I’m currently in Taipei, Taiwan and I’m checking out many of the different Taiwanese dishes ranging from beef noodles soup, stinky tofu, egg roll pancake, minced & braised pork on rice, and many more. I’m in the hunt for Taiwanese deep fried meatballs (ba wans), not sure if I’ll be able to find them in Taipei though, as deep fried style was originated from central Taiwanese. In Taipei and northern Taiwan, ba wans are steamed rather than deep fried. In case you’re wondering what Taiwanese dishes are like, check out this guide.
So far on this trip, I have stayed at 5 different hotels and managed to get upgraded to a suite 3 times. Getting upgraded to a suite is really cool, as suites are HUGE, luxurious, a bit over the top. Unfortunately, I’m travelling alone so I’m actually not utilizing the suites all that much. In fact, when I got upgraded to a suite in Hong Kong, I didn’t even get a chance to sit on the couch. Oops.
Here are some pictures from the suite at Taipei Marriott:
Even when I didn’t get upgraded at a Courtyard, the room was still very luxurious. Definitely one of the nicest Courtyards I’ve stayed at.
Hopefully, when I am travelling with Mrs. T and our two kids and staying at a Marriott property, we’ll get upgraded to a suite.
May Dividend Income
In May we received dividends from the following companies:
- Apple (AAPL)
- Pure Industrial REIT (AAR.UN)
- AbbView (ABV)
- Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO)
- Costco (COST)
- Dream Office REIT (D.UN)
- Dream Global REIT (DRG.UN)
- Dream Industrial REIT (DIR.UN)
- Emera (EMA.TO)
- Enbridge Income Trust (ENF.TO)
- General Mills (GIS)
- H&R REIT (HR.UN)
- Inter Pipeline (IPL.TO)
- KEG Income Trust (KEG.UN)
- Laurentian Bank (LB.TO)
- Metro (MRU.TO)
- National Bank (NA.TO)
- Omega Healthcare (OHI)
- Procter & Gamble (PG)
- Prairiesky Royalty (PSK.TO)
- RioCan (REI.UN)
- Royal Bank (RY.TO)
- Starbucks (SBUX)
- SmartCentres REIT (SRU.UN)
- AT&T (T)
- Verizon (VZ)
In total, we received $1,459.76 from 26 companies in May 2018. After 4 months of record-breaking levels of dividend income each and every month, we failed to break the all-time month dividend income record in May. Darn it! But at $1,459.76, this is the second highest monthly dividend income that we have ever received, only behind April 2018.
To put this into perspective, $1,400 is over half of the annual dividend income that we received in 2012.
We have come a long way since we started investing in dividend paying stocks.
So, I think we did extremely well in May. I’m ecstatic over the amount of dividend income we collected by simply owning dividend-paying stocks. I love getting paid for doing absolutely nothing.
Out of the $1,459.76 received, $334.04 was in USD and $1,125.72 was in CAD. Or about a 20-80 split. If you are a long time reader to our monthly dividend income reports, you will know that we use a 1 to 1 currency rate approach. We do not convert dividends received in USD to CAD. We are ignoring exchange rate to keep the math simple. This is our way to avoid fluctuations in dividend income over time due to changes in the exchange rate.
The top 5 dividend payouts in May 2018 were Bank of Montreal, National Bank, Emera, Royal Bank, and Omega Healthcare (not in order). Dividend payouts from these 5 companies accounted for 60% of our May dividend income, or $875.14.
Dividend Income Breakdown
We hold our dividend stocks in taxable accounts, RRSPs, and TFSAs. Every year, we maximize tax-advantaged accounts first before investing in taxable accounts.
For May 2018 dividend income, here’s the breakdown of the different accounts:
- Taxable: $314.15 or 21.52%
- RRSPs: $697.80 or 47.80%
- TFSAs: $447.81 or 30.68%
Effectively, only 21.52% of our May dividend income was taxable. We constructed our taxable accounts so we only receive from stocks that pay out eligible dividend income. Since we plan to live off dividend income when we are financially independent, we want to construct our portfolio to be as tax efficient as possible. This way, we can minimize income tax during financial independence.
