Here is my May 2014 dividend income. May has been an excellent month and we are well on our way toward meeting our annual goals of increasing our net worth to $700,000, being mortgage-free in early 2015 and hitting the $2500 in dividends mark.
I managed to earn some additional income this month by working overtime shifts and getting some extra money for working on a stat holiday. Rather than blowing the extra money on “things” I decided to do the smart thing by paying down mortgage debt. The extra money went right on the mortgage as lump sum payment and, in addition to some other lump sum payments that were made as well as our regular weekly accelerated payments, we managed to knock the principal down by almost $4,900!
For the most part, the markets have held up remarkably well…so much for sell in May and go away! I’m still waiting for a decent correction…say at least 10% so I can put some of the cash in my investment accounts to work. That said, I did purchase some shares in a company called KP Tissue. It was trading below its book value and has a 17% interest in Kruger Products – a company that dominates the tissue market in Canada and is expanding into the US.
Beyond that, I made my regular monthly and quarterly share purchases in my dividend reinvestment accounts (DRIPs). I bought more shares in Emera, Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal. In these accounts I do not attempt to time the market – I contribute small amounts regularly and I let compounding and dollar-cost averaging do its work.
Two of the companies I own raised their dividend in May. This is great because when companies raise their dividend it helps me achieve my goals sooner. The Bank of Montreal (BMO) raised its dividend by 2.6% or 2 cents a quarter from $0.76 to $0.78 and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) raised its dividend by 2% or 2 cents a quarter from $0.98 to $1.00.
May is one of the leaner months when it comes to dividend income. Here are the numbers:
EMA – $8.32
BMO – $26.60
REI – $3.78
CPD – $43.94
XRE – $29.19
VSC – $16.02
VSB – $ 12.97
TOTAL = $140.82