Category: Dividend Income

Here is the dividend income report for April, 2021.

The monthly dividend income came out to $259.95. The yearly income total for 2021 through the end of the month was $2339.11.

The income for April, 2020 was $200.13, and the yearly income for 2020 through the end of April was $2271.57.

This was another slow month. I did get a payment from Gladstone Land. I have not had time to listen to conference calls for other REITs. Or to learn more Org Mode.

The bond funds paid a bit more, but that was because they had capital gains distributions. They last distributed capital gains in December, 2020. At the time of this writing, the distributions pages have records going back to November of 2019, and December, 2020 and April, 2021 are the only two months with capital gains. I will have to read the prospectus to see if it gives more insight into when and why capital gains would be distributed.

I have been doing DGI since 2010. I need my income to be about 4 times what it is. Granted, it has quadrupled in ten years. I wonder if that will happen again. If I was using this income right now, I would have about $700/month after tax. Which I guess is fine if I can abstain from eating while in total darkness.

Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each April from 2011 through 2021:

Month	YTD	Amount	3MMA	12MMA
2021-04	$2339.11	$259.95	$750.24	$884.09
2020-04	$2271.57	$200.13	$753.19	$907.51
2019-04	$1855.76	$483.26	$588.35	$629.22
2018-04	$1276.89	$50.88	$405.77	$583.24
2017-04	$1814.94	$324.66	$532.02	$522.40
2016-04	$1622.67	$270.38	$461.86	$471.14
2015-04	$1441.12	$261.30	$409.21	$395.68
2014-04	$1130.58	$196.43	$323.64	$303.18
2013-04	$898.59	$179.23	$262.82	$289.40
2012-04	$1010.82	$218.56	$274.05	$271.21
2011-04	$848.29	$203.10	$216.30	$179.46

 

Here are the securities and the income amounts for April, 2021:

• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $191.02
• Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: $9.03
• Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF: $37.40
• Gladstone Land: $22.50

Big Jim is still waiting for the big payouts.

“Procession” (1859) by Eugenio Lucas Velázquez (9 February 1817 – 11 September 1870), image from Wikimedia,  assumed allowed under Fair Use.

Here is the dividend income report for March, 2021.

The monthly dividend income came out to $1807.93. The yearly income total for 2021 through the end of the month was $2079.16.

The income for March, 2020 was $1863.26, and the yearly income for 2020 through the end of March was $2071.44.

I am thinking about replacing VPU with another utility ETF. I know this is a first-world problem, but I hate the fact that they announce dividends at different times each quarter. Sometimes it’s on the 11th. Sometimes it’s not until the last day (and the dividend is paid the next month). I will be needing this income when I am too old to work. Granted, that might not be for a couple of decades, but everybody else can be consistent. Why can’t Vanguard? (I mentioned this here and here.)

I did buy some shares of Gladstone Land. I bought it on the ex-dividend date, but apparently I had to buy it before then to get the dividend. I still don’t understand who all these dates work, honestly. The ex-date, the record date, blah, blah blah. If I have to buy it before the 17th to get the dividend, then why isn’t the ex-date the 16th? Granted, it’s a monthly dividend, so it’s not that big of a deal.

I listened to the conference calls. I noticed that a few of the people on the calls (people in Gladstone and a few analysts) referred to COVID-19 as the “China virus”. I really do not want to give my money to right-wing whack jobs. Although sometimes right-wing whack jobs are good at making money.

There are only 2 farmland REITs. There were three in 2016: Gladstone Land, Farmland Partners, and American Farmland (NYSE: AFCO). In 2017, Farmland Partners has merged with American Farmland. So now there are two. Farmland Partners was attacked by short-sellers. There were lawsuits, and it took up a lot of management’s time. They had to cut their dividend.

There is a website devoted to farmland investing called Farmland Riches. It looks like the main way to get into farmland is to buy it directly.

I might also look into American Farmland Trust (Wikipedia page here). I don’t want to be a farmer, but I do need to eat.

LAND is not in any index, so if I bought RWR it would not be in there. I know I wrote that tracking individual stocks was a drag, but I do like the idea of a security whose income only goes up every time it pays out. I honestly do not know why the payouts of ETFs that only invest in companies that increase their dividends are so variable. I know some companies have cut or suspended dividends but the Dividend Aristocrats (normal and high-yield) only have companies that have increased payouts for at least 20 years. Few companies that have paid out that long have cut. Perhaps the number of investors in the ETF affects the payout.

