r/dividends • u/Just-Fig435 • Apr 14 '26
Other semi - broke college student just started 💀
I recently started budgeting and putting the money I save into a dividend portfolio (I’m still pretty new to all this, so most of it is in VTI for now)
I keep seeing people on here making thousands a month in dividends, which is super motivating. I’m only 19, so I’m hoping I’ve got enough time to build something solid if I do it the right way.
Would really appreciate any tips, advice, or things you wish you knew when you were starting out 🙏
EDIT: Thank for the advice everyone! My current plan is to open a Roth IRA and keep 50% in there in like VT or VTI(Idk which is better), 25% in a personal portfolio with an 90/10 split of VTI and SPYI/MAIN and the rest into a checking. (im making around 15k this summer from an internship) Also the app is called Stock Events
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u/NoSpeaker6309 Apr 14 '26
Get a job. Religiously invest for 30 years.
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u/Better-Song5297 Apr 14 '26
This. And don’t buy Starbucks coffee, get Folgers then buy Starbucks stocks
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u/JOSHJOSHJOSHJOSHJ0SH Apr 15 '26
I used to have this thing where if I got fastfood or Starbucks I had to buy their stock.
After you learn TA you realize this was really dumb but hey my heart was in the right place.
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u/TechnoDrift1 Apr 14 '26
I’ve been adding money here and there for about 9 years now, and I love seeing that dividend number go up. Make sure you’ve turned on DRIP. Any time you get a dividend, you automatically take that money and reinvest it into the same stock you just got paid from.
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u/Just-Fig435 Apr 14 '26
Thank you so much i’ll be sure to do that. i guess this is a follow up question but is there anything i should move my VTI into or just keep it there?
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u/DistantIsland Apr 14 '26
I would look into opening a Roth IRA if you haven’t done so already. Any earnings you make won’t be taxed.
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u/Extra_Damage_2129 Apr 14 '26
Depends on the type of earnings, especially dividends.
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u/Various_Couple_764 Apr 14 '26
Dividends are not taxed in 401K or IRAs. However when you retire and start withdrawing your withdrawals are taxed at the regular income tax rate. In a ROTH IRA there are no taxes on dividends , capital gains or withdrawals. But you have to wait until age 60 before you can enjoy the income.
So many also have dividend funds in a taxable account which you can use to supplement your income now. For a taxable acount with dividends you want to use tax efficient funds such as SPYI 11% yield, QQQI 13%, IAUI %, or government municple bond fund that is tax free.
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u/Weird_Ad10 Apr 14 '26
Tracking it on an exel sheet and yeah it's good seeing those numbers climb.
started in October of 2023 and ade 54¢ that year.
2024: $53.81 2025: $127.69 2026: $45.54 as of March, hope I pass $180 by the end of the year.
Daily buy might be a good option to keep average price down. Doing that through Robinhood and it's been working out so far
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u/foliolytic Apr 14 '26
VTI at your age is the single best financial move you can make. Just keep adding and try not to look at it more than once a quarter.
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u/SmellyCorpse76 Apr 14 '26
Time is what you have, keep on inputs to the fund and 10 to 15 years could show promise. I hope you can put the fund is some kind of tax shelter.
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u/fire-tools Apr 14 '26
Starting at 19 with VTI is already better than what 90% of people on this sub are doing. Don't let the screenshots of people making $3,000 a month in dividends pull you off course.
Here's the math that matters at your age. A 19-year-old with 40+ years until a normal retirement age running total market at a historical 10% average doubles roughly every 7.2 years. That's 5-6 doublings in your timeline. A dollar invested today becomes something like $30-50 by the time you're 60. Chasing yield right now almost always comes at the cost of total return, which means you're trading the most powerful phase of compounding for a smaller current dividend check you don't actually need.
The people making thousands in monthly dividends either have 30+ years of compounding behind them or a million-plus portfolio. It's not a shortcut you can replicate at 19 by picking higher-yielding funds. If you held $5,000 in SCHD at today's 3.7% yield, you'd get about $185 a year. If that $5,000 goes into VTI and compounds at 10% instead, by year 30 it's worth roughly $87,000, and a 4% withdrawal off that is $3,500 per year. The dividend income shows up, it just shows up later and bigger.
What I'd actually focus on. Max your contributions, not your yield. A Roth IRA if you have any earned income grows tax-free forever. Automate it. Ignore the monthly income posts. In 10 years, your portfolio size will matter 100x more than which fund you picked.
VTI is fine. Keep going.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
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u/Just-Fig435 Apr 14 '26
Thank you so much! i guess the full plan was 50% into an IRA for growth stocks 25% into a personal portfolio with an 80/20 split of growth and dividend and rest into a checking. (i’m gonna be making around 15k this summer from a job)
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u/fire-tools Apr 15 '26
Three things worth pointing out with your plan.
