This is my actual investment portfolio — real tickers, real share counts, real dividend income. I share this publicly because transparency is more useful than theory. I'm on a long journey to build enough dividend income to cover my yearly expenses without touching the principal. Not to retire early or replace my income — just to build a financial cushion that grows quietly in the background.
| Ticker | Company | Shares | ~Price | ~Value | Ann. Div/Share | Yield | Annual Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | Apple Inc | 1.10 | $213.49 | $235 | $1.00 | 0.47% | $1.10 |
| ABR | Arbor Realty Trust REIT | 19.92 | $14.50 | $289 | $1.76 | 12.1% | $35.06 |
| AGNC | AGNC Investment Corp REIT | 39.17 | $9.80 | $384 | $1.44 | 14.7% | $56.40 |
| AVGO | Broadcom Inc | 1.75 | $230.00 | $403 | $2.36 | 1.03% | $4.13 |
| CL | Colgate-Palmolive | 5.03 | $96.00 | $483 | $2.04 | 2.13% | $10.26 |
| COPX | Global X Copper Miners ETF ETF | 28.27 | $47.00 | $1,329 | $1.13 | 2.40% | $31.94 |
| COST | Costco Wholesale | 1.32 | $1,020.00 | $1,346 | $5.32 | 0.52% | $7.02 |
| DELL | Dell Technologies | 7.93 | $130.00 | $1,031 | $1.00 | 0.77% | $7.93 |
| DGRO | iShares Dividend Growth ETF ETF | 1.29 | $65.00 | $84 | $1.82 | 2.80% | $2.35 |
| GRID | First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge ETF ETF | 0.51 | $115.00 | $59 | $1.20 | 1.04% | $0.61 |
| HD | Home Depot | 2.42 | $420.00 | $1,016 | $9.00 | 2.14% | $21.78 |
| HDV | iShares Core High Dividend ETF ETF | 6.08 | $120.00 | $730 | $4.68 | 3.90% | $28.45 |
| ICOP | iShares Copper & Metals ETF ETF | 22.78 | $35.00 | $797 | $0.70 | 2.00% | $15.95 |
| IEMG | iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | 5.00 | $59.00 | $295 | $1.65 | 2.80% | $8.25 |
| INTC | Intel Corporation | 6.51 | $23.00 | $150 | $0.50 | 2.17% | $3.26 |
| JEPI | JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF ETF | 6.11 | $57.19 | $349 | $4.45 | 7.78% | $27.19 |
| JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | 2.64 | $155.00 | $409 | $5.36 | 3.46% | $14.15 |
| KMB | Kimberly-Clark | 5.00 | $111.00 | $555 | $5.12 | 4.61% | $25.60 |
| KO | Coca-Cola Co | 12.15 | $71.84 | $873 | $1.94 | 2.70% | $23.57 |
| LFT | Lument Finance Trust REIT | 39.46 | $2.50 | $99 | $0.36 | 14.4% | $14.21 |
| MDLZ | Mondelez International | 5.04 | $64.00 | $323 | $2.08 | 3.25% | $10.48 |
| META | Meta Platforms | 0.65 | $620.00 | $403 | $1.00 | 0.16% | $0.65 |
| MRVL | Marvell Technology | 3.47 | $95.00 | $330 | $0.24 | 0.25% | $0.83 |
| MSFT | Microsoft Corp | 4.35 | $441.56 | $1,921 | $3.32 | 0.75% | $14.44 |
| MU | Micron Technology | 8.41 | $120.00 | $1,009 | $0.46 | 0.38% | $3.87 |
| NEE | NextEra Energy | 7.26 | $72.00 | $523 | $2.38 | 3.31% | $17.28 |
| NVDA | NVIDIA Corporation | 112.41 | $130.00 | $14,613 | $1.00 | 0.48% | $112.41 |
| O | Realty Income Corp REIT | 7.10 | $62.00 | $440 | $3.25 | 5.24% | $23.08 |
| OMF | OneMain Financial | 2.62 | $55.00 | $144 | $4.00 | 7.27% | $10.48 |
| PG | Procter & Gamble | 3.75 | $163.45 | $613 | $4.03 | 2.47% | $15.11 |
| SCHD | Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF ETF | 90.04 | $30.00 | $2,701 | $1.05 | 3.50% | $94.54 |
| SKHY | Schwab 1-5 Year Corp Bond ETF ETF | 5.00 | $49.00 | $245 | $2.45 | 5.00% | $12.25 |
| SPY | SPDR S&P 500 ETF ETF | 1.50 | $570.00 | $855 | $7.80 | 1.37% | $11.70 |
| T | AT&T Inc | 20.69 | $28.00 | $579 | $1.11 | 3.96% | $22.97 |
| TSM | Taiwan Semiconductor ADR | 2.56 | $200.00 | $512 | $2.40 | 1.20% | $6.14 |
| VGT | Vanguard Info Tech ETF ETF | 8.24 | $640.00 | $5,274 | $4.80 | 0.75% | $39.55 |
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF ETF | 10.81 | $570.00 | $6,162 | $7.95 | 1.39% | $85.94 |
| VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF ETF | 0.82 | $265.00 | $217 | $3.80 | 1.43% | $3.12 |
| VXUS | Vanguard Total Intl Stock ETF ETF | 13.79 | $68.00 | $938 | $2.45 | 3.60% | $33.79 |
| VYM | Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF ETF | 8.80 | $163.00 | $1,434 | $3.63 | 2.23% | $31.94 |
| VYMI | Vanguard Intl High Div Yield ETF ETF | 4.26 | $78.00 | $332 | $3.90 | 5.00% | $16.61 |
| VZ | Verizon Communications | 5.00 | $50.50 | $253 | $2.83 | 5.60% | $14.15 |
| WMT | Walmart Inc | 10.53 | $106.00 | $1,116 | $0.99 | 0.93% | $10.42 |
| DIVIDEND-PAYING SUBTOTAL | $86.8K | 1.90% | ~$931/yr | ||||
| Ticker | Company | Shares | ~Price | ~Value | No dividend currently paid | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD | Advanced Micro Devices | 5.11 | $175.00 | $894 | Growth stock — no dividend | ||
| AMZN | Amazon.com Inc | 1.34 | $198.00 | $265 | Growth stock — no dividend | ||
| ARM | Arm Holdings | 2.92 | $155.00 | $453 | No dividend | ||
| CPER | US Copper Index Fund | 29.25 | $28.00 | $819 | Commodity ETF — no dividend | ||
| CRCL | Circle Internet Group | 1.00 | $35.00 | $35 | No dividend | ||
| FLEX | Flex Ltd | 5.00 | $40.00 | $200 | No dividend | ||
| GOOGL | Alphabet Inc | 3.56 | $190.00 | $676 | Growth stock — no dividend | ||
| PLTR | Palantir Technologies | 5.00 | $140.00 | $700 | No dividend | ||
| SPCX | SPAC ETF | 11.00 | $10.00 | $110 | No meaningful dividend | ||
| TSLA | Tesla Inc | 3.97 | $290.00 | $1,151 | Growth stock — no dividend | ||
| WDC | Western Digital | 1.50 | $50.00 | $75 | No dividend | ||
Looking at this portfolio honestly, it is currently very tech-heavy and far from a dividend-focused portfolio. My largest position by far is NVIDIA (112 shares) — a growth stock that barely pays any dividend. I also hold AMD, AMZN, PLTR, TSLA, GOOGL, VGT, and VOO — all primarily growth-oriented positions that contribute almost nothing to my dividend income goal.
The result is a blended portfolio yield of just 1.63% and annual dividend income of roughly $931 — a long way from the $80,000 goal. But I think it's important to be transparent about where I actually am, not where I'd like to be.
My rebalancing plan: I'm not planning to sell my growth positions — they've performed well and I believe in their long-term prospects. Instead, I'm directing new money primarily toward dividend-paying positions. Specifically, I want to build larger stakes in Dividend Kings and Aristocrats — companies like KO, JNJ, PG, KMB — and continue adding to SCHD, VYM, and JEPI as my core dividend ETF foundation.
What I'm adding to next quarter: I'm targeting at least one new position in a Dividend Aristocrat and planning to meaningfully increase my SCHD and VYM holdings. At 90 shares, SCHD is my second-largest dividend contributor after NVDA — and I want to grow that significantly.
The $80,000 goal is a very long journey from here. At my current trajectory, covering living expenses entirely from dividends is a 15–20 year project — and that's perfectly fine. The goal isn't to get there fast. The goal is to keep moving in the right direction, quarter by quarter, while letting compounding do most of the heavy lifting over time.
Use the free Little Compass calculator to add your own stocks and instantly see your annual dividend income — no sign-up needed.
Try the Free Calculator →All holdings and figures are real but approximate as of Q3 2026. Dividend estimates based on most recently declared payments annualised by frequency. Before tax. I am not a financial advisor — this page documents my personal investment journey for informational and educational purposes only. Always do your own research.