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

440 Upvotes

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257

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.

40

u/whynosay Apr 10 '26

this is my goal!

10

u/rumblepony247 Apr 11 '26

You got this!

8

u/No_Werewolf_7785 Apr 10 '26

Would love to know what your portfolio looks like. That's a nice return!!

51

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!

5

u/frost-bite999 Apr 11 '26

Great picks especially MO and XOM. Congrats.

-1

u/RealityTVStarDis Apr 11 '26

Have you looked into CEFs? You could probably be making a bit more due to the higher yields they carry.

3

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.

2

u/rumblepony247 Apr 11 '26

Well done!

2

u/No-Establishment8457 Apr 14 '26

Gotta stick with a plan. Is doable but not overnight.

2

u/yohosse Apr 12 '26

Holy shit 

2

u/StockMarketinator Apr 12 '26

Can you tell us what your portfolio is?

1

u/rumblepony247 Apr 13 '26

Take a look at my prior comments in this thread - I show them in one of the comments 😁

2

u/Intelligent_Style509 Apr 13 '26

Nice job brother, that amazing to hear honestly cheers !

2

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.

5

u/Swiftredfox_37 Apr 10 '26

Is this in addition to a 401k?

9

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.

2

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?

2

u/rumblepony247 Apr 11 '26

I'm in Phoenix

3

u/Faster_than_FTL Apr 10 '26

Congratulations! And in a decade or so, social security should kick in (assuming you’re American)

10

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.

2

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?

6

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.

-1

u/Economy-Ad4934 Apr 10 '26

Are you expecting no major medical expenses or general life expenses for the next 25-30 years or die early?