July 2016 Dividends

So just like that we're into another month, August, so that means it's time to look back on progress made in the previous month. So for July 2016, let's look at the numbers:

Taxable Accounts:
Viacom (VIAB) 7/1/16 - $6.40
Cardinal Health (CAH) 7/15/16 - $3.59
Prospect Capital (PSEC) 7/21/16 - $18.76
Cisco Systems (CSCO) 7/27/16 - $4.68
New Residential (NRZ) 7/29/16 - $17.94

Taxable Account Total: $51.37

Roth IRA Account:
I received no dividends from my Roth IRA holdings, although I was expecting to get a payment from one of my newer holdings, Toronto - Dominion Bank (TD) on 7/31. According to Dividend.com and a few other sources, the ex-dividend date was 7/6/16, the record date was 7/8/16, and the payment date was 7/31/16.  On 7/5/16, I purchased 22 shares of TD, so I figured I was in line to receive my TD dividend for July, but nothing has appeared as of yet. I'm hoping it will show up in the first week of August (not sure if there is some delay since it is a Canadian bank, and I am in the US), and then it would be applied to my dividend income post for August 2016.

Roth IRA Total: $0

Overall Total Dividend Income for July 2016: $51.37

Forward 12-month Projected Dividend Income: $1,028.74


My Thoughts:
After hitting my all-time high in dividend income for the month in June 2016 at $90.97, it is a little disappointing to see a substantial decrease, but July does seem to be a light month for dividends. I get this impression from reading other blogs and their monthly dividend summaries as well.

A better way to see what progress has been made would be to look at my overall dividend history and more specifically what was earned the previous quarter (April 2016) and the previous year (June 2015). Below is my overall dividend history since I started dividend investing:

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
September	$54.75	$55.61
October	$10.94	$14.42
November	$48.79	$50.11
December	$63.55	$49.89

Ok, now I feel a little better. Since starting out, my July dividend income has gone from $0 to $18.99 (July 2014 to July 2015), and then $18.99 to $51.37 (July 2015 to July 2016). This would be a Y/Y increase of 270.5%!!! I'll take it!

Then also comparing to the last quarter, April 2016, dividend income has increased from $27.91 to $51.37, which would be a Q/Q  increase of 184.1%. Not too shabby...

So, I started out being doubly disappointed that my TD dividend has not appeared yet, and that my July 2016 dividend income did not come close to my June 2016 dividend income, but after looking at the Q/Q and Y/Y results, I am encouraged by the progress I have made, and will definitely keep going (actually I'd keep going anyway even if I hit a setback, as the ultimate goal of financial independence is pulling me forward).

I started on this DGI train back in March of this year (after allowing myself to take my eye off the ball, spending to meet my net income, and not consistently investing outside of my 401k for the few months prior), and it took a few months to get the dividend train going again. It is great to see it picking up steam. Also I am super excited for August, as many of my companies will be paying this month. Giddyup!

Things are definitely on the right track, as I recently figured out that I am able to max out my 401(k) contribution, and still allocate a good amount of funds to my Roth IRA and taxable accounts every month, so I will continue enthusiastically down the road to financial independence.

Thanks for reading, how did you do last month? Let me know with a comment below (rhyme not intended)