The dividend is approaching $1,000.
Receiving my first four-figure cash payment from an American company was one of my most anticipated milestones since receiving my first dividend 20 months ago.
We are expected to arrive there by the end of August.
According to the spreadsheet I used to track my 120 dividend payments, I made $987.19. I’m only missing $12.81. The next three dividends will bring me over $1,000.
The next milestone is five figures.
This first milestone is important because it’s proof that the stock market works. This checkpoint is proof that I’m learning how to play the game. It’s proof that I’m trusting the time I’ve spent learning over the past 20 months, and that it’s literally paying off.
I’ve generated $1,000 in passive income and it continues to grow – money I can earn without having to work or do anything I don’t want to do.
More than anything else, growing dividends have opened up new possibilities for me with money, and it’s one of the many ways money can make more money.
And I cashed out in April.
I liquidated five dividend-paying stocks and sold half of my holdings in another stock, making a profit of $6,224.56 from the sale.
That was my version of “I have to let everything go.” I got rid of very small holdings in BlackRock and Lockheed Martin, and just under 10 shares of Deluxe Corporation. On April 10, I got rid of half of my 36.6 shares of Devon Energy. I sold the other half on April 26, the same day I got rid of 17 shares of Chesapeake Energy, a little over half of the company.
And on May 1st I gave the baby up.
I sold all 47.3 shares of Altria Group (ticker symbol MO).
This large tobacco and cigarette producer has been my best dividend performer. I have received $206.06 in dividends from the company since January 2023. However, there seems to be a war on the cigarette industry, both locally and nationally. It shakes my sense of security as an investor. It scared me so I sold.
To be honest, my selling was long overdue. Consolidating and relying on a simple investment strategy via index funds had been part of my plan for a long time.
While I still have some trimming to do, I’ve trimmed my taxable account portfolio down to 17 stocks, 10 of which are dividend stocks.
I reinvested $2,264.55 in a variety of stocks including Nike, Starbucks, Hershey, Teladoc, and Tesla. Taking advantage of Tesla’s recent decline, I increased my small investment to $225 worth of stock, or 1.3 shares. On July 8, I sold my Tesla holdings for a profit of $125. I then rolled $350 into my Hershey holdings.
I planned to put the remaining money, about $4,000, into a Roth IRA so I could advance my 2024 contribution and avoid having to deposit $135 every week.
But then life changed. My expenses spiked in April and May. With that money, I was able to cover a $1,500 legal fee in May and a nearly $1,500 car repair in June. I didn’t have to dip into my savings or rely on an income source. This is what financial security looks like.
Participating in Google’s first dividend payment was another notable milestone last quarter. I have owned four shares of Google since December 2022. The company’s stock price has risen 60% over the past year, so it didn’t make sense to sell. On June 16th, Google paid a dividend of 80 cents on my four shares. The money was automatically reinvested.
Dividends from my daughter Parker are also coming in steadily.
Her managed account is up to $538.05 in dividends, and her recently opened Roth IRA also received its first dividend of $24.60.
This week, as compensation for his role at MoneyTalks, we deposited another $2,500 into Parker’s account, which he immediately invests in a Roth, which will grow his wealth and increase the size of his next dividend.
Meanwhile, my Roth IRA has earned $2,185.98 in distributions since opening the account in December 2022.
In just 19 months, my Roth unrealized gains have grown to over $20,000.
Need more evidence that the stock market really works?
Darnell Mayberry is a Chicago-based sportswriter and author of 100 Things Thunder Fans Need to Know Before They Die. He loves his daughter, Parker, money and the Minnesota Vikings. His column, Money Talks, can be found every Saturday. Cleveland and will be published in The Plain Dealer on Sunday.
