August 2023 Dividend Income

 

Mid-quarters are a doozy; well, for my portfolio anyway.  As there's no time to doddle, let's dive right in.

Campbell's (CPB): $4.11 ($0.41 taxable/$3.70 IRA)

General Dynamics (GD): $0.32

AGNC: $1.45

Main Street Capital (MAIN): $0.25

AT&T (T): $4.19

General Mills (GIS): $0.72 (IRA)

Kinder Morgan (KMI): $3.01

Wisdom Tree Midcap Dividend Fund (DON): $0.08

Tanger Factory Outlet (SKT): $1.33

Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF (QYLD):  $0.44

Lowe's (LOW): $3.30 (IRA)

GlobalXSuperdividend (SDIV): $0.24

Westrock (WRK): $2.07

Starbucks (SBUX): $0.34

JP Morgan Exchange Traded Fund (JEPI): $2.32 (IRA)

Colgate (CL): $0.63 (IRA)

Omega Healthcare (OHI): $5.26

Apple (AAPL): $0.02

Paychex (PAYX): $2.32

Stag Industrial (STAG): $0.13

Hormel (HRL): $4.21 ($1.46 taxable/$2.75 IRA)

Papa Johns (PZZA): $0.18

Procter & Gamble (PG): $5.19 ($2.37 taxable/$2.82 IRA)

Invesco High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD): $0.17

Verizon (VZ): $7.31 ($0.78 taxable/$6.53 IRA)

Clorox (CLX): $0.90 (IRA)

Realty Income (O): $9.01 ($6.71 taxable/$2.30 IRA)

Baird Aggregate Bond Fund: $4.04 (401K)

Publix: $60.76 ($41.73 taxable/$19.03 401K)

The taxable sub-total comes to $75.26.  Retirement account total comes in at $49.04.  All in all, this month brought in $124.30 in dividends.  Very small growth compared to last quarter, but it has been an annoyingly stagnant one, so that is to be expected.

Interest clocked in at $4.25.

Very light month as far as moves go.  There was the $50 into Best Buy.  Beyond that, all I did was re-initiate automatic dollar a day buys into Colgate (CL), Kellogg (K), and General Mills (GIS).  I can't go at it like I was at the year's opening, but it does feel good to at least start getting that ball rolling again.

I also upgraded my Robinhood account to their "Gold" program.  It gets a bigger match on IRA contributions and offers a 4.9% interest rate on the cash in your account. Still not quite at that ING 5% standard set back in the day, but very close. It does cost $5 a month so it'll be operating at a loss in the short term, but long term, this will definitely yield positive results.  The only downside is that with most stock dividend yields below that; it's going to feel like I'm losing ground every time I make a stock buy.  Can't think that way, though.    

Still 4 months left in the year.  Still a good chunk of time to build some upward momentum to end the year on a high note and set the stage for 2024.

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July 2023 Dividend Income: U G L Y This Month Had No Alibi

 

Another month has come and gone.  As such, it's time to take a moment to look back to see how the dividends looked.  Quarter openers are my weakest month, but surprises do happen from time to time.  So, let's see how things fared.

Domino's (DPZ): $0.11

PepsiCo (PEP): $2.08

Kraft Foods (KHC): $1.94

Coca-Cola (KO): $5.26 ($1.58/$3.68 IRA)

SpartanNash (SPTN): $1.12

Paramount Global (PARA): $0.52

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG): $0.78

Vanguard US REIT Fund (VNQ): $0.99

HP (HPQ): $0.29

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): $3.66 ($0.51/$3.15 IRA)

Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF (VOOG): $0.09

Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU): $0.58

Kimberly Clark (KMB): $6.00 ($1.28/$4.72 IRA)

Iron Mountain (IRM): $3.92

JP Morgan Exchange Traded Fund (JEPI): $2.87 (IRA)

AGNC: $1.43

GlobalXSuperdividend (SDIV): $0.24

Stag Industrial (STAG): $0.13

Best Buy (BBY): $10.01

McCormick (MKC): $0.05

WisdomTree (DON): $0.04

Franklin Resources (BEN): $3.42

Realty Income (O): $8.99  ($6.69/$2.30 IRA)

Main Street Capital (MAIN): $0.25

Invesco High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD): $0.17

Armanino Foods of Distinction (AMNF): $0.66

Baird Aggregate Bond Fund: $4.14

The taxable sub-total comes to $38.88.  The retirement sub-total is $20.86.  All in all, the portfolio pulled in $59.74.  Interest clocked in at $4.05

It didn't break triple digits like the other two quarter months, but it's a pretty decent number on its own.  On the other hand, a lot of Vanguard ETFs pushed their pay date back, so the number is artificially inflated to a certain degree.

I do like how the Best Buy position is progressing.  That $50/month and dividend reinvestment combo has certainly gotten results. It's really doing most of the heavy lifting this time around.

Speaking of buys, I made four rounds of buys on Robinhood (which you can read about here, here, here, and here).  I also added a share of AT&T (T).  Just about every other investor out there is holding at best or dropping the stock altogether, but I figured for $13, why not?

I also threw $20 into Fundrise.  It was a 50/50 split between the regular fund and their innovation fund, which is more akin to venture capital focusing on tech-based startups.  From what I've read, the name is the best part, but I figured I'd take advantage and branch out a bit.  If I can get in on their IPO the next time that opens up, then I'll have the trifecta as far as that site is concerned.

It was a light month, but car maintenance is a huge pain and it really jacked up my budget this month. The checking account took a hit and I damn near maxed out my credit card, so I did.  I've already started chipping away at it, but I'm going to actually have to breach my "pay in full each month" system for a little while.  Rest assured; I am not looking forward to it.

