4 Steps to Start Living Off Income From Dividend Stocks (2024)

Andrew Button

·4 min read

4 Steps to Start Living Off Income From Dividend Stocks (1)

Written by Andrew Button at The Motley Fool Canada

Do you want to live off of dividend income?

It’s a worthy goal, but it takes some time to achieve it.

It’s not enough to simply invest in dividend stocks. Unless you have a large amount of savings, you’ll need to invest progressively over time until you finally have a dividend stock portfolio that you can live off of.

In this article, I will share a four-step process that can ramp up your dividend income to the point that you can live off dividends.

Step #1: Save money

The first step in dividend investing — or any kind of investing — is to save money. How much money you’ll need to live off of dividend income depends on your expenses. If you have, say, $35,000 in annual living costs, you’ll need to get at least that much in dividends (less any CPP or other pension income) per year to live off passive income.

If you invest your money into a TSX index fund, you’ll need to invest over $1 million to get to $35,000 per year in dividend income. That might sound like a lot, but as I’ll show in an upcoming section, you can get to $35,000 per year in dividend income with a lot less than a million invested by investing in high-yield stocks.

Step #2: Open a brokerage account

Once you’ve got some money saved up, your next step on your journey to passive dividend income is to open a brokerage account. Head down to your bank or use an online service like WealthSimple and request a brokerage account. If you go with your bank, they’ll have you sign some forms. If you use an online service, you do not even need to book an appointment; you just visit the service’s website, sign up there, and then download the app.

Step #3: Invest in high-quality dividend stocks

Once you’ve got some money saved, it’s time to start investing. Here, you have many opportunities available to you. There are Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), which, these days, yield as much as 5.5%. There are index funds, which provide diversification that reduces your risk. Finally, there are individual stocks, which sometimes offer very high yields.

Consider Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD), for example. It’s a $78.71 stock with a $0.96 quarterly payout. That’s $3.84 in dividends per year, which, when divided by the $78.71 stock price, gives us a 4.8% dividend yield. At a 4.8% yield, you only need to invest $718,000 to get to $35,000 in annual passive income rather than a million.

TD Bank stock has a high yield, but amazingly, its dividend is fairly safe. TD Bank has a 48% payout ratio, meaning that its profit could fall by 50%, and it would still be able to keep paying its dividend. Fortunately, investors probably don’t need to worry about TD’s profit falling 50%. U.S. banks recently released their third-quarter earnings and delivered high, positive growth. TD’s earnings will likely be similar to those of U.S. banks, as it earns 40% of its profit in the United States.

Step #4: Repeat steps 1-3

Once you’ve begun buying dividend stocks, the only step left is to repeat steps one to three until you’re left with a dividend portfolio that can pay all your expenses. It may take a few decades to get there, but get there, you will!

The post 4 Steps to Start Living Off Income From Dividend Stocks appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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Fool contributor Andrew Button has positions in Toronto-Dominion Bank. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

2023

4 Steps to Start Living Off Income From Dividend Stocks (2024)

FAQs

How much money do you need to make $1000 month in dividends? ›

In a market that generates a 2% annual yield, you would need to invest $600,000 up front in order to reliably generate $12,000 per year (or $1,000 per month) in dividend payments. How Can You Make $1,000 Per Month In Dividends?

How much money do you need to make $50,000 a year off dividends? ›

Let's also be realistic here, $50,000 per year in passive income from dividends requires a substantial portfolio. at an average 5% yield an investor will need $1 million in dividend bearing stocks to create $50K in income yearly.

How do you live off dividend paying stocks? ›

You can periodically sell some of your investments to supplement the dividend income. As long as you keep the withdrawal rate at or below 4%, your money should last for decades. To apply the 4% rule, divide your income requirement by 4% to calculate your targeted portfolio size.

How to make $5,000 a month in dividends? ›

To generate $5,000 per month in dividends, you would need a portfolio value of approximately $1 million invested in stocks with an average dividend yield of 5%. For example, Johnson & Johnson stock currently yields 2.7% annually. $1 million invested would generate about $27,000 per year or $2,250 per month.

