Over 1000% Dividend Growth Year over Year for February

February 2018 was the first month the Divs4Jesus Portfolio received a dividend payment. The payment was $7.26 from one company, OHI, and was the only amount received that month. Fast forward one year and for February 2019 the D4J Portfolio received a total of $84.26 in dividend payments. This time the payments came from three separate companies: CIM; T; and OHI.  A total increase of $77.00 over the prior year’s amount and a massive 1,060.61% increase on a percentage basis. Of course, this is almost completely due to additional capital contributions over 2018 and will surely level off to much smaller increases in the future, but it’s a good motivator to show that sticking to a routine and  a savings strategy can produce solid returns.

In fact, OHI’s dividend payment was $0.47 greater than the year before or a 6.47% increase year over year. This was despite that fact that there was no increase in dividends payments. The increase was simply due to DRIPing the dividend payments throughout the year, which D4J didn’t actually institute until May 2018. AND YES – this is not a “true” growth increase as dividend payments from OHI were ‘money in hand’ to do as we please… so investment of the “new” OHI capital should not be looked at as growth. However, we track the DJ4 account using the three Cs: 1. YIELD ON CASH – dividends vs the actual dollar amount contributed into the D4J Portfolio; 2. YIELD ON COST – dividends vs the actual dollar amount transferred into the D4J Portfolio + the cost of all DRIP purchases and 3. YIELD ON CURRENT – dividends vs current market value of the D4J Portfolio.

And we are always happy to see our Yield on Cash increasing.

Dividend DRIP

DRIPing

In the past I have preferred to accumulate all dividends that are distributed to me in my brokerage account. Then once a year or every other year I’d make a substantial position in a new stock. Typically, that stock or investment would be of higher risk. Mostly because, in a way, I felt like it was “free” money (as long as my underlying positions in the stocks where the dividends came from were performing well). Some of these ‘bets’ paid off and others did not.

However, since my focus now is more on accumulating a portfolio that will provide me with solid passive income in the some what distance future there is no need to make ‘bets.’ Instead, I’m better severed allowing all dividends to DRIP. Why is that??

The benefits

  1. It’s a more, set it and forget it attitude, if you will. I don’t have to worry about making a purchase or researching a stock. Automatically once a dividend is distributed my brokerage purchases the stock.
  2. It saves on brokerage fees. DRIP is feel for the stocks I own.
  3. In a way, I see it as lowering my cost-per-share in the underlying stock. For example if I purchase 100 shares of a stock at $15 a share my cost basis is $1,500.00. But if that stock pays me 10% yield and the dividends are DRIPed, one year out I have 110 shares (assuming no change in price for simplicity’s sake). So my cost/share would be down around $13.64 ($1,500/110). Of course that $150 in dividends were really mine to spend. So technically it’s not lowering my cost-per-share. But since my hands are never on the cash and I’m not physically putting in new capital to purchase shares but getting. I chose to view it as lowing my cost-per-share. However, for this site, I track portfolio percentage gains/losses with and without dividend payments. If I don’t show DRIP purchases as increasing my cost basis it would be double dipping the dividends included number. As such, I will need to show it.  Though now I think I will need to add a CASH basis calculation as well.
  4. Forced savings – if I took all the dividends as cash I may be inclined to use them for something other than investments.

As such, as of this May I have started DRIPs on all the stocks I own. Going forward I’ll record this in two different spots – in my Stock Purchases (noted as a DRIP) and  of course in my Current Portfolio.