Welcome to my December 2015 investment income report. This report will help me track all of my investment income from the rental property, dividend stocks, index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
As I said in an earlier post, my goal for 2015 was to generate at least $7,500 in passive investment income. That income will be an important part of my early retirement plan. These reports help me track the growth of that income and also serve a wider purpose: to show that a multi-pronged approach to building wealth by investing in dividend 
stocks, index funds and rental properties is a solid long term investment strategy. For me, it’s all about the assets I own and the steady income that they produce. My financial progress rests on my ability to build up these income generating assets while paying down my debt.
Dividend Increases
I’d have to say that the most exciting thing for a dividend investor is getting a dividend raise. Maybe it’s because of the holiday season, but for some reason a lot of companies like to announce dividend raises in December. I love getting my dividend raises because I’m rewarded for doing absolutely nothing at all other than being a part owner in a great company.
As I look back on 2015, time and time again, I’ve been rewarded for my investments in solid dividend growth stocks. So many of my companies have increased their quarterly payouts this year. This is why it literally pays to be a dividend investor.
In December, the Bank of Montreal (BMO) increased its quarterly dividend by 2 cents or 2.43%. CIBC (CM) raised by 3 cents or 2.7% and Enbridge (ENB) raised by 6.5 cents or 14%.
Monthly Passive Dividend Income
December has been the best month to date with regard to dividend income and it had everything to do with year end mutual fund distributions. So far this year we have received $8,327.85 in passive dividend income. Our annual dividend income goal is $7,500 so we beat this goal by over $825! In fact, this month, we made over $1,800! Here are the numbers:
Stocks:
Bank of America (BAC) – $1.65
Canadian National Railway (CNR) – $31.25
Canadian Utilities (CU) – $57.23
Enbridge (ENB) – $4.90
Fortis (FTS) – $24.40
Manulife Financial (MFC) – $29.57
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (REI) – $4.12
Suncor Energy (SU) – $15.67
Sun Life Financial (SLF) – $15.24
Mutual Funds and ETFs:
iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Preferred Share Index ETF (CPD) – $51.73
iShares S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index ETF (XRE) – $38.97
Canadian Short-Term Corporate Bond Index ETF (VSC) – $14.62
Canadian Short-Term Bond Index ETF (VSB) – $11.62
TD Canadian Bond Index – e (TDB909) – $7.81
TD International Index Fund – e (TDB911) – $176.52
TD European Index Fund – e (TDB906) – $30.57
TD US Index Fund -e (TDB902) – $574.31
TD Canadian Index Fund – e (TDB900) – $714.77
TOTAL = $1804.95
Rental Income
With both units rented out, we managed to make a small profit this month after all expenses. We updated the electrical in both units when we purchased the property and are paying this in monthly instalments. January will be our final payment and that will add another $500 to our monthly profit.
Total Monthly Rental Income = $99.93
This brings the grand total for our December 2015 Investment income to $1904.88!
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