Dividend Growth
Compared to May 2017, we saw a respectable YOY growth of 17.84%. This was the third highest YOY number so far in 2018. I was a little bit surprised that we have managed to stay above 15% for 4 out of 5 months in 2018. Hopefully, we will continue to stay above the 15% mark for the rest of 2018. That would be very impressive if we manage to do that, considering our 2017 dividend income of $14,834.38 was pretty sizable already. If we could manage to get 15% YOY for the entire 2018, that would mean we would end up with $17,059.537.
Dividend Increases
There are 3 ways to increase our dividend income. The first method is by investing fresh capital to purchase more dividend stocks. The second method is to enroll in dividend reinvestment plans (DRIP), and DRIP additional shares. The third method is through companies increasing their dividend payout. As dividend growth investors, we try to take advantage of all three methods.
When companies raise their dividend payout, that’s like getting a pay raise without doing anything extra. That’s why I get so excited whenever a company announces a dividend payout increase.
In May, a few companies that we own in our dividend portfolio raised their dividend payouts.
- Telus raised its dividend by 3.96% to $0.525 per share
- Hydro One raised its dividend by 4.55% to $0.23 per share
- Bank of Montreal raised its dividend by 3.22% to $0.96 per share
- National Bank raised its dividend by 3.33% to $0.62 per share
All these announcements increased our annual dividend by $62.96. If you think the amount is very insignificant, think again. At 3% yield, you would need to invest $2,098.67 worth of new capital to receive the same amount of additional dividend income. As I said earlier, when companies raise their dividend payout, it’s like getting a pay raise without doing anything extra. I will never say no to a raise!
Dividend Stock Transactions
Compared to the other months in 2018, we were relatively quiet in May when it dividend stock transactions. When I re-examined our dividend portfolio recently, I pointed out that it might be worthwhile to consolidate our holdings by trimming some of the smaller positions we own. Although we didn’t manage to purchase any dividend stocks in May, we managed to close out a couple of positions.
- Liquidated all of our Sabra Health Care REIT (SBRA) shares
- Received cash buy out for our Pure Industrial REIT (AAR.UN) shares
The shares of Sabra Health Care REIT were received from the Care Capital Properties merger. And we originally received a few shares of Care Capital Properties from the Ventas and Care Capital Properties split.
Blackstone had recently completed their purchase of Pure Industrial REIT. As shareholders, our shares were purchased back at a specific price, resulted in very a nice capital gain. Fortunately, we didn’t have to pay any capital gain tax as we held AAR.UN shares in our TFSA.
We only had a small amount of SBRA and AAR.UN, so we only lost less than $70 worth of annual dividend income. The dividend increases from Telus, Hydro One, Bank of Montreal, and National Bank roughly made up the difference. I do plan to deploy the cash that we received from these two transactions to purchase shares of dividend stocks that we already own. This will further increase our forward-looking dividend income.
Conclusion
So far in 2018, we have received a total of $7,138.89 in dividend income. At $25 per hour salary ($52,000 annual), that means we have already saved us over 356 hours worth of work. This is over 44 days of work or almost 9 weeks. Given there are 52 weeks in a year, that’s an equivalent of gaining 17.3% more time.
It’s pretty awesome to know that our money is working hard for us so we don’t have to.
Gotta love dividend income!
Dear readers, how was your May dividend income?
That is impressive growth particularly considering your level of annual dividends, and that historical view is amazing!
I really like the perspective you shared on dividend increases, as I had never really consciously equated that to the amount of fresh capital that you’d have to invest to obtain that dividend payment. It is also interesting to see you breakdown the earnings in terms of working time that it has saved you.
Thank you DivvyDad. I like putting things in perspective so you know how to interpret the dividend amount quantitatively. It’s pretty impressive how much time our dividend income has saved us already.
