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Free calculator
How much do you need invested to get paid every month?
Pick a bill or type a monthly amount. See the portfolio that pays it, what you earn today, and how many years until your dividends cover it.
Your numbers
Broad dividend funds pay roughly 3–4%. Above 7% usually means more risk of a cut.
Assumptions
How much your holdings rise in value each year, apart from dividends. 3% is a cautious guess, not a promise.
Portfolio that pays your goal
at a 4% yield, before tax
Today you'd earn $33 a month, 7% of your goal.
Bills your dividends cover today
Save your plan
Get the free Dividend Safety Checklist, the 7 checks that spot a dividend cut before it happens. Your numbers are saved with it.
Saved. Here's your checklist, ready to print:
The 10-second formula
Portfolio needed = monthly goal × 12 ÷ yield. A $500 monthly goal at a 4% yield is $500 × 12 ÷ 0.04 = $150,000.
The years-to-goal number assumes you add the same amount every month, reinvest every dividend until you get there, the yield stays the same, and your holdings grow by the price growth you set. Real markets are lumpier than that, so treat it as a direction, not a date.
Results are before tax. Dividends inside an IRA or 401(k) aren't taxed until you withdraw (or at all, in a Roth).
| Per month | 3% yield | 4% yield | 5% yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $40,000 | $30,000 | $24,000 |
| $500 | $200,000 | $150,000 | $120,000 |
| $1,000 | $400,000 | $300,000 | $240,000 |
| $2,000 | $800,000 | $600,000 | $480,000 |
| $5,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,500,000 | $1,200,000 |
Questions
How much do I need to invest to make $1,000 a month in dividends?
Multiply the monthly amount by 12 and divide by the yield. At a 4% yield, $1,000 a month takes $300,000 invested. At 3% it takes $400,000, and at 5% it takes $240,000.
What dividend yield should I use?