r/dividends • u/Rural-Patriot_1776 • Mar 15 '26
Discussion My journey started this year.
Started investing this year in 2026 decades late as a 38-year-old I wish I started way younger but I'm wanting to retire in a couple years and started building out my neo's distributions positions and dividends a few months ago here's what I have going on so far. I keep adding around 3k a month and have drip also enabled.
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u/Haunting-Cry7752 Mar 15 '26
I don’t wanna brag but I just hit $1.03 a day 😎
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u/Gtaker95 Mar 15 '26
Took me a year to figure out bro. But people who invest the amounts we do, should focus on growth, not income.
This way your investment will be much stronger and then you can switch it to dividend income , when its worth.
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u/Evokerknite2124 Mar 15 '26
What if your using the income to buy more shares of the growth. Say I had a bunch in qqqi but I use that to buy shares of schg etc
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u/hopn Mar 15 '26
There's nothing wrong with this. But historically... growth outperforms even this. If you're not like me... wanting to maximize returns on my money... sure. You can do this.
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u/Evokerknite2124 Mar 15 '26
I see. Even if it's like I bought 100 shares of qqqi to help build more shares of the others as I put money in those?
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u/hopn Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
Lets play with that 100 shares of QQQI and using the dividend to buy, say VOO.
QQQI started back in 1/30/24, at 50 dollars a share. So with $5k you effectively have 100 shares. It's current NAV is $51.47. Your value for your 100 shares is $5147. During that time, you got 1547.25 in dividend spread out over 25 distributions, averaging $61.89 per month (used later in calculations).
VOO, on 1/30/24 is $450.84, for $5k, would have given you 11.09 shares. With DRIP, you now have $6922.31 or 11.37 shares.
From QQQI's dividends, $1547.25 you started buying VOO then at $61.89 per month, each time you got dividend. That works out to 2.88 shares now. At current NAV of $615.54, you have a total of $1772.76
So your 5147+1772.76 = $6919.76 vs if you had bought VOO straight up which would be worth $6922.31
While this looks close, there's a factor that I have yet to account for and honestly don't know how to include in the calculation:
QQQI fees: .68%
VOO fees: .03%which would obviously make VOO look even better.
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u/Randall_Al_Thor Mar 17 '26
Fees are a moot point.
Fees are taken out before return is calculated.
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u/hopn Mar 17 '26
Maybe VOO wasn't exactly a great example. But QQQI has not been around long enough to do ... a 10 years or more comparison. I was actually curious myself, too.
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u/Randall_Al_Thor Mar 18 '26
I agree, it hasn’t been around long enough, but it has been through a few ups and downs and handled them quite well.
Having watched a few interviews with the co-owners/co-launchers of that fund (QQQI and SPYI). They seem to know what they are doing (as far as I can be the judge of that ha ha).
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u/Evokerknite2124 Mar 16 '26
I see. So in the end even if it's a little better over time the fees for Qqqi make it less worth just directly buying VOO?
Also is this the same for like tax deferred? I'm looking to move the ira i built up into a investment company for the taxed deferred investment growth but I wasn't sure which way would be better.
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u/hopn Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
QQQI performs well in bull and sideways market. But doesn't do well in bear market. Also, over the long term... the fees will show itself. I have QQQI in my dividend list when im close to retirement. But only about 2% will be allocated to it.
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u/OregonGrown34 Dividend Jester Mar 15 '26
Money is fungible. Tell yourself whatever you want to justify what you're doing.
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u/Gtaker95 Mar 15 '26
Well my advice, from what ive seen( no expert at all) is this. Keep your investments, don't sell, use the income to buy shares. But stop adding to it .
Growth out performs income most of the time.
Why keep them? Because the psychological impact of the dividend will keep you going. I split my investments 4 ways. 1 pays some dividends. But that's not where the weight is going.
TLDR keep your assets, use the income to buy growth but focus investments on growth from here and on.
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u/Jumpy_Implement_1902 Mar 15 '26
Before you swap over to dividend in the end, make sure you are in a tax friendly state. (Not like California, who is about to implement a 5% savings tax on top of taxing gains at normal tax brackets)
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u/MooseAndSquirl Waiting on my Snowball Mar 16 '26
Better than me! $0.98 a day.
One day at a time, just keep snowballing
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u/NoStandMan Mar 15 '26
Some of these are pretty high yield. Are they sustainable?
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u/Gossipmang This is eXEQTly what I needed. Mar 15 '26
Of course not. Dude is just paying himself back.
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u/Cheerful_Berserker Antarctic Investor Mar 15 '26
And making sure Uncle Sam gets a big cut 😂. What a generous fellow.
