This 28-Year-Old's Dividend Income Jumped from '$15 to $1,000' in Just Two Years – Top 11 Dividend Stocks In His Portfolio

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As inflation continues to decline and the Fed's rate-cut cycle is rolling, investors are looking for reliable dividend stocks to grow their wealth. But making decent money with dividends on a limited budget is not easy. Let's look at a success story where a young investor started with small investments and reached a reasonable income goal in just two years.

About two years ago, an investor shared his story on r/Dividends, a discussion board on Reddit with more than 580,000 members interested in dividend investing. He started investing during the pandemic with just $100 deposits.

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"Then I decided to take things seriously and started to invest a reasonable (percentage) from my income," he said.

According to the portfolio screenshots he shared publicly, the investor made as little as $15 in dividends in 2020, and his annual income soared to $966 in 2022. In 2021 his dividend income stood at $305. This shows the power of compounding and letting money work for you.

The investor, who said he was 28 years old, was asked how much he invested to reach this income level. Here is what he said:

"50k invested, 2-3k per month in 2022, previous years less."

While $1,000 a year is not much, it's a nice start for those looking to get into income investing with small contributions from their salary or savings.

The Redditor also shared his stock portfolio with fellow investors. Let's take a look at the biggest holdings in his portfolio.

Realty Income 

Realty Income Corp (NYSE:O) was the biggest position in the Redditor’s portfolio, earning about $1,000 in dividends per year. According to the screenshots shared by the investor, Realty Income Corp (NYSE:O) accounted for about 9.9% of the total portfolio. Realty Income Corp (NYSE:O) yields about 5% and pays monthly dividends.

Apple

With over $160 billion in cash and over a decade of consecutive dividend increases, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has become a significant dividend-paying stock investors pay attention to. The stock, however, yields just 0.44%. It has gained about 297% over the past five years.