We’re back to kick off the first month of 2023 in STYLE!  Each month, we summarize our dividend income to not only hold ourselves accountable, but to also share our progress and journey to financial freedom with ALL OF YOU!  Our January dividend income showed some VERY STRONG growth. We are pumped to share our January dividend income summary RIGHT NOW!

Why I Invest in Dividend Stocks

I invest in dividend stocks to grow a my passive 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 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:

1. 1. SoFi – 3.75% APY on all savings accounts (2.5% on your checking account). The race for deposits is INTENSE! Banks and credit unions are offering great savings rates.
   2. Capital One 360 Savings – 3.40% APY – We use Capital One
   3. Yotta – 1% – 2% APY, on average. They just updated their product as well. Now, instead of weekly drawings, they are offering daily cash drawings!  Not the biggest fan of the daily drawings; however, Yotta continues to tweak their formula to drive more earnings to their customers.

Read: Interest Rates on High Yield Savings Accounts Are SOARING!

How Do We Find Dividend STocks to Buy?

That’s easy. We use  our dividend stock screener with every stock purchase! This simple, 3 step stock screener is designed to identify undervalued stocks with a strong payout ratio that have a history of increasing their dividend. Fundamental dividend growth investing at its finest.

Watch: Dividend Diplomats’ Dividend Stock Screener

Building a large dividend income stream takes time, consistency, hard work, saving, and most importantly, investing. I have been investing in dividend growth stocks since 2012. Saving a high percentage of my dividend income allows me to invest as much as possible, so we can retire as soon as possible.

Slowly, but steadily, my income has grown. Brick by brick. DRIP by DRIP. It is really exciting to see the growth and larger dividend checks trickle into my brokerage account.

Each month, we share our dividend income summaries to highlight our growth and progress. It is  a fun and helpful exercise that holds us accountable. Further, it helps you, our followers, see the stocks we are purchasing.

Bert’s January Dividend Income Summary

We received $736.32 in January dividend income! This represents a 18.46% dividend increase compared to last year. Not bad, not bad, right?! 

The strong dividend income growth is great! That is exactly how you want to start the year off.  Our dividend income grew nearly $115 from January 2022. Here is a detailed breakdown of each individual dividend received.

As always, I share some observations about our January dividend income.  Here are some key observations from our strong month to start the year!

Observation 1: We Almost Have a New Number 1 Dividend Payer

It is a two horse race for our top dividend paying stock in the first month of the quarter. Canadian Imperial (CM) has been our number 1 dividend payer for quite some time.  Slowly though, Leggett & Platt (LEG) has closed the gap. Over the last few months, I’ve added a few shares every few weeks to my position in the Dividend Aristocrat. Now, LEG is on the verge of  taking over the number 1 spot.  Lets see which one of the stocks announces a larger dividend increase in 2023. Quite frankly, I’m not expecting much from either on the dividend growth front.

Don’t Miss our Latest Stock Purchase Videos on our YouTube Channel! 

On a slightly different note. It is a little surprising how much of a drop-off there is between dividend payer 2 and 3 on this list. Maybe it is time to load up and buy a ton of Pepsi (PEP).

Observation 2: Adding to Positions After the Ex-Dividend Date

One of my goals this year is to add to smaller positions to avoid receiving small dividend payments. After the ex-dividend date, I purchases some shares in dividend stocks that paid us a dividend this month.  Come April, I should be receiving larger dividend payments in Medtronic (MDT), Fulton Bank (FULT), and even Huntington (HBAN).  Building up these smaller dividends are going to be clutch and it will be freaking awesome to receive larger dividend payments from all companies in the future.

Summary – January Dividend Income

One month down. Eleven months to go. We are starting the year off strong and getting ready to crush it in 2023. This is how you set the tone right for the year. It will motivate me and continue pushing us to realize these types of dividend growth rates EVERY month.  Now, lets keep going and build on this strong January dividend income income.

How much dividend income did you receive this month? Did you have a strong month? Who was your top dividend paying stock this month?

Bert