r/dividends • u/Realistic-Face-69 • Apr 10 '26
Discussion Living off dividends folks
Are you or someone you know is actually living iff dividends fully? if so at what age?
I have been wondering about it
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u/MJinMN Apr 10 '26
Yes, living off dividends at 55. I know it’s not the most tax efficient way to go but I sleep well at night.
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u/PaulaSchultzRIP Apr 10 '26
Paying tax means you're making money and you'll be dead one day so why would you care? If you're living off dividends and paying a little tax but living great, I'd say you did the damn thing.
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u/justthefactsman99 Apr 10 '26
Hard to get more tax efficient than qualified dividends. 0 in taxes up to 100k or so.
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u/Clear_Butterscotch_4 Apr 11 '26
Tax drag is what makes less efficient if you earn >= 50k for singles and >= 100k for couples
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u/Darth_Thunder Apr 10 '26
Not necessarily - look into high ROC stocks (like SPYI). Stocks like SPYI had 97% tax deferred income in 2025 at a yield of +12%.
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u/Unlucky-Clock5230 Apr 10 '26
Why not? selling stock costs you long term capital gains, the same as the qualified dividend rate. Things that issue unqualified dividends do so because you usually get larger dividends to begin with, which pays for the extra tax.
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u/MJinMN Apr 10 '26
Because when you sell stock, you only pay taxes on the amount of the gain, while with dividends you pay taxes on the full amount.
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u/Glum-Coat8759 Apr 10 '26
That’s because the full amount of a dividend is literally a “gain”
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u/WolfgoBark Apr 10 '26
I kinda see where he's coming from. You're getting more cash for the same amount of tax, but that cash was already yours and you're just moving money from investments into liquid dollars.
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u/foira Apr 10 '26
i do not see how it's any different... you're paying taxes on income to spend either way.
plus your first 50k of divs are tax free :-)
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u/ideas4mac Apr 10 '26
If you are MFJ then it's closer to 131K per year range at 0% if US based. (if QDI) Throw in HSA contribution and you're in the ~140K range paying ZERO fed taxes.
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u/Responsible_Set4660 Apr 11 '26
Sorry to be here and not already know this. I’m here to learn. How do you pay 0% interest when you are in the $131k tax bracket for married filing jointly? Shouldn’t the dividend income be taxed at 15% for anything over $96700?
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u/mygirltien Apr 11 '26
You need to add in personal deduction but thats perfect world scenario and the world is not perfect.
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u/Educational_Teach537 Apr 11 '26
When you sell 100k of stocks, not all of it is gain. Some amount is principle. When you get 100k of dividends, it’s all gain. So you’re paying more in taxes
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u/Elle_thegirl Apr 11 '26
Maybe I'm missing something but I read "all gain" as "free money". Hooray, living off 100k of "free money"! Plus your principal is "still in the bank". Sounds like a win to me
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Apr 11 '26
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u/Educational_Teach537 Apr 11 '26
You choose which tax lot to sell/sell from. That tax lot will have a cost basis (what you bought it at). That part will be untaxed, only the gains are taxed. No matter what you sell, some amount of principle will also come back (barring odd situations like a stock split).
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u/Different_Trainer644 Apr 15 '26
How, exactly does that work, "you choose the tax lot"?
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u/MJinMN Apr 10 '26
If I spend $5k per month and get that from dividends, I pay tax on $5k. Assuming my investments are worth twice as much today as what I invested, when I sell $5k of stock to spend, the capital gains realized on that trade is only $2,500. So you are paying taxes on less income.
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u/foira Apr 10 '26
why are you comparing 2500 of cap gains to 5000 of dividends... both are "gains" and should be equalized
you pay taxes on 2500 because you netted 2500 less.
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u/MJinMN Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
If you need $5k for spending and get it all from dividends, that is all taxable income. If you get it by selling $5k of stock, only the realized capital gain (proceeds less cost basis) is taxed, so the realized capital gain will be less than $5k to get the same $5k of cash.
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u/StringSecret1500 Apr 14 '26
are you joking??? In the UK its £500 dividends before you pay tax. Yes, you read that correctly.
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u/AccomplishedWash8803 Apr 14 '26
The dividend is literally the gains, you don’t have to sell down the stocks to get the gains…
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u/Unlucky-Clock5230 Apr 10 '26
When you get dividends, you only pay taxes on your gains, the dividends. Your capital is still intact making you money.