Oddly enough, market gains offset the losses this month.  It's mostly just on paper, as I'm not selling those stocks anytime soon, but it did make updating the balance sheet a slightly easier pill to swallow.

Still, we endure and move forward. The year's not over yet.  Setbacks can be shaken off and pieces can be put in place to set things up for future growth and success.  

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Robinhood Buys: 7/24/2023

 

WisdomTree Midcap Dividend Fund (DON): $2

Clorox (CLX): $2 (Roth)

Emerson (EMR): $2

Northrop Grumman (NOC): $2 (Roth)

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): $2

Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD): $2 (Roth)

Coca Cola (KO): $2

Exxon Mobil (XOM): $2 (Roth)

Kraft-Heinz (KHC): $2

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM): $2 (Roth)

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Robinhood Buys: 7/17/2023

 

Hormel (HRL): $2

Clorox (CLX): $2 (Roth)

NextEra Energy (NEE): $2

Northrop Grumman (NOC): $2 (Roth)

McDonald's (MCD): $2

Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD): $2 (Roth)

PepsiCo (PEP): $2

Exxon Mobil (XOM): $2 (Roth)

Yum!: $2

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM): $2 (Roth)

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Robinhood Buys: 7/12/2023

 

Hormel (HRL): $2

Clorox (CLX): $2 (Roth)

McDonald's (MCD): $2

Northrop Grumman (NOC): $2 (Roth)

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): $2

Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD): $2 (Roth)

Paychex (PAYX): $2

Exxon Mobil (XOM): $2 (Roth)

Emerson (EMR): $2

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM): $2 (Roth)

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Robinhood Buys: 7/5/2023

 

Emerson (EMR): $2

Clorox (CLX): $2 (Roth)

Hormel (HRL): $2

Northrop Grumman (NOC): $2  (Roth)

3M (MMM): $2

Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD): $2 (Roth)

Kroger (KR): $2

Exxon Mobil (XOM): $2 (Roth)

Target (TGT): $2

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM): $2 (Roth)

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June 2023 Dividend Income: Total Defense

 

Q3/H2 of 2023 is officially underway.  As is tradition, we kick off the new month by looking back at the one that came before.  More specifically, we see what dividends came in, both because it's fun and because it's a good way to stay motivated as you fight to achieve financial freedom or just raise your fiscal power level in general.  With this being a quarter ending month, it should be a banger, so let's dive in to see how things played out.

GlobalXSuperdividend (SDIV): $0.44

Kroger (KR): $1.81

SJW: $3.84 ($0.80 taxable/$3.04 IRA)

Intel (INTC): $0.14

J.M. Smucker (SJM): $0.21

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): $0.70

Sherwin Williams (SHW): $1.21 (IRA)

J.P. Morgan Exchange Traded Fund (JEPI): $2.92 (IRA)

AGNC: $1.41

Exxon Mobil (XOM): $8.55 ($2.92 taxable/$5.63 IRA)

Pfizer (PFE): $1.31

Microsoft (MSFT): $0.04

Emerson (EMR): $0.35

Yum: $0.19

Scott's Miracle Gro (SMG): $7.92 (IRA)

Target (TGT): $0.47

IBM: $0.18

3M (MMM): $0.49

Chevron (CVX): $0.49

iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO): $3.40 ($0.28 taxable/$3.12 IRA)

Walgreen's Boots Alliance (WBA): $1.58

Northrop Grumman (NOC): $0.42 (IRA)

Realty Income (O): $8.94 ($6.64 taxable/$2.30 IRA)

Wendy's (WEN): $2.70

ConEd (ED): $0.84

Unilever (UL): $0.30

NextEra Energy (NEE): $2.99 ($0.18 taxable/$2.81 IRA)

Kellogg (K): $0.82 (IRA)

Stag Industrial (STAG): $0.13

Main Street Capital (MAIN): $0.49

Hershey's (HSY): $2.07 (IRA)

Home Depot (HD): $4.18 (IRA)

VF Corp (VFC): $0.32

McDonald's (MCD): $0.46

Invesco High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD): $0.16

Lockheed Martin (LMT): $0.48

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM): $6.44 ($0.99 taxable/$5.45 IRA)

Stanley Black and Decker (SWK): $4.80 (IRA)

Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD): $5.69 ($0.70 taxable/$4.99 IRA)

Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF (QYLD): $0.22

Vanguard Total Market ETF (VTI): $7.41  ($3.28 taxable/$4.13 IRA)

WisdomTree Midcap Dividend Fund (DON): $0.08

T. Rowe Price (TROW): $4.88 (IRA)

American Europacific Growth Fund: $2.82   (401K)

Baird Aggregate Bond Fund: $3.66    (401K)

DFA US Small Cap: $2.60     (401K)

Taxable sub-total comes out to $31.78.  Retirement comes to $69.77.  That brings the grand total to $101.55.   By the skin of my freaking teeth.  Still, crossing the threshold is crossing the threshold, no matter how narrow the margin is.  That's a win.  Now all that's left is to get the quarter opener to this level.

Oh, and interest clocked in at $3.79.

For frame of reference, check out last quarter's and last year's posts.

It was a pretty light month on the stock purchase front.  I made some paltry buys on Robinhood (which you can read about here and here.)   I also bought a share of Leggett & Platt (LEG) and $50 into Best Buy.  

The portfolio has been updated accordingly.

All in all, not a bad way to kick off the second half of the year.  Hopefully, there will be a re-establishment of momentum in the months to come, but we'll see how things go.

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