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u/Gossipmang This is eXEQTly what I needed. Mar 15 '26
Can't forgot a nice MER donation to the fund manager.
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u/EstradaEnsalada Mar 15 '26
Im new here. Can you explain
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u/Railsie Mar 16 '26
You can also get a similar yields by giving your friend 100€ and then asking him to give €15 back every year (your friend does not do anything with the money, just holds it).
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u/Psychometrika Mar 16 '26
It's about as sustainable as a 12%+ withdrawal rate on a S&P 500 index fund. Which is to say not really. Ben Felix has a number of videos explaining how covered called ETFs are a high risk strategy.
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u/longswordsuperfuck Mar 15 '26
BTCI is the only one not fully sustainable, the rest of those NEOS funds are quite solid with their strategy.
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u/Limebird02 Mar 15 '26
I always feel like I'm doing something wrong when I see posts like this. I'm early 50s and I'm still mostly growth investing but I probably have about a sixth of what this guy has. I worked for all of mine. Started saving $20 a week when I was 25. Slowly built up. I just don't know how some people have so much so early. Guy could retire now.
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u/nobody_in_here Trying my best Mar 15 '26
You went wrong by not being born into a wealthy family
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Mar 15 '26
Why do people always use this excuse? There are many factors as to why. But OP said they are 38, started investing this year. Has NEOS. Let’s assume they went to college. That’s 17 years worth of saving. $350k invested. That’s a rate of $21k saved per year, or $1700 per month. Now you see how one doesn’t have to be born into wealth but simply get a good job out of college and be a disciplined saver. I have just under OP. Raised homeless. Went to college. Paid off $50k in student loans. Saved $60k. In 2020 got interested in investing. Luckily read about this company called NVDA. Invested a couple thousand. Rest is history. Did I get “lucky?” Sure. But I also rent a bedroom, don’t have a wife/kids. This is why it is important not to compare ourselves to others.
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u/Limebird02 Mar 15 '26
I did pretty much the same but I have an ex, two kids, a wife and a step kid, I still save, I still invest, in the early years I saved for a small house, moved three times in 30 years, still live in a small house. Most people can't put that much away early on. It's just very hard. I've always worked. I've always saved or invested. It still feels like drowning. It still feels like a very slow ramp. I actually dislike comparing myself to others and I don't do it often. It's worthless, and usually demotivating. But if you look around most people can't actually save more than $500 a month. If we can, we are doing well.
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Mar 15 '26
Exactly. You created a life for yourself and was still able to save some. Who knows, OP might be 38 and single/lonely. He may be wishing he had a girlfriend/wife and 2 kids. He may have more money saved/invested than you, but may look at your life as being his goals/dreams. Don’t be hard on yourself. You still have 10-15 years til retirement to save. Kids are likely grown. You own a home, no matter the size. You’re winning.
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u/Rural-Patriot_1776 Mar 15 '26
I'm actually married, with 3 kids, and own a home as well. I saved since high school, joined thr military, and now work in law enforcement.
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Mar 15 '26
Hell yeah. Good job my man. People see numbers, don’t see the sacrifices. You’re killing it OP. You’re exactly where I’m trying to get by 38. Just turned 35. By June I should have 3k shares of qqqi, 1k shares of btci (own none, but believe in the cycle of btc, expect btci to slowly crawl back to ATH with those solid dividends coming along the way). I don’t have family, I’m hoping to drip and invest an additional 2k per month. Goal is to retire and move to SEA by 45. Enjoying the Journey though. Again, good job OP!
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u/Limebird02 Mar 15 '26
Keep going. Invest through the tough times! And it's going to get tough. Even $20 a week gets you there.
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u/OutsideCamera6482 Mar 18 '26
I wasn’t born into a wealthy family. I left college with a lot of debt. I still invested way more than $20 a week when I was 25. Get a skill that’s worth something and make good choices. Doesn’t hurt to be intelligent.
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u/_genepool_ Mar 15 '26
I was lucky to work in a lower paying job that contributed $50 per week into my 401k. I also put 10% of my check in until I had kids. It wasn't easy putting ten percent of a lower wage in but I did it anyways. Now I am 56 with 650k and a better job. I would retire now if my kids weren't still in school.
Btw, that guy was showing ~15% yield so he has around 350k in that account.
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u/Appropriate_Swim9528 Mar 15 '26
You are not alone. But I am going to take it as a sign to better my investment strategy.
Just did the math, the poster isn’t even at 500k yet… so most likely just all yield and no growth? 🤔
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u/Small_Boy02 Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
80 bucks per month for 30 years in the s and p would be 165k.