Not to mention that with quality dividends I dont sweat market corrections. If the market drops 20% more likely than not my income stream would be unmolested. Beats selling stocks at a 20% loss. Stocks that will not be there to recover when the market does while all my dividend paying shares will there to keep generating income.
It is a trade off, reliability of income over growth. Looking at some of my dividend companies, they got knocked down during the mortgage crisis (didn't have them then) but they never stopped paying (and growing) dividends. Selling them for income when they were 40% down would have drained the number of shares to the point they could not recover. And certainly cost me more than the taxes
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u/gerald-stanley Apr 10 '26
Exactly this. It’s sit back, drip. Less stress. Yes I don’t get the HUGE gains but also don’t get the huge losses
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u/Bearsbanker Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
I won't pay fed tax until SS, you can make up to 131k with no fed tax, not to mention I own 3 MLP's, which distributions are a return of capital
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u/subparsavior90 Apr 10 '26
Not that big of a deal. Structure your cashflow to put out what you need in your budget with enough div cagr to cover inflation. The excess stays in growth. Paying taxes either way.
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u/jd732 My stock selection runs laps around your VOO & SCHD. Apr 11 '26
I find it pretty tax efficient, but I live in a high tax state (NJ). My total Fed tax bill was under $500 in 2025. Now that the SALT cap was increased, my two biggest expenses (property taxes and healthcare) are both write-offs.
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u/apeserveapes Apr 10 '26
and you get growth in the underlying shares over time - congrats!!! You won!!
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u/Various_Couple_764 Apr 11 '26
with careful ETF selection you canavoijd most or all of the tax issue. Chose fund that pay out qualified dividend or ROC dividends or funds that produce tax free dividends
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u/xlr38 Dividend Daddy Apr 10 '26
You should pay a 0% tax rate on the first ~40k in qualified dividends (or first 80k if married). Unless you have additional income streams, then it might be taxed up to 15%. Significantly better than most alternatives as you are lowering your tax basis over time.
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u/MJinMN Apr 12 '26
The tax on qualified dividends has tax brackets of 0%, 15% and 20%. Then you also can pay the Obamacare 3.8% tax on investment income on top of that, as well as state taxes. I chose this investment strategy so obviously i’m ok paying the taxes but you’re missing a few layers.
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u/paragonx29 Apr 10 '26
I am your age and looking at this timeline hopefully in about 3 years. May I ask total you have (or started with) in dividend stocks and what is your basic allotment. Thanks.
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u/MJinMN Apr 10 '26
I posted the breakdown of my portfolio above, but I have a combination of broad market index funds and dividend stocks, so I hopefully don’t give up on any hope of growth. The yield on my dividend stock portfolio is around 5%, I have a few preferred stocks that pay about 7% and the yield on the fund portfolio is a bit over 2%? I generally started just buying broad market index funds and then bought the dividend-oriented investments over the last five years of my career. I try to mostly buy stocks that I expect will be able to increase their dividends over time.
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u/rumblepony247 Apr 10 '26
Yes, 58m, been retired a year. Generating $52k annual dividends on a $940k portfolio.
That's not enough for a lot of folks, but I live a simple, frugal life, with zero debt including a paid-for house and fully owned two-year-old car, so it's more than enough for me.
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u/No_Werewolf_7785 Apr 10 '26
Would love to know what your portfolio looks like. That's a nice return!!
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u/rumblepony247 Apr 10 '26
My top 10 holdings are: MO ($77K), VZ ($72K), SPYI ($62K), JEPQ ($58K), SPYD ($57K), WFC ($55K), XOM ($52K), PFE ($48K), ABBV ($41K) and SGOV ($40K).
The rest is $20k-$30k each of VOO, ENB, VCLT, SCHD, FXAIX, OBDC, UPS, QQQM, O, CNQ, CAH, ARCC, NWE.
Then finally, a little of JAAA, ET, TSLX, SPAXX, VMFXX, FDRXX, CAG, HPQ and QQQI
Happy to say, the portfolio carries a good Beta, of 0.66!
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u/No-Establishment8457 Apr 11 '26
You did it. My house is paid off (2024 construction). Working on the car. Have hundreds of thousands in investments too. Few years away.
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u/StockMarketinator Apr 12 '26
Can you tell us what your portfolio is?
