Dividend Income – April 2022 Update

Welcome to another monthly dividend update. Since I started this blog in July 2014, I have been posting these updates each month. It’s hard to believe that this little blog has been in existence for over seven years already. Wow, time sure flies!

Why do I continue to post these updates every single month? One, I’d like to show readers that it is possible to build up a sizable dividend portfolio that generates passive income over time. Rome wasn’t built in one day so neither should your dividend portfolio. Second, I’d like to demonstrate that it is possible to eventually live off dividends. Finally, I want to keep us accountable and stay true to our long term investing strategy. With so many different types of investment options available, more than ever, it is important to remember to get in line and stay in line.

Despite a very volatile April and our dividend portfolio dropping over $65k in value at one point, our dividend portfolio continues to work hard for us, generating passive income. The regular dividends help us to stay focused and avoid emotional selling – we can collect dividends and wait for stock price to recover. This is one of the many reasons why dividend growth investing works for me. Having said that, even with my years of DIY investing experience, from time to time, I have to remind myself to ignore the short term noises, focus on time in the market, and have a long term view. Considering the market has been quite bearish throughout May, having the long term view is even more important than ever.

On the home front, we were pretty busy throughout April.

Mrs. T and I spent quite a bit of time in our backyard garden. We took out A LOT of garden weeds so Mrs. T could start planting. Luckily, I didn’t need to shovel any manure or soil this spring (I shovelled 13 yards of dirt/manure last year).

backyard garden
onions and garlic are growing nicely in the foreground

Mrs. T has been germinating seeds indoors since February and the plants were finally ready to be planted outside.

greenhouse
strawberries
I’m looking forward to all the strawberries we’ll be getting this year

Since September, I have been on double duty as a Scouter for both the Beaver Scouts colony and the Cub Scouts pack. This meant I played an important role in teaching kids between ages 5 to 11 various scouting skills. Having gone through Scouts as a kid myself and earned awards like the Chief Scout’s Award, the Queen’s Venturer Award, and the Duke of Edinburgh award, I really appreciate all the important skills I had learned from Scouting. I also had some very fond memories from scouting as well.

It is my hope that I could share some of these valuable skills and experiences with kids in my groups.

practice setting up tents
Learning how to set up tents
practice setting up tents
Rolling up tents is always challenging
sunset
A lovely sunset when we took Cubs fishing one evening

After reading Die with Zero, Mrs. T and I have become even more conscious of what we want to spend our money on. So, one Saturday we surprised both kids by taking them to Cirque Du Soleil. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Cirque Du Soleil
After the show, Baby T2.0 posting like a ballerina

Dividend Income – April 2022

Enough with life updates and let’s get back to dividend income update, shall we? In April we received dividends from the following companies:

  • Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN.TO)
  • BCE Inc (BEC.TO)
  • Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO)
  • CIBC (CM.TO)
  • Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO)
  • Capital Power Corp (CPX.TO)
  • Dream Industrial REIT (DIR.UN)
  • European Residential REIT (ERE.UN)
  • Granite REIT (GRT.UN)
  • Coca-Cola (KO)
  • Power Corp (POW.TO)
  • Rogers (RCI.B)
  • RioCan REIT (REI.UN)
  • SmartCentres REIT (SRU.UN)
  • Telus (T.TO)
  • TD (TD.TO)
  • TC Energy Corp (TRP.TO)
  • VICI Properties (VICI)
  • Wal-Mart (WMT)
Tawcan Monthly Dividend Income (Apr 2022)
11 years’ worth of dividend income data.

Payments from these 19 companies added to $4,283.52. This marked the second time this year we crossed the $4,000 dividend income per month milestone! I suppose the next key milestone for us is hitting $4,500 per month.

Tawcan Monthly Dividend Income Breakdown (April 2022)
Over 11 years of monthly dividend income data

As you can see from the chart above, we’ve been tracking our dividend income before I started this blog. In fact, we’ve been tracking monthly dividend income for over 11 years. It is pretty amazing to see the overall upward trend. Looking at the chart, the monthly average trend line has really steepened over the last couple of years.

Compare April’s dividend income to last year’s, we saw a stunning 40.35% YoY increase! This is really incredible considering we’re already encountering the law of the big numbers. If you ask me, I’d say it will be extremely difficult to maintain such a high YoY increase for next year.

