Another late posting but such is life. I’m going to stop beating myself up about late postings as I feel like I’m the only one who reads them anyway! Google doesn’t like me and I don’t like Google. Marketing doesn’t interest me and advertising even less so as I make precisely zero dollars and zero cents from the Money is Choices blog.
So I write this blog as a record for myself and the occasional internet wanderer who accidentally stumbles upon it and actually reads it. Which means I’m done feeling bad about posting the monthly updates late, but at the same time, I will try to be more punctual!
ETF Dividend Income in September
It was the monthly paying stocks only in September and I’m very happy to see that they’re now paying roughly $200 per month or an average of $50 per week. I felt like the monthlies were stuck around $130 for much too long.
JPEQ paid out an impressive $111.87, HYLD broke the $5 mark with $5.34, QQQI gave me $77.87 (the third month in a row that I have received $77), and OVL paid out $4.82, which is a total of $199.90 for the month of September.
This time last year the portfolio made $133.51 in dividends for the month of September which is a 49% increase YoY (year on year). I’m exactly $261.18 ahead for the total dividends paid in the 2026 calendar year compared to the same time in 2025. I wanted to double my ETF dividend income this year but that goal was obviously much too ambitious.
The rolling 6 month, monthly dividend payment was $200.05 last month. It has decreased to $200.01. I can live with a four cent decrease but would much prefer a $40 increase!
The ETF Dividend Portfolio for September
This month the ETF dividend portfolio has increased to $45,377 up from $43,000 in August which is an increase of about $2,377. New contributions were $1,018.06, which means that the portfolio would have increased by roughly $1,359 if I didn’t add any new money.
I added 7 shares to JEPQ (listed as JPEQ in Australia), added $66.62 to HYLD, invested a whopping $21.29 into ATEC, $229.51 worth of QQQI shares, and bought $286.55 worth of SCHD (US listed dividend focused ETF).
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 ETF portfolio looked like at the end of September 2026..
See the ETF Dividend Portfolio from August.
What to Expect in October
October has been a good month for the ETF portfolio and I’ll be posting the update in a few days. No more late posting, but like I said at the start of this post, I’m also not going to get mad at myself if I do post late.
How has your freedom making machine been 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 + REIT + Managed Funds Portfolio for September
Total Index Funds portfolio value (VHY, VGS, GEAR, JPEQ, QQQI, SCHD, NDQ, ATEC, HYLD, OVL and IVV): $45,377 up from $43,000.
Most recent dividend payment (September): $199.90 up from $174.72 in August (Monthly dividends from JPEQ, OVL, HYLD, and QQQI)
Dividends paid in September 2025: $133.51 which is a 49% Increase YoY (Year on Year)
6 Month Dividends Monthly Average: $200.01 down from $200.05 last month
Dividends paid in 2026: $1,777.33 (this time last year it was $1,516.15)
Dividends paid in 2025: $2,040.09 (181% increase)
Dividends paid in 2024: $725.85 (606% increase)
All dividends paid in 2023: $102.68
All ETF dividend payments since starting the ETF portfolio: $4,645.95
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