Wowza, can you believe it? We’ve already kissed July goodbye and the dog days of Summer are more than halfway over! It’s funny, isn’t it? Winter lingers like that uninvited party guest, Spring dances away all too quickly, and Summer? Well, she’s like a glorious sunset that fades a little too soon. Why, just yesterday, I was wandering the aisles of Walmart, and what do I see? Back-to-school supplies, already creeping onto the shelves!
But, dear readers, let’s not rush. There’s still a whole month of Summer left, and we’re going to squeeze every last sun-soaked moment out of it. And speaking of squeezing, it’s time to dive into the juicy details of this post – my passive income report for the sunny month of July 2023!
Grab a cool lemonade, pull up a deck chair, and let’s talk stocks. You know, the magic garden where all my passive income sprouts in the form of dividends. And because all my green shoots are growing happily in either an RRSP or TFSA, they’re mostly tax-free. How’s that for a Summer miracle?
July saw my garden get a little love and attention. I sprinkled some dividend cash around, adding to my ETF collection with Vanguard FTSE Canadian High Dividend Yield Index ETF (VDY.TO) and iShares S&P/TSX Composite High Dividend Index ETF (XEI.TO). I also welcomed three newbies to my stock family – TMX Group Limited (X.TO) and Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAR-UN.TO) from Canada, and from our neighbor down south, Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ).
The fruit of all this labor? Drumroll, please…
My total dividend income for July was a whopping $840.35 CAD!
Now, that’s a pretty fat watermelon, even for me. There are months when I pull a little less off the vine, but this is getting me closer to my goal of harvesting $1000 per month in dividends, which feels as sweet as a Summer peach! And guess what? There’s still plenty of room in my TFSA and RRSP for more seedlings. Stay tuned!
Moving from the garden to the world of web, let’s talk ad revenue. Currently, my ad revenue comes from an old, trusty website that, like an ancient tree, has deep roots and wide branches that reach high in the search rankings. In July 2023, this grand old tree shook down a decent haul of $48.36 CAD.
I have a few other seedlings planted in the form of websites, hoping to nurture them into traffic magnets and future passive income streams. I know, I know, I’ve tried this before, and sometimes I neglect my little saplings. But this time, I promise to keep my green thumb working and keep you all updated on their growth!
Lastly, and perhaps a bit laughably, let’s peek into my crypto adventure. Remember my last post about setting up a Presearch node and earning PRE tokens? Well, I’ve also bought and staked some other cryptocurrencies. Now, I admit, $100 CAD doesn’t buy a gold mine, and given I started this late in July, my earnings weren’t exactly a windfall. In fact, they totaled to…$1. Yes, you read that right. But hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day, right? I’ll keep plugging away and keep you all in the loop!
In the future, I’ll spill the beans on the other tokens I’ve stacked and staked.
July wasn’t just about raking in the passive income, though. There were a couple of hefty financial waves we had to ride. The biggest was renewing our mortgage. Despite our bet that rates wouldn’t hike (narrator: oh, they did), we played it safe with a 3-year fixed term. Lucky for us, we could knock down $25k before renewing, bringing our mortgage below the $300k mark – a number that sounds surreal considering our first house purchase in 2005!
And now, for the cherry on top! I saved more money than usual in July! In this age of one-click shopping and doorstep deliveries, I managed to keep my wallet in check, cut back on a streaming service, plan our groceries better, and reduce take-out dinners. All these savings are now headed straight to my RRSP and TFSA for more investments and, you guessed it, more dividends!
Remember, on the journey to financial freedom, every dollar is a stepping stone. So, let’s step into August with sun in our faces and cash in our pockets!
So, dear readers, as we bid adieu to July and leap into August, I leave you with this question: What are your financial goals for the coming month, and how are you planning to achieve them? Remember, every tiny step towards financial freedom is a victory in itself. I’d love to hear your thoughts, so drop a comment below and let’s grow together!
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