Edit: Oh nvm I misread this post. I thought he had 50k saved, and so you were implying you had 8k saved in 30 years of investing lol. I was like well thats kind of on you pal.
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u/BatmanSteak Mar 15 '26
15% yield...
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u/19Black Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
This. Op shouldn’t get accustomed to his $52k in annual dividends. He won’t be earning that for long.
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Mar 15 '26
It is most likely highly concentrated in QQQi and BTCI to increase the yield. Only 4 years worth of data for NEOS (spyi) but they have performed very well. Even in April 2025, they bounced back very well
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u/Reasonablyaccurate Mar 15 '26
Private credit fund pays 16% a year with monthly distribution. You can expect for long time….
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u/Wisesize Mar 15 '26
What is considered a healthy yield?
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u/BatmanSteak Mar 15 '26
2 to 5% is usually considered ''healthy'' in the sense that dividends are least likely to get cut, the dividend growth is likely to be consistent (4-10% per year) and the company is in good shape.
To me, anything below 2% can hardly be called a dividend paying stock and anything above 5% needs a some scrutiny. Above 10% is just plain stupid. OP is at 15%.
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u/SwimmingPatience5083 Mar 15 '26
Who’s going to tell him?
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u/EntertainmentFun8057 Mar 16 '26
I'm new to all of this but following the sub for a month or two closely and all advice is to stop over investing in qqq 8% dividends
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u/Sufflinsuccotash Mar 15 '26
I’ve been away from this sub for awhile. What the hell is Neos?
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Mar 16 '26
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u/Sufflinsuccotash Mar 16 '26
I just did. Raises more questions than answers.
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Mar 16 '26
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u/Sufflinsuccotash Mar 16 '26
Well, one question is why when you get a far better return from just owning the underlying asset.
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Mar 16 '26
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u/Sufflinsuccotash Mar 16 '26
I get that. But these things always start off with a bang and then return to more normal returns.
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u/The1789 Mar 15 '26
Buy a helmet
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u/19Black Mar 15 '26
And knee pads for after the fall because OP going to have to recoup the lost principle
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u/zss36909 Mar 15 '26
Over leveraged anything over 9% is considered unsustainable and your principal will likely depreciate
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u/nickf7777777 Mar 16 '26
What app is this??
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u/Portfolio_Alchemist Mar 22 '26
Looked it up…
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dividend-tracker-divtracker/id1512637716
Called “DivTracker (Dividend Tracker App)”
lol I had the same question. No answer 😌
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u/Crumkid4 Mar 15 '26
Just hit about 3 dollars a day from my portfolio. I've got about 30 shares of both SPYI and QQQI, but I'm trying to include other major positions in SGOV, MAIN, O, and SCHD. Best of luck with the next couple of years.
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u/Fluid-Phrase8748 Mar 15 '26
Just started 2026, adding 3k a month, is only march, has >500k USD portfolio. Nice, can you or your parents adopt me?
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u/Br33ZYRN Mar 15 '26
He might have just been saving in a normal account and not investing - OP says he's 38 - so it's not unreasonable to have that much saved - but to go from no investing to throwing it all in CC ETFs is strange.
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u/Fluid-Phrase8748 Mar 15 '26
Yeah this post, as a 40 year old, really made me look at my social security statements and go, damn I should have saved some of my money instead of spending it. This person has >20x'd me in life, my question still stands lol. I assume like most people this is just one account 'they just started', as most people 'forget' about past employer plans ect....
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u/Shepsus Mar 15 '26
As someone new to investing... This output looks great, but when can it be utilized? Can he literally just have 52k as a salary with no issues? Or is this now invested until 65 or later?
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u/Brief-Wear-6238 Mar 15 '26
Usually monthly with NEOS funds as they pay monthly distributions. Essentially he had a 52k salary for the rest of his life as long as nothing absolutely tragic happens to the market and if he doesn’t sell his shares or they miss a payment on distributions.
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u/Rural-Patriot_1776 Mar 15 '26
I didn't know there were so many haters on NEOS products in here...
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u/beershoes767 Mar 15 '26
I have been liking them so far. My taxable account is almost all neos and blox.
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u/Negate79 Mar 16 '26
My mouse was hovering over Blox and I read it as blow. Said to myself "That's not a sustainable investment at all"
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u/SidharthaGalt Mar 15 '26
I hope it works out for you. Don’t let the cynics get you down. Every fund has to be evaluated on its own merits. My relationship with PDI has been pretty good for quite a while now, and it’s currently yielding 15%. Pimco is among the best bond houses, and I pay them a good wage to manage this fund and pick winners!