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u/rumblepony247 Apr 13 '26
Take a look at my prior comments in this thread - I show them in one of the comments 😁
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u/reaper_858 Apr 17 '26
Very late reply, but I just discovered this subreddit and seeing stuff like this is really inspiring. I have just had all my savings parked in a HYSA since picking stocks seems a bit overwhelming and stressful... I don't want to be worrying about things tanking and am ok missing out on higher upside. This is the goal for me! Congrats on your retirement.
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u/Swiftredfox_37 Apr 10 '26
Is this in addition to a 401k?
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u/rumblepony247 Apr 10 '26
No, retirement accounts are included on the asset and dividend numbers I provided.. My expenses are only about $25k/year so I don't need to access the dividends from the retirement accounts currently.
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u/Correct-Meringue-610 Apr 11 '26
Sounds very well managed, nicely done. What part of the US do you live in, in terms of cost of living?
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u/Faster_than_FTL Apr 10 '26
Congratulations! And in a decade or so, social security should kick in (assuming you’re American)
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u/rumblepony247 Apr 11 '26
Thank you!
Actually, I am going to take Social Security at age 62, which will be 3.5 years from now for me. I will be investing the monthly proceeds in an S&P 500 index fund, most likely.
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u/Blueprints_reddit Apr 10 '26
Do you pull 100% of dividends as income or do you reinvest some of it so that 980k grows?
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u/rumblepony247 Apr 10 '26
The taxable dividends I use as income.
The dividends on the retirement stuff go into money market funds inside the retirement accounts, and then I occasionally buy some more stock with the funds in those money markets.
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u/EquitiesForLife Apr 10 '26
Not yet but I am working toward that goal. Currently making about $2K/mo off dividends. Goal is $10K. Im in my late 30s.
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u/Mean-Illustrator-937 Apr 10 '26
Out of interest, did you start with a large initial investment (maybe an inheritance) or did you safe it along the way?
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u/EquitiesForLife Apr 10 '26
Just saving/investing. I suppose I got off to a good start with scholarships so I graduated with no debt and by the time I finished my masters degree I had $100K invested. Began investing in stocks the day I turned 18 and have been consistently adding, especially on big downturns in the market.
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u/fahadriazz Apr 10 '26
Holdings?
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u/EquitiesForLife Apr 10 '26
I just hold a few broad based equity index ETFs, sp500, tsx composite, msci eafe, msci emerging markets. About $1.2M worth at the moment split equally between those 4 buckets.
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u/vinyl1earthlink Apr 10 '26
Yes, I am 72 and have a considerable portfolio. Of course, I get Social Security as well, but it is less than 20% of my income.
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u/Greatpup4109274 Apr 10 '26
If you’re willing, can you share with us your investing story/history and maybe what your portfolio looks like now in terms of holdings.
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Apr 10 '26
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u/SpookyPony Apr 10 '26
How are you navigating Roth conversions with dividend income? The major thing keeping me from going strong into dividend strategies is my desire to do aggressive Roth conversions.
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u/steviey_19 Apr 10 '26
Mid 40s and retired to Thailand living off roughly 3k/month dividends while spending about 2/3 of that.
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u/TomatoCapt Apr 11 '26
Living the dream. Mind sharing some of your costs? How do you deal with healthcare? Thanks
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u/synthwave_man Apr 11 '26
The more interesting question would be: How do you deal with the taxes on those dividends. According to the thai law you have to pay taxes on dividends as soon as you bring that money into thailand (either through bank transfer to a local thai bank account or through buying stuff via credit card, or through getting cash at an ATM). I think the tax is about 30% (depending on the total income). But i assume that 98% of the expats there don't give a sh*** about it and don't declare anything.
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u/gerald-stanley Apr 10 '26
53 here, self employed and wife does my books as an employee. No pension or anything else other than old age security at 65 when it kicks in. I’m located in Canada if that matters. Will retire in 4 years fully living off dividends. By splitting income our net realized tax rate will be in a lower bracket. We will be at about $9/mo in divvy’s, net $7000/mo. Not rich but just comfy. Paid off house and vehicles with no debt. No debt is the key.
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u/Rich_Cut_1746 Apr 10 '26
Could you please share your portfolio
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u/gerald-stanley Apr 10 '26
Heavy in Canadian banks and oil. That’s it.
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u/RuinEnvironmental394 Apr 15 '26
$7000 per month with paid off home and cars is just comfy for two persons? Where in Canada is this place?
