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There are a lot of folks that visit
Washington, D.C. in April to see the famous cherry blossoms.
The same goes for touring New England when the leaves start
to change in the fall.
But one season that seems ignored despite being every bit as
beautiful -- the wildflower season in my adopted home of
Texas.
It's been a cold and wet winter here in Austin, which is the
perfect recipe for wildflowers come spring -- especially
bluebonnets. (Bluebonnets are actually the state flower. The
myth is that it's illegal to pick them.) And with the
warming April weather, the flowers are simply stunning this
year. In some places the highways are just a ribbon of grey
surrounded by an ocean of blue flowers.
 To
me, seeing the wildflowers as I drive into the research
office each morning is a nice treat. I like that. But as
much as I think the flowers are nice, I head to the office
each morning to uncover a different sort of treat --
dividends.
And just like bluebonnet season, I think that most investors
are serially underrating the impact of dividends. (You've
already taken a strong step to remedy that by being a
Dividend Opportunities reader.)
That's why I want to share an update with you about my
unique income investing strategy. It should provide a couple
of income ideas, but I hope more than anything that it's
something you'll pass along to show more investors the light
of income investing.
For those unaware, I'm the managing editor of
The Daily Paycheck. My goal is simple: Using
funds from my $200,000 real-money portfolio (yes, I invest
alongside subscribers using real cash), I'm building a
portfolio that delivers a dividend check for every day of
the month.
Imagine if you had a goose that laid a golden egg every day
-- that's what I'm trying to recreate. Think of how secure
you'd feel with having a dividend check every day of the
week. It sounds dreamy, but I promise you -- it's closer
than you realize.
In April, for example, I'm on pace to rake in $458.37
thanks to 12 different dividend payments. That comes out to
an average payment of $38 a pop. But that's not the best
news.
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April Paychecks |
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Security
(Symbol) |
Paycheck |
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1.
Cellcom (NYSE: CEL) |
$55.48 |
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2. Tax-Advantaged Fund |
$24.00 |
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3. Global Income Fund |
$25.00 |
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4.
International Fund |
$82.00 |
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5. Preferred Income Fund |
$24.00 |
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6. Muni Bond
Fund |
$18.50 |
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7. Australia Fund |
$70.00 |
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8.
Utility Fund |
$22.45 |
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9.
Sovereign Debt ETF |
$19.00 |
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10.
Business Dev. Company |
$31.25 |
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11. Kinder Morgan
(NYSE: KMP) |
$67.13 |
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12.
Asia-Pacific Fund |
$19.56 |
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Total Paychecks: |
$458.37 |
I started
The Daily Paycheck in December. After just a few
months, I'm still building out my portfolio. Of my $200,000
capital, I've got less than half invested at this point.
My April dividends are coming in from just a portion of my
capital. In the months ahead I plan to put the rest of the
portfolio to work. I expect my dividend checks to grow
accordingly.
But what if you don't have the luxury of a $200,000 portfolio...
or even $100,000? Wouldn't the income from a smaller portfolio
be too small to amount to anything?
That's where the second feature of my daily paycheck strategy
can be a godsend.
Once you're getting your daily paycheck you can do what you want
with it -- pay bills, go out to eat, buy a new pair of shoes.
But if you're wanting to grow your small checks into big checks,
the smartest thing you can do is reinvest your dividends.
This is what I do with my real-money portfolio. So instead of
getting my $458.37 this month in cash, I'm actually getting it
in the form of more shares. Of course, these shares are then
paid future dividends, increasing future payments, and so on.
When you don't have much cash to invest, the effect of
compounding is one of the most profitable strategies you can use
to boost your income.
One tip to make your paychecks grow even faster -- litter your
portfolio with monthly dividend payers and reinvest. The
more frequent payments mean your dividends compound on a monthly
basis instead quarterly, boosting your income that much quicker.
Always searching for your
next paycheck,
Amy Calistri
Chief Investment Strategist --
The Daily Paycheck
P.S. -- If you're interested in learning more about
The Daily Paycheck, please
visit this link. I'd love for you to join me as I
continue building my portfolio!
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