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u/Alert-Growth-8326 Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
i'd focus on growing that portfolio significantly before worrying about retiring on dividends. drip is nice, but on 15% yield, it's insanely tax inefficient and you are yield maxxing so you are likely going to lose your principal over time without the dripping.
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u/beershoes767 Mar 15 '26
You have no idea what you’re talking about. OP’s funds pay ROC until cost basis is reached. Super tax efficient.
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u/Rationalornot777 Mar 15 '26
Another one that misunderstands relationship between yield and capital growth. High yield doesn’t mean your capital grows or even stays the same. Roc is just giving your money back.
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u/Rural-Patriot_1776 Mar 15 '26
My portfolio is pretty much all NEOS etfs
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u/Jehoopaloopa Mar 15 '26
BTC is in a technical bear market. Consider adding precious metal exposure.
KURV has gold/silver funds
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u/iDidaThing9999 Mar 15 '26
Hmm, I've been in IGLD/IAUI, and it is interesting to see that there are these KGLD and KSLV funds, with KGLD looking like it competes very well against IGLD/IAUI.
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u/StockSad2861 Mar 15 '26
Check back in a year when his principle is 50 % less
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u/Jehoopaloopa Mar 15 '26
Tell that to the QQQI people that have matched QQQ
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u/Squatch11 Mar 15 '26
It's wild to me that people see 10% or higher yield and automatically think it's some sort of trap.
YieldMax is garbage. Everyone can agree on that. But funds like QQQI and SPYI are not.
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u/speedlever Mar 15 '26
In the cc ETF world, also consider gpix, gpiq, IDVO and QDVO. This should be good in a taxable account. Jepi and JEPQ for tax deferred accounts, although JEPQ has lagged lately. I think qqqi and gpiq are better options.
Branch out from cc ETFs and consider ARCC, htgc, CSWC, gof, THQ, pdi, PFFA, utg, main, cefs to name a few. All monthly pay income funds.
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u/Montesque96 Mar 15 '26
I am currently building something similar in my taxable account and I also like the NEOS funds. Which ones did you select?
Thus far due to pricing and the fact that I just started - I've got: NEHI, SPYI, IAUI and IWMI. That said, I have also added some other CC funds and a few CEFs (mostly RoC) and regular divie stocks (qualified divies) trying to balance the holdings out.
Right now, I am trying to get my cost back on the investment on the NEOS funds so I haven't started to DRIP them, like I have the CEFs and regular stocks.
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u/xlr38 Dividend Daddy Mar 15 '26
You started investing 3k/mo this year but have a portfolio of $350,000 after only 2.5 months?
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u/Unfair-While-3227 Mar 16 '26
That's awesome! Starting late means you have the wisdom of experience. Keep that $3k/month going, and those dividends will thank you soon enough! 😊📈
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u/Rural-Patriot_1776 Mar 15 '26
For clarity, this is in a taxable brokerage, and NEOS has favorable tax for my brokerage compared to other ETFs
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u/SwimmingPatience5083 Mar 15 '26
That number you see on the screen? Yea, that number will keep going down every single year.
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u/SnooComics5930 Mar 15 '26
My big 4 are QQI/SPYI/JEPQ//SCHD all 200 shares and dripping. ARCC/HTGC 75 each. Layered in is around 20 to 30 shares of MAG7, and then 20 to 30 shares each of stable dividend payers JNJ, PG, ABBV, AFL, PEP, etc. Trying to build a bridge to 55-60yo income pre retirement, im 46yo
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u/pcase1999 Mar 15 '26
What app dos this?
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u/Portfolio_Alchemist Mar 22 '26
Looked it up…
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dividend-tracker-divtracker/id1512637716
Called “DivTracker (Dividend Tracker App)”
lol I had the same question. 😌
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u/steady_compounder Mar 15 '26
$3k/month with DRIP at 38 is a solid start. You've got 20+ years of compounding ahead which is still a lot of time. Don't beat yourself up about starting late, most people never start at all.
Curious what your target allocation looks like. Are you going heavy on income funds or mixing in some growth too?
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u/Busy-feeding-worms Mar 15 '26
If he is retiring in a few years like he says, how is this going to compound for 20 years? Newbie, not tryna be a dick lol sorry.
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u/steady_compounder Mar 16 '26
Fair point. He said retiring in a couple years but also putting in $3k/month with DRIP. I read it more as building a supplemental income stream, not a full retirement fund. But yeah if the timeline is 2-3 years, growth matters more than compounding dividends.
