The beginning of every month is exciting for all dividend income investors as we look back at the previous month and see how much passive dividend income our portfolios generated. May was exciting as ever as my year over year numbers continue to highlight the trifecta magic of dividend investing which includes, adding fresh capital, dividend raises and basic compounding to create an ever increasing passive income stream. Even if I stopped adding fresh capital today and every dividend stock I owned kept all distributions flat without a single raise my passive income stream will still continue to grow.

Looking back at the month of May it seems that we have seen a lot more of the same. Wild market gyrations with many triple digit moves in the DOW, both up and down, and a market that at one point in 2016 was looking quite ugly and is now near all time highs. What gives? I’ll tell you what gives… our consistent, reliable and predictable dividend income. Many seasoned dividend investors already know that the market and even individual stock prices are highly unpredictable and often trade irrationally. The one steady aspect of our portfolios comes from diversified dividend income that we’ll all count on one day.

With that being said, let’s take a look back at my May 2016 dividend income.

Dividend income from my taxable account totalled $247.21 up from $221.52 an increase of 11.6%from May of last year.

Dividend income from my ROTH account totalled $180.26 up from $86.38 an increase of 108.7% from this time last year.

Dividend income from my IRA account totalled $97.44 up from $12.89 from this time last year. This is a year over year increase of 655.9%.

Grand total for the month of May: $524.91 an increase of 63.6% from May 2015.

Brokerage Account

Year to date dividends: $1,428.01

ROTH Account

Year to date dividends: $656.66

IRA Account

Year to date dividends: $228.81

Those large percentage increases in my ROTH and IRA accounts can be attributed to my relatively large Canadian bank positions and my newer health REIT holdings. Of course, over time the percentage increases will become more modest.

Looking at the figures above I cannot complain as my dividend train keeps chugging along churning out that passive income despite currency headwinds, economic headwinds, terror across the world, saber rattling from North Korea, Russian troops in Ukraine, The Nigerian delta under attack curbing the flow of oil, floods, earthquakes etc. etc. I think you get the point. There will ALWAYS be negative financial, civil, health news and more. Even during the best economic times there will always be an opinion citing concerns. The question is will you react to the headlines or stay the course?