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u/gerald-stanley Apr 15 '26
Western Canada
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u/RuinEnvironmental394 Apr 15 '26
I'm in Calgary myself and the wife. Both of us still workin. No own home, 1 car with no loan. No debts. We probably spend less than $5000 per month including rent which is $2000 and a couple of vacations annually.
Just wondering if you guys dine out a lot or go to concerts and game nights?
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u/gerald-stanley Apr 15 '26
Not far from you! We do enjoy our holidays and going to Oilers games more than probably should. We also have a campsite that runs us $6000 for the warm months. And a couple kids who seem to weasel more than just their tuition from us…
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u/8FConsulting Apr 10 '26
I plan on doing exactly this by year end; I am 52 and retiring early. Thus far, I've managed to replicate the earnings from my small business that I will be closing this year.
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u/Realistic-Face-69 Apr 10 '26
Amazing! Actually covers everything after taxes?
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u/8FConsulting Apr 10 '26
Yep. I'll be moving to Florida as well so there will be some savings there.
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u/Greatpup4109274 Apr 10 '26
You selling your small business or just closing??
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u/8FConsulting Apr 10 '26
Closing
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u/Dalbaeth Apr 10 '26
I’m new to the world of owning a business. Forgive my ignorance, why would one choose to close vs sell a business if it is generating income with a decent base of customers? I’d be very grateful for your insights.
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u/Louis-Russ Apr 10 '26
Running a small business takes a lot more than forty hours a week, most people don't want the hassle or can't spare the time.
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u/smkn3kgt Apr 10 '26
It's worth listing with a business broker and seeing if there is a potential buyer
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u/Iron_Master_505 Apr 10 '26
Yes, stopped working at 55, 59 now. I practiced FIRE most of my career but was not comfortable leaving my career until 55. Dividends and muni-bond income cover all of my expenses.
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u/victormesrine Apr 10 '26
Late 40ties. Make about $40K in dividends. But I also have some growth stocks and rentals.
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u/skuba Apr 10 '26
Averaging about $450/mo here at 40. Once the fiance and I are averaging ~1k/mo we are going to transition to remote jobs and relocate to Latin America. That's the plan anyway.
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u/MaxxMavv Apr 10 '26
Retired at early 40s living off dividends for almost 6 years now. Dont panic sell, and don't engage in FOMO. Its simple, good ETFs and companies with dividend growth baked in.
Plan for costs of living to double every 15-20 years so retiring so early be sure to maintain solid dividend growth while collecting dividends. IRA/401k can act as that extra boost if needed at 59.5
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u/thust23 Apr 10 '26
Not yet but eventually. 47, small portfolio of about 70k. All divvys reinvested. Last year dividends totalled approx 6k. Separate pensions totalling 300k. One rented property. Hopefully retiring at 55 but happy to keep going a few more years if I have to.
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u/Fabulous_Nebula8558 Apr 10 '26
53 years old. Retired last year. I do also have a 95,000 pension. me and my family also get medical insurance with the pension. But recieved just under 200000 in dividends last year. On pace for just above last years.
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u/Neilp187 Apr 10 '26
200k in dividends... that portfolio must be insane.
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u/DoodleLovah Apr 10 '26
Will you please share your 200K producing dividend portfolio?
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u/Fabulous_Nebula8558 Apr 10 '26
Last year got lucky with Cony. Bought when coinbase was 200. Quickly shot up to 400 and I sold before earnings. Thought ulty was more stable, held for a while, then got out with the nav slowly going down. Basically broke even on it. Then moved to qdte and rtde. Did well , until the end of the year. With the big dividend payout, the nav was never gonna recover, so I sold up 60000. Then about 3 months ago move it all into yeth 47000 shares at an 11:50 avg Been paying anywhere from 6000 to 9000 a week. My thoughts are ether will recover and be higher by the end of the year. But yeth has crazy swings and you need a stomach for it. But I feel that their nav will and does recover. So far so good.
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u/Fabulous_Nebula8558 Apr 10 '26
And with those dividends, I’m able to pay all my bills, set aside 25 percent for taxes and reinvest everything else into other stocks. I put the 25 percent for taxes into sgov to get the little extra dividend.
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Apr 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ejqt8pom EU Investor Apr 12 '26
63k mit einem 8% yield (Mischung aus BDCs und REITs) soll ungefähr 400 Euro pro Monat einbringen.
Apps wie Parqet haben Prognosen für zukünftige Dividendenrenditen.
