Here is the dividend income report for February, 2018.
The monthly dividend income came out to $66.43. The yearly income total for 2018 through the end of the month was $126.02.
The income for February, 2017 was $466.05, and the yearly income for 2017 through the end of February was $684.93.
A big chunk of this month’s income came from Vodafone. I guess I sold after the ex-date, or the record date, or something. I plan on holding my ETFs for a long time, so frankly the difference between these dates is irrelevant to me. I know there are some people who go in and out of dividend stocks to get the payout, but I am not one of those people. Granted, I did sell most of my stocks recently and put the money into ETFs, but I held some of those stocks for six years.
The bond ETFs do not pay as much as I thought, especially the international one. I am toying with the idea of getting some Wisdom Tree ETFs. They pay every month. I will sit down and make a spreadsheet to see if getting one payment every three months is any different than getting three smaller payments once a month.
So far, I have not put as much into ETFs as I have put into stocks. I still have a lot of cash. So the drop in stock prices is not as bad as it could have been for me. But if I stay with this strategy it will probably take a while until I beat my previous records.
Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each February from 2012 through 2018:
| Month | YTD | Amount | 3MMA | 12MMA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-02 | $126.02 | $66.43 | $654.60 | $581.51 |
| 2017-02 | $684.93 | $466.05 | $570.90 | $511.78 |
| 2016-02 | $620.16 | $383.08 | $524.89 | $460.41 |
| 2015-02 | $567.34 | $353.85 | $492.40 | $375.72 |
| 2014-02 | $496.28 | $336.61 | $363.62 | $295.33 |
| 2013-02 | $358.51 | $248.39 | $348.20 | $287.16 |
| 2012-02 | $497.58 | $308.90 | $337.51 | $264.48 |
Here are the stocks and the income amounts for February, 2018:
- Vodafone: $21.15
- Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $35.42
- Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: $9.86
“The Visitation” by El Greco (1541 – 7 April 1614), housed at Dumberton Oaks assumed allowed under Fair Use.
