Sorting by yield, highest first: that is the rookie move, and I have done it myself. A double-digit yield is rarely a deal. It is usually a fallen stock price, and the payout is next in line.
- Pull the dividend history first: years of increases tell you more than any analyst note - Check the payout ratio: a 4% yield at 40% payout survives a bad year; at 95% it survives a bad quarter - Hunt the highest safe yield, not the highest yield; safe payers sit in the boring middle of the tables - Reinvest while working, spend when retired; do not interrupt compounding for spending money - Spread across sectors; an 80% utilities-and-REITs portfolio is not diversified when rates move
DivPlan ($4.99 one-time) turns your monthly income target into a number: how much to invest and in which payers, payout calendar included.