Dividend Income: April

Well folks, it has now come to my favorite time of the month for investing. That's right, it's time to count the dividend payments for the month that has now passed us. 

What a month it has been! The Dividend Scythe continues to see YOY growth as we move forward through the second year of its life as a dividend growth portfolio. The growth is at current very small but the most important thing to remember is that the growth is much like a game of "frolf" (pictured here - my friends and I playing a round - me at the tee off about to drive that sucker into the sun). 

Each year we find ourselves at the tee off, hoping to get an incredible score by the time we hit the chains and sink our frisbee into the stand. It may have crushed the score of our last hole or it may have come a little short. The larger picture however is that there is a whole round of frisbee golf to complete before the day is out. Whether one year is better than the next or not, as long as you keep playing, the accumulation of your shots at the end of the day will yield a tremendous amount of points.

This is how I like to picture my dividend yields. One year I may do extremely well. Another year I may fall short or flat line basically across the income sector if something is to come up that would stall my ability to invest. However, as long as I keep playing, the income will continue to grow at a rate that is moving upward and onward. That is the most important thing to remember. But enough talk, Let's get into the nuts and bolts of this thing and start seeing some real numbers!

April shows us a big milestone for the portfolio. As of April dividends, we have officially driven past the total dividends received in all of 2015! This has been achieved in only four months. In 2015, the total amount of dividends received was $62.25. In April alone of 2016 however, we received $13.75 in dividend payments. This is added to the already collected dividends from 2016 and we come to a grand total of $70.67 collected so far this year. It's so great to see how far the portfolio has come in such a short amount of time. Even though the amount feels very small in relation to how much the wife and I make on a daily basis at our jobs, it's almost more amazing to see this passive income stack up because we haven't had to left a finger to generate the passive income. It's very cool!

With that being said, I have huge expectations for next month as a few of my key holders such as AT&T (T) issued their dividend for the quarter in May rather than in April. That means that instead of having an expected three to be received in April, we'll be gaining four payments total(of stocks currently owned). That being said, my expectations for the payout for April are set very high. I hope to see the portfolio break through the $100 mark but I am certainly not holding my breath. Things can change at a moment's notice and as investors we always need to be prepared for that to happen. 

Lastly, I want to talk quickly about my moves heading forward into May. Heading into May, I see a few good discounts in the market. One of the most notable is a huge discount in L Brands (LB). They are the spearhead for Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works (LB). Their yield is fantastic, their business is solid, and they issue special dividends on an almost annual basis. What's not to like? My eyes are set on acquiring a piece of their company or as a secondary option I will try to grab a piece of Starbucks (SBUX) or Apple (AAPL) while they are deflated as well. I just love how these deals were hardly there a few months ago but now they are all ripe for the picking. Let the games begin!