How much to invest in dividend stocks to make $500 a month? ›

That usually comes in quarterly, semi-annual or annual payments. Shares of public companies that split profits with shareholders by paying cash dividends yield between 2% and 6% a year. With that in mind, putting $250,000 into low-yielding dividend stocks or $83,333 into high-yielding shares will get your $500 a month.

How much money do I need to invest to make $2 000 a month? ›

Earning $2,000 in monthly passive income sounds unbelievable but is achievable through dividend investing. However, the investment amount required to produce the desired income is considerable. To make $2,000 in dividend income, the investment amount and rate of return must be $400,000 and 6%, respectively.

How much do I need to invest to make $300 a month in dividends? ›

However, this isn't always the case. If you're looking to generate $300 in super safe monthly dividend income (note the emphasis on "monthly" income), simply invest $43,000, split equally, into the following two ultra-high-yield stocks, which sport an average yield of 8.39%!

How much to invest to get $4,000 a month in dividends? ›

Too many people are paid a lot of money to tell investors that yields like that are impossible. But the truth is you can get a 9.5% yield today--and even more. But even at 9.5%, we're talking about a middle-class income of $4,000 per month on an investment of just a touch over $500K.

How much can you make in dividends with $1 million dollars? ›

Stocks in the S&P 500 index currently yield about 1.5% on aggregate. That means, if you have $1 million invested in a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that tracks the index, you could expect annual dividend income of about $15,000.

What stock pays the best monthly dividends? ›

Top 9 monthly dividend stocks by yield
SymbolCompany nameForward dividend yield (annual)
EFCEllington Financial12.89%
EPREPR Properties8.43%
APLEApple Hospitality REIT6.71%
ORealty Income Corp.6.00%
5 more rows
May 31, 2024

What is the safest stock for retirees? ›

Coca-Cola boasts a history of steady dividends and shareholder returns, making it appealing for retirement investors seeking a stable income stream. Its strong cash flow generation coupled with disciplined capital allocation further solidifies its status as a top safe retirement stock.

How do you avoid taxes on dividend stocks? ›

You would not owe tax on dividends from stocks held in a retirement account, such as a Roth IRA or 401(k), or a college savings plan, such as a 529 plan or Coverdell ESA. There are exceptions to this tax immunity, though.

How much do I need to invest to get $1000 a month? ›

Invest in Dividend Stocks

A stock portfolio focused on dividends can generate $1,000 per month or more in perpetual passive income, Mircea Iosif wrote on Medium. “For example, at a 4% dividend yield, you would need a portfolio worth $300,000.

What are the three dividend stocks to buy and hold forever? ›

3 Magnificent Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has been a favorite for income investors for decades. ...
  • Target (NYSE: TGT) has been in business since 1902. ...
  • Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is the newbie on the list.
Jun 1, 2024

How much is $1000 a month for 5 years? ›

In fact, at the end of the five years, if you invest $1,000 per month you would have $83,156.62 in your investment account, according to the SIP calculator (assuming a yearly rate of return of 11.97% and quarterly compounding).

How much dividends does $1 million dollars make? ›

Stocks in the S&P 500 index currently yield about 1.5% on aggregate. That means, if you have $1 million invested in a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that tracks the index, you could expect annual dividend income of about $15,000.

How much to make $100,000 in dividends? ›

How Much Can You Make in Dividends with $100K?
Portfolio Dividend YieldDividend Payments With $100K
7%$7,000
8%$8,000
9%$9,000
10%$10,000
6 more rows
May 1, 2024

How much do I need to invest to make $3000 a month in dividends? ›

If you were to invest in a company offering a 4% annual dividend yield, you would need to invest about $900,000 to generate a monthly income of $3000. While this might seem like a hefty sum, remember that this investment isn't just generating income—it's also likely to appreciate over time.

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