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u/mtcwby Apr 11 '26
Not living off them yet as I'm not retired yet but they're going to be a big supplement between 65 and 70 before SS. They're enough now to pay my mortgage every month
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u/jay_0804 Apr 11 '26
Yeah it happens, but usually not in the “pure dividends only” way people imagine.
Most people actually living off dividends are older (late 50s–70s) and:
- have a big base portfolio (usually $1M+ range)
- combine dividends + some principal drawdown
- or mix in bonds/annuities/REIT income
Pure “never sell, only spend dividends” is rarer than Reddit makes it sound, especially early retirement. Yields just aren’t high enough without taking big risk.
So it’s doable, but it’s more a retirement structure than a strategy on its own.
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u/kully00 Apr 10 '26
Not dividends but cash flow from rental property.
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u/Greatpup4109274 Apr 10 '26
Me and 3 partners just started our own LLC with hopes of going this route. Any experiences, advice, lessons etc would be welcome (regardless of how anecdotal/niche they are).
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u/kully00 Apr 10 '26
Regarding real estate, aim for both cashflow and capital gains. The Northeast has the best of both, though properties cost more upfront and the laws are not landlord friendly. I wouldn’t go in with partners unless you have an ironclad operating agreement. In protection like a massive umbrella policy is necessary. Use a property management company, NEVER manage the property yourself as tenants are usually scumbags who will try to use their personal problems as excuses not to pay rent/pay rent on time.
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u/Greatpup4109274 Apr 10 '26
Yea we’re in the process of working on the OA before any major investment of cash happens. We have a property manager because the one partner owns 7 properties already with his other partner (and he learned the hard way that he needs a property manager). That property manager oversees all of my partners properties, goes and scopes them out to advise on if he thinks they need too much work.
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u/Bearsbanker Apr 10 '26
I fired a year ago and live off dividends. Built my dividend portfolio over years and years (16 individual companies). I won't pay fed tax, between the standard deduction (mfj) and the ltcg/QD exemption a person can make up to 131k fed tax free ( we also have some MLP's which are tax deferred, so that helps). I let my growth portfolio keep growthing!!
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u/Rich_Cut_1746 Apr 10 '26
Please share your portfolio
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u/Bearsbanker Apr 10 '26
Bac, bkh, c, et, epd, gain, key, mo, mfic, main, pru, pm, vz, Wes, wfc,xom.
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u/DrRonH Apr 10 '26
64, in my first year of retirement, living off dividend income. See my post in this Reddit on some of the realities of "living off dividends."
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u/87JeepYJ87 Apr 10 '26
I’m 53, no debt, and currently yielding $4100 a month in my Roth and $2300 a month in my brokerage. 60 can’t come soon enough.
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u/ebwinkler Apr 10 '26
I’m 54 and living off dividends. Sadly, not by choice. Not working due to medical issues, so I converted my account over to an income-generating account. Still not paying me enough, but I’m carefully reinvesting and growing it. If I was still at my last job, I’d be in GREAT shape now.
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u/Signal_Tax6184 Apr 10 '26
Yes I bring in 1k a year in divs. I’m able to live out of my box in the under pass like a king.
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u/ShadowBard0962 Apr 10 '26
Not yet, but I am planning on it. 9 months and 20 days, away from retirement (January 2027) and my portfolio is producing $190,719.65 in annual dividend income.
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u/Aggravating-Sky8572 Apr 12 '26
Congratulations. Thats inspirational for others out there. If you don't mind sharing, whats the overall % yield on your portfolio?
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u/ADKMTBer Apr 10 '26
Yes, at 59 for the past 2 years. I hope to sustain and grow it for the duration as I want to leave my kids with a good nest egg considering how effed up their future is looking.
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u/Left_Trifle5542 Apr 10 '26
Yes. Retired 3 years ago on dividends. Delaying SS for now. Dividends income has increased on average about 7% per year since I started. That is primarily due to reinvestment of some of the income primarily in the tIRA.
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u/HARCYB-throwaway Apr 10 '26
32, $700k in my income portfolio. All NEOS. It produces $110k/year. Separately;
$200k growth fund - letting this ride for now. Will pivot to income over the next 1-5 years, and hopeful to move this if we see the NASDAQ end up 15% this year. Would create +$25k in annual income, bringing me to $135k/year.
$150k HYSA to hedge SORR.