Monthly Dividend Income (April)

Out of the $4,283.52 received, only $281.87 was in USD with the rest in CAD. April was one of those heavy CAD months. Please note that we do not convert USD to CAD when reporting our monthly dividend income. This is to keep the math easy and avoid fluctuations in our monthly dividend income caused by changes in the exchange rate.

Like the previous months, the top five payers were significant contributors to the monthly dividend income. The top five payers for April were Algonquin Power & Utilities, TC Energy Corp, Bank of Nova Scotia, TD, and CIBC. These payments added to $2,733.88 or 63.8% of our April dividend income.

April 2022 Dividend Transactions

As mentioned earlier, the market was extremely volatile in the latter half of April, after the Fed and the Bank of Canada raised their respective overnight rates. The higher rates sent the market on a downward spiral.

I’ve seen quite some newish investors calling the recent volatility a total “bloodbath.” These investors probably have only started investing in the last five years or so and have been so used to the continued bull market. A 1% or 2% daily drop isn’t really a bloodbath. In fact, I don’t think a 5% daily drop should be considered a bloodbath. To me, one should really be using that word when the market drops 10% or more for more than a week or so.

Let’s not forget that it is normal to see volatility in the stock market. For investors like us who are still accumulating assets and building up their investment portfolios, we should be welcoming market drops and selloffs with open arms.

Why? Because market selloffs mean we can purchase stocks at a discount. The key, of course, is to invest in highly profitable companies that will continue to grow their revenues and dividends for years to come. As Warren Buffett said…

“Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.”

With that mentality in mind, we added 26 shares of Bank of Montreal to our dividend portfolio and increased our annual dividend income by $138.32. To be completely honest, we purchased these shares in mid-April, before the market really went south. I wanted to add more BMO shares because BMO was underweight relative to the other five Canadian banks we own. Am I worried that BMO’s share price had gone down by over 5% since our purchase?

Nope, I’m not concerned at all. I know the Bank of Montreal will continue to generate billions of revenue each quarter at a profit margin of between 20 to 30%. Canadians will continue to bank with the Bank of Montreal, use credit cards from BMO, invest with BMO’s direct investing, and take out loans with BMO. In other words, I’m perfectly happy to hold BMO shares, collect dividends, and ignore the share price if the market were to shut down for 10 years.

Therefore, think long term, don’t freak out over the short term stock price movements.

Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP)

Currently, the key that drives our dividend income growth is the injection of new cash. However, as our dividend income gets larger and larger, it is becoming increasingly harder and harder to grow dividend income by adding new cash alone. Naturally, we need to rely more on organic dividend growth and dividend reinvestment to grow our dividend income.

When it comes to dividend investing, we have a very simple strategy – whenever we invest in a company, we try to purchase enough shares to enroll in DRIP. We’d then dollar cost average via the dripped shares. We’d check the stock from time to time to see whether the company continues to have competitive compared to its peers. Keeping a dividend scorecard also is vital.

In April we were able to drip the following shares:

  • 22 shares of AQN.TO (drip every quarter, by next quarter, should drip more than 22 shares)
  • 3 shares of BCE.TO (drip every quarter)
  • 6 shares of BNS.TO (drip every quarter, by next quarter, should drip more than 6 shares)
  • 1 share of CM.TO (drip every quarter)
  • 1 share of CNQ.TO (drip every quarter)
  • 1 share of CPX.TO (drip every quarter)
  • 1 share of ERE.UN (drip every month)
  • 1 share of KO (drip every quarter)
  • 5 shares of POW.TO (drip every quarter, next quarter should drip more than 5 shares)
  • 1 share of RCI.B (drip every quarter)
  • 1 share of REI.UN (drip every month)
  • 4 shares of SRU.UN (drip every month)
  • 8 shares of T.TO (drip every quarter, probably drip more than 8 shares by next quarter)
  • 5 shares of TD.TO (drip every quarter, probably drip more than 5 shares by next quarter)
  • 3 shares of TRP.TO (drip every quarter)
  • 2 shares of VICI (drip every quarter)

Thanks to dividend reinvestment, we automatically added 65 more shares to our dividend portfolio in April and reinvested $2,880.44 of our April dividend income right away. For the remaining money that wasn’t invested immediately across the different accounts, we would wait for the dollar amount to reach over $1,000 before making a purchase.