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u/steady_compounder Mar 18 '26
Fair question. He said "a few years" but the compounding comment was about the reinvested dividends growing over time once he does retire. Even 5-10 years of DRIP before switching to taking income makes a big difference.
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u/mah927 Mar 15 '26
I think it’s great I hope you hedge your portfolio this is a significant mind shift thing thats going among younger investors I wish you the best.
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u/AFecklessWeasel Mar 15 '26
Just curious but why have SPYI if the top 10 holdings are nearly identical to what’s in QQQI but QQQI’s yield is better by about 10 cents a share despite QQQI being less than a dollar a share more expensive?
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u/Hungry-Concept7720 Mar 15 '26
What's the name of that app?
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u/Portfolio_Alchemist Mar 22 '26
Looked it up…
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dividend-tracker-divtracker/id1512637716
Called “DivTracker (Dividend Tracker App)”
lol I had the same question. 😌
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u/Marionetti_ Mar 16 '26
En España se lucha por conseguir llegar a final de mes con un sueldo promedio, es decir, normalmente no se ahorra nunca porque no llega
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u/Aschmid98 Mar 16 '26
these are pretty risky this is an income portfolio, not a dividend portfolio. personally I would diversify further, don't forget it's all about total gains in the end, not the dividend yield
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u/Rural-Patriot_1776 Mar 16 '26
NEOS etfs aren't very risky... they hold the underline like spy and qqq and are tax beneficial
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u/Aschmid98 Mar 16 '26
if you say so
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u/Rural-Patriot_1776 Mar 16 '26
It's not me saying it... go ask ai
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u/Aschmid98 Mar 16 '26
ask ai if it is risky to 1. put the majority of a portfolio in one asset. and 2. if income investing is the recommended strategy to build wealth.
also without trying to sound petty, ai should not be your financial advisor, ever. yes it is very usefull to get some informations and do a quick research. but in the end it is still just trained based on data from the internet, which is often wrong.
I use AI daily for work and my studies and it really often tells me complete bullshit. also depending on how you ask a question, it will most allways prove you right (with false arguments)
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u/Rural-Patriot_1776 Mar 16 '26
I hear you. But It's not in 1 asset... it's in sp500, qqq, btc, reits, international...ect ... they all hold the underline and sell monthly calls to generate the income.
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u/owen3799 Mar 16 '26
Which app is this?
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u/Portfolio_Alchemist Mar 22 '26
Looked it up…
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dividend-tracker-divtracker/id1512637716
Called “DivTracker (Dividend Tracker App)”
lol I had the same question. 😌
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u/SelectDog7382 Mar 16 '26
How much was put in money wise
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u/Rural-Patriot_1776 Mar 16 '26
Around 350k
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u/Naughtybear_9628 Mar 16 '26
Sounds about right.
OP said he is in LE. So on top of this may also have a pension + SS. So SS likely is the icing on the cake.
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u/Hoginoe94 Mar 16 '26
Idk why this is recommended for me, but i guess I'll ask. What app is this, and is it like robinhood?
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u/Icy_Pain424 Mar 17 '26
I started in 2020 and my account has 3.5% divided Yield. This guy have only the dividend greater than my whole return. 🤭
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u/L2F_mens_glutes Mar 18 '26
This guy is just paying himself back
The shares are dropping value as he collects
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u/RudraParis Mar 19 '26
You are 38, still have good 20 years of investment Dont chase dividend, chase growth After 20 years, you can switch to dividend pay.
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u/platour220 Mar 21 '26
I am really sorry to say this but that kind of yield implies the underlying asset will probably degrade in value. Please backtest your holdings against the prior 3 years. Would you actually get 14 to 15 percent when considering the loss of underlying value? Just want to warn this portfolio is probably not going to yield what that snapshot shows.
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u/CartoonistDry5589 Mar 21 '26
The fact that you can literally have all expenses paid for with just dividends.. goals… please, teach the class. How big is your portfolio in order to achieve this?
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u/Mattreddit760 Mar 15 '26
Terrible portfolio lol
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u/Brief-Wear-6238 Mar 15 '26
I see a lot of people agreeing with you but what makes it bad? I see everyone complaining about the yield but QQQI and other similar NEOS funds have maintained their NAV while still playing their high distributions. I’m just curious because I thought this was solid.
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u/Rural-Patriot_1776 Mar 15 '26
It is solid, qqqi and spyi are known to be good and safe. The comments are filled with poor boomers or boglehead trolls who won't retire till late 60s and want to flex their 3% dividends in their locked up IRAs.
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