Love that may alone is over half of the annual dividend income that you received in 2012. Love what you are doing! You inspired and friend and I to start our own blog tracking our dividend income!
Hi Bob,
Great work with your May dividend income. As you said, it impressive seeing dividend increases give you a boost that would cost you +$2,000 in fresh capital to achieve. The value of strategy continues to prove itself over time.
Take care,
Ryan
Thank you Ryan. 🙂
Stinky tofu?
I’m just getting into individual stock buying, so I really appreciate this dividend report. Curious, what is your average dividend yield (i.e. total dividends / total stock value)?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinky_tofu
I don’t share our portfolio value, dividend yield, and other info for privacy reason. Having said that, it’s common for DGI’s to have 3-4% average dividend yield.
Nice job on the dividend income! I love Taiwan, but omg I just can’t deal with the stinky tofu. Heading back there later this year, so I look forward to seeing what other vegetarian offerings they have this time round. How did you manage to get all the hotel upgrades? I’ve been upgraded just once in my life, and I have stayed in a LOT of hotels.
Hi Mindy,
Thank you. Having lived in Taiwan when I was younger and grew up with stinky tofu, I guess I’m used to the smell. 🙂
I’ve found that there aren’t as much vegetarian choices in Taiwan but perhaps I didn’t look hard enough.
I’m a gold elite member at Marriott and I guess I lucked out on the upgrades.
Incredible! Gotta love a 4-digit dividend paying month. Slowly, but surely, I’m an getting there. Nice YOY too. Congrats! 🙂
Thank you My Dividend Dynasty. We’ve been getting 4 digit dividend paying months for a while now. It’s nice to get that for sure.
Congrats on another solid month of dividend income, Bob. That’s enough to buy a lot of items on the dollar menu in early retirement!
Thank you. Would prefer not to eat from the dollar menu. 🙂
Gaining 17% more time on an average of around 17% more dividend income year over year for the past 4 months. I suppose that could just be coincidence but great numbers nonetheless!!
keep up the great work!
Hahaha, that was a pure coincidence, I didn’t even make that connection when I wrote the post. 🙂
God I love beef noodles. Which is your favourite bowl in Taipei?
Mine’s this one: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g13808853-d4318178-Reviews-Lao_Zhang_Beef_Noodles_Shop-Zhongzheng_District_Taipei.html
Get the tomato version!
Enjoy.
I haven’t tried enough beef noodle shops to tell you which one is my favourite. If they are tasty, that’s good enough for me. 🙂
Okay, now I’m definitely glad I just signed up for the new Marriott card, which is my first hotel card. We’re big fans of Airbnbs but I couldn’t resist the draw of the 100,000 point sign up.
You’re lucky that you’re in US and has the option for the new Marriott card. We no longer have that option in Canada. 🙁
Great to see another solid month of dividend income Bob. Dividends seem to continue growing nicely. I’m a couple months into my second year investing and my dividend income is on track for something like your 2011 amount!
Impressed by the suite upgrades – they look so luxurious!
Thank you wealth from thirty. It does take a few years to build up your dividend income so be patient along the way. 🙂
Nice suite upgrades! Your dividend income is amazing! Especially on a single income. My May wasn’t very good hopefully June will be better.
The suite upgrades were nice indeed. But being one person in a HUGE suite meant I wasn’t fully utilizing the room. 🙂
Here’s to a better June dividend income for you.
Tawcan,
You dividend income totals are just incredible. The growth is amazing and I love reading this article every month. I cannot believe how much your dividend income has grown in such a short period of time. Truly amazing. Those hotel upgrades look pretty darn nice as well. Enjoy the decked out rooms 🙂
Bert
Hi Bert,
Thank you. Very happy with our dividend income and our dividend income growth. Pretty amazing stuff. Yup hotel upgrades are nice but would have been nicer if the family was with me.
Very impressive. It’s amazing to see your dividend growing so fast year after year.
