How Much Dividend Income Do We Want to Earn in 2015?

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One of my most successful sources of side income is from investing in dividend stocks. Just last year, I earned an extra $967.12 that was invested back into the stock market. This year, I plan on continuing to grow this steady and secure source of income.

Investing in Dividend Stocks

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.

My long term goal is to eventually earn $2,500 per month in dividend income (or $30,000 annually). This is a multi-year process and 2015 is another stepping stone to reaching this goal.

2015 Dividend Income Goals

In 2015, I would like to increase my annualized dividend income to $1,5000 – a 55% increase from 2014. In order to reach this goal, I must continue to invest in the best blue chip stocks available. My portfolio growth will come from dividend reinvestment’s, dividend increases, and from new investments made in the market.

Here is a look at my dividend income results (2011 – 2014), along with my projected annualized dividend income for 2015.

2015 Dividend Income Goals

Year Dividend Income Percentage Increase
2011 (actual) $243.81
2012 (actual)
2013 (actual)
2014 (actual)
2015 (goal)

Last year I was a little too optimistic with my 2014 dividend income goals. Increasing my dividend income by 92.3% from the prior year would have given me $1,250 in income. I fell short of hitting my goal by $282.88.

Realistically, it would have required me investing too much new capital to have hit that target. I currently only have a set amount of funds available to invest each month. I am still trying to explore new ways to invest more into the market, but for now my capital is limited.

Reaching my Goal

In order to reach my goal of earning $1,500 in dividend income in 2015, I will need to continue to build my portfolio.

Using my current yield on cost of 4.37%, I have estimated that I would earn at least $1,145.46 in dividends without investing any new money. This of course assumes all of the companies that I own maintain their current dividend at a minimum.

My calculation has not figured in any dividend increases throughout the year, nor has it included any reinvested dividends.

In order to hit my goal, I would need to earn an additional ~$350 this year in dividends. I figure that if I invest $8,000 to $10,000 in new capital, I will come close to hitting this mark. This is just a rough estimate but I think I can come close to increasing my annualized dividend income to $1,500 in 2015.

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