More importantly, by adding 65 more shares throughout April, we added $125.83 toward our annual dividend income. At a 4% dividend yield, that’s equivalent to adding $3,145.87 worth of new capital.

Dividend Increases

In April, a number of companies that we own announced dividend increases:

  • Procter & Gamble (PG) increased its dividend payout by 2.2% to $0.9133 per share.
  • Costco (COST) increased its dividend payout by 13.9% to $0.90 per share.
  • Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) increased its dividend payout by 6.6% to $1.13 per share.
  • Apple (AAPL) increased its dividend payout by 5% to $0.23 per share.

These four dividend increases added $54.34 toward our annual dividend income. It may not seem much but $50 a month here, another $50 a month here, and 12 months later that’s an increase of $600! It’s pretty amazing how quickly the small dividend amounts add up over time.

Summary

After four months, our dividend portfolio has generated $14,443.07 for us. This is money that we earn regardless of what we’re doing. It’s pretty amazing to have our money working hard for us so we don’t have to.

Just how much progress have we made since we got serious with dividend growth investing around 2010? Well, the table below will demonstrate that having patience, staying true to your core investment strategy, and staying in the market do pay off.

Tawcan dividend income April 2022 summary

And for those readers that prefer visual representation…

Tawcan's annual dividend income (Apr 2022)

In four months, we have almost surpassed the dividend income that we receive for the entire 2017! I’m blown away at what five years of adding new cash, reinvesting dividends, and compounding can do.

To put our dividend income into perspective:

  • Thanks to organic dividend growth and drips, on average, our dividend income is increasing organically by more than $200 a month so far in 2022.
  • $8,626.61 out of $14,443.07, or 59.7% of the dividend income is either tax-free or tax-deferred.
  • $14,443.07 of dividend income after four months is equivalent to earning $5.01 per hour, even when we’re sleeping! That’s $120.24 per day that our dividend portfolio is generating for us.
  • After 18 work weeks, at 40 hours a week, our dividend income translates to $20.06 per hour.

We continue to be extremely appreciative of our dividend portfolio.

Dear readers, how was your April dividend income?

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42 thoughts on “Dividend Income – April 2022 Update”

  1. Wonderful encouragement for all of us. I am 82, and find your writing very helpful as I am still saving and investing. I really appreciate your reference to gardening, for it is so important in these melancholy days of inflation and reliability of food supplies. Good to get the kids involved too.

    Reply
  2. Great work TC.
    Pushing $48K/yr in divs with family of four is fantastic.
    By the time you are ready to lay back and relax you should have more than enough.

    Ricardo

    Reply
  3. Hi Tawcan!
    Once again great job on the Dividend performance!
    My question was on your KO DRIP comment. I always thought we can only DRIP Canadian listed stocks when using Canadian brokerage accounts. How are you able to DRIP KO?

    Thank you!

    Jacob

    Reply
    • Thanks Jacob.

      We’re dripping KO and other US stocks via Questrade. Pretty sure there’s no such thing as Canadian listed stock drip limitation. Best to double check with your broker.

      Reply
  4. Hi Bob,

    Great post as always. Congrats on another 4k+ month!

    I’m in my mid 30s and at the 2014 stage per your graph. I’m curious to know if there was a period in your journey where it was the hardest to grow the monthly dividend at the rates you have been going with the new additions(from a single source of income) and DRIPs.

    Any advice for folks like me, who are on a single income and looking to set higher targets for their monthly dividend portfolio?

    Thanks in advance.
    Cheers,
    Sukal

    Reply
    • Thank you Sukal. I think the hardest period was probably a couple of years after our journey. Initially it was relatively easy to grow dividends as we shifted cash and other investments in our dividend portfolio. After that, the new money all came from savings.

      Because new money came from savings, I’d encourage doing the following:
      1. Increase your savings rate as much as possible but do not deprive yourself for the sake of a high savings rate
      2. See about increase your earnings

      Hope this helps.

