Income
In June, I received a total of $98.51 in dividends broken down as follows:
| NO. | STOCK | NAME | DIVIDENDS |
| 1 | EMR | Emerson Electric | $8.87 |
| 2 | GWW | W.W. Granger | $7.87 |
| 3 | JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | $16.97 |
| 4 | MCD | McDonalds | $5.17 |
| 5 | MMM | 3M Company | $10.13 |
| 6 | O | Realty Income | $8.27 |
| 7 | PFE | Pfizer | $11.08 |
| 8 | XOM | Exxon Mobile | $30.15 |
| $98.51 |
Are you kidding me? Just $1.49 shy of the elusive triple-digit figure in one month. Oh well, I guess I have to try again next month. In any case, I’m pretty happy. Nearly $100 in a month doesn’t make me rich. But, that figure will continue to rise. That’s the power of Dividend Growth Investing and compounding.
Also, this is the first month that I received dividends from McDonalds. That $5.17 is almost enough to buy me a Big Mac meal with fries and a drink. Maybe next time, I’ll be able to afford a large drink instead of a small drink. Haha. But not a bad start to my long-term hold of McDonalds.
Finally, the Dividend Tracker has been updated.
Annual Comparison
Below is a graphical representation of my dividends this year as compared to last year.
For clarity, here is the raw data:
| MONTH | 2017 | 2018 | RATE |
| APRIL | $0.41 | $31.47 | 7575.61% |
| MAY | $2.85 | $79.33 | 2683.51% |
| JUNE | $16.89 | $98.51 | 483.24% |
As you can see, as compared to last year, my account grew over 483%. Not too shabby, but I’m sure that as the months go by, this huge growth will be much lower and more realistic. But, it’s still nice to see and provides a bit of motivation to keep going.
Forward Annual Dividends
At the time of this writing, my forward annual dividend is $1033.67. This is the first time that my forward annual dividend crossed the 4-digit threshold. I had to adjust my target of $1000 in dividends for the year and increased it to $2000.
The transition to M1 Finance is almost complete. However, I am able to make trades. The forward annual dividend reflects a recent deposit to the account. Updating my internal spreadsheet was a little bit scary because of the way M1 Finance operates their platform. I’ll talk more about this in my M1 Finance review that I’ll be posting later this week, but in a nutshell, M1 Finance invests your money based on the target allocation of stocks in your portfolio. So, to keep things balanced, it diverts cash to the stocks that are underweighted.
This was a bit nerve-racking for me at first because every month, each of my stocks increased in value because I contributed a set amount of money into that particular stock. With M1 Finance, you contribute to the overall portfolio and the portfolio divides the money according to your predetermined asset allocation. So, for my recent contribution, most of the stocks I own in M1 Finance did not receive a contribution because they were overweighted. I was only able to buy shares in the 5 most underweighted stocks.
It’s a different way to invest for sure. Part of me likes it, but part of me misses the old system where I can say how much money I want to be invested in a particular stock automatically. I could manually buy or sell from a position if I wanted to, but that automatic investment feature is not yet available in M1 Finance.
Conclusion
June has been a very important month for this blog. I transitioned from one broker to another, but during that process, I continued to earn dividends along the way. I am about to go on vacation, but my dividends will be working hard for me anyway. Dividend growth investing is a great and passive strategy for the average investor looking to make money in the stock market.
Now that the first half of the year is over, here’s hoping that the remainder of the year is a prosperous one for us all. I hope you have a happy 4th of July.
How was June for you? Did you break any records or reached any milestone. Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.
Hey DP! Congrats on your awesome month! It is nice to cross the 1K threshold in forward income, isn’t it? Plus, a 483% YOY increase is quite amazing! And you know, it is still not too late to set some mid-year goals. 😉 Thanks for the post DP! 🙂
My Dividend Dynasty recently posted…June 2018 Dividend Income
No worries Dynasty. I’m just too lazy to set mid-year goals. I’m definitely stoked about crossing that 1k threshold. $2000 seems so far away, but that’s where I’m headed.
Hey DP. I enjoyed those June dividend payments right along with you. Ironically, WW Granger is the only one we do not own in your list. Ironic, because my wife worked their for 10 years and we don’t own a share. Not because it’s not a great company, only because I never invested in it. My mistake. Tom
Tom @ Dividends Diversify recently posted…Financial Independence Day
That is ironic. I almost didn’t invest in WW Granger myself but only because at the time I thought the share price was expensive (in terms of overall cost and not in terms of value). I just try to ignore how “expensive” it is and keep investing.