I do think that investing in farmland is a good strategy. And maybe it will help preserve some of the farmland as farmland. I will have to listen in to find out what Gladstone Land would do if the “developers” wanted to buy some of their farms for a high price. Why isn’t farming considered a form of “development”? It’s not completely natural (someone decides to plant a particular crop in even rows). Someone is getting use out of it and making money. And providing food.

The payouts from RWR have been consistent, and for December 2020 and March 2021 higher than pre-COVID. Perhaps there will not be a real-estate apocalypse.

Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each March from 2011 through 2021:

Month	YTD	Amount	3MMA	12MMA
2021-03	$2079.16	$1807.93	$693.05	$879.10
2020-03	$2071.44	$1863.26	$690.48	$931.10
2019-03	$1372.50	$1143.33	$457.50	$593.19
2018-03	$1226.01	$1099.99	$408.67	$606.06
2017-03	$1490.28	$805.35	$496.76	$517.88
2016-03	$1352.29	$732.13	$450.76	$470.38
2015-03	$1179.82	$612.48	$393.27	$390.27
2014-03	$934.15	$437.87	$311.38	$301.75
2013-03	$719.36	$360.85	$239.79	$292.68
2012-03	$792.26	$294.68	$264.09	$269.92
2011-03	$645.19	$229.43	$200.06	$163.15

 

Here are the securities and the income amounts for March, 2021:

• Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF: $36.64
• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $127.60
• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $32.68
• Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: $9.85
• RLI Corp: $25.16
• SPDR S&P Dividend ETF: $853.26
• SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF: $468.01
• Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF: $43.11
• Vanguard Utilities ETF: $211.62

Big Jim wants less to keep track of in his life.

Image from The Goya Foundation, assumed allowed under Fair Use. Painting “The Manufacture of Gunpowder” by Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, or just Goya (1746-1828). Goya should have his own website.

Here is the dividend income report for February, 2021.

The monthly dividend income came out to $182.83. The yearly income total for 2021 through the end of the month was $271.23.

The income for February, 2020 was $194.17, and the yearly income for 2020 through the end of February was $208.18.

I have started listening to the conference calls of a few REITs. I am keeping track of it using Org Mode. I have not gotten too far. Thanks to Texas’ “profits-uber-alles” way of doing things, Winter Storm Uri put a block on a lot of things.  And, yes, these “business” people who think they understand how the world works were warned this would happen. And it will happen again. It will probably not be ten years until the next one.

I am still not clear what long-term affect COVID will have on real estate. LAND is about farmland, STAG is mostly warehouses, Prologis is logistics, and Digital Realty is about data centers. (Does Amazon buy or rent?) I am guessing offices and retail will be hurting. But I will listen to the calls for Realty Income. They seem to be doing okay, and a lot of their industries are doing okay. They are reducing their exposure to gyms and theaters.

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 2021:

Month	YTD	Amount	3MMA	12MMA
2021-02	$271.23	$182.83	$1253.94	$883.71
2020-02	$208.18	$196.17	$1259.50	$871.11
2019-02	$229.17	$138.45	$847.72	$589.58
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 securities and the income amounts for February, 2021:

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $137.73
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $35.28
Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: $9.82

Big Jim is bigger than the biggest storm. Trust me on this, ladies.

Image from somewhere on the web, assumed allowed under Fair Use. Painting of angels by Guariento di Arpo (1310-1370).

 

Here is the dividend income report for January, 2021.

The monthly dividend income came out to $88.40. The yearly income total for 2021 through the end of the month was $88.40.

The income for January, 2020 was $12.01, and the yearly income for 2020 through the end of January was $12.01. (There is no post for January, 2020 income; here is a post for January, 2019.)

I got two payouts from Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF. This fund has 12 payouts a year, but sometimes a payment happens in the following month for shareholders on the ex-date. Looking at their site, the payout for people who own shares on the December date always happens in January. So I won’t really get income every single month. I guess Ron DeLegge would call this my “non-core” portfolio. I already have plenty of stocks, bonds, real estate and cash.

I also plan on looking into Gladstone Land Corporation.

Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each January from 2012 through 2021:

Month	YTD	Amount	3MMA	12MMA
2021-01	$88.40	$88.40	$1258.54	$884.83
2020-01	$12.01	$12.01	$1236.27	$866.30
2019-01	$90.72	$90.72	$818.52	$583.57
2018-01	$59.59	$59.59	$819.32	$614.81
2017-01	$218.88	$218.88	$584.54	$504.86
2016-01	$237.08	$237.08	$550.81	$457.97
2015-01	$213.49	$213.49	$471.54	$374.28
2014-01	$159.67	$159.67	$335.67	$287.98
2013-01	$110.12	$110.12	$348.07	$292.20
2012-01	$188.68	$188.68	$316.66	$256.77

 

Here are the securities and the income amounts for January, 2021:

• Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF: $40.36
• Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF: $48.04

2021 started out pretty well for Big Jim.

