7 Dividend Blogs You Need To Read

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We aim to inform our readers with quality dividend posts and lists… but we can’t cover everything. There are several other great bloggers out there covering dividend investing that you should be reading. Use these blogs to help you with your dividend learning and research.

1. The Dividend Pig


Follow the Dividend Pig on their journey towards creating a passive income stream large enough to live off of. You can view this investors current holdings and track their dividend income. You will also find in depth dividend analysis and news.

2. The Passive Income Earner


The Passive Income Earner started blogging because sharing financial information is a passion of theirs. Spending an hour a day reading and researching investment materials made blogging an easy transition. Their goal is to retire on passive income and they blog about their journey to reach that goal.

3. Dividend Monk


Matt has been investing for over 5 years and while he is not a real monk he does have a minimalist approach with a long term view. Matt likes to hold dividend growth stocks for the long term and reveals his dividend portfolio of 19 solid dividend payers.

4. Dividend Ninja


The Dividend Ninja has a very solid approach to dividend investing. You can read all about it on their about page. I love the modern design and feel this blog has but what we really care about is the content. The Ninja will help you stay on track with your investing and find solid stocks to invest in.

5. The Dividend Guy Blog


The Dividend Guy Blog has been a dependable source of dividend information for the last few years. Each week you can count on solid analysis, useful reading links and in depth articles explaining the ins and outs of dividend investing. Check out their 10 part dividend investment process.

6. Dividend Mantra


Dividend Mantra is trying to build a solid portfolio of dividend stocks, live frugally and retire by 40. Can it be done? With the right investments anything is possible. Get inspired by his money saving attitude and dividend goals.

7. Dividend Partisan


Last but not least, someone had to be #7, is Dividend Partisan. The Partisan currently owns 11 dividend stocks and has a top 20 list worth checking out. There could not be a better mission statement than what I’ve read here, and we wish them all the best.

That concludes our list of dividend blogs for today. If you have others that are worth mentioning please leave a comment below.

What Are Dividend Aristocrats?

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If you are relatively new to dividend investing, there is a good chance you might be wondering what, exactly, “dividend aristocrats” are. It is clear from the term that these are dividend stocks considered to be in a “higher class” when compared to other companies that pay dividends.

Dividend Aristocrats Index

Interestingly, dividend aristocrats are those listed on a special index. This index, published by Standard and Poor’s is called the Dividend Aristocrats Index. The main characteristic of this list is that those listed on it have consistently increased stocks over the course of the last 25 years. You are not going to find dividend stocks with yields in the double digits. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find very many dividend aristocrats with yields above 4% (although they do exist).

Historically, this index has outperformed the S&P 500. A lot of it likely has to do with the solid business models that many companies on the index have, as well as the fact that these businesses often feature safe business decisions. Also, you might notice that the list contains insurance conglomerates, health care products companies and consumer products.

Letting Dividend Aristocrats Guide You

If you look over the dividend aristocrats list, you might discover that it’s kind of a boring list. However, you will also notice that some of these companies have been paying out dividends for decades. Coca-Cola has increased its dividend every year for the last 48 years.

The aristocrats can offer some insight into which stocks are likely to weather a recession. Even though these stocks might see setbacks in stock price, along with every other company, during a stock market crash or a recession, these companies are also likely to recover. So they might be good choices when the market is down – and you can get more shares for less.

If you are building an income portfolio using dividend stocks, dividend aristocrats can be attractive if you are looking for a source of income that is relatively stable. While dividends are not guaranteed, there is nevertheless a good chance that your dividends will remain the same (and very likely head higher) if you invest in dividend aristocrats.

Getting Started

If you want to invest in dividend aristocrats, it’s fairly easy to get started. Many of these stocks have programs that allow you to use dollar cost averaging to buy portions of shares. For those without a large chunk of capital to use, this can be very helpful. You can start out slow, and gradually build up your portfolio.

Dollar Cost Averaging and Dividend Stocks

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One of the best ways to build up a dividend portfolio is to make use of dollar cost averaging. This technique allows you to build up your income portfolio slowly, and it is something that almost anyone can participate in. While you may not see huge inflows at first, over time you will notice that you begin receiving more and more income from your efforts at dollar cost averaging.

Dollar Cost Averaging

When you engage in dollar cost averaging, you can buy partial shares of a dividend stock. This means that if you have $150 to invest each month, and the average share of a stock is $60, you will get 2.5 shares of the stock when you buy. If the stock drops to $45, your next purchase will get you 3.33 shares. You end up with more shares. This means that your next dividend payout, which is based on the number of shares you own, will be bigger.

Of course, the flip side to dollar cost averaging is that when the stock price goes up, your money buys fewer shares. But, over time, it tends to even out somewhat. Besides, the main advantage to dollar cost averaging is that allows you to start an income investing portfolio without needing a large chunk of capital.

Watching Your Dividend Portfolio Grow

At first, you will not see great results. Your quarterly income from your dividend portfolio will generally be quite small. Many people in the early stages of dividend income portfolio often reinvest their dividends to boost the number of shares that they can buy. (For the long term, a DRIP program can lead to automatic reinvestment of your dividends.) This can speed up the pace at which you build up your portfolio. Later, you can start using your dividend payouts to meet your regular expenses.

