The first quarter has come and gone, just like that. It seems like yesterday we were lining up our 2017 goals articles with wide-eyed optimism about what 2017 is going to bring for each one of us. As with the end of each month, we each take our time summarizing our dividend income from the month to check our progress and see the fruits of our labor/hard work. Time to check out how my results from March. Here is my March Dividend Income summary!

March Dividend Income Summary

In March, we earned $726.00 in dividend income. This represents a 123.50% increase compared to March 2016! Now, to be fair, my wife was a major contributor to our increase during the year. I thought it would only be fair to show the increase in my individual portfolio to provide a true apples to apples comparison to last year. Still, without my wife’s additional income, I posted a 54.03% increase compared to March 2016! Our detailed listing of dividend income received can be viewed in the chart below:

This month, 26 companies and a handful of mutual funds paid us a dividend. Just incredible. Here are some of the highlights/items from our month!

• Target provided a huge jolt to my year over year income figures. Not only was this a new position compared to last year, but I was able to capitalize on the company’s current valuations and re-invest my dividend at a fairly low price. There could be more next year as Target continues to find a place on my watch list. If it continues to fall, I may not be able to resist.
• Last month, I wrote about how our income, and so many others were out there, we negatively impacted by HCP switching the month in which they paid their dividend. Well, in March the tables were turned. HCP alone provided $47 in additional income to our combined portfolio for the month.
• Last summer, I significantly increased my 401k contribution based on one of Lanny’s tax saving strategies. The impact of executing this strategy for nearly a year are starting to pay off, and my position in VINIX is growing at a very rapid pace.  Now, the quarterly income figures are starting to follow. This year, my income from VINIX increased to $42 from $8.  And guess what, that figure is going to continue to grow as well as I continue to over $250 to 401k twice per month.  It is crazy to me how quickly the automated investing is starting to add up.  Maybe it is time to increase my allocation more.
• Speaking of retirement accounts, the mutual funds in my wife’s retirement account provided us with a HUGE contribution during March.  Man this is getting me very excited for December’s dividend and capital gain distribution!
• I’ll continue to say it, but Realty Income was one of my favorite stock purchases and I love receiving a monthly dividend check from the company. It was interesting to see that Realty Income was one of the lowest earners in my portfolio, and I think that is a good thing. Part of my strategy recently has been to build larger positions and increase the amount of income I receive from each company. That was the reasoning I purchased additional shares in PG and T.Rowe Price earlier in the year and it is the main reason I included Realty Income in my final watch list from March. Because of my additional purchase of T.Rowe, my income from the company increased 51% compared to the same time last year. I would LOVE to double my position in Realty for this reason.

Summary

Once again, I couldn’t be happier with the results. Like so many others out there, as evidenced in our monthly dividend income summary articles from the dividend community, the results of our hard work are really starting to pay off. But here is the best part. March is over and now there is so much to look forward to in April. We wrote about companies that are expected to increase their dividend in April. Guess what, the two of us own at least half the companies on this list. So we will have some excellent increases to report in May and June when we receive the benefit. All of this will be done without lifting a finger. Despite the fact I didn’t purchase a stock in March, I leave the month as motivated as ever to keep on pushing, keep on scraping, and focusing on the fact that every dollar counts here in our pursuit of early retirement!

How did you perform this March? Did you receive dividends from any new companies this month compared to last year? Did your mutual funds provide you with any surprises during the month? What companies are on your watch list and where are you looking to allocate your money in April?