Dividend Growth, March Madness Style: A Portfolio Update for 2023
Updated: Apr 14

My Dividend Growth Portfolio has a dual purpose: to drive growth in share value while generating a steady stream of passive income to support my retirement goals. With a current dividend yield of 3.26%, the portfolio is heavily weighted towards growth. However, as I approach retirement, I plan to shift my focus towards maximizing income while reducing exposure to growth. To achieve this, I make monthly contributions of $2,000-$4,000, totaling $6,000 this year, and supplement it with my tax-deferred ROTH TSP account. I reinvest all dividends through DRIP, but as my income grows, I'll carefully select reinvestment opportunities and set aside the necessary funds to cover taxes on my withdrawals.
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Table of Contents
Projected Annual Dividend Income (PADI)

All Charts are from my Dividend Portfolio Tracker

Dividends Received in March
This month I paused contributions for my account since I'm am putting my house on the market. I decided to add my normal $3,000 to my high yield savings account, brining that account total to $20,010. This is my first month using my HYSA. It currently yield 3.75%. Meaning I should earn $750.37 a year or $62.53 a month.

I received a total of $419.97 in dividends in March. This brings my 2023 dividends received total to $635.75. I received the following dividends in March:
Stock Ticker | Dividend Value Received |
Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) | $72.83 |
Consolidated Edison (ED) | $17.96 |
Home Depot (HD) | $15.00 |
JP Morgan Income ETF (JEPI) | $64.84 |
The 3M Company (MMM) | $31.64 |
Microsoft (MSFT) | $17.16 |
Realty Income (O) | $19.05 |
Charles Schwab Div ETF (SCHD) | $149.45 |
Visa Inc (V) | $3.64 |
Vanguard 500 (VOO) | $13.74 |
Exxon Mobile (XOM) | $14.66 |

Monthly Dividends Compared
In 2021, I received $44 in dividends. My dividends in 2023 were nearly 10x that value!

Quarterly Dividends
My portfolio's dividend growth is around 9%, with that my 1st Quarter dividends are the highest of all time. This comes after a $6,000 investment addition year to date. It's wild to see how I was receiving little no dividends in 2020. and short three years ago.

Projected Annual Dividend Income (PADI)
One major milestone that my portfolio achieved is that I am now earning over $100 dollars a month consistently. March, June, September, and December still remain my highest monthly payments since most of my positions pay quarterly.

My dividend portfolio's PADI is $2,653.22 annually or an average of $221.10 a month. Adding in my HYSA account PADI of $750.37 a year or $62.53 a month I get the following for my overall investments PADI of:
$3,403.59 annually or $283.63 a month

March and Annual Performance
During March my portfolio closely tracked the SP500. Overall it returned a half of percent less at 2.97%.

My portfolio's annual performance is lagging the SP500 for a decent amount. I've returned 4.14% compared to the SP500's return of 6.53%. Some of this I attribute to $MMM as it has fallen 16% YTD. I am considering adding more to this position to significantly reduce my cost basis to capitalize on $MMM's recovery.