Image from Wikimedia, assumed allowed under Fair Use. Painting of angel by Guariento di Arpo (1310-1370).

Here is the dividend income report for December, 2020.

The monthly dividend income came out to $3490.60. The yearly income total for 2020 through the end of the month was $10541.51.

The income for December, 2019 was $3611.13, and the yearly income for 2019 through the end of December was $10515.13.

The total for 2020 was my highest ever. I still worry that my dividend ETFs will not cover my expenses in retirement. I have about a decade left in the workforce, possibly more.

I had RWR for most of 2019, and I sold all my shares in early 2020. I sold at a price higher than the low in 2020, but lower than the price now. I thought real estate would get hosed more than it has. Perhaps RWR has a lot of wholesale real estate and not much consumer and office space. I plan on going through the RWR annual report to see what is in it. I also plan on going over the conference calls for LAND. I should have some cash to install.

Anyway, I made $1982.49 from RWR in 2019, and 179.94 from RWR in 2020. So that means that I beat my 2019 total without the 1802.55 difference in RWR. I did buy some BND for my Roth IRA. I that seemed to help. I also got income every month in my Roth IRA.

I bought some shares of Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF (XYLD). This will give me monthly income. Perhaps I won’t need to get Ron DeLegge’s newsletter for the monthly ETF trade.

In addition to tracking my finances in GnuCash, I also have a spreadsheet for my stocks and ETFs. I have a sheet for the monthly totals for the accounts. I added a few columns with the 3- and 12-month moving averages for my taxable accounts which take out about 33% for taxes. I don’t know if my tax rate will be that high when I retire, but I think this will give me a better idea how well my investments would do if that is all I had to rely on. Right now, my 12-month moving average after removing assumed taxes from income from taxable accounts is $680. That is not enough to cover my rent. But a few years ago it was around $450, so I guess I am doing okay.

I have some money in another account that I will probably “put to work” (as they say in the industry). What I really need is to start making more money.

Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each December from 2011 through 2020:

Month	YTD	Amount	3MMA	12MMA
2020-12	$10541.51	$3490.60	$1294.16	$878.46
2019-12	$10515.13	$3611.13	$1343.15	$876.26
2018-12	$6971.76	$2313.99	$1165.08	$580.98
2017-12	$7536.98	$1837.78	$913.40	$628.08
2016-12	$6076.53	$1027.76	$605.28	$506.38
2015-12	$5472.07	$954.52	$575.86	$456.01
2014-12	$4438.02	$909.86	$481.67	$369.80
2013-12	$3406.20	$594.59	$344.05	$283.85
2012-12	$3585.01	$686.10	$386.41	$298.75
2011-12	$3091.99	$514.94	$323.40	$253.92

 

Here are the securities and the income amounts for December, 2020:

• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $141.02
• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $36.12
• Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: $9.83
• RLI Corp: $103.60
• RLI Corp: $24.86
• Vanguard Utilities ETF: $290.74
• SPDR S&P Dividend ETF: $1031.43
• SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF: $1463.25
• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $286.78
• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $73.46
• Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: $29.51

Note: Some securities have more than one payout in December. I have BND in two accounts. BND, BNDX and RLI have multiple payouts in December.

In spite of all that happened, Big Jim had an okay year. Hopefully 2021 will be better for us all.

Image from somewhere on the web, assumed allowed under Fair Use. Painting of angel by Guariento di Arpo (1310-1370).

Here is the dividend income report for November, 2020.

The monthly dividend income came out to $196.63. The yearly income total for 2020 through the end of the month was $7050.91.

The income for November, 2019 was $126.48, and the yearly income for 2019 through the end of November was $6904.00.

There is not a whole lot to report. There was a brief reprieve from the interest rate repression. The dividends for the bond funds was slightly higher than it was for October. However, the December amounts have come in, and they have resumed their downward trajectory. I am considering putting some money back into individual stocks again. Unless there is a dividend cut, income from individual stocks keeps increasing. I don’t know what is going to happen, but I think that if any company can at least maintain their dividend for a few more months, they should be fine going forward.

It is possible my total at the end of this year will be less than last year. This is partially because I sold RWR. Last December it provided about $800 of income. I am still worried whether or not I will have enough cash flow for when I am old. I got an email from the Social Security Administration reminding me to check my statement. I will do that later. Perhaps that will provide a cushion.

Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each November from 2011 through 2020:

Month	YTD	Amount	3MMA	12MMA
2020-11	$7050.91	$196.63	$742.84	$885.10
2019-11	$6904.00	$126.48	$843.65	$768.17
2018-11	$4657.77	$50.86	$562.56	$541.30
2017-11	$5699.20	$560.60	$559.31	$560.58
2016-11	$5048.77	$506.98	$502.98	$500.27
2015-11	$4517.55	$460.83	$477.55	$452.28
2014-11	$3528.16	$291.27	$357.30	$343.53
2013-11	$2811.61	$252.75	$277.74	$291.48
2012-11	$2898.91	$247.99	$262.78	$284.49
2011-11	$2577.05	$246.37	$232.84	$240.81

 

Here are the securities and the income amounts for November, 2020:

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $148.40
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $38.01
Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: $10.22

Big Jim will keep pushin’ to increase the size of his cushion.

Image from Wikimedia, assumed allowed under Fair Use. Painting of angel by Guariento di Arpo (1310-1370).

Here is the dividend income report for October, 2020.

The monthly dividend income came out to $195.26. The yearly income total for 2020 through the end of the month was $6854.28.

The income for October, 2019 was $291.83, and the yearly income for 2019 through the end of October was $6777.52.

There is not a whole lot to report. I think that putting more money into BND was a good idea. Since I sold RWR, that is the only thing that is keeping my totals this year ahead of last year.

And RWR is still above where I sold it. Will REITs never get hit? There are a lot of businesses that have gone under, there are a lot of people unemployed, there is a lot of unused office capacity, yet the REIT indexes are still doing fine. Granted, I know a lot of people are having a harder time than me, but it just seems like the laws of cause-and-effect are no longer true. Or perhaps there is a lot of extend-and-pretend. I plan on taking a better look at the annual reports for RWR and VNQ (Vanguard REIT ETF). Perhaps they are skewed towards warehouses and data centers. Yet Realty Income is still increasing its dividend (see their dividend history on the Realty Income page here, or on the Street Insider website).

Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each October from 2011 through 2020:

Month	YTD	Amount	3MMA	12MMA
2020-10	$6854.28	$195.26	$745.73	$879.26
2019-10	$6777.52	$291.83	$822.53	$761.86
2018-10	$4606.91	$1130.39	$561.66	$583.77
2017-10	$5138.63	$341.83	$566.34	$556.11
2016-10	$4541.79	$281.09	$508.05	$496.43
2015-10	$4056.72	$312.23	$459.42	$438.15
2014-10	$3236.89	$243.87	$368.19	$340.32
2013-10	$2558.86	$184.81	$295.19	$291.08
2012-10	$2650.92	$225.14	$285.46	$284.35
2011-10	$2330.68	$208.90	$258.17	$238.44

 

Here are the securities and the income amounts for October, 2020:

• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $147.48
• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $37.77
• Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: $10.01

Big Jim blah blah blah. Big Jim is kind of tired of life and a lot of things right now, including the lack of growth in dividend income. And what is going on with that angel and demon in the painting? The whole Falwell fiasco has shown that a lot of religious people are freaks; it looks like even the heavenly hosts like to play games too. Perhaps Big Jim needs to go to church and find himself a freaky woman (after COVID, of course).

Image from Wikimedia, assumed allowed under Fair Use. Painting of angel by Guariento di Arpo (1310-1370).

Here is the dividend income report for September, 2020.

The monthly dividend income came out to $1836.64. The yearly income total for 2020 through the end of the month was $6659.02.

The income for September, 2019 was $2112.65, and the yearly income for 2019 through the end of September was $6485.69.

I am starting to question whether or not indexing, or dividend growth investing (DGI) or any other buy-and-hold philosophy is going to work out over the next few years. Granted, many people say that these are the most important times to stick with buy and hold. But things are not working out too well.

I have been engaged in DGI for about ten years. Maybe that is not enough time for the magic of compounding to happen, but the pace of my income growth is making me wonder if I will have enough money when I am old. Between COVID and interest rate repression, my bond income has decreased a lot. From April until October, the dividend per share for BND has gone from 19 cents a share to just over 15; here are the amounts from April to October: 0.1905, 0.1739, 0.1687, 0.1624, 0.1587, 0.1531, 0.1503. RLI paid a whopping 7 cents more than it did three months ago. This is not the stuff that affluence is made of. I thought interest rates would have gone up five years ago. They keep going lower. One of the effects is people play more games with money. Some people blame the central banks for the way people react to low interest rates. You can blame central banks for the rates, but not peoples’ reaction.