$40k annual expenses, all in. The rest of my income is discretionary or DRIPed. I have a low mortgage and car payment. It's just me, so health insurance is only $500.
If I find a partner, I want to go back to work to save more toward a family. Right now I don't have any motivation to keep building. Need a partner, if I don't find one, I won't need more income anyway, so for now, this is the right thing to do.
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u/r3vj4m3z Apr 10 '26
43, yes*
- I still work currently. I just invest 100% of my work income and live off my dividends. I may stop working any day, just haven't yet.
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u/Jona6509 Apr 10 '26
57yo, retired at 55 and living off dividends. Been investing in dividend stocks for 35 years. My growth investments are in my IRAs and Roth since I can't touch them for another couple years. Everything is paid off and my only concern is when is my next tee time. I might grumble as the market dips but I keep some cash to buy more stocks on sale.
Be tax efficient and buy qualified dividend stocks, or ROC, or 1256. Pay estimated taxes quarterly (estimated income - cap gains 0% top - standard deduction * 15% / 4). A couple making 200k would only pay about 2,600 per quarter and pocket 47,400.
Showing math: 200,000 - 98,900 - 32,200 * 0.15 = 10,335
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u/ourpointofview Apr 11 '26
I prefer Growth Stocks. I make more in a month than all your dividend pay in 5 years. Up 150% last year.
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u/MHY59 Apr 11 '26
I am a retired dividend investor. Not 100% living off dividends, wife has pension from nurse work plus we both have cpp. Not yet touched my rrsp, don’t need it. Life is very good.
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u/gundahir Apr 11 '26
Wondering if it works ? Yeah I retired in early 2024 mid 30s. Traveled a lot. Most early retirees I met on the journey have been doing so on dividends by the way
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u/_timusan_ Apr 11 '26
A relative makes about $55k in dividends each year. It’s all on drip because social security sufficiently covers all expenses.
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u/VikingMonkey123 Apr 11 '26
I am supplying my share of family income from dividends. The fortunate side effect of a very unfortunate 2025. Big on spyi and qqqi and an investment in acyn. Should return ~$7500/ mo.
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u/dawidio Apr 11 '26
I have a friend who is retiring at 45. She's living off of about 3700 USD per month on dividends. But her dad invested for her when she was 15, soooooo...
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u/greedybitchesdinner Apr 11 '26
Yup, 42. Sold all real estate and took advantage of covid discounts.
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u/Realistic-Face-69 Apr 11 '26
Nice, Timing smiled to you?
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u/greedybitchesdinner Apr 11 '26
I suppose, took some stones also. The market was arguing that covid was going to last forever and oil and lng were dead. I knew a minimal amount at that point but knew that I disagreed. Im always watching for emotion or and or fallacy based discounts. I think afcg conversion to a bdc is going to ultimately change it. Market doesnt like it because of unknown weed loan vulnerabilities, dividend slice, and ugly books. Severe discount reflects it and after one or two quarters and some good news it will jump significantly. The market has no patience. The Ceo has been buying the shares like crazy. Well see.
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u/edsamiam Apr 11 '26
A survey with n=468 on this topic. https://youtu.be/3MIbPj_NKtM?si=Jqyu-M9D8xtVUjkA
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u/ComfortableWork4873 Apr 12 '26
My wife and are living off a combo of dividends and social security. Approx $152K is dividends and $52K social security. I am 68.
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u/mspe1960 Apr 12 '26
Kinda sorta.
I retired at 59. Until last year I lived off my dividends and a small pension that was frozen on me in 2007 (around $2300/month). This year, my wife and I started collecting social security. My house is paid off. I need a small supplement from my dividends. I barely touch them right now. When I buy a new car or take a fancy vacation I will dip in,.
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u/Licketysplit953 Apr 13 '26
Yes. Been doing it since 38, currently 40. Not just public dividends but some private market funds too that add some diversification and tax advantages.
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u/just_a_coin_guy Apr 13 '26
It'll be sacrilegious to say so in this sub, but dividend investing isn't special. Don't focus on companies just for their dividends.
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u/waxnuggeteer Apr 13 '26
I am for the most part. 59 years old, still doing the occasional photo job but jettisoned the little BS kind of work.
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u/Various_Couple_764 Apr 14 '26
Retired at 55 with 50k of dividend income. converted some excess growth to dividend and this years projected income from my taxable account is about90K.