In order to effectively grow your dividend portfolio, it is a good idea to figure out how much money you can invest each month. Make it a regular habit. Whether you can invest $50 a month to start, or $500, the idea is to begin building your portfolio. As you find ways to increase your month investment, as the number of shares you have increases, you will begin seeing larger dividend payouts. Eventually, you will be able to create a relatively stable source of income from your investments. At some point, you might even be able to stop considering your dividend portfolio as supplemental income, and think of it as your “regular” income.

Dividends Are Not Guaranteed

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One of the most important things to remember about stock dividends is that they are not guaranteed. It seems almost as though you have a right to dividends, but you don’t. Stock dividends are, in fact, something extra – a nice perk for shareholders.

Companies Decide Whether to Pay Dividends

The board of directors for a company choose whether or not to pay dividends. Many companies feel that regular pay outs are a good idea, since dividends can attract a certain type of investor. And, of course, companies benefit when investors put money into their operations. However, it is vital to remember, even as you build an income portfolio for stable cash flow, that companies can decide to stop paying dividends.

In some cases, a company may decide to cut the dividend rather than stop paying it altogether. A dividend is a share of the company’s profits. If a company has seen a drop in revenue, or wants to finance a major acquisition, the board of directors may decide to reduce the payout. This leaves more of the money for the company to do what it wants. You still benefit from stock price increases, but you may not get the dividend income that you expect.

Protecting Your Dividend Portfolio

Because dividends are not guaranteed, it is a good idea to protect your income portfolio from dividend cuts. You can create a relatively stable cash flow with the help of dividend paying stocks, but you still need to be prepared for cuts. Some of the things you can do to help protect yourself against dividend cuts include:

• Company diversity: Don’t rely solely on the dividends from a single company, or from a variety of companies in a single industry. Look for different dividend stocks from different industries so that your dividend income won’t be completely decimated by difficulties affecting one company or industry.

• Income diversity: While dividend stocks can make a great income source, you should consider cultivating other income streams. Include bonds and P2P lending in your income portfolio (provided you have the right risk tolerance). You can also look for other passive income streams online or from royalties.

The key to be diverse enough in your income so that the reduction in one source won’t completely cause problems. You might even consider maintaining a part-time job or doing some freelancing or consulting work to make sure have a relatively stable base of income.

Dividend stocks are a great investment in many cases, but you do have to remember that your payouts aren’t guaranteed, and plan accordingly.

Boost Your Retirement Savings with DRIPs

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My very first experience with dividend stocks came from a source I didn’t expect. When I opened a Roth IRA soon after being married, I chose a couple of different funds. To be honest, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I picked a growth fund and an income fund to go into my Roth IRA because I thought such a move would constitute diversification. It was only after the first year, when I looked at the yearly statement that I realized what had happened: DRIPs were part of the income fund.

Extra Money for My Retirement Account

I saw that one of the funds was paying dividends. But, instead of sending me a check, these dividends were automatically reinvested in the fund. I thought that was pretty cool, even though I didn’t actually know what was happening; all I knew was that I was paid extra, and it bought me more shares of the fund.

After doing some research on the term “dividends”, I realized that what I had was a DRIP. The dividend reinvestment plan associated with one of my funds was helping to boost my retirement account. And, because the fund is in a Roth IRA, the dividends aren’t taxed in the year they are earned. Each year, I read my statement to see how much in dividends I have earned, and see that they are reinvested.

One of the bonuses of this was that my retirement account didn’t take as big a hit as other accounts did. With half (yes, half) of my Roth IRA in an income fund full of dividend stocks, the recession didn’t affect my account as much as others’ accounts were affected. Indeed, I was able to see a big difference between the growth fund and the income fund during the recession.

DRIPs and Extra Money

Because DRIPs reinvest your dividends automatically, it is like getting free shares of the investment. When you have these types of stocks in your retirement account, it means you get more shares for your account. Later, when it is time to start withdrawing, you will find that your extra shares (received essentially for free) could easily translate into more money for you down the road.

Since I inadvertently invested in that income fund years ago, I’ve changed the way I do things. I still have that Roth IRA, but it’s not my only account (for many reasons). Learning about DRIPs has been helpful for me, and the discovery has led me to learn more about dividend stocks as a source of income now. There are many uses for dividend stocks, and it is a good idea to explore how they fit into your overall financial plan.

Consistent High Yield Stocks

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Every investor looking for income from their stocks likes consistency. Who wants to buy a stock and be concerned that the dividend could get cut or the stock could tumble lower.

Safe Dividend List – March

The safe dividend stock list has over 30 stocks that have been raising their dividend for 25 years or more. 6 of those stocks have a dividend yield over 4%.

The standout on the list has a 100 point Top Dividend rating again this month. With a yield over 7%, 5 year dividend growth rate of 64% and a 3 year net income growth rate over 20% this stock is hard to ignore. Plus its up over 30% in the last year.

Most of the stocks on the safe dividend list have seen big gains over the last year. Big gains plus big yields makes for a very attractive stock.

Top 100 Dividend Stocks

We had 5 stocks top out at 100 points in March on the top 100 dividend stock list. Two of these stocks come from the safe list. One of the other three is a REIT, one is a beverage company and the last is a Energy company. The REIT stock shows a high payout ratio but remember that REITs pay out all of their income so there is nothing to be concerned about.

Each of these stocks show high dividend growth and great returns over the last year which is why we can give them 100 point ratings.

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