2014 Dividend Income Goals

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Since dividends are a major piece of my overall multiple income source strategy, it is important that I set future goals. These short term goals will help me plan ahead so that I stay on target for even longer term goals.

Eventually, I would like to earn $2,500 per month in dividend income but certainly won’t get there overnight. This will be a multi-year process and 2014 will be a stepping stone to get closer to this ultimate goal.

Note – $2,500 per month would match about half of my family’s expenses per month and help my wife and I ease into our retirement.

2014 Dividend Income Goals

Since tracking these numbers starting back in 2011, I have been able to increase my annualized dividend income by at least 50% each year. For years 2011 through 2013, I did not set any goals on what my annual dividend earnings should be – big mistake. However, starting in 2014, I plan to set goals for the upcoming year (and beyond) and begin tracking them on The Money Sprout.

In 2014, I would like to increase my annualized dividend income to $1,250 – a 92% increase from 2013. In order to reach this goal, I will need to invest more aggressively throughout the year – which may be difficult in the current market conditions.

Here is a look at my dividend income results (2011 – 2013), along with my projected annualized dividend income for 2014.

2014 Dividend Income Goals

2011 (actual) $243.81 N/A
2012 (actual) $431.02 76.8%
2013 (actual) $650.16 50.8%
2014 (goal) $1,250.00 92.3%

In order to increase my annualized dividend income by 92% next year, the following must happen.

  • Dividend Increases – The companies that I am invested in continue to increase their dividends in 2014.
  • Yield on Cost – I ended 2013 with a Yield on Cost (YOC) of 4.48%. In order for me to reach my goals, this number will need to stay the same or slightly increase next year.
  • Invest New Money – Since I am in the accumulation phase of building a dividend income portfolio, new investment dollars are critical. I have calculated I will need to invest an additional $10,250 into the stock market. That comes out to about $850 per month.

The biggest challenge of the new year will be coming up with the additional $850 to invest each month. Ideally, I would like to build additional sources of income that could feed this process but that is harder said than done.

The overpriced market will also play a big role in my success or failure in meeting my 2014 goal. Most dividend stocks are trading at a premium right now, so I will try and leverage dollar cost averaging throughout the year to minimize as much risk as possible.

I am certainly looking forward to meeting my challenge for 2014 and can’t wait to document it along the way.

One Reply to “2014 Dividend Income Goals”

  1. Hello,

    Just want to say that I visit your blog at least once a month, I love seeing your progress as it has inspired me to do the same. I also find it very helpful to find someone more knowledgeable about this post their yearly dividend goals. That helps me as sort of a baseline in creating my goals and it keeps me on track. Keep up the great work, I look forward to the future of this blog and wish you all the best!

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