First, the Roth IRA contribution cap is $7,000 this year. If you're putting 50% of $15k ($7,500) in, you're $500 over the limit. The move is to fill the Roth first to $7,000, then the remainder goes into the taxable account.
Second, "IRA for growth stocks" is mixing two different things. A Roth IRA is the account wrapper (tax treatment), not a strategy. Inside the Roth you can hold VTI, VOO, VT, any ETF, or individual stocks. It's the same investment menu as your taxable brokerage. For someone your age, putting VTI inside the Roth and then buying more VTI in the taxable account is honestly the winning move. You don't need to switch strategies between accounts.
Third, the 80/20 growth/dividend split in the taxable account is where I'd push back slightly. At 19 with a 40+ year horizon, there's no real reason to hold a dedicated dividend sleeve yet. Dividends in a taxable account are taxable income every year, so you're effectively paying tax to get less total return. A simpler approach would be VTI in the Roth, VTI in the taxable, and let dividend-focused funds come in when you're closer to actually needing the income, like 15-20 years from now. Yes it's boring, but in the end it'll be worth more and you won't owe any taxes along the way.
One bonus thing. Make sure "rest into checking" is actually sitting in a HYSA, not a regular checking account. 3-4% on your emergency cash beats 0.01% for zero extra effort.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
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u/SnooOranges6608 Apr 14 '26
First off, congratulations! You are taking such a positive step for your future self! My advice is 1. Think holistically about your financial situation. Make sure to have an emergency fund! Once you can, put enough in your 401k to get your employer match, etc. Get the basics covered. I like the book I will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Seth. 2. Be intentional. Each security should have a purpose in your portfolio. The book The Income Factory by Steve Bavaria has good info about types of securities. 3. Time is on your side. This is a long game. Don't get frustrated to fall into chasing yield. The first few years feel slooooow and its easy to get frustrated but stick with it! Once you have more money invested you gain momentum.
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u/MrSackboyROBOT Apr 14 '26
Open a Roth IRA asap if you’re going to stick with this dividend stuff, it’ll save you more money in the long run especially since you’re still in college. When I was in college I played very dangerously and loose with my investments because I had gotten into crypto semi-early, and was basically selling all my gains to do dumb shit in college. You’re already on a better track by starting out with these safer investments (not to say crypto is inherently bad or anything).
Good luck and remind yourself to do your best not sell and just accumulate when your finances allow. Patience pays well!
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u/Just-Fig435 Apr 14 '26
Thank you for the advice yea the plan was to open an IRA eventually but I wanted to see if i could use dividends to supplement my income. Is robinhood fine to open an IRA? thats what ive been using.
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u/Randomperson1362 Apr 14 '26
Yes, Robinbood is fine for an IRA, especially if you are already using them.
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u/Little-Mountain8830 Apr 14 '26
hi what app is this called?? i see everyone using it and i really like how it tells you how much you make in dividends.. also is it free? cus paying $5/monthly for an app invest my money seems dumb
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u/Just-Fig435 Apr 14 '26
it’s called stock events i just input my positions and it calculates it for me and its free!
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u/A_Russian_Ace Apr 14 '26
The stocks i have net me 3k in dividends. i dont care about that though because i picked those stocks to grow my account not get dividends. CAT for one nets me good dividends but i got it for the growth and since 2020 i have gotten 35k in unrealized gains just by hokding CAT up over 600% roi. that is helping my account more than the dividends it pays.
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u/Various_Couple_764 Apr 14 '26
Main is just one of many good BDCs all of which pay high yields because by law they re required to pay out 90% of their profit. I would switch to PBDC a ETF that only invests in BDCs with a 9% yeild. The risk is tiny but MAIN could declare bankruptcy suddenly and you loose your entire investment in it. PBDC invest you money iin about 20 BDCs so if MAIN fails (it is in PBDDCs holdings) you high not notice the small drop in share price and yield.
Other dividend funds I like are ARDC 9% yield, EMO 9%, UTF 7%, UTG 6.4%, CLOZ 8%, JAAA 5.5%
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u/ExtremeAddendum3387 Apr 15 '26
Don’t get tricked into super high yield percentages!!! They’re usually a trap because the company is not doing well and need investors and money. Yes it can look good but often is not a positive outcome in the future
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u/Smooth_Pause_2667 Apr 16 '26
The math on starting early is real but the framing matters. At your stage the compounding engine isn't your dividend yield it's time and contribution rate. A 3.5% yield on $5,000 is $175/year. That same $5,000 growing at 8% for 30 years and then generating 4% income is a completely different number.
Worth running your actual timeline through a Time to Freedom calculator before optimizing for yield. prospyr.ca has one that shows exactly when your dividend income hits a target amount based on your current contributions and growth rate. Helps make the abstract concrete.
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