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Addicted to Dividends:

“…I am a Dividend-a-holic and I am Addicted to Dividends.”

Warning: The following post may be difficult for some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

My name is Brad and sadly, I am addicted to dividends

In the face of the current economic uncertainty I felt it would be therapeutic to write a post where fellow investors can confess their dividend sins in the hopes of being cured of various afflictions guiding their investing activities.

Some peers have even recently submitted confessions of being dividend addicts:

Augustabound:
Hello, my name is Paul and I’m a dividend-a-holic.

Dividend Growth Investor:
I love dividends. Getting more money from your stocks every month/quarter/year to put to work into the market is one of my favorite moments.

the moneygardener:
Hi, my name is MG and I’m also addicted to dividends….Dividends are prevading every corner of my life. I see them in my dreams, I use them to pay for home heating appliances, I even think about them in the shower and while running…I’m glad to hear that there are others out there like me.

While a tragic addiction that many investors fall prey to, being a dividend addict has significant side effects that include:

  • Seeking high quality dividend paying stocks that increase their dividends on a yearly basis
  • Seeking tax-efficient cashflow in uncertain market environments
  • Using dividends to re-invest into more shares of dividend paying companies
  • Ecstatic exuberance when dividends are paid quarterly into our investment accounts which sometimes causes us to lose focus of our chores, jobs and children

If you are a fellow Dividend-a-holic and are addicted to dividends I invite you to share your story and support each other in our struggles.

If you know of a loved one who is suffering from a dividend addiction please share with them this online support group.

Only through understanding can we hope to diversify away from these dividends into growth stocks, speculative investments or 100% taxable securities.

Sincerely,
Dividends Anonymous.

{ 8 comments… add one }
  • Claire September 24, 2008, 9:19 pm

    My name is Claire and my boyfriend is addicted to dividends:

    – Sometimes I talk to him and I know all he’s thinking about are dividends
    – When we socialize with my girlfriends he attempts to convert their boyfriends into becoming dividend investors
    – He tells me every time he’s paid a dividend…sometimes twice
    – He has a calendar of when each company pays their dividend and when he expects them to increase their dividends
    – When we go shopping, travelling or in random activities and he sees a company that pays a dividend he reminds me
    – He brags about how much his dividends have increased in nearly all his companies
    – At tax time each year he tells everyone how much he got back from the government because of dividends

    His name is Brad and he is a dividend-a-holic

  • FJ September 25, 2008, 12:49 am

    Haha…

    I’ve been sober for about 2 days, 22 hours and 48 minutes. I know. I know. I’m weak. 🙁 These dividend cheques are seducing me at seemingly every waking moment. Can’t help it.

    I don’t even think about the upfront costs of anything anymore. That brand new mini will cost me $200 of dividend per month.

  • Jonnyrotten September 25, 2008, 6:38 am

    Yes, everyone, I too am addicted to dividends. Dividend payment dates have become
    more welcome than birthday parties, and the expectation of dividend increases provides
    an excitement unknown since waiting for Christmas morning many years ago. “It’s here!”
    I exclaim from the PC room to my sleep-eyed wife. “Manulife has done it again!”

    Dividends and dividend increases allow me to smile and wave “Good Morning!” each day when
    others are sadly hanging their heads because gold has tanked or the price of bread has risen.

    We smile when the market goes up, and we laugh and wave as it heads back down. Either
    way we win.

  • Anonymous September 25, 2008, 8:06 am

    Hi. I too am a dividend addict. Since paying off my mortgage three years ago, I revel in adding dividend stocks to my portfolio with regularity. I guess you can say I swapped one addiction for another.

    I went on a bender last night, talking to my accountant for the better part of an hour about the tax plans of the presidential candidates and what it means to the current tax benefits that dividend income receives. Now THAT is addicted!

    I am loving the Div net – I get my fix every morning and enjoy reading about what you are “shopping” and buying.

    Can’t wait for the day my dividend income equals my wages! It might happen sooner than I expected if the merchandise remains on sale for an extended period of time!

    Keep on writing and I’ll keep on reading 🙂

  • Dividend Growth Investor September 25, 2008, 9:38 am

    Brad,

    This post was awesome. When i seriously think about it Div-Net does appear to be DA – Dividends Anonymous. LOL

    I like receiving dividends. But I have been obsessed baout the stock market for years. I think it’s bad genes or something…

    Oh and thanks for the link..

  • Four Pillars September 25, 2008, 6:55 pm

    Haha – I’m not addicted to dividends. I can return those dividend cheques anytime I want to!!

    Ok – I don’t think I have quite a serious a problem as most of you div-netters, I do like ’em!

    Mike

  • augustabound September 25, 2008, 7:59 pm

    Cool, other than comments I have made, I’ve never been mentioned in a blog before.
    Thanks Brad.

    Like you mentioned here and on the forums, it’s a nice and warm feeling when the dividends arrive especially in rough times in the market.
    MG has mentioned in his blog also about collecting dividends from those who take from us, like Petro Canada and Enbridge.

    I’ve tried to break the habit like most of us have at some point. Life looks good on the dark side, the side where no dividends are paid.
    Bombardier looked good to me at $4 just before it went to $6. But no dividend was found. Where did I find a dividend when I was in need you ask. On the corner of King and Bay streets in Toronto, The Bank of Nova Scotia. It all worked out in the end.
    GE won’t raise for the first time in 34 years but they’ll still send a cheque anyway because they know I’m waiting for my fix.
    The only company I think I would drop the dividend for would be Berkshire. Like most I watched the B’s at $3500 last summer and did nothing. I’ll get one someday.

  • Nurse B, 911 September 25, 2008, 8:07 pm

    Thanks for everyone who confessed their dividend sins. Mike’s right…us div-netters are truly addicted with little hope in sight.

    It’s also nice to see there’s another Brad with a severe addiction to dividends just like myself. Funny how his girlfriends’ name is Claire too 🙂

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