April Update for the ETF Dividend Growth Portfolio

April was a tricky month for markets worldwide. Investors didn’t know whether they were coming or going so they probably did both as it was a very up and down thirty days. I improved the value of the ETF dividend portfolio by less than $100 but at least it wasn’t a loss.

Of course it would have been a loss if I hadn’t added new money to the portfolio but that’s a minor detail my friend. The important thing is we are UP for the month.. woohoo!

Actually, the most important thing is that we’re still in the game, still buying income producing assets and still thinking long term. If we add even $100 to our dividend portfolio for the month then we have won. It’s a vote for freedom and against the madness of the slave system that has been built for us.

I tried to explain to a friend who said they’re too old to start investing that they’re missing the point. Firstly it was complete crap as they’re only in their early fifties, but secondly, and more importantly, every month that you invest is saying NO to the psychopaths who rely on your slavery and submission, while it’s a massive YES to freedom, choices and evolution.

The friend continues to exist in the box labelled slavery and shows no interest in freedom and choices. They pretend to want freedom but their actions prove otherwise.

I seriously believe that freedom scares the majority of humanity. We’re happy existing in this prison created for us by entities that have zero interest in seeing us evolve. We’re happy little mushrooms: fed crap and kept in the dark.

ETF Dividend Payments in April

Income from April was an all time high for the ETF dividend portfolio with an impressive $78.37 paid out, just beating January’s high of $71.38. This would definitely buy a Chinese takeaway meal for two and could include dessert if you’re not overly extravagant.

It included the three quarterly paying ETFs with IVV (iShares S&P500) making $7.60, VGS (Vanguard’s international stocks) paying out $13.04 and VHS (Vanguard’s Australian dividend companies) surprising me with a $44.72 dividend payment.

The monthly paying JPEQ (JP Morgan’s covered call option ETF using the NASDAQ, listed as JEPQ in the US) paid me $12.92. I plan to increase that to $25+ per month and also do the same with three other monthly paying covered call option ETFs in the United States (JEPI, SPYI and QQQI).

That’ll give me a base of $100+ per month and then the quarterly payers will make January, April, July and October feel like Christmas! January and July will be even more special as the twice-yearly paying GEAR (Betashares geared Australian stocks) also pays out.

The ETF Dividend Portfolio for April

The goal has been to increase the portfolio by about $1,000 per month but that requires a market heading north or at least moving sideways. This month we had a down market and an increase of about $74 for the ETF dividend portfolio. So we’re sitting at about $11,243 and that’s after adding $473 to the portfolio in April.

I normally add a bit more to the ETF portfolio but I’ve had to redirect funds elsewhere and will likely add even less in May. Here’s what the portfolio looks like this month…

See the ETF Dividend Portfolio from March.

What to Expect in May

I don’t think I’ll be adding much to the portfolio in May as a company I own is raising money to expand into the UK market. The ASX listed Nick Scali (NCK) share purchase plan allows investors to purchase a minimum of $1,000 through to a maximum of $30,000. While the maximum is definitely out of my reach at the moment I’ll try for at least $2,500.

It’s a good reminder to always have spare cash available but I need as much of my money working for me and producing income as possible. My investments allow a very minimal existence and I would like that existence to be a little bit more maximalist! Less is more to More is more!

So I invest and reinvest as much as I can as often as I can as I need to increase my income from dividend paying stocks.

I’ll try to add at least $200 to the ETF portfolio though as I don’t want to go a whole month without adding new money to it but I think Nick Scali will be receiving most of my attention this May.

How is your ETF portfolio going and how many ETFs do you currently hold?

Total ETF + Managed Funds Portfolio for April

Portfolio value inside the Vanguard website: $4,456 up from $4,417
Betashares ETF portfolio: $3,895 up from $3,779
ASX listed ETFs held in brokerage account: $2,872 down from $2,943
Total Index Funds portfolio value (VHY, VGS, GEAR, JPEQ and IVV): $11,243 up from $11,169

Most recent dividend payment (April): $78.37 up from $9.39 in March (Monthly dividends from JPEQ and quarterly divs from IVV, VGS, and VHY)
Dividends paid in 2024 so far: $159.14
All dividends paid in 2023: $102.68
All ETF dividend payments since buying $309.78

ETF Dividends Goal: $2,000+ per year.