Summary
- What dividend investing is
- My background and how I started dividend investing
- Why dividend investing is my favorite strategy
- My personal experience dividend investing: Pros and Cons
- Is dividend investing worth it
What is dividend investing
Dividend investing involves a strategy around buying into dividend paying stock and or ETFs (exchange traded funds) that all have at least one thing in common: They pay dividends. The goal is dividend investing is largely to build a well-rounded portfolio of stocks and or ETFs that pay dividends and that grows over time. Dividend investing is very popular with those investors who are seeking cash flow and are interested in more income producing assets rather than more growth oriented instead.
My background and how I started dividend investing
The way I got interested in dividend investing is interesting and far from average so I think you will find this fascinating. I grew up like many other with little to no financial stability and or personal finance knowledge even through high school. My first year of college I was desperate to make something happen in the business world as I was always very entrepreneurial even at a young age. My freshman year of college I become deeply involved with online social media accounts and began running and friends with those who were running some of the largest accounts on earth (at this time 2013) Long story short I began making decent money and later dropped out of college to pursue the online social media business which in hindsight was a great bet to make. Years went by and I found myself in my early 20s with a decent stack of savings that I knew I needed to get working for me. Again, I mentioned early I knew nothing about investing and sure I was “making it” in the business world at this point and had some money on the side in savings, but I knew nothing about how to make this money potentially grow. That was until one day I was speaking to a friend, and he mentioned something about his granddad leaving him shares of a stock that paid him dividends. For whatever reason this sparked my interest instantly. He explained that each quarter he was paid a dividend for each of the shares of this blue-chip stock that his granddad passed down to him. I had tons of questions and even though he was explaining to me how dividend stocks worked (more or less) I still to be honest had almost no clue what he was talking about. Shortly after this encounter I opened a Robinhood account and deposited my first ever money into a brokerage account. I began doing tons of stock market research and quickly started buying stock that in fact did pay dividends. I loved the idea of spending money on an asset then getting paid dividends from said asset hopefully until the end of time. Fast forward around a decade later and I never stopped buying dividend stocks and ETFs since that day. I now have well over 7-figures invested into the stock market and generate over $100,000 per year in dividends at age 32. Dividend investing has changed everything for me and continues to help me reach new levels financially I never thought I would be able to do.
Why dividend investing is my favorite strategy
Knowing what I know now in investing, there are so many ways to get to the end goal. The end goal being financial freedom for most of us at least. I know dividend investing is not the only vehicle to get there also. I own physical real estate, growth stocks and companies which all have their own perks. Dividend investing on the other hand is a very special sort of investment. You see the thing with dividend investing is that the investment strategy is so measurable. Each time you log into your brokerage account and buy just one more share of whatever dividend stock or ETF you’d like, at that moment of purchasing you are not only purchasing a small piece of a larger company or fund, but also a little slice of financial freedom.
| Stock | Investment | Dividend Yield | Annual Income | Monthly Income | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $O (Realty Income) | $1,000 | 5.5% | $55/year | ~$4.58/month | 1 Spotify subscription |
| $MO (Altria) | $2,000 | 8.5% | $170/year | ~$14.17/month | 1 Netflix + YouTube Premium |
| $VZ (Verizon) | $3,000 | 6.8% | $204/year | ~$17.00/month | Your phone bill |
| $JEPI | $5,000 | 10% | $500/year | ~$41.67/month | 1 electric bill |
| $QYLD | $10,000 | 12% | $1,200/year | ~$100.00/month | 1 week of groceries |
The cool thing about dividend investing is that you can literally start to chip away at your monthly expenses. Early on when I was dividend investing, I reached a point to where my dividend income in theory could cover my entire car insurance. I remember feeling so free and knowing that sometime in the future if I keep buying more stock and ETFs, I would be able to cover in more bills in the future. This strategy is beyond addicting and has fueled my dividend investing path since the start.
My personal experience dividend investing: Pros and Cons
There are tons of pros with dividend investing, but also cons we need to talk about also. Here’s a simple table sharing some of the pros and cons I have encountered in my dividend investing journey
| Pros ✅ | Cons ⚠️ |
|---|---|
| 💵 Passive Income – Get paid regularly just for holding stocks | 📉 Dividend Cuts – Companies can reduce or suspend dividends anytime |
| 📈 Compounding Power – Reinvest dividends to grow your portfolio faster | 🐢 Slower Growth – Dividend stocks may underperform high-growth tech stocks |
| 😌 Peace of Mind – More stable and predictable than trading or speculation | 🧾 Taxable Income – Dividends can be taxed, especially in taxable accounts |
| 🧠 Simple Strategy – Easy to understand and stick to over time | ⚖️ Overweight in Certain Sectors – Many high-yielders are in sectors like utilities, REITs, or tobacco |
| 🏖️ Retirement-Ready – Ideal for building income that covers living expenses | 🔄 Reinvestment Takes Discipline – You need to reinvest consistently to maximize compounding |
Is dividend investing worth it
Dividend investing has not only been worth it since the start but feels like something I will do long into the future. If you are willing to play the long game (and trust me, it seems like it really takes a long time until the portfolio starts rolling) then you will see the success I, along with many other dividend investors have experienced. Dividend investing is not a get rich quick strategy by any means, and sure it might seem pointless earning just a few dollars in dividend income in those early days. But I promise I am living proof of a dividend investor who have been at it now or about a decade and can honestly say it was totally worth it.
If you are interested in learning more about how I went from $0 to now over $100K per year in dividends, I created an E-guide which I would love for you to check out here: https://dividendinvesting.co/