We are now 1/3 finished with 2021!   The stock market continues to set record highs, with the S&P ending at almost 4,300 and the DOW is heading for 36,000.  Definitely making it harder to find undervalued dividend stocks to buy for this dividend portfolio!  Increasing your dividend income is the goal and it’s hard to stay on task with this market.

The community is on fire, as we showcased over $85,000 from 61 bloggers for March.  How did April turn out?  Let’s dive into Lanny’s dividend income for the month!

Dividend Income

Dividend Income is the fruit from the labor of investing your money in the stock market.  Further, Dividend Income is my primary vehicle on the road to Financial Freedom, which you can see through my Dividend Portfolio.

How do I research & screen for dividend stocks prior to making a purchase?  I use our Dividend Diplomat Stock Screener and trade on Ally’s investment platform (one of our Financial Freedom Products) – commission free.

Related: Dividend Diplomat Stock Screener

Relates: Financial Freedom Products

I also automatically invest and max out, pre-tax, my 401k through work and my Health Savings Account.  This allows me to save a TON of money on taxes (aka thousands), which allows me to invest even more.  In addition, all dividends I receive are automatically being reinvested back into the company that paid the dividend.  This takes the emotion out of timing the market.

Related: Tax Strategy – Part 3 to Reduce Taxes & Increase Investment.

Related: The Power of Dividend Reinvesting

Related: Why I Don’t Time or Predict The Market

Growing your dividend income takes time and consistency.  Investing as often, and early, as you can allows compound interest (aka dividends) to work it’s magic.  I have gone from making $2.70 in a single month in dividend income to well over $4,000+ in a single month.  A NEW dividend income record was set in March of 2021. Was it broken this month?!  The power of compounding and dividend reinvestment is a wonderful component to the portfolio.  Each and every month, whether big or small, I continue to report the passive income that dividend investing provides me.  Why?

*Not pictured is my wife’s dividend income above*

I want to show YOU that dividend investing makes it possible to achieve financial freedom and/or financial independence.  We all start somewhere, but consistently investing, compounding (reinvesting) dividends and keeping it simple, allows you to be in a significantly better position than most.  Further, if I can grow this portfolio and income stream, YOU can too.

dividend income – April 2021

Now, on to the numbers… In March, we (my wife and I) received a total of $918.66 of dividend income.  Not too bad, almost to $1k for this off-month.  Cannot wait until we are consistently at or above the 4 digit mark.  I know the investors know the feeling and the younger investors aspire to hit that number.

Despite the pandemic from COVID-19, dividend income continues to grow, due primarily to additional investment and reinvestment.  In the dividend stock purchases article released earlier in April (for March), my wife and I invested $4,000+ in dividend stock investments!

Further, though the dividend cuts hurt very bad, I know we did not take the worst of it.  Dividend increases have also helped fuel the income growth.  Dividend increases are discussed below and that’s one of the best feelings of being a dividend investor.

Related: Dividend Cuts: Pandemic Impact on Lanny’s Portfolio

Here is the breakdown of dividend income for the month of April, between taxable and retirement (far right column, under “Retirement”) accounts:

Whoever said that receiving over $100+ from one company is a great feeling is spot on.  Philip Morris (PM) sent $130 our way and Total (TOT) is not too far behind.  Who said oil and energy was dead?  Is the industry coming back?

Lastly, Canadian Imperial (CM) also sent $157 to the dividend portfolio.  Between Philip Morris, Total and Canadian Imperial, these 3 dividends represented 42% of the dividend income total.

Related: Stocks to Buy in a Post-Pandemic World

Related: Top 5 Foundation Dividend Stocks and watch our video: Top 5 Foundation Stocks VIDEO

Lastly, as for our retirement accounts, we received a total of $179.96 or 20%.  The other 80% was from the individual taxable portfolio that can be used for everyday expenses.  I need to keep bolstering the taxable account, as that passive income stream can be accessed today/right now.  However, I continue and will always maximize the 401k and IRA, as that continues to pay-off in dividends, literally.

Related: Maximizing your Roth for 10 Years… Then Set It & Forget It!

DIvidend Income Year over Year Comparison

2020:

2021:

Dividend income, year over year is higher by $92.75 or 11.2%.  A fairly solid increase year over year for dividend income, but still not quite large enough to live off of!  Would like the number to be at $2,000.

Armanino Foods (AMNF) dividend was slightly down due to a dividend cut during 2020.  However, they’ve already increased their dividend once since the cut.  Heading into the right direction to bolster their payout, that’s for sure.

The Gap (GPS) suspended their dividend during the pandemic, but recently released their dividend payment in April for my wife’s account.  Nice to see retail really making a comeback, in addition to oil.

Lastly, Leggett & Platt (LEG) had an increase from prior year, purely due to dividend reinvestment.  Why was this only through DRIP?  LEG did not increase their dividend during 2020.  HOWEVER, they just moved that dividend up 5% in May, they are back baby!

Overall, solid yearly performance and the growth rate, if kept constant, would equate to being over the 4 digit mark next year in 2022.  We are going to CRUSH that dividend income goal, to say the least.

Dividend Increases

I had a busy dividend increase month with SEVEN dividend increases.  This includes 2 companies that didn’t increase their dividend last year for April.  Check out the list of dividend stocks that increased their dividend for me below!

First, Procter & Gamble (PG) came out with a banger of a dividend, at 10%!  This crushed their 5 year average and they put the “king” in Divend King!

Then, Citizens & Northern (CZNC), a solid community bank, increased their dividend by almost 4%, but added $17 to my overall forward income (due to owning them in both my taxable and retirement accounts).

Could not be any happier, as even Shell (RDS) got in on the action with a 4% dividend increase.  Still a LONG way to go from their pre-pandemic levels.

Related: The Impact of The Dividend Growth Rate!

April was out of this world for dividend investors and went right along with the stock market, a lot of upside!  Now that April is over, I’m excited if May can follow suit for dividend increases.

Related: Dividend Increases Expected in May 2021

In total, dividend increases created a total of $65.11 in additional passive dividend income.  I would need to invest $1,860 at a 3.50% dividend yield in order to add that income.  Thank you for the increases, as I didn’t have to come up with the capital to create that form of income!

Dividend Income Conclusion & Summary

The name of the game is to apply what you learn through financial education.  The next steps are to maximize every dollar for investment opportunities and live life on your own terms.  My plan is to demonstrate that dividend income can be a revenue engine.  A revenue engine that allows you to take back control of your life.  A revenue engine to help you reach financial freedom.  Dividend investing, once you learn the right way, becomes easier and starts to immensely make sense!

Excited for the future, no doubt.  Further, all of the investing from last year and moves this year, shows that my aim to save 60% of my income, and making every dollar count, has provided the dividend growth.

If you are just starting out on your investment journey and you aren’t sure to start – please see the articles mentioned throughout this post.  We are trying to bring you financial education and help you reach your financial goals.

Further, if you are starting out and/or want to know the Top 5 Stocks we always recommend, please see our YouTube video, subscribe to our channel and check us out!  We’ll help break down further investing topics not only on this blog, but by showing you through video!

As always, thank you for stopping by, leave your comments and questions below.  Good luck and happy investing everyone!