40-Year-Old Making $4K a Month in Dividends Reveals His Top 8 Stocks — 'We Don't Wear Fancy Clothes or Spend Money on Impressing Others'

Investors are turning to dividend stocks to guard their portfolios against market volatility amid trade wars and recession risks. Data from S&P Global shows that from Dec. 29, 1989, through the end of February, the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats outperformed the S&P 500 in 66.67% of the months when the broader index posted a loss.

A few days ago, a dividend investor shared his income report and investing journey on r/Dividends, a Reddit community with over 700,000 followers. The portfolio screenshots shared by the investor on the social platform showed his monthly dividend income was roughly $3,960. The investor, around 40, said he started investing at the age of 20.

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 "At the time I never took it seriously and just putting in like 20-50$ a month," he said. "I ‘seriously' started at around 23-24 when I was putting in approx, 300$ on average (that was a huge for me back then), and now averaging at around 2-2.5k per month."

The investor said while it's difficult to see his portfolio suffering declines amid the current market environment, he's playing the "long game" and believes stocks will eventually go in a positive territory. 

The investor said he's never been a "big spender" and has expenses of about €700 a month. He lives in Europe where cost of living is not "that high," he wrote.

"Other than that we have two old cars (20 and 15 years) – included in above expenses. We don't wear fancy clothes or spend money on impressing others (this can cost you a fortune)," he added. 

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Let's take a look at some of the key dividend stocks in his portfolio.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and provides exposure to some of the top dividend stocks trading in the U.S., including Verizon VZ, Coca-Cola KO, ConocoPhillips COP, Lockheed Martin LMT and Chevron CVX. 

JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF 

JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF JEPI makes money by investing in some of the most notable large-cap U.S. stocks and selling call options. 

Ares Capital 

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Ares Capital ARCC, a business development company, was one of the top stocks in the investor’s portfolio. He earned $1,920 in annual dividends from the stock.

Public Storage 

Public Storage PSA is a California-based REIT that operates self-storage facilities. The stock has a dividend yield of 4.1%. BofA Securities recently upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $368 from $349.

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SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust 

With a 1.2% dividend yield, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY provides investors exposure to the broader US market. The investor made $1,218 in annual dividends from his investment in the fund. 

Altria Group

Altria Group MO has a dividend yield of about 7%. The tobacco giant accounted for about $800 in annual dividend income for the investor, according to the screenshots he shared on the social media platform. 

PepsiCo Inc

Beverage giant Pepsi PEP has increased its dividends for over 50 consecutive years. The company recently reported first-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street estimates while revenue beat expectations. The stock yields 4%. 

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson JNJ is one of the most reliable dividend stocks, having raised its payouts for 63 consecutive years. The stock is up 8% so far this year. The company recently flagged a $400 million hit related to President Donald Trump's tariffs.

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