August ETF Dividends and Portfolio Update

Markets worldwide started the month with some panic and a little craziness so I was just hoping to come out even if I added as much new money to the fund in August as I could. Thankfully the madness settled and markets regained most of the losses as the month went on. The portfolio finished up so all is well.

If you’re not one to check your portfolio everyday and you avoid the news like the plague then you wouldn’t have known anything at all happened with markets. The media gets paid by the ton of fear and drama it sells, so if they can make you shit your pants and sing you a song at the same time then they’re doing their job. We shouldn’t reward them by giving them our eyeballs or more importantly, our minds.

I’m talking about mainstream media but investment youtubers are just as guilty with their clickbait thumbnails and scary news. I unsubscribe from anyone using thumbnails that include bukkake shocked mouths, fire, fear or ridiculous BUY NOW or SELL NOW titles. Most sell out because it works and people click on their videos. I unsub and block them as I have a low tolerance for drama and deception.

ETF Dividend Payments in August

August is the monthly paying ETFs only so naturally it was going to be a lower month for dividends but that number is increasing with the help of new purchases of FEPI and JPEQ.

I’m really pushing to get to the $100+ per month minimum payouts and I’m almost halfway there with $43.54 paid in August.

JPEQ paid out $18,37, FEPI paid $20.26 and QQQI gave me $4.91 for the month which is a total of $43.54 for the three monthly ETFs.

I’ve started keeping a record of the rolling 6 month, monthly dividend payments and last month it was $43.60 which would almost pay my phone bill! This month the average monthly dividends are $50.86 which would now be enough to pay my phone bill. Now lets see what we can do about the internet ($70), electricity ($165) and grocery bills ($500).

The ETF Dividend Portfolio for August

This month the ETF dividend portfolio has increased to $15,197, up from $14,614 in July which is an increase of about $583. New contributions were $802 which means that the portfolio would have gone down about $219 if I hadn’t added new money.

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 portfolio looks like this month…

See the ETF Dividend Portfolio from July.

What to Expect in September

I’m hoping the market increases a little this month as I want the portfolio to start with a 16 next update. I don’t think I’ll be able to add as much new money to the ETF fund ($800) either, so I need some assistance from Mr. Market.

I’ll probably buy a few shares of the yield focused Vanguard VHY ETF which will be paying dividends in October and any other new buys will be the monthly payers.

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 + Managed Funds Portfolio for August

Portfolio value inside the Vanguard website: $5,100 down from $5,134
Betashares ETF portfolio: $5,497 up from $5,236
US & ASX listed ETFs held in brokerage accounts: $4,599 up from $4,242
Total Index Funds portfolio value (VHY, VGS, GEAR, JPEQ, FEPI, QQQI and IVV): $15,197 up from $14,614

Most recent dividend payment (August): $43.54 down from $130.30 in July (Monthly dividends from JPEQ, FEPI, and QQQI)
Dividends paid in 2024 so far: $376.52
All dividends paid in 2023: $102.68
All ETF dividend payments since buying $527.16

ETF Dividends Goal 1: $2,000+ per year.