January 2016 Income

2016 was a rough start for stocks! Seems like nearly all of my stocks are lower. For dividend investors, though, the situation is not too bad. Lower stock prices just means that we can buy more shares and that our dividend reinvestments have more oomph.

This January I received $144.28, compared with $97 in January 2015. This is an increase of nearly 49%. January has typically been my lowest paying month, and this January is likely no different after a quick glance at my Dividend Calendar. However, since the January dividend is greater than $100, this means that from now on, pending a drastic dividend cut, I’ll be receiving at least $100 every month in dividends with absolutely no more effort on my part! And, other than January, the other months pay substantially more.

One of the stocks that I purchased early in January before excellent quarterly earnings announced later in the month was Facebook. I purchased 20 shares at $101.7226/share. This stock was purchased for the growth aspect of total returns and does not pay a dividend.

Options: Cash-secured put on Boeing with a strike of 115 and expiration of Jan 2017. I received $1169.97 in premium, which is available for immediate use in my account. See my options page for further details.

Symbol Dividend Amount
BAX $3.66
BXLT $2.17
CSCO $23.30
DIS $6.76
GE $96.36
O $10.30
PGX $1.73

Total option income for January 2016: $1,169.97
Total cumulative option income for 2016: $1,169.97

Lending Club interest for January 2016: $18.61
Cumulative Lending Club interest for 2016: $18.61
Lending Club Adjusted Net Annualized Return: 6.96%


Total dividends for January 2016: $144.28
Total cumulative dividend income for 2016: $144.28
Total cumulative passive income for 2016: $1,332.86
Forward 12-Month Dividends: $5,269.36


Full disclosure: Long all the above stocks

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8 Responses

  1. DivHut says:

    Nice income from GE the only name we share for the month of January. Awesome options income too. You already know how I feel about options but I see them in my future. Nice to see your passive income coming from a variety of sources. Great job and look forward to your next update.
    DivHut recently posted…Dividend Income Update January 2016My Profile

    • scott says:

      Hi DivHut,

      Strange we only share GE in January. Sounds like I’ll have to buy a few more stocks to even out the income! Regarding the option on BA, I’ll continue to give updates. The main issue now is that it looks like I’ll have to have greater than $11,500 cash on hand before I can invest in anything else. If all is said and done, that still amounts to greater than 10% return in a year. However, if I can get level 3 approval at Schwab (already have it at TD), then my margin requirement will only be around $2800. My less money that will need to be set aside and yet I still pay no interest.

  2. Solid month TI! And that’s great that you reached the level of $100+ per month minimum. We both own DIS, GE and O and O also announced a nice increase in January just to really make you love the company. All the best!
    JC @ Passive-Income-Pursuit recently posted…Dividend Growth Investing at Work – 58 Years of Dividend GrowthMy Profile

    • scott says:

      Thanks, JC! DIS, GE, and O are all solid companies. I was hoping O would take a little dip after the rate hike announcement so I could buy some more for the new tax year, but that does not appear to be the case. They’re on a tear lately!

  3. ambertree says:

    Solid income month. I especially look what other people do with options. It is a subject I like a lot and spend a lot if time on.
    One question: do you hold written puts till expiration or do you plan to buy back? I only account option income when the position is closed.
    ambertree recently posted…The put needs a callMy Profile

    • scott says:

      Hi Ambertree,

      That’s a good question. When I am selling puts 30-45 days out with the intention of collecting premium, then I account for premium when the position is closed. The reason being is that usually around the 20 day or so mark I’ll be able to buy the option back for around a 50% profit. However, for the BA option, expiring in a year, I decided to account for the premium now since my intention is to let it go to expiration anyway or buy 100 shares at the strike price. All of the premium is, therefore, available for me to spend on other stocks.

  4. Nice job Scott. Keep the snowball plowing through. It’ll get bigger and bigger and you won’t be able to stop contributing to the portfolio. It’s life changing for sure. I wish you the best moving forward and Let’s enjoy our journey. Cheers bud.
    Dividend Hustler recently posted…Lessons I’ve learned on my journey. My thoughts.My Profile

    • scott says:

      Hi Dividend Hustler. Thanks! It is definitely fun to watch the progress year-over-year. Watching the numbers get bigger and bigger is one of the things that makes it so fun! Good luck with your journey as well!

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