Great work DP, and you’re going to bust right through that three digit monthly mark in no time! That YoY growth is awesome, and don’t discredit the work you’ve done to get those results. I’m new to DGI so this month I couldn’t calculate YoY growth as last year I had a big fat zero. =)
Like Tom’s wife, I also worked at WW Grainger but as a consultant in their eCommerce division quite a few years ago. I don’t own them either.
DivvyDad recently posted…Dividend Income Report :: June 2018
Hey DD. I was only able to start comparing my dividend growth since April of this year, because I didn’t start recording my dividends until April of last year. So, I totally know the feeling. You’re right. I shouldn’t discount what I did to get there. It took a lot of consistency and discipline to get to the level I am right now. BTW, although you weren’t able to calculate your YoY growth, getting over $200 in dividends in June is just awesome!
Even though you didn’t invest in GWW, it’s a stepping stone that got you to where you are, so I’m guessing it still paid you dividends – just in a different way 🙂
Thanks DP, and you’re right that working at GWW was definitely a stepping stone and connected me with a lot of great people. Thanks for pointing out the perspective on that type of dividend as well!
No worries Divvy Dad, so much of life is all about perspective.
Congrats on crossing the $1,000 forward dividend income mark this month DP! That’s what I’m freaking talking about. I love it. Sure you didn’t hit $100 this month. But man oh man you are so close and you’ll easily crush this mark here in September.
Bert
Dividend Diplomats recently posted…Bert’s Recent Stock Purchase – Starbucks (SBUX)
You’re right in that I’ll probably get there by September. I think that would be the case even if I didn’t do any additional contributions, but I won’t risk it :).
That’s some serious YOY growth. Nearly 100 dollars is a great milestone too. Keep up the great work. It is inspiring.
Thanks Seedling. Can’t wait until I actually achieve $100 in dividend income in a single month.
Nice result on the dividends DivPortfolio – hope your July is a little less intense on the work front!
Cheers,
Frankie
Thanks Frankie. July is definitely going to be a lot less intensive as I’m currently on vacation for the next two weeks, and will be transitioning into another position. That being said, things will pick back up in August. Thanks for stopping by.
Nicely done mate, just under that 100 mark but you are now over the 1000 mark for forward dividend income, well done to you!
Buy, Hold Long recently posted…I Challenge You!
Thanks BHL. Achieving these milestones along the way helps propel me to achieve the next one and to keep going.
Congrats DP. Our forward dividends are similar. I like your dividend increases compared to prior year. Even though it is high, it is starting to taper a bit. But, will still grow …at a sustainable pace. My target is 1,500$ in forward dividends. 2,000 is a stretch … Go for it!
dividendgeek recently posted…2018 Q2 / (April – June) Dividend Report
I was thinking about making $1500 the target, but I’m tired of reaching my goal too easily (or quickly). Since I started the blog in November 2016, it has taken me 19 months to get to $1000 in my forward annual dividend. I’m hoping it will take less time than that to get to $2000. We will see.
The goal that keeps coming to my mind is to replace my typical contribution amount with reinvested dividends. I probably have years before I get there, but no other goal really sticks out to me! Whatever works for each person! Nice job this month – we are definitely in the same spot regarding MCD.
That’s a great goal DD. Before I moved to Capital One Investing, one of my goals was to earn enough dividends in one stock, such as Realty Income, where the dividends are high enough to cover the share of that stock. It would totally be amazing to earn enough dividends to surpass my monthly contributions to the portfolio.
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Hey DP,
That’s what I’m talking about! 483% growth and almost hitting $100! It’s great to see your portfolio dividend income growing so fast, so keep it up!
P.S. Have a nice vacation! 🙂
-BI
Thanks BI. I think things are going to slow down for the next couple of months while I transition to my new position at work. Then, once things have settled down, it’s full steam ahead. I’m going to try and maintain the minimum contributions I’ve set for myself, but there’s a slight chance that I might reduce it by just a little. We will see.
Close enough to the triple digits. You’ll get there soon enough. Just keep buying and collecting those dividends. Looks like I share 6 out of 8 dividend payers for the month of June with you. Thta’s pretty cool. Though I didn’t set any mid-year goals I am set to beat my 2017 totals which I’m happy to see. As long as I can put up year over year monthly gains I’m happy. Keep it up!
DivHut recently posted…Dividend Income Update June 2018
Glad you’re on track to beating your 2017 totals and the fact that we share 6 out of 8 payers suggests I’m doing something right. Here’s hoping your YoY monthly gains keep moving in the right direction.
Are you kidding me? Almost $100 in a single month AND crossing the $1000 mark in forward income?!?
That’s awesome dude! Your a few miles ahead of me but I love the facts that I’ll be joining you in maybe 1-2 years time. I’m almost at the $500 mark in forward income.
Great month for you DP!
Thanks Mr. Robot. I’m sure you’ll catch up soon and that 1-2 years will go by before you know it. I will definitely be following your progress all the way. Thanks for the comment.
DP, that’s some massive growth y/y and I’m sure you’ll hit that elusive $100 mark in September if not earlier!
timeinthemarket recently posted…Portfolio Review – July 2018 – International Stock Market Struggles
I’m hoping I hit the mark before September as well, but June was an end of the quarter month and so I don’t know if the in-between months will provide sufficient dividends to cross the threshold. It’s all good though as the dividend growth is moving in the right direction.
you are almost there at the $100 mark for a month,it will come sooner .Goodluck rest of the way.
Thanks desidividend. Hopefully, it comes sooner rather than later.
You’re right, DP. .. lots of important items for your portfolio this month. The 3-digit month will be yours quite soon, but the 4-digit forward dividend income mark is yours. Isn’t it great to raise the numbers on your charts/gauges because you reached the max?
Congrats on the new payer in MCD. I think that $5+ dividend should get you nearly 5 drinks, no? Also, your June payer list is rock solid… those companies will be raising and paying dividends for years to come.
Enjoy your vacation knowing that your dividends will continue to post to your account.
Engineering Dividends recently posted…Mid-Year Review of 2018 Portfolio Goals
Thanks ED. I’m excited to cross the 4-digit mark in my forward annual dividends. That was one of my goals in 2018 and I’ve met it. I might do a separate post on this. I’ve already written two posts that I haven’t posted yet, but I might keep writing posts beforehand so that when I get to another busy season, which starts as early as next month, I can easily continue to post.
I’m glad to own MCD. Every time I see a MCD commercial or a MCD store, I can think about the fact that I own a very small part of the company. That $5 will hopefully grow in months and years to come, but will at least likely fund any trips I make to MCD for food!
DP, Great month my friend. Looks like an easy break over $100 next time. I love EVERY NAME you have listed here. Solid companies!
Money Hungry recently posted…Dividend Income June 2018
Thanks MH. I’m really hoping to cross the $100 mark next time. It’s going to be epic!
congrats port!
just shy of 100 but north of 1000! congrats on the new milestone.
interesting with m1 finance, can u not pick the stock or is it just a couple etfs that diversifys you? The concept is smart with diversification.
anyways keep it up
cheers
Passivecanadianincome recently posted…July 2018 Watchlist
Hey Rob, either one is good with M1 Finance. So, you can diversify with either the stock or with ETFs. Can’t wait to cross that $100 and will have a separate post about crossing the $1000 mark.
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That’s a very nice amount of dividend income. Crossing that $1.000 is also a very nice psychological win. In the beginning getting to that number with dividend growth investing seems such a long wait. But it’s all within reach if you’re disciplined with your spending/saving and consistent with investing your savings in quality companies at a reasonable valuation.
I don’t have any goals yet for investing or my private life. But I sure will start writing them down in December. Setting mid year goals is also on my mind. It just feels like being a bit lazy not doing it and witing for January 1st.
Good luck with the month of July! 👍
Hey DC, thanks for the comment. I think writing down goals is good, but you know yourself better than anyone. There’s something about the end of a year and the beginning of a new that just gives you that extra motivation to make things happen. Good luck with whatever you decide. But, maybe start off small by having and writing down one mini goal now and work towards achieving that by the end of the year. Then, you can have your full-fledged goals written for the New Year. Food for thought. Thanks for spotting by and commenting.
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I’m in it for the long haul – that’s for sure!