And thus ends May 2016. Overall, it was a good month. My 48-hour Las Vegas trip with Mrs. Dividend Quest cost less than I had estimated (the $64 I won playing the slot machines helped a little), celebrated three birthdays (my wife and her 2 kin), and the weather was good at the beginning and end of the month (but the middle was rather sucky). I don’t know how, but despite having high expenses (paid off the credit card balance for the Vegas vacation and 6-months of auto insurance), I was able to afford the parts I needed for my upcoming PC build, cover my dividend income matching money (meeting or exceeding the previous month’s dividend income), and still have enough left over to put a little into savings.

So let’s get down to business, and do the numbers for May’s dividend payouts:

AWP $ 3.50*
BGY $ 49.00*
CHW $ 21.00*
CIK $ 22.00*
CLM $ 54.19*
DHY $ 42.00
DMF $ 13.50
DSM $ 22.83
EDF $ 13.50*
EHI $ 38.50
EXG $121.95*
FGB $105.00
HHY $ 37.50
HTR $ 38.00
NCV $ 45.50
OIA $ 4.10
PFN $ 36.00
VFL $ 18.00
TOTAL $686.07

* Includes Return of Capital.

Not bad. Almost the same as February’s $683.18 (had I not bought 30 shares of EHI in April, it would have been exactly the same as February).

The only big surprise I had in May was that all shareholders of CTCM (CTC Media, a Russian media company) were paid $2.05 per share as part of a merger and delisting of the company, so I was paid $205 for the 100 shares I held. When they ceased paying dividend early last year and the stock began to drop sharply, I sold all but 100 shares. I had hoped the Russian economy would recover and the remaining shares would rise in value to offset the loss I took from the shares I had sold earlier. With this payoff of shareholders, that was not to be. On the bright side, I got $205 I wasn’t expecting, so that cash will go towards my next stock buy. Other than that, there weren’t any unpleasant surprises such as a dividend cut or additional volatility in the market.

Overall, May was a good month. My two stock buys of CODI and EDF boosted my projected average monthly dividend by over $20 per month, which moves me a few steps closer to my 2016 goal of having a projected average monthly dividend $750 or more. Summer 2016 is off to a good start. 🙂

Image Credit: jarmoluk (pixabay.com)