You've basically built your own ETF.
For those who want a similar result but don't want to do the stock-picking part, there are good ETFs out there. We invest in VYM Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF. It yields 3.06%.
ESRwannabe, do you know what the average dividend yield has been from your holdings?
Yes, exactly. I purposely designed this like an ETF. I used to use ETFs but once I had enough money to work with I changed it over to individual stocks. My ER fee is 0%. My turnover rate is 0%.
I know that every stock I purchased, I did so at what I considered to be a reasonable price at the time and I know what every company does (not that I keep up with it).
I also plan my sector allocation exactly how I want it. I also like that the dividend income is more spread out instead of lumping it all into four months. Lastly I like that I can reasonably guess what my income minimum will be i.e. assuming no dividend growth.
So, actually the way I find new companies to invest in is by looking at the "best" dividend growth ETFs, which I include VYM in that list. IMHO the two best ones are SCHD and DGRO.
Here is the exact info on my portfolio.
* 2021 Income Estimate *
Investment Principal = $627,155.21
Stock Income = $22,890.24 (3.65% div yield)
Income for Months 1-4-7-10 = $1,510.93
Income for Months 2-5-8-11 = $1,566.75
Income for Months 3-6-9-12 = $2,644.88
* Stock Sector Allocations *
Communications [2] = T, VZ
Consumer Discretionary [2] = HD, LOW
Consumer Staples [11] = BTI, CLX, KHC, KMB, KO, MDLZ, MO, PEP, PG, PM, WMT
Energy [5] = CVX, KMI, OKE, WMB, XOM
Financials [9] = ALL, BAC, BLK, C, JPM, ORI, PFG, PRU, UNM
Healthcare [11] = ABBV, ABT, AMGN, BMY, CVS, GILD, JNJ, MDT, MRK, PFE, UNH
Industrials [5] = GD, ITW, LMT, MMM, WM
Information Technology [5] = CSCO, IBM, INTC, ORCL, TXN
Materials [4] = ADM, DOW, IP, NEM
Utilities [8] = DUK, ED, EIX, EXC, OGE, SJI, SO, SRE
EDIT:
By the way, the amount of money I need to live on (based on current standard of living) is $2,852.42 per month or $34,229.05 per year. That assumes: a new car loan is being paid for, I am renting a one bedroom apartment near the city center, zero federal/state taxes (as dividend income would be below threshold), and unsubsidized health insurance (bronze plan, although I would meet the requirement for subsidized so this cost would be lower).
My dividend growth should be at least $1,000 per year. So, to retire I need around $55k in cash to make up the difference until dividend income is enough to pay for 100% of expenses. That's not a problem as I can simply take that from my 401k/Roth. Then at age 60 I can start taking pension money. Then SS latter on.
If I were to retire now, assuming covid is under control. I think I'd give expating a try. I have a friend that lives in Bangkok Thailand working as a teacher for many years. I'd probably try there or Mexico for a few months and see if I like it. Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
https://retireearlylifestyle.com/blog/about/ are the first people I read about that got me thinking about retiring early one day. They make expat slow traveling sound very appealing. If I were to do that I think the $23k I have now would be plenty to live off of.
EDIT # 2:
Just FYI. At $23k I need 4.35% dividend growth to add an extra $1,000 of dividends to my total div income from then on. For $2,000 I would need 8.70% div growth. So, IMHO growth of at least $1,000 is very likely even during a recession. The dividend growth rate on the individual stocks in my portfolio is quite good, historically speaking. More than likely I will be close to $2k most years and that will be increasingly likely as time goes on and the base amount of dividend income continues to grow.
For example at $30k div income you just need 6.67% div growth for the income to go up by $2k. At $40k it drops to 5.00%. So on and so on. The power of compound growth.