December 2016 Dividends

Hello everyone,

It's that time again, time for reporting on my dividends for December of 2016, my exercise of accountability en route to reaching my goal of financial freedom.

See the details below:

Taxable Accounts
Intel (INTC): $2.86
Cummins (CMI): $8.20
Emerson (EMR): $4.80
Target (TGT): $18.00
Compass Minerals (CMP): $6.26
Flower Foods (FLO): $18.72
Prospect Capital (PSEC): $19.60
Qualcomm (QCOM): $26.27
Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM): $8.70
Vanguard REIT Index ETF (VNQ): $10.28

Taxable Account Total: $123.69

Roth IRA Account 
Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM): $24.01
Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG):$2.11
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR): $3.80
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV): $14.42

Roth IRA Account Total: $44.34

Overall Total Dividend Income for December 2016: $168.03

Forward 12-month Projected Dividend Income: $1,432.33

My Thoughts
I have come to enjoy reviewing my progress for the months of March, June, September, and December as these are the months that return the most in dividend income. These are the months where the "pat on the back" is its strongest!

This year since June, every quarter has resulted in hitting all-time highs in dividend income for that month, which is a joy to see. December was no different, as you can see from the below table, I have reached another all-time high, with December 2016 bringing in $168.03 in dividend income. A big part of this was Target (TGT). The proceeds from my sale of Viacom (VIAB) a couple months back, due to their 50% dividend cut, went right into shares of Target, as at the time, it was attractively valued, it was paying out a 3% yield, and it had a double-digit dividend growth rate. Also, it didn't hurt that I am frequent shopper there, so I felt it would be a good place to invest that money. Also, I have been putting money into Flower Foods, a bread company, as I saw them as very undervalued, especially after the price took a dip after news hit of the lawsuit from many of their drivers, on being classified as independent contractors, as well as less than stellar earnings results. I figured this was a short term setback and invested. The 4% yield with decent dividend growth for a nice slow moving industry like bread, attracted me to the stock as well. In addition, many of the ETFs had their payouts increase substantially over the last quarter. These reasons, added to the money that I am adding each week to attractively valued, well-run companies, all contribute to such a set of good results.

Here is my monthly dividend history:

Month	2014	2015	2016
January		$14.38	$14.42
February		$49.07	$50.38
March		$50.22	$52.16
April		$10.83	$27.91
May		$46.52	$59.42
June	$6.69	$47.51	$90.97
July	0	$18.99	$51.37
August	$33.96	$50.11	$86.07
September	$54.75	$55.61	$101.70
October	$10.94	$14.42	$72.53
November	$48.79	$50.11	$103.31
December	$63.55	$49.89	$168.03

The progress becomes clearer, when looking at the above information charted below:

Can you guess approximately when I switched my focus from just dividends to dividend growth?

From December 2015, my dividend income grew from $49.89 to $168.03, a Y/Y increase of +237% (yes, that is not a typo). From the last quarter (September 2016), my dividend income has increased from $101.70 to $168.03, a Q/Q increase of +65%.

Dividend machine, full steam ahead!

Now each month I look forward to higher and higher income, which enables me to look forward to the end of the month when I can tally up such good news. I fully understand that my January 2017 Dividend Report likely will not have numbers higher than my December 2016 income shown here (especially since the January, April, July, and October months are typically my lowest income months), but I fully expect to see higher numbers than my October 2016 report. I also expect to see another all-time high in dividend income when March 2017 rolls around.

Things are definitely moving in the right direction.

How was your December? Let me know in the comments!