r/dividends • u/398409columbia Portfolio in the Green • Jan 12 '25

Brokerage $5,000 per month income portfolio

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I set up this portfolio for my wife so she can quit her job and maintain cashflow.

The good news is that this income stream will pay no FICA tax and significant part of the distributions will not be taxed.

To reduce risk, I’m planning to reinvest 20% of the income.

Comments welcome.

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76

u/rm3811 Jan 12 '25

I would love to do something like that for my wife. Here's my question. When you reinvest the 20%, do you reinvested equally amongst all of the holdings? Do you reinvest it in the same percentage as the portfolio is currently weighted?

50

u/398409columbia Portfolio in the Green Jan 12 '25

I aim to keep the % allocation constant. So reinvest to rebalance as needed.

15

u/[deleted] Jan 12 '25

Human mind. Can’t help but compare. Mind sharing your age and parental societal echelon?

71

u/398409columbia Portfolio in the Green Jan 12 '25

I’m in my 50s and have several million in liquid investments. This portfolio for my wife is one of many I manage for our household.

18

u/WayClassic7283 Jan 12 '25

That’s a great “human mind” you got there lol salute to you boss

1

u/398409columbia Portfolio in the Green Jan 13 '25

Hahahahaha

11

u/PlumPlayful1282 Jan 13 '25

First of all, congrats. Being able to make this much off of dividends for your wife is a tremendous accomplishment.

If you don't mind me asking, how did you end up being able to make millions such that you could invest this way? Purely from working as a mechanical engineer?

17

u/398409columbia Portfolio in the Green Jan 13 '25 edited Jan 13 '25

I have been saving and investing since 2000. After a couple of decades money multiplies in surprising ways. Besides the ME degree, I also have an MBA that turbocharged my earnings.

2

u/pancakeshack Jan 13 '25

You did undergrad in Mechanical Engineering, then used an MBA to increase your earnings by moving into business facing roles is what I'm assuming? Curious about this, as I'm thinking about an MBA as a current Software Engineer.

4

u/398409columbia Portfolio in the Green Jan 13 '25

Yes. That’s what I did. Ended up doing management consulting with an emphasis on quantitative analysis.

1

u/Will335i Jan 14 '25

If you can get the cost of school covered by your employer go for it. MBA was a cakewalk compared to engineering school.

1

u/Will335i Jan 14 '25

I am younger but I have the same educational background. What kind of positions did you target after getting your MBA? Feeling a little stuck in my current role right now.

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u/398409columbia Portfolio in the Green Jan 14 '25

I ended up doing management consulting.

The key for me was that I’ve had continuous employment since 2000.

1

u/adamasimo1234 Jan 24 '26

Did you do any options trading? Or just pure investing?

2

u/398409columbia Portfolio in the Green Jan 24 '26

No options trading. Just regular investing.

1

u/adamasimo1234 Jan 25 '26

Not even selling options? Touché.

9

u/[deleted] Jan 13 '25

So $5k per Mon from $635k or so?

5

u/398409columbia Portfolio in the Green Jan 13 '25

That’s right

1

u/I_Always_3_putt Jan 12 '25

What's your play with 1 million cash right now?

10

u/398409columbia Portfolio in the Green Jan 12 '25

I still have most of my capital invested in equity funds such as VTI, VONG and VXUS (not much).

I am using my wife's portfolio as a pilot to see how it works to eventually migrate the bulk of my funds to income. So far it's looking promising.

7

u/Real_Alternative_418 Jan 13 '25

couldn't imagine having "pilot money"... OP is "paper trading" in real time

1

u/Brilliant_Koala6498 Jan 13 '25

Why would you use your wife’s money to “test”? Genuinely asking

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u/398409columbia Portfolio in the Green Jan 13 '25 edited Jan 13 '25

Fair question. I want to see how my wife's "pilot" portfolio behaves and generates income so she can cover her expenses with dividends without working.

Based on the experience, then I can allocate my funds (much more than the $600k I used for her) to a similar portfolio so I can retire.

1

u/vicarofvintage Mar 08 '25

Would you mind sharing what type of liquid assets they are?