I already got 4% organic growth through dividend raises and drips. I am pretty new into dividend growth investing. It’s fascinating for me to see the forwarding dividend income growing every month without me doing anything.
4% organic growth through dividend raises and DRIPs is pretty good but you should try to see if you can increase that number. That’s why you need to aim for a combination of high growth lower yield and low growth higher yield stocks. 🙂
4% is ytd. What do you aim for organic growth? I have thought 6% would be nice already. Am I too conservative?
I’m thinking a post on this topic is needed. 🙂
Very nice dividend growth Tawcan! You’re doing great!
It’s a lot harder to grow dividends like that once you —
A) reach very large amounts of dividend income and B) Once you quit working and adding additional capital.
In my case, we rely pretty heavily on dividend increases to grow our dividends. It’s a major focus of my blog/investing life.
Thanks Mr. Tako. It is indeed a lot hard to grow dividend once your dividend income is pretty sizable. You guys are way ahead of us so you can cut yourself some slack, plus you are no longer working so the fresh capital injection might be a bit slower than us.
I think once you stop working and not investing as much fresh capital, DRIP and organic dividend growth become extremely important factors to have YOY growth.
Wow… those are some impressive numbers! And I love the chart that shows how your dividend income has grown each month, from 2011 to 2018. It’s an inspiring visual!
Thanks to some significant lifestyle deflation over the past year and a half, my YOY growth for May’s dividends was 88%! Of course, I’m still at lower levels of overall net worth, where bigger leaps like that are more doable, but it was still quite exciting. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your numbers! It’s fun to see the power of dividend investing over time. I, too, can never get over the fact that companies will pay me (ever increasing) dividends for doing essentially nothing. Too cool! 😀
Thank you Juli. The chart is very inspiring for sure. I’m very impressed how much dividend income we have managed to grow over the last number of years.
88% YOY growth is very impressive! That’s totally awesome, continue doing what you’re doing so you can continue such impressive growth. 🙂
The year over year growth is awesome. Good job with your dividend income.
Our dividend is stable. It’s not growing much because I haven’t reinvested much recently.
The hotel suit looks great. Very nice upgrade.
Thank you Joe. We have invested quite a bit of money each year so our dividend income is increasing nicely. 🙂
Yup the hotel upgrades have been a nice perk.
Nice monthly dividend! My month wasn’t bad, but didn’t get over $1,000 this time:(
Enjoy the rest of your trip.
Thank you Caroline. Receiving any dividend amount is good to me regardless how much it is. It only means that you received money for doing nothing at all, that’s the best kind of income. 🙂
nice Bob.
absolute monster month. great seeing these totals. do you have a large position in lauranteen bank? its recent pullback has really got me looking closer into it.
keep it up man, btw sweet suite upgrades!
cheers
Hi Passivecanadianincome,
Thanks man, we only started buying LA earlier this year. The price is quite suppressed at the moment so we might consider buying more later.
Yup the suite upgrades have been pretty sweet. 😀
Great progress, Bob. As Wealthy mentioned above, it’s great to see such a high payout for usually a lower month (second month of the quarter).
We’re attempting to diversify our payout frequencies at the moment. The vast majority of our funds payout in the third month of each quarter, so our recent purchases into AT&T (T), as an example, have helped with this recently.
Congrats again and thanks for the post. – Mike
Hi Mike,
Thank you!
Our dividend income seems to be quite stable from month to month. I guess part of the reason is that we have quite a bit of dividend stocks that pay income each month and part of the reason is a bit of luck. Somehow our payout frequencies average out throughout the different months.
In only seven years you have massively increased your dividend payouts. Keep up the great work!
Thank you Sean, we have invested a lot of capital in the last 7 years. 🙂
Congratulations, with May historically being a lower month in your portfolio this is quite the feat! A clear indication that sticking to plan over a long period of time pays off. Probably more important than the plan itself.
Hi Wealthy Content. That’s true that May is usually one of the lower months, so very happy that we managed to get the 2nd highest dividend income to date. Having a long term plan and sticking to it is very important.