Nevertheless, I am thinking about doing some things that run counter to indexing, DGI, and buy-and-hold in general. Like putting all my money in bonds in the A and B months and the beginning of the C month, and putting it into stock ETFs during the second half of the C month. Or putting a lot of it in covered call funds.

In other news, RWR is still above where I sold it. I am starting to think a market correction is like “the storm”, or the second coming of Christ: Always predicted, but never seems to arrive. (Granted, market corrections are a known historical phenomenon and not something only believed by crazy people who are too stupid to focus their anger on something productive.)

Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each September from 2011 through 2020:

Month	YTD	Amount	3MMA	12MMA
2020-09	$6659.02	$1836.64	$750.42	$887.30
2019-09	$6485.69	$2112.65	$744.85	$831.74
2018-09	$3476.52	$506.44	$430.49	$518.06
2017-09	$4796.80	$775.50	$562.76	$551.05
2016-09	$4260.70	$720.86	$505.47	$499.02
2015-09	$3744.49	$659.59	$443.06	$432.46
2014-09	$2993.02	$536.75	$353.04	$335.39
2013-09	$2374.05	$395.65	$293.78	$294.44
2012-09	$2425.78	$315.21	$283.66	$283.00
2011-09	$2121.78	$243.26	$256.81	$233.01

 

Here are the securities and the income amounts for September, 2020:

• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $149.94
• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $38.41
• Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: $10.14
• Vanguard Utilities ETF: $192.58
• RLI Corp: $24.80
• SPDR S&P Dividend ETF: $711.50
• SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF: $709.27

Big Jim is trying to keep up with all the changes.

Image from Wikimedia, assumed allowed under Fair Use. Painting of angel by Guariento di Arpo (1310-1370).

Here is the dividend income report for August, 2020.

The monthly dividend income came out to $205.28. The yearly income total for 2020 through the end of the month was $4822.38.

The income for August, 2019 was $63.10, and the yearly income for 2019 through the end of August was $4373.04.

There is not a whole lot to report. I might have more to say on the September report.

Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each August from 2011 through 2020:

Month	YTD	Amount	3MMA	12MMA
2020-08	$4822.38	$205.28	$790.58	$910.30
2019-08	$4373.04	$63.10	$788.78	$697.89
2018-08	$2970.08	$48.14	$549.51	$540.48
2017-08	$4021.30	$581.69	$558.23	$546.50
2016-08	$3539.84	$522.20	$493.44	$493.92
2015-08	$3084.90	$406.45	$427.26	$422.22
2014-08	$2456.27	$323.94	$348.41	$323.64
2013-08	$1978.40	$305.11	$279.05	$287.74
2012-08	$2110.57	$316.04	$280.53	$277.00
2011-08	$1878.52	$322.35	$254.56	$225.45

 

Here are the securities and the income amounts for August, 2020:

• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $155.22
• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF Other Account: $39.76
• Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: $10.30

 

Big Jim thinks that an angel holding a ventriloquist dummy is the weirdest thing he has seen.

Image from Wikimedia, assumed allowed under Fair Use. Painting of angel by Guariento di Arpo (1310-1370).

Here is the dividend income report for July, 2020.

The monthly dividend income came out to $209.33. The yearly income total for 2020 through the end of the month was $4617.10.

The income for July, 2019 was $58.79, and the yearly income for 2019 through the end of July was $4309.94.

There is not a whole lot to report. I am still waiting to see if the world will end some more, or if we have come to the end of the endings.

Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each July from 2011 through 2020:

Month	YTD	Amount	3MMA	12MMA
2020-07	$4617.10	$209.33	$781.84	$898.46
2019-07	$4309.94	$58.79	$818.06	$696.65
2018-07	$2921.94	$736.90	$548.35	$584.94
2017-07	$3439.61	$331.08	$541.56	$541.54
2016-07	$3017.64	$273.36	$464.99	$484.27
2015-07	$2678.45	$263.13	$412.44	$415.35
2014-07	$2132.33	$198.43	$333.77	$322.07
2013-07	$1673.29	$180.57	$258.23	$288.65
2012-07	$1794.53	$219.72	$261.24	$277.53
2011-07	$1556.17	$204.83	$235.96	$211.69

Here are the securities and the income amounts for July, 2020:

• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $158.50
• Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF Other Account: $40.60
• Vanguard Total International Bond: $10.23

Big Jim tries to be consistent, even when nothing happens.

Image from Wikimedia, assumed allowed under Fair Use. Painting of angel by Guariento di Arpo (1310-1370).