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The Cadances JournalSeptember 2026

Notes on living off your dividends.

Clear, unhurried writing on dividend investing, ETFs, diversification and tax, from the team building Cadances, the portfolio tracker.

More from the Journal

Twelve-month calendar with four payment dates circled beside a stack of ETF factsheets
ETF06

How Often Do ETFs Pay Dividends? Schedules by Fund Type and Domicile

Most US-listed equity ETFs pay dividends quarterly, many European UCITS ETFs pay twice a year or once a year, bond and covered-call ETFs usually pay monthly, and accumulating ETFs never pay at all. Here is why the schedule works that way, why the amount changes every time, and how to read a fund's distribution calendar.

Cadances Editorial10 min read
finance company's office
Value Investing07

Are Dividend Aristocrats Worth It? A Filter, Not a Buy Signal

The Dividend Aristocrats label proves that a company has raised its dividend through at least two recessions, and nothing else. It says nothing about today's price, the payout ratio, or the size of the raises. Use the list to shorten your search, then run the safety checks and wait for the yield.

Cadances Editorial9 min read
Three lines of annual dividend income on one chart over ten years, one flat and high, one curving upward, one starting low and rising steeply
Value Investing08

Dividend Yield vs Dividend Growth: Which Wins, and When

High yield pays the most for the first decade, dividend growth pays the most after it, and a balanced payer sits between the two. Here is the ten-year arithmetic across three profiles, the risk each one carries, and a rule for choosing by when you need the income.

Cadances Editorial9 min read
Line chart comparing a stock index falling sharply with its dividend income falling far less, through a shaded recession period
Stock Market09

What Happens to Dividends in a Recession?

Dividends fall in a recession, but far less than share prices, and the damage is concentrated in a few sectors. Here is what 2008 and 2020 did to dividend income in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, which sectors cut, how long recovery took, and how to build a portfolio that keeps paying.

Cadances Editorial7 min read
Dividend statement with a gross line, a withholding line and a smaller net line, next to a folded tax treaty
Dividend Investing10

What Is Dividend Withholding Tax and How Do You Get It Back?

Dividend withholding tax is the slice a company's home country keeps before a foreign dividend reaches you. Here is how the statutory and treaty rates work, what the W-8BEN does, the rates for the countries you are most likely to hold, and the two routes to recover the money: a credit at home and a reclaim at source.

Cadances Editorial10 min read
dashboard of a portfolio holding multiple positions, diversification graphs
Portfolio Management11

A Dividend Income Portfolio Example: 100,000 Across Ten Sleeves

A worked model portfolio of 100,000 split across ten sleeves, with the weight, yield and income of each, the share of income that two sectors quietly carry, what the calendar and the tax bill look like, and what the income becomes after ten years of growth and reinvestment.

Cadances Editorial9 min read
Two identical fund factsheets side by side, one stamped Acc and one stamped Dist, with a coin dropping into the second
ETF12

Accumulating vs Distributing ETF: Which Share Class to Buy

The accumulating and distributing classes of the same index fund own the same stocks and earn the same return before tax. The difference is what happens to the dividends, and what your country does about it. Here is how each class works, where tax splits them, and a 20-year example with numbers.

Cadances Editorial10 min read
Bar chart of a dividend per share rising every year for twenty years
Growth Investing13

Dividend Growth Investing for Beginners

Dividend growth investing means buying companies that raise their dividend every year and holding them for decades. Here is how it works, why a 2.5 percent yield can out-earn a 5 percent one, how to pick the companies, and the four mistakes that undo most beginners.

Cadances Editorial7 min read
Checklist on a desk next to a company's cash flow statement, with a pen ticking the payout ratio line
Value Investing14

How to Tell If a Dividend Is Safe: A Six-Point Checklist

A dividend cut costs you the income and a chunk of the share price on the same day. Six numbers, most of them free to find, tell you months in advance whether a payout is covered, growing and funded by cash, or a trap dressed up as a high yield.

Cadances Editorial7 min read
Timeline of the four dividend dates, declaration, ex-dividend, record and payment, marked on a calendar
Market Analysis15

Ex-Dividend Date Explained: The Four Dates Behind Every Dividend

Every dividend runs on four dates: declaration, ex-dividend, record and payment. The ex-dividend date is the one that decides whether you get paid. Here is what each date means, why the share price drops on the ex-date, and why buying the day before does not make you money.

Cadances Editorial7 min read
plant represent dividend income rising over years as reinvested dividends compound
Portfolio Management16

How Much Do You Need to Invest to Live Off Dividends?

Living off dividends comes down to one division: your annual spending divided by the yield your portfolio can safely pay. Here is the arithmetic, the tax and inflation corrections most people skip, and how long it takes to build the number from a monthly contribution.

Cadances Editorial11 min read
Investing on a Fixed Schedule
Personal Finance17

Dollar-Cost Averaging: Investing on a Fixed Schedule

Dollar-cost averaging means putting the same amount in on a regular schedule, whatever the market is doing. Here is the arithmetic behind it, what it is genuinely good for, and how it compares to investing a lump sum.

Cadances Editorial4 min read
Value Investing18

Nvidia Trades at 15 Times Earnings and Is Still Expensive

The same forecast makes Nvidia look cheap on a P/E and 23% overvalued on a cash flow model. The gap is not an opinion. It comes from three inputs, and one of them is a number most models still get wrong.

Cadances Editorial10 min read
Dividend Investing19

The 20 Best Dividend Companies Are Not the 20 Highest Yields

We ranked the dividend aristocrats on five tests instead of yield alone. Four famous income names failed outright, and the number that did the most work was not the one most investors look at.

Cadances Editorial7 min read
Dividend Investing20

Is PepsiCo's Dividend Safe? What the Payout Ratio Hides

PepsiCo has raised its dividend for 54 straight years, and its earnings payout ratio looks comfortable. Its cash tells a tighter story. Here is the five-part check that separates a dividend a company can afford from one it is borrowing to protect.

Cadances Editorial6 min read
Dark title card carrying the Cadances starburst mark, headed "Cadances vs Sharesight" over the question "Which portfolio tracker fits a dividend investor?"
Portfolio Management21

Cadances vs Sharesight: Which Portfolio Tracker Fits a Dividend Investor?

Sharesight is the best-known portfolio tracker on the market. Cadances is built around dividend income and the tax that comes with it. Here is an honest look at where each one wins, so you can pick the right tool for the way you invest.

Cadances Editorial11 min read
A calculator app open on a phone resting on printed charts, next to a notebook and keyboard on a desk
Dividend Investing22

How a Dividend Income Simulator Turns Reinvestment Into a Plan

Reinvested dividends compound quietly for years before the numbers turn dramatic. A dividend income simulator lets you see that curve in advance, and work out how much to contribute to hit your target.

Cadances Editorial7 min read
Glass office towers in a financial district photographed looking upwards
ETF23

ETFs vs. Index Funds: A Beginner's Comparison

ETFs and index mutual funds can track the same market and charge similar fees, yet they differ in how you buy them, how they trade, and a few tax details. Here is how to tell them apart.

Cadances Editorial3 min read
Two investors reviewing portfolio charts on a laptop and a printed bar chart across a meeting table
Portfolio Management24

Why Diversification Reduces Portfolio Risk

Spreading money across many investments does not just feel safer: there is a structural reason it lowers risk without necessarily lowering expected return. Here is the intuition.

Cadances Editorial3 min read
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