Greetings my upwardly mobile friends,
As December of 2019 has finally ended, I have all the data for the last quarter of 2019. It was a strong end to the year and we wrapped it up by buying a lot more shares.
| Q4 2018 | Q4 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| PFF Dividend | $50.76 | $104.61 |
| PGX Dividend | $99.98 | $146.99 |
| SCHD Dividend | $27.14 | $110.38 |
| SPYD Dividend | $54.06 | $221.35 |
| VYM Dividend | $0.00 | $34.00 |
| Money Market Interest | $0.00 | $56.78 |
| EIRL Dividend | $0.00 | $2.56 |
| Total Passive Income | $231.94 | $676.67 |
| Total Holdings At Year End | $22,753.41 | $97,049.90 |
The total portfolio sizes are a bit misleading. I added a lot of new capital to our positions on December 31, 2019. The total passive income for Q4 2019 was roughly three times as much as Q4 2018, which mirrored the relative size in the portfolio prior to the December 31, 2019 purchases. Three times the portfolio size = three times the dividends. Since it’s now almost five times the size it was in 2018, we can reasonably expect numbers that are almost five times as much.
With the new capital, I brought us to an 80/20 Dividend ETF/Cash allocation. That’s the highest cash allocation I’ve held, but I have a more conservative outlook than I did in 2019. I also increased our holdings of the more diversified ETFs, SCHD, VYM, and SPYD, so as not to continue being too heavy on PGX and PFF, which are less diversified.
Based upon the current portfolio size, and barring any crazy downturns, my conservative expectations are to earn more than $900 per quarter in dividends in 2020. However, if the market tanks, that cash position will likely be deployed into buying more Dividend ETFs on the cheap.
If the market continues growing or stays flat, I’ll be adding to VYM, SCHD, and SPYD. They each pay me quarterly dividends and I want to continue growing these positions. Another benefit to these diversified ETFs is that they appreciate a lot in market value like the broader index funds. SCHD in particular has seen a lot of growth since I first began buying it.
Q4 closed out an absolutely insane 2019. 2020 is poised to be a great year too. I’m definitely excited to see what 2020 brings.
