Time for another one of my favourite updates of the month; my dividend income update. I still get a little thrill of excitement when I log into my ISA and see that I have received another dividend payment, no matter how small it is. Just for owning a tiny part of a company and investing in them, believing in their ideals means we get paid dividends, and hopefully for many years to come! I received my firstly monthly dividend income in February 2016, so it’s interesting to see just how much this has grown in the last twelve months.
With the individual holdings I currently own in my stocks and shares ISA, I will get 72 mini pay checks a year. For doing nothing! Instead of the one monthly payment I receive for my day job, I’m getting over seventy instead. Seventy! That’s more than one a week ? Adding a slow but steady income stream by investing in dividend payments has been one of the best decisions I have made so far.
The dividend income received in February is a combination of dividends from shares and payments or from funds. There are always going to be swings in terms of how much income is produced by dividends, just because different holdings pay out at different times. The majority of mine seem to pay out within the first six months of the year. My stocks and shares ISA is with Hargreaves Lansdown, which is very easy to use and I’d definitely recommend them. You can get information about that here or even open an ISA in about 5 minutes.
As part of our long term plans for early retirement, we need enough money in savings and/or income to make sure we can live on a budget long term. I am now counting on the small income stream that will come from dividend payments. The sooner we can get different income streams up and running, the sooner we’ll hit our aims!
Dividends received in February:
BT – £4.85
CF Woodford Equity Income – £1.20
Halfords – £10.00
HL Multi-Manager Income – £0.38
Premier Monthly Income – £0.21
Standard Life UK Real Estate – £1.10
Vodafone – £4.05
Total: £21.79
Not too shabby! Not as good as January’s, but plodding along nicely. February last year, I received £11.00, so this is a 98% YOY increase! Look at the difference one year makes. In terms of paying bills, this amount would almost cover one of our mobile phone payments for the month. I do like to do comparisons to what our dividend income could pay, in terms of reoccurring bills. In the end, that’s how our freedom will work!
As I wrote about the effect of the magic snowball, mine is beginning to gain a tiny spec of momentum. It all starts somewhere. I believe that continuing to live a frugal lifestyle and save as we go along will see us right in the end. I hope this is inspiring someone else to begin their frugal journey. If we can do it, anyone can! We are not depriving ourselves of anything, just making purposeful choices and it’s beginning to pay off.
My dividend income aim for 2017 is £300 received. At the end of February, I have made a great start! I am up to £82.76 in the first two months. Although there are some months throughout the year where there is little paid, the overall trend will still be upwards. I can’t wait ?
Have you received any dividends this month? Thanks for reading!
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Wow that’s great. I’m curious to know what percentage roughly the dividends are compared with what you have invested to see if it’s worthwhile for me. Great post. X
At the end of 2016, it was around 1.8% but that should be higher this year 🙂
Like you, I too like to see what bills my dividends cover – when I first started dividend investing properly in 2015, my first goal was £146 – to pay my TV licence! Ultimately, I’m aiming for dividends to cover all my utility bills, or as close as I can get.
You have achieved a great YOY increase – if you plot your numbers in a graph, it’s a very powerful (and motivational) way to see your progression!
Good luck with your £300 goal!
I like the idea of having dividends covering all of your utility bills – I may also look at that. And thanks for stopping by – I read your blog regularly as it’s very inspiring 🙂
I added up our year to date dividends, and we’ve so far netted $159! Small beans, as I said in my March report, but it’s not bad, either, for a baby portfolio!
Not bad at all! We all have to start somewhere 🙂
Love this! I really want to get into this after my debt is paid off 🙂
It’s great that your dividend income growing. I am thinking about looking into this sort of investment. Currently I have all my ISAs in accumulator funds which automatically reinvest any dividend income. Do you reinvest the dividends or take it as cash when received?
I reinvest the dividends received 🙂