You need to position yourself to bring in monthly income no matter what comes your way. While you have a good job and/or lucrative clients by your side, make sure you are allocating an appropriate amount to building your dividend portfolio. This small step can save you years of stress later.

How Do You Receive Dividend Income?

Dividend income is what you receive when you invest in a publicly-listed or privately held company such as Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) or Walmart (NYSE: WMT).

You are essentially giving a company more money to run their business. Some companies thank you for your investment by providing you with monthly or quarterly income that are classified as “dividends”.

In order to gain access to these dividends, you have to buy stock through a brokerage account like Robinhood.

How Often Can You Receive Dividend Income?

Most companies pay dividends on a quarterly basis. But there are some companies that pay dividends monthly.

In order to receive dividend income, you must own shares of stock by the ex-dividend date provided by the company.

You can check a company’s investor relations page to find out about dividend increases and when dividends will be paid to investors.

Just think about it. You can start receiving dividend income in your account while you are vacationing

Who Pays Monthly Dividends?

Not every company pays a monthly dividend. To determine which companies pay monthly dividends, you have to access their dividend payout history. This information will show you how much the company paid in dividends and when they paid their last dividend. When you become familiar with certain industries, you’ll notice trends in the market and will be able to identify the type of companies that have sufficient income flowing into their accounts every month. If they have a steady stash of cash coming in every month, tit is likely that the company can pass the cash on to you as an investor.

When exploring your monthly dividend options, you may also want to consider these things:

• Will you have to pay taxes on your dividend income? If so, how much?
• Will this company cease monthly dividend payments during an economic downturn?
• How long has the company been providing monthly dividends and is it a reliable source of income?

Doing this type of research can be a time consuming process when there are over 500 companies to choose from. If you would like to learn more about monthly dividends, you can subscribe to Wealthy Women Weekly below, join one of our webinars, or sign up for an income strategy session by emailing us at editor@wealthywomendaily.com.

Do you receive checks in the mail for doing absolutely nothing? If not, why not?

You can start receiving monthly income by investing in dividend paying stocks. Dividends are provided by public companies as a means of rewarding investors who believe in their company. It’s typically much better than the rewards you get for shopping at some of your favorite stores.

Not every company pays a dividend and there is no guarantee that a company will pay a dividend every year. But a dividend is an attractive feature for investors who are looking for a steady and “safe” source of income. Popular companies like Apple, Walmart, JPMorgan, and Disney all pay quarterly dividends. And there are companies like Target, Lowe’s, Johnson & Johnson, and Abbott Labs that have consistently increased their dividends to shareholders for over 40 years!

Most companies pay quarterly dividends but there are some companies out there who have committed to paying their shareholders monthly dividends. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) and energy royalty trusts are two types of companies that believe in monthly dividends. Not all REITs and energy royalty trusts believe in monthly dividends but there are a few that do.

How is this possible?

REITs own, finance, or operate portfolios of income-producing real estate and reward investors with attractive dividend yields. REITs aren’t doing it out of the kindness of their heart; high returns are required in order for a REIT to maintain it’s favorable tax structure. REITs don’t have to pay corporate taxes as long as they pay 90% of their income to investors in the form of dividends. REITs also receive monthly income from their tenants who are locked in agreements that require them to pay rent every month.

That’s why companies like Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE: CLDT) and EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR) are able to pay a monthly dividend to investors. And these companies have even committed to growing their dividends!

Some companies give extra dividends on top of their normal dividend distributions. Companies call these payments “special dividends”. It’s a one time payment that can’t be predicted. This usually happens when a company has a wildly profitable year and wants to give a dividend “bonus” to their shareholders.

Are you a fan of Victoria’s Secret? L Brands (NYSE: LB) owns Victoria’s Secret as well as Bath & Body Works. On March 4, 2016, the company paid a special dividend of $2.00 per share, payable along with their regular quarterly dividend.

Unfortunately, your traditional finance sites like Yahoo Finance doesn’t broadcast this. You might not know if a company paid a special dividend unless you read the annual report or subscribed to an investment research academy that is constantly researching these anomalies in the market.

Are you ready to learn more about getting monthly checks in the mail before you retire? Sign up for a strategy session and subscribe to Wealthy Women Weekly for more insights!