October has been an interesting month. Finally, we were able to witness a substantial correction in US markets as we saw a fall of ~10%. You would naturally think that it should be worrying. Actually, the contrary happened – it felt like a relief. The market finally is presenting quite a few opportunities so I can’t wait to employ some capital and take advantage of this fall in the market. Let’s see what happened with my investments during October!
Dividend Income
I received dividend from two companies this month:
First month of the quarter is the smallest month for me in terms of dividend income so it was not a spectacular month. I am back in the league of sub-$10. I would love to receive more than $10 each and every month so hopefully this is the last time when it happens.
Talking about individual payers, CSCO made the biggest contribution. CSCO was also one of the biggest losers in my portfolio during October and its market value fell by ~10% but it’s still up by ~40% since I purchased it last September.
As always, let’s see where I could spend the money I received from dividends this month:
- $7.16 from Cisco Systems would cover 21% of my Internet+TV bill;
- $2.47 from Realty Income would cover ~0,4% of our monthly rent.
I like to perform this exercise because it gives me motivation to keep going. Hopefully, one day dividends will be able to cover at least some of our expenses each month.
Year-On-Year Comparison
Let’s see how dividend amount compares to October of last year:
The increase compared to last year is not that big this month, as I haven’t added any additional companies to my portfolio that would pay during October. However, I am very happy to see 11% organic growth. Ideally, I would like to have year-on-year growth which would be bigger than annual inflation. Latest data shows 2.4% annual inflation in Lithuania. Since we are not living in Venezuela or Argentina, 11% growth rate of dividend income is more than enough π
This is how my dividend income progress looks like since the beginning of 2016 when I started recording it:
Purchases and Portfolio Contributions
This month I didn’t purchase any shares but managed to add β¬818 to my investment account which is higher than usual. With the recent volatility in the markets, I can’t wait to deploy the capital to some stocks to increase my dividend income. I can see quite a few opportunities at the moment so I should be able to pick up something in the nearest future. I should publish a separate post with my watchlist in a few days.
Dividend Increases
None of my companies declared dividend increases this month so nothing to report here, unfortunately.
Income from P2P Lending
During October, I received β¬7.55 in interest from P2P lending. This is higher than last month (when I received β¬6.53), even though I haven’t deployed any new capital in the last few months. Simply some late loans were paid back, so this month saw a small increase in income from this platform. My P2P lending portfolio currently consists of 53 loans with total value of β¬625.62.
Summary
In total (after converting to EUR) I received β¬16.01 from passive income. This brings my total for 2018 to β¬211.88 which is quite close to my goal to reach β¬240 from passive income during 2018. I should be able to reach it easily with two months to go.
How was your month? Are you happy with the results? Did you manage to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the market during October? I would love t read your comments!
Congrats on the double-digit increase from last year BI. Both companies paid me dividends as well and just like you, the first month of the quarter is usually slow for me too. But, it all adds up. Looking forward to seeing how November treats you.
Hi DP,
Thanks for the comment! I guess the first month is the slowest for most of us as most companies are paying during the third month of the quarter, followed by second month.
Heading over to your blog now to see how your companies performed during October π
Thinking to add CSCO to my portfolio as it would fill my empty first month of the quarter. Nice growth taking into account that it was without aditional investments π
Hi P2035,
Thanks for the comment! I think CSCO is definitely worth consideration, so I would give it a look π
Do you currently reinvest your dividends?
Hi Jimmy,
My broker doesn’t have a DRIP option but I am accumulating the dividends and am using them to cover part of my next purchases π
Youβre not alone in the first quarter of the month being a slow month as it seems pretty common across the DGI community. I havenβt tallied up my month yet but hope to publish my report in the next couple of days.
I really like the way that you equate your dividend to a percentage of a monthly bill from that sector. That is a great way to look at it and is a good measure to see how those dividends can begin to cover your monthly living expenses.
Hi DivvyDad,
Thanks a lot, I’m glad you liked those comments π Looking forward to see your results for October!
Great report BI.I look forward to seeing where you will use new capital.
Do you have any idea?
Hi Druss,
Thanks for the comment! I have a few ideas and am still trying to find time to investigate them more. I am thinking about Toronto Dominion, Blackrock, Fedex, perhaps some utility sector company. The only problem is that not all of them are available with my current broker so I am also planning switching brokers but it would take some time and I would need more initial capital than I currently have π
I love the 10% increase that you posted BI. As you highlighted, that is well above the inflation rate. Keep at it and keep hustling!
Bert
Hi Bert,
Thanks for the comment! Inflation level is the minimum target I am happy with. Hopefully, I will be able to make the progress faster with my own contributions in the future π
Hi BI,
Slow month it seems but the best thing is that you got an 10% increase without doing a thing!
Cheers,
TLTI
Hi TLTI,
Thanks for the comment! I really have to appreciate such an increase without any additional capital added π
Solid results BI. A 10% yoy is still great new in my book. We share both companies this lo th, love both companies.
Keep up the motivation and hard work!
I was able to take some advantage of the market dip, looking forward to see what you are going to do with it!
Thanks Mr. Robot!
I finally managed to set up an account with a new broker and made my first purchase there yesterday π I am going to publish a short post about it in a day or two but letβs just say that I should cross $10 in dividends easily starting from January π
That’s some terrific organic YoY growth. Keep that up and you’ll really be going places, BI. That certainly blows away inflation here in the U.S.
I share O with you this month. Wish I purchased CSCO when you did.
Sounds like you might have some purchases in the works… I’ll stay on the lookout for any updates.
Thanks ED! Well, you were busy building up other positions in tour portfolio and are doing a really great work there. I finally made a purchase yesterday, am going to publish a post about it shortly π