2024 is cruising along. We have closed 7 months so far and are turning down the home stretch! Bert and his wife had a fantastic month of dividend income and are VERY excited to share it with the dividend investing community. In this article, we will detail our July Dividend Income summary!
Why I Invest in Dividend Stocks
I invest in dividend stocks to grow a my passive income with dividend income. One day, my dividend income will be large enough to cover my monthly expenses and allow us to retire early. That is why we are always relentlessly searching for undervalued dividend stocks to buy. To put our hard earned cash to work.
We save a high percentage of our income each month, to help fuel our dividend stock portfolio. Having a high savings rate is a key pillar of our strategy and helps fuel the fire and push the snowball further down hill. While we are waiting to invest our money in the market, it is earning a high interest rate in accounts. There is NOTHING more critical than maximizing EVERY DOLLAR in your savings account.
READ: How To Maximize Your Cash – 4 Simple Methods!
The 3 primary savings accounts I use are:
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- SoFi – 4.6% APY on all savings accounts (lower for your checking account). The race for deposits is INTENSE! Banks and credit unions are offering great savings rates.
- Capital One 360 Savings – 4.25% APY – We use Capital One for our checking and savings account.
- Wealthfront – 5.0% without promotion. 5.5% with an extra .5% by signing up using my referral link (Click Here).
Read: Interest Rates on High Yield Savings Accounts Are SOARING!
In July 2024, we received $1,683.75 in dividend income! This was an insane 79% increase compared to last year. We couldn’t be happier with the amount of dividend income received this month.
The devil is in the details, of course. The following table details all the individual dividend stocks and dividend focused ETFs that paid us a dividend in July 2024:
July Dividend Income Observations
I always like to share a few observations about my dividend income for the month. There is always some noise and significant items to discuss!
Observation #1: SCHD’s Payment Timing Jolted July’s Dividend Income
We have been buying at least 4 shares of SCHD every single week. Lately, we have increased that total to 5 shares. In total, the position in my wife’s portfolio is closing in on 300 years after executing on these weekly purchases for over a year and a half. That isn’t our only SCHD position. I purchased SCHD years ago when I rolled over an old 401k into a Roth IRA
Typically, SCHD pays its dividend in the 3rd month of the quarter. In theory, I should have received its dividend in June. However, this year, SCHD decided to pay its dividend on July 1. Thus, we received over $300 this month from everyone’s favorite dividend paying ETF.
Observation #2: Leggett & Platt’s Dividend Cut Is Painful
I accepted a long time ago that Leggett & Platt’s dividend cut was terrible. Anytime a company cuts its dividend 89%, you know you are in for some pain. However, that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t mean that it isn’t still really painful.
In the past, we were receiving over $100 per quarter from the former Dividend King. Now, our dividend income is reduced to just $10.96 in July. Making up that dividend income has not been easy. Thankfully, it has not been impossible. Investments in SCHD, VIG, O, AMT and others helped us offset the devastating dividend cut and still see our dividend income grow this month.
Observation #3: Realty Income Goal Achieved
In 2023 and early 2024, I focused on growing my Realty Income position. We wanted to build a powerhouse position in the Monthly Dividend Paying Company. At first, we wanted to received $40 per month from Realty Income. Then, once we crossed $40 per month, we increased our goal to $50 per month. After reaching that milestone, we then settled on receiving at least $60 in dividend income from this REIT.
We proudly received $60.66 from Realty Income this week. Now, we will watch our dividend income continue to grow from DRIP and future dividend increases. Ah, the power of dividend investing.
Summary
We couldn’t be happier with the results from this month. If I could do a backflip, I would. Overall, the results of our July dividend income continue to motivate us to continue pushing ourselves hard. Continue pushing ourselves to invest every dollar possible. One day, we will reach financial freedom and retire early.
Did you set a record in July? Did you benefit from SCHD’s timing difference of its dividend payment?
Bert
