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 have now been investing to receive dividends for thirteen months so, having started receiving income in February 2016. I am still loving that approach!
With the individual holdings I currently own in my stocks and shares ISA, I will get 74 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 March 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. In March 2016 I received zero dividend income. What a difference a year makes! 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 March:
HL Multi-Manager High Income – £0.38
Premier Monthly Income – £0.51
Sage Group – £14.03
Total: £14.92
Not too bad! Nowhere near as good as January, or indeed February, but not bad. Like I said, in March last year, I received zero. Look at the difference one year makes. In terms of paying bills, this amount wouldn’t cover any of our monthly bills, but it would go towards one. I cannot wait for the day when our dividend income could cover at least 50% of our fixed, monthly expenses.
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 March, I have made a great start! I am up to £83.65 for the first three months. I’m happy with that! 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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Hi the charges for the HL multi manager are v high. You could get similar funds with lower charges either with some of the underlying funds or better still a similar etf or tracker