      Reply
  5. Voted,
    Great summary, wow what a great month.
    It is great to see the same in my list as in yours.
    Thanks for posting!

    Reply
  6. Hi Tawcan,

    My wife and myself started investing back in Nov 2021. Thanks to reading your blogs and some hardcore reading. We’re up too $3780 annually in dividends. Our dividend portfolios are very similar to yours except a lot smaller lol. Thanks for the constant great information. I will vote for you!

    Reply
  7. Any advice on when do u invest in Dividend stocks vs. ETF or combination of two if I have just sold a rental property with about $300k more to invest. Im at retirement age.
    Secondly, some articles mentioned to keep a 50% in cash at my age, I wonder if they mean GIC, or MIC where cash will be accessible. Your thought ?

    Reply
    • Hi David,

      Dividend stocks vs. ETF… usually a 50-50 split is a good idea but the percentage make up can vary individual to individual. If you’re in retirement age, having some cash on hand is a good idea but I don’t know if 50% in cash makes sense. Without knowing your details it’s hard to say.

      Reply
  8. Thanks Bob! I submitted my vote for you! Good luck!
    I use TD direct investing too. How or where do you see the dividend increase announcements?

    Reply
  9. “A 1% or 2% daily drop isn’t really a bloodbath” Agreed, doesn’t even make me blink! lol

    Great work on the dividend front!

    Reply
  10. Impressive as always Bob! You are the reason that I started my blog but most of all, my path to FIRE ! ☀️⛵ According to your chart, I’m between 2015 to 2016✓ #dividendinvesting #dividendincome

    Reply
  11. We are retired and 75. We live entirely and comfortably with no pensions other than our CPP and OAS and our dividends. We no longer reinvest them because we have reached a different stage in life than you. But I must tell you I love your blog because it is the truth. And we still can invest because we have surplus every month. I fired 4 “advisors” over the years. Our portfolio is ordinary stuff, no fancy footwork and I handle it myself and I’m no financial genius. It works, and you are right: just do it. Susan

    Reply
  12. This week the big 5 Canadian Banks begin reporting Q2 results and analysts are expecting dividend hikes.I own share in RY,TD,BMO and BNS.Enrolled in Drip and continue to enjoy the dividends and growth. Slowly add more shares.
    Thoroughly enjoy reading your monthly Dividend Income reports BOb.
    Cheers and Happy Victoria Day!

    Reply
  13. Thank you for your sharing and inspiring story. Out of curiosity, which book(s) and/or subscription that give you inspiration and ideas to grow your portfolio, and balances with the family life?

    Reply
  14. April/May are big for dividends from EU/US stocks . As most EU stocks only pay once a year, it’s a pleasant surprise.
    Accumulating cash for several weeks now. I don’t DRIP.
    Cramer of Mad Money scared me last week. He’s usually buy, buy but Cramer said interest rates will have to jump up to 7-8% to tame this inflation beast .
    It could be different this time with possible stagflation and consumer spending drying up.
    But who knows?
    Always prepare for the unexpected

    Reply
  15. Great article that I want to share as an example for family and friends. I have always said, 10 years of strategic steady investments will compound and it only needs time after that. You do a great job with these examples. What percentage or approximately amount was put away 11 years ago that started this?

    Reply
  16. Happy Victoria Day

    Thanks for the update…. just wondering whether I can find a portfolio total on your blog (?)
    … other blogers/YouTubers have regular portfolio updates…

    Martin

    Reply
  17. That is absolutely fantastic! $4k+ for the second time this year is huge. And that YoY growth of 40% is amazing considering how large your total was already last year. Just really inspiring stuff Bob. Also love the garden and wish that we had more space to garden in our backyard but there’s just not enough room since the kids still need to have some space to play! The early start to the growing season has already let us get some peppers and tomatoes and we’ll have some squash coming in soon too.

    Reply
    • Thanks JC. We’re spending a lot of time in the garden lately. I know what you mean having enough room for the kids to play. Luckily there’s a playground nearby so our kids can go there and play.

      Reply
  18. Congrats on another $4K plus month! The last 3 months have certainly been a volatile, but it is great to see the dividends still coming in strong! Nice YOY growth too! Keep up the great work! 🙂

    Reply

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