Another month has gone by, and we’re now three-quarters of the way through 2026!
September was a pretty good month for my portfolio. I had one of my best months of the year in terms of passive income, along with a record number of companies paying dividends.
Let’s take a closer look at what happened.
Dividend Income
Let’s start with dividends. During September, 8 companies paid dividends into my investment accounts.
I’m especially happy to have received my first dividend payments from two new additions to the portfolio: Chevron and Realty Income. It’s always nice to see a new investment start generating income!
As always, I like to compare each dividend with a real household expense in our family. It helps put the numbers into perspective and shows which parts of our lifestyle the portfolio is already beginning to support.
Here’s what September’s dividends could cover:
- $7.62 – Capital One Financial (COF): covered 7.9% of our Banking expenses over the last 3 months.
- $36.55 – Pfizer (PFE): covered 7.7% of our Health expenses for the last month.
- $4.93 – Target (TGT): covered 0.3% of our Food expenses over the last 3 months.
- $8.36 – United Parcel Service (UPS): covered 0.9% of our Clothes expenses over the last 3 months.
- $9.08 – Chevron (CVX): covered 0.6% of our Car & Transportation expenses over the last 3 months.
- $2.32 – Microsoft (MSFT): covered 0.5% of our Subscriptions & Personal Development costs over the last 3 months.
- $4.61 from Realty Income (O) + $8.19 from Prologis (PLD): Together, covered 0.6% of our Mortgage payments over the last 2 months.
We’re still a long way from having our everyday expenses fully covered by dividends, but that’s fine. Seeing these payments gradually take care of a small part of our household budget is motivating.
Every little bit helps, and it’s nice to see the portfolio doing some of the work for us!
Dividend Year-on-Year Comparison
Now let’s compare the dividends received in September with those received in September 2025.
Dividend income almost tripled compared to last year!
That’s a pretty impressive improvement, although there are a couple of reasons behind it.
The biggest contributors to the increase were Pfizer, Chevron and Realty Income. All three are new dividend payers compared to last September.
On top of that, almost all my existing dividend-paying companies increased their payouts. UPS was the exception.
UPS has been one of the weaker performers in my portfolio, and its dividend growth has stalled. That makes me wonder whether it’s still the right fit for my long-term investment strategy.
I’m not making any decisions just yet, but it’s a good reminder that owning a dividend-paying company doesn’t mean I should stop evaluating it. I’ll need to take a closer look at UPS and decide whether it still deserves a place in my portfolio.
Other Passive Income Sources
Dividends aren’t the only way my portfolio generates income. During September, my other investments brought in:
- €6.67 – P2P lending
- €4.50 – Bond interest
- €7.13 – Money Market Funds
- €0.91 – Real Estate Crowdfunding (rental income)
Individually, these amounts aren’t particularly impressive. But together, they add another €19.21 to my passive income.
I also like the diversification this provides. While dividends remain the main focus of my portfolio, it’s nice to have several other investments generating income along the way.
Passive Income Summary
All in all, my portfolio generated €89.79 in passive income during September.
As can be seen from the above graph, September was the second biggest month this year so far in terms of passive income.
That’s exactly the kind of progress I want to see. Of course, some months will be stronger than others because companies pay dividends on different schedules, but it’s great to see the overall numbers moving in the right direction.
Let’s see how things look when we compare passive income across the years.
The long-term trend is looking good. With the exception of August, every month in 2026 has beaten its equivalent from last year.
Portfolio Contributions and New Investment
During September, I contributed €700 to my investment accounts.
Most of the money went into my Interactive Brokers account, where I’m letting it accumulate until I find a bigger investment opportunity.
However, I couldn’t resist making one small purchase in my Baltic holdings!
I bought 5 shares of Ignitis Group (IGN1L) at €22.30 per share, for a total investment of €111.50.
The expected additional annual income from this purchase is €5.82.
As a result, I now own 68 shares of Ignitis Group.
It’s not a huge investment, but it adds another small piece to my growing stream of dividend income. I’ll keep building my positions gradually while waiting for the next opportunity.
Summary
September was another strong month for my portfolio. Passive income almost tripled compared to the same month last year, and I almost reached a new monthly high for 2026.
My goal for the year is to generate €750 in passive income.
With three-quarters of the year behind me, my portfolio has already generated €589, meaning I’ve achieved 78% of my annual target.
I’m in a good position heading into the final quarter. I still have €161 to go, and with three months remaining, the goal looks very achievable.
Of course, the monthly income won’t always move in a straight line. But if the overall trend continues, I should be in a good position to finish the year on a high note.
One month, one investment and one dividend at a time.
Thanks for reading, and see you in next month’s update! 🙂