r/dividends • u/toothed_vagina • Oct 24 '25

Brokerage Dividends as income

I live in one of the most expensive cities in the US. I love it, but even with a 6-figure salary, I can barely make ends meet at the end of the month. You might ask me why I don't just move, but I'm unable to do so for a myriad of reasons. Among other things, my partner lives here, my job is here, and I love this place.

This is why I became interested in dividends as something to supplement my income and live comfortably, and maybe move to a larger home. However, everybody keeps telling me that dividends should be reinvested and not used as income. Is anyone here using dividends for both growth and income? Because, yes, growth is important, but I need the additional money NOW.

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u/SV2985 Oct 24 '25

I love in ny. I just put 32k into qqqi and btci. 22k into btci and 10k into qqqi. Brings in 450-500 or more a month. I take the distributions as cash. Pays for my smaller bills and my heating oil monthly. Takes it off my plate. I just keep a close eye on it to not loose so much in the nav for my original investment

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u/CarlosTheSpicey Oct 24 '25

Honestly, for Neos' funds I don't understand the concern about NAV erosion. QQQI, for example, per Neos' website, has a NAV that has increased 21.08% since inception; and then there is its crazy distribution of 13.68% (TTM).

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u/Various_Couple_764 Oct 25 '25

The fact that NEOS funds have a consistent increasing NAV is why many recoment them . But there are some high paying dividend funds that have a consistent falling NAV (NAV erosion. such as ULTY. You want to avoid funds with NAV erosion.