It was a rather wintry March. Plenty of ice and snow, but that didn’t stop the dividends from rolling in.
This turned out to be the biggest month I’ve ever had for passive income, by a fair amount.
Table of Contents
Dividend Summary
I earned income from 21 businesses in CAD, with another 8 being paid in USD.
CAD Dividends
| Company | CAD Payments ($) | Dividend Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (REI.UN) | 22.19 | 5.88 |
| The Coca-Cola Company (KO) | 82.61 | 4.55 |
| Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) | 97.52 | |
| Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd. (CSW.B) | 10.50 | -4.55 |
| TELUS Corporation (T) | 86.02 | |
| Fortis, Inc. (FTS) | 110.18 | |
| Canadian Utilities Limited (CU) | 105.42 | 0.99 |
| Canadian National Railway Company (CNR) | 35.55 | 7.85 |
| Hydro One Ltd (H) | 72.70 | |
| Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN) | 5.10 | |
| Metro Inc. (MRU) | 6.05 | 10.00 |
| Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (BEP.UN) | 130.90 | 5.47 |
| Brookfield Renewable Corporation (BEPC) | 59.71 | 5.47 |
| Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) | 2.20 | |
| Brookfield Corporation (BN) | 2.12 | |
| Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (BIP.UN) | 28.63 | 6.25 |
| Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation (BIPC) | 18.74 | 6.25 |
| A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund (AW.UN) | 6.40 | |
| Enbridge Inc. (ENB) | 22.19 | 3.20 |
| Saputo Inc. (SAP) | 5.40 |
USD Dividends
| Company | USD Payments ($) | Dividend Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Waste Management, Inc. (WM) | 29.75 | 7.69 |
| McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) | 27.14 | |
| Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) | 20.06 | 6.14 |
| Yum China Holdings, Inc. (YUMC) | 4.31 | 8.33 |
| PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) | 9.78 | |
| Walmart Inc. (WMT) | 7.27 | 1.79 |
| Visa Inc. (V) | 5.74 | |
| Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) | 7.52 |
Dividend Earnings Totals
I pulled in C$939.37 and U$111.57, combining for a currency-neutral tally of $1,050.94. This was bolstered by payments from Coca-Cola, TELUS, and Rogers, which usually take place in April.
All the same, this is the first time I’ve hit four figures in a single month. This signifies steady progress. Time and consistency can work wonders when you put them together.
In comparison with my March 2022 dividend totals, I’ve posted a whopping 40.04% growth rate.
Year To Date Progress
Up and up we go:
Through the first quarter of the year, I’m already pushing the $2k marker. While this was an abnormally large March, it’s still a nice psychological boost:
| Month | Dividends ($) |
|---|---|
| January | 680.90 |
| February | 107.14 |
| March | 1,050.94 |
| Total | 1,838.98 |
I may be on track for $7k this year, the way things are going.
March Highlights
It was an action-packed month both personally and on the macro level.
Interview on the Passive Income Podcast
On March 21, I took part in a podcast interview for the “Passive Income Podcast” by Dividend Dave. We had a great conversation covering a wide range of investing topics.
Of course, we spent plenty of time discussing the banks, railroads, and anything to do with dividend growth.
Here’s the video:
Bank of Canada (BoC) Interest Rate Decision
The BoC finally pushed pause on their rate-hiking campaign. The policy rate was held steady at 4.5% on March 8, as inflation eased to 5.9% in January.
Economic growth was flat for Q4 2022, lower than the BoC expected. However, the latest data is in line with their expectation for CPI inflation to hit 3% by mid-year.
Market Activity and Cash
I added 30 shares of TELUS (T) to my portfolio. This falls in line with my recent strategy of doubling down on companies I already own rather than branching into new waters. I only own companies I understand well; keeping the focus of my portfolio narrow enables this.
On T’s quarterly dividend of C$0.3511, I am expecting to earn ~C$10.53 quarterly, rounding to ~C$42.13 annually.
T is a company I’ve held for years in my portfolio and intend to continue building out on pullbacks. This time around, I was attracted by the 5.13% dividend yield on the shares I purchased.
I will selectively reinvest all dividends received.
Conclusion
I remember when the thought of crossing the $1,000 barrier in a single month was beyond reasoning. Now, hitting it for the first time, I am confident it’ll be the norm before long.
That’s how compounding works and I love taking advantage of it.
The snowball just keeps getting bigger and rolling faster. Passive income is a wonderful thing when you have it working in your favour.
Full Disclosure: REI-UN, KO, JNJ, CSW-B, T, RCI-B, FTS, CU, CNR, H, CSH-UN, BEP-UN, BEPC, BAM-A, BIP-UN, BIPC, AW-UN, ENB, SAP, WM, MCD, YUM, YUMC, V, MSFT