Dividend investing guides
Short, practical explainers written for people who want their portfolio to pay the bills. No hype, no stock tips.
Covered Call ETFs Explained: JEPI, QYLD, YieldMax and the Truth About NAV Erosion
How option-income ETFs generate 8-50% distribution yields, why their share prices drift lower, how to read total return versus distribution rate, and which metrics separate durable income from return of capital.
5 min read · Updated Sep 3, 2026Dividend Aristocrats vs Dividend Kings vs Achievers: What the Streaks Really Tell You
The exact definitions behind 10, 25 and 50-year dividend growth streaks, which index funds track each group, how streaks are measured, why they break, and how to use a growth streak as one input instead of a guarantee.
4 min read · Updated Sep 3, 2026DRIP Explained: How Dividend Reinvestment Compounds and When to Turn It Off
What a dividend reinvestment plan does, the compounding math over 10, 20 and 30 years, fractional shares, the cost-basis paperwork, and the situations where taking cash beats reinvesting.
3 min read · Updated Sep 3, 2026Ex-Dividend Date vs Record Date vs Payment Date: How Dividend Timing Actually Works
Learn the four dividend dates, exactly when you must own a stock to get paid, why the price drops on the ex-date, and how to use the ex-dividend calendar without falling for dividend capture myths.
5 min read · Updated Sep 3, 2026How Much Do You Need to Invest to Live Off Dividends? (With Real Numbers)
The exact math for $1,000, $3,000 and $5,000 a month in dividend income at 3%, 5% and 8% yields, why yield on cost changes everything over 20 years, and the trade-offs between high yield today and dividend growth tomorrow.
5 min read · Updated Sep 3, 2026Monthly Dividend ETFs vs Monthly Dividend Stocks: Which Should You Own?
A practical comparison of monthly-paying ETFs (bond, covered-call, preferred, high-dividend) and monthly-paying stocks (REITs, BDCs, royalty trusts) on yield, growth, safety, taxes and effort, with examples of each.
4 min read · Updated Sep 3, 2026How to Build a Portfolio That Pays You Every Month (Payday Calendar Method)
A step-by-step method for combining quarterly payers on different schedules with monthly REITs, funds and bond ETFs so that dividend income arrives every month, plus a worked example portfolio and the pitfalls to avoid.
4 min read · Updated Sep 3, 2026Qualified vs Ordinary Dividends: How Dividend Income Is Taxed in the US
The difference between qualified and ordinary (non-qualified) dividends, the 61-day holding period rule, why REIT, BDC and bond fund income is taxed differently, return of capital, and which account to hold each type in.
4 min read · Updated Sep 3, 2026Yield Traps: 7 Warning Signs a Dividend Is About to Be Cut
High yield, rising payout ratio, falling free cash flow, ballooning debt, a collapsing share price, insider selling and a management change: how to spot a dividend cut before it happens, with the metrics we compute on every ticker page.
5 min read · Updated Sep 3, 2026Put the guides to work
Run the numbers on your own portfolio: see which months pay you and how much.
Open the payday calendarWeekly ex-date digest
Every Monday: what goes ex-dividend this week and what pays out.