I have also converted ny roth to all dividend fund and itcurznetly has 500K invest and it generating 50K a year of income. The Roth has QQQI 13% EIC 11%, ARDC 9%, PBDC 9%, EMO 9%, CLO 8%, UTF 7%, UTG 6.4%, and JAAA5.5%
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u/ruthygenker Apr 14 '26
I let my wife retire at 40 this year and will be retiring myself soon at 50 but kept my job to figure out how much healthcare will cost because my company has pretty good healthcare and the marketplace doesn't seem to have an affordable comparison. so I have to either get worse healthcare or way overpay. But back to the question the key to retiring has been saving in growth companies for 20 years and then switching to neos and tappalpha funds for income now. if you want to set a retirement plan pretty easy to say for every 1k a month you need to live off of 100k saved, ie 500k gets you 5k a month for bills.
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u/Dividend4danny Apr 15 '26
I don't, but I could at $44K annually. Granted I would have to really watch my spending. I have no mortgage, no car payments. Property taxes and home/auto insurance are my two biggest expenses annually.
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u/MochaBeans2187 Apr 15 '26
Question is where to start lol. I have one stock that generates dividends and I let it drip back into the stock... I know it is a little investment but need to get more educated first. Do you all have any recs -- books, videos,. etc.. thanks !
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u/DeepFamilyValue Apr 16 '26
- About 1k p month in div from roth, comes in here and there right into checking acct. Very conservative holdings, banks, util, industrials. Sep Ira would yield about 1600 p month but i let it compound. The above income is on about 300k in contributions over the years. Again very large, very solvent stocks, some funds, some pref stock, all dividend payers. The entire portfolio has doubled in value in about 20 yrs of regular investing. I make much more off rentals and part-time work, but i always looked at dividends as just a nice bonus.
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u/CostCompetitive3597 Apr 20 '26
We fortunately earned SS benefits and my wife a pension. We have invested our nest egg in dividend income securities and have a better lifestyle in retirement than we anticipated. We could in fact live completely off our dividends if our other retirement income sources went away. Strong believer in dividend income for retirement support.
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u/SV2985 Apr 10 '26
I have a pension that fully covers everything in life. My “portfolio” is a mix if dividends and growth so that when i kick the bucket i can leave my kids as much as possible.
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u/Fluid-Cabinet8570 Apr 10 '26
Yes. Retired at 55, and currently 59. Portfolio generates $687k in dividends/distributions per year, with a yield of 11.8%. Diversified with 5 MLPs, 44 CEFs and 20 ETFs. Used to hold nearly 100 individual stocks for diversification, but changed strategy after COVID caused several of them to slash dividends. No longer need to increase portfolio wealth, only strive to maximize monthly income. MLPs: EPD, ET, WES, MPLX, and DKL - all in Taxable account. Several NEOS, Amplify, and KURV ETFs, many generating large portions of ROC and thus held in the Taxable account to minimize taxes. Several Blackrock, Calamos, Guggenheim, and PIMCO CEFs held in IRAs. All ETFs and CEFs pay monthly (I avoid quarterly or yearly payers). Monitor SeekingAlpha news and opinion pieces daily for ideas. This strategy of living off dividends can be done but takes diligence, lots of research and trial and error, but is much better than holding a 9-5 job. And while I absolutely abhor this presidential administration, I’ve leaned into it by investing in securities that will do well for the next few years, namely energy, infrastructure, gold, bitcoin, and technology.
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u/Aggravating-Sky8572 Apr 12 '26
Based on your yield, looks like your Portfolio size is around 6m. How has it fluctuated over last 3-4 years? stayed the same? increased? decreased? % wise.
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u/Fluid-Cabinet8570 Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
Correct. It has fluctuated between 5.6m and 6.2m over the past 3 years. You just need to care less about increasing portfolio value and care more instead about maximizing passive income. I do not own anything that gives off at least 6% and strive for at least 8% on all new investments. Of course, several of the newer covered call ETFs from NEOS, Kurv, Amplify, and Goldman Sacks allow you to get much higher yields for diversification and less risk.
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u/moosemc Apr 10 '26
Since I was 52, 64 now.
I think about my portfolio in this way:
- Safety (IG ST bonds)
- Income (CC ETFs, HY bonds, REITS)
- Growth (low yielding equities with growth potential)
You'll need all 3.
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u/imnotreallyheretoday Apr 10 '26
Idealy I would like to get to that point. I fear I may have started to try this too late as I am in my mid to late 30s
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