The first major goal I set for this ETF portfolio was $20,000 and I’m happy to say that this goal has been achieved!!! Woohoo! That feels so good to say out loud! I was hoping to reach 20k by the end of 2024 and I have done it one month early in November. I’m super proud of this achievement.
You could say, it’s just money, why are you so happy? And I would say you are WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! It’s not just money. It’s FREEDOM and CHOICES!!
I remember reaching $20,000 with my individual stocks portfolio. It was then that I really started believing in myself. I felt that I could do this thing, that I deserved and could achieve financial freedom. As my belief increased, my portfolio increased and my dividends started to come in much faster. This is a mind game more than anything else.
ETF Dividend Payments in November
Only the monthly paying covered call option ETFs paid out in November so I was expecting it to be less than $100 but it’s definitely getting close to reaching the magical $100 minimum that I’ve been chasing.
JPEQ paid out $28.25, FEPI paid $37.32 and QQQI gave me $11.90 which is a total of $77.47 for the monthly paying stocks.
I’ve started keeping a record of the rolling 6 month, monthly dividend payments and last month it was $66.28 which was enough to buy 60 packets of ramen noodles in Australia, 1kg of rolled oats, and ten fresh apples. This month the 6 month dividend average is $76.89. So I can now add to my fresh fruit trolley!
I’ll quit doing this grocery thing when I reach the $100 average but for now I’m having fun with it. So I could have 2 minute noodles twice per day, a kilogram of rolled oats for breakfast, my apples can increase to about 13, and I can now have 3 kilograms of oranges for the month. That’s almost a varied, healthy diet.
And yes I know I couldn’t really live on $76.89 in Australia which is a developed and very expensive place to live. I’m simply trying to make a point, which is, financial freedom can be achieved very simply, one step at a time. It’s simple as you just keep putting one foot in front of the other, but it’s definitely not easy as it takes persistence, time, discipline, hard work and lots of sacrifices.
The ETF Dividend Portfolio for November
This month the ETF dividend portfolio has increased to $20,794, up from $18,606 in October which is an increase of about $2,188. New contributions were $1,378 which means that there was a $810 increase in the value of the portfolio.
Again, I’m very happy with myself about achieving this goal with the ETF portfolio that was started just over a year ago in 2023. I now need to set my next big goal for 2025 which will probably be $50,000. Goals are super-powerful when you get clear about what you want and you do something to reach them everyday.
Oh, I almost forgot. I finally bought some SCHD shares. For months I have been saying that I will purchase the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) but kept putting it off. Well now I own the grand total of 11 shares worth of them. From little things big things grow!
Just as a note, the ticker symbols ending in .AX are Australian listed ETFs and those without them are US listed ETFs. The US listed prices and average cost per share are in US dollars but everything else like market value and total dividend income are in Australian dollars.
Here’s what the ETF portfolio looks like this month…
See the ETF Dividend Portfolio from October.
What to Expect in December
I’ll be buying at least $250 each worth of the quarterly payers as they will be distributing dividends in January. So that’s IVV (S&P 500), VGS (Vanguard global companies) and VHY (Australian dividend payers).
I like to increase the number of shares I own with each new dividend payment. If an ETF or stock pays out quarterly then I try to buy at least 4 lots of new shares each year.
It becomes more difficult to do this when the price of the shares increase. For example, Microsoft is currently trading at about $423 USD per share and I’m only able to buy one or two shares per year. Imagine trying to do it with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) which is trading at $724,040 per share!
How is your freedom making machine going this year? What’s your 6 month rolling monthly dividend average for your ETFs? (total dividends paid over the last 6 months, divided by 6 equals your average).
Total ETF + REIT + Managed Funds Portfolio for November
Portfolio value inside the Vanguard website: $5,974 up from $5,794
Betashares ETF portfolio: $7,374 up from $6,588
US & ASX listed ETFs held in brokerage accounts: $6,259 up from $6,259
Total Index Funds portfolio value (VHY, VGS, GEAR, JPEQ, FEPI, QQQI, SCHD and IVV): $20,794 up from $18,606
Most recent dividend payment (November): $77.47 down from $126.98 in October (Monthly dividends from JPEQ, FEPI, and QQQI)
6 Month Dividends Monthly Average: $76.89 up from 66.28
Dividends paid in 2024 so far: $634.34
All dividends paid in 2023: $102.68
All ETF dividend payments since buying $784.98
ETF Dividends Goal 1: $2,000+ per year.
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