And, just like that, the first quarter of the year has ended. Spring has begun! And, perhaps more importantly, Winter Is Coming! Who else here is a Game of Thrones fan? Anyone? I’m just so excited for the final season. But I know, you’re not here because you’re concerned about White Walkers taking over the world. You’re here to see how the portfolio performed in the last month of the first quarter. Well, without further adieu, let’s dive
Dividend Income
In March, I received a total of $136.45 in dividends broken down as follows:
| NO. | STOCK | NAME | DIVIDENDS |
| 1 | EMR | Emerson | $ 14.26 |
| 2 | GWW | W.W. Granger | $8.31 |
| 3 | JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | $25.86 |
| 4 | MCD | McDonalds | $12.11 |
| 5 | MMM | 3M Company | $12.84 |
| 6 | O | Realty Income | $8.35 |
| 7 | PFE | Pfizer | $14.18 |
| 8 | XOM | Exxon Mobile | $40.54 |
| $136.45 |
A respectable amount. Once again, I have 8 companies paying me dividends, and I’m well on my way to making $150 in dividends for the month.
Annual Comparison
Below is graphical representation of my dividends so far:
Here is the raw data:
| MONTH | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | Rate |
| January | $0.00 | $14.93 | $37.54 | 151.44% |
| February | $0.00 | $77.66 | $141.16 | 81.77% |
| March | $0.00 | $72.93 | $136.45 | 87.10% |
| April | $0.41 | $31.47 | ||
| May | $2.85 | $79.33 | ||
| June | $16.89 | $98.51 | ||
| July | $5.99 | $42.32 | ||
| August | $21.95 | $108.44 | ||
| September | $28.72 | $111.15 | ||
| October | $23.21 | $48.09 | ||
| November | $62.11 | $124.92 | ||
| December | $76.51 | $140.24 |
A very respectable 87.10% increase from last year. Again, not quite triple-digit increase, but I’ll take it. As always, the portfolio is moving in the right direction.
Last year I had only 7 stocks that paid me dividends. Since that time, I’ve added McDonalds to the portfolio. I’m looking forward to the continued growth of the portfolio.
Adopt-A-Stock Project
Recently, I wrote about a new project I started entitled the Adopt A Stock project. This month, I’ve chosen to adopt Apple. It’s going to be very hard as Apple is currently trading around $190 a share. My budget is tight. Part of the rules of the Adopt-A-Stock project requires me to purchase at least one share of the stock that I adopt for the month. So, I might have to live on beans and rice for the month to be able to accommodate this adoption.
I have gotten suggestions on how to choose which stock I adopt. I’m still working on understanding the metrics behind such a selection. Right now, I’m going in alphabetical order as the stocks appear in my dividend portfolio. But, as I learn more about stock valuations, I might adjust mid-way how I choose which stock to adopt.
For me, the simplest approach (albeit not the financially best or efficient approach) is to go in alphabetical order. That will inevitably mean that I’m not optimizing how my funds get invested. For now, I’m ok with that, as the adopt-a-stock project was designed to force me to waste less money. If I didn’t adopt a stock, I would have used the money to eat out, buy clothes, or engage in such frivolous spending.
Finally, I’m going to have to report on how much I actually invested in Apple mid-month. We will see how it goes.
Forward Annual Dividends
At the time of this writing, my forward annual dividend is $1380.11. A month ago, my forward annual dividend was $1333.85. This represents an increase of $46.26 or 3.00% in my forward annual dividend income. I’m getting closer to that $1500 mark, which will happen in 2019. Now that I’ve once again increased the minimum contribution to my dividend portfolio, I hopefully will cross that threshold sooner rather than later. In any case, the dividends are slowly but surely working for me behind the scenes.
Conclusion
I expect great things from my portfolio this year. I do have plans to buy a house and so the growth of my portfolio is tempered by that lofty goal. However, I suspect that once I achieve my desire of an additional house purchase, the rate at which I contribute to my portfolio may be substantially increased.
Until then I will continue to add to my portfolio and cut wastefuly spending when I can. I’m not perfect, and I know that there will be times when I spend more money than I earn in a month. But, as long as I maintain the minimum contribution levels to my portfolio, maintain my long-term contributions to my Roth 401K and Roth IRA accounts, I’ll be in good shape.
I’m
As always, thanks for reading this blog post. And remember, Winter Is Coming! You’ve been warned.
What do you think of this post? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.
April 14th!!! Winter is indeed coming my friend!!! Long live House Stark!!!!
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Keep the ball moving forward DP! Love the way you continue to grow your portfolio and the Adopt a Stock project is really cool!!
Bert
Dividend Diplomats recently posted…Lanny’s March Dividend Income Summary
ya, I’m hoping the project works out as well Bert.
Great month DP! Nice 87% YOY as well! I am really liking your Adopt-A-Stock Project. I am looking forward to seeing this in action and how it turns out. Overall, it is very cool way to invest a little more. Great idea! Keep up the awesome work! 😀
My Dividend Dynasty recently posted…March 2019 Dividend Income – The $1K Milestone
Thanks MDD. That’s the whole point of the project – to invest a little bit more per month!
All in all in looks like a great March DP! Huge year over year increase and a solid boost to your forward dividends. You’re right about the Adopt a stock project. Even if it’s not the most efficient it’s still better than spending that money on stuff so you’re still better off. As far as the valuation metrics the simplest would be go with the Chowder rule (column AP) from the CCC list, 5 year dividend growth rate + current dividend yield. Or you could use the 5 year estimated EPS growth rate (column AK) + the current dividend yield (column J). It’d be pretty simple to set up a vlookup function in excel to narrow the entire list down to just the companies that you own. And then just figure out which one is the highest on the remaining companies you need to add to. If you need help just shoot me an email and I’ll do what I can.
JC recently posted…Portfolio Recharacterization
Hey JC. Thanks a lot for the suggestion again and the encouragement. I’ll likely shoot you an email because when you say things like using the vlookup function in excel, I have no idea what you’re referring to. The same thing goes for references to column AP, AK and J.
Hi DP. Nice gowing with dividends. I see largest share is from XOM. Im interested in this company as well. Good metrix and div yield, but murky perspective in L/T for sector in general.
fair enough p2035 but I’m counting on XOM to stay ahead of the curve in terms of new sources of energy, etc.
Have to do that major oils peer comparison. One of factors which invests the most in renewables. 10y ago as I remember shell and BP were the leaders. Wonder if US oild XOM and CVX are investing in renewable energy (wind, solar, hydro)
All the more reason to keep a watchful eye on whatever companies an investor invests in. Even if they are a good company today, doesn’t mean they will be tomorrow. But XOM most definitely is invested in renewable energy.
Lots of quality companies paying you this month. Keep up the awesome continued growth.
Dividend Daze recently posted…Dividend Update – March 2019
Thanks alot Daze.
Awesome stuff. Some really nice payments there.
You’re going to have to increase the scale on that graph! You’re starting to earn a lot and the scale will be too small. What a great problem to have.
great point BHL…but you’re right, definitely a good problem to have; hahahah!
Congrats on another solid month. I am always impressed by your high YoY increase.
DSFI recently posted…Dividend Income | March 2019 | $7.29
Thanks DSFI. Part of the reason is that I continue to add to my portfolio every month.
Nice month DP! It looks like you are going to achieve $150 shortly, I am guessing that you may be very close or reach it in May 🙂
Regarding “Game of Thrones”, I read all the books but haven’t watched the TV series. Although TV series is ahead and I am not sure if George R. R. Martin will complete the books at all 😀
BI
BrokeInvestor recently posted…March 2019 Summary
Hey BI, I think I will likely meet it in May’s report, but not April. April is going to be a slow month. It’s nice to know other GOT fans out there in the DGI community.
“I will continue to add to my portfolio and cut wastefuly spending when I can.” Well said. If more people thought like that we’d have many more individuals in better financial health. Keep buying when you can and growing that passive income stream. Looking at your payers for the month I see we share almost all. Keep up the good work.
DivHut recently posted…Demand the Best of Both Worlds
Thanks Div Hut. All that’s left for me to do now is put that plan into action. So far, so good.
“For the night is dark and full of terrors.”
House Stark represent!
Major fan here as well, I organized a pool at the office on who will survive, who will not (and maybe become a walker/wight) and who will eventually sit on the Iron Throne (or will there even be at throne?).
That being said, what an awesome month you had. Solid results and heading towards the $150 mark. Keep on pushing my friend and you will get towards your goals!
Mr. Robot recently posted…March 2019 dividend report
Thanks Mr. Robot. And today is the day. GOT is finally here. Can’t wait.
Love that that uptrend in the blue bar chart! Keep it up. Speaking of GoT did you guys see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw2SaHkGfss. I promise there are no spoilers, but my wife was playing it in the background and I was horrified I heard one at first before I realized it was an April Fools joke.
Scott
Two Investing recently posted…March 2019 Income
I hadn’t seen the video but I saw the first episode! I can’t wait for the second TI.
Your dividend income has really picked up some steam, DP. I thought you had cut back on investment this past year due to competing priorities, but perhaps not. In either case, congrats on the progress. It looks great. It appears we share 4 payers this month.
Engineering Dividends recently posted…Recent Buy (GD)
Thanks for the comment ED. I did actually cut back on investments, but I decided to pick it back up. So, it’s really a struggle every month but I think it’s ultimately worth it. I still have competing interests, including buying a house. I want nothing more than buying a beach house in Florida, but I doubt I can afford it. Still, I will likely buy a house later this year. But in the meantime, I will continue to invest in my portfolio as I continue to save for that down payment.
Your growth YOY is killer, if you keep that pace you’ll be well on your way to financial freedom. I’m taking an aggressive approach myself, early stages!
Passive Cash recently posted…Credit Card Benefits?
Ya, if we can keep the aggressive growth going, that will be awesome! Good luck. It’s easier to see the growth with smaller numbers, but it’s a good goal to have to try to maintain an aggressive growth strategy.