2016 Dividend Income Update

In 2016, I made $4,039.79 in Canadian dividends and $1,266.04 in US dividends, for a Canadian equivalent total of $5,706.77. Canadian equivalent interest payments were $3,889.50, which resulted in net dividends of $1,817.23, which is almost double the $957.05 in net dividends I received in 2015.

DGI&R Quarterly Dividends & Interest
*In 2014, I liquidated most of the portfolio to put a large down payment on a condo Ms. DGI&R and I bought and moved into. This is why dividend income drops off in the second half of 2014. Since then, I've been slowly building back the portfolio.
Why is there interest on my dividend income graph?
We purchased the condo with a re-advanceable mortgage, which is basically a traditional mortgage and a secured line of credit combined. As the mortgage portion is paid off, the credit limit on the line of credit portion increases. I've been paying off the mortgage aggressively, and I use the line of credit to invest with when I find a reasonably cheap dividend growth stock to buy. That's why you see the interest in yellow growing over time along with dividends. There is some margin interest included here too, as I currently get a 2.1% margin interest rate on my US purchases, whereas my line of credit interest rate is 2.7% Canadian. I've been keeping a small margin loan that will eventually be paid off with future USD dividends.
Borrowing to invest is a risky strategy and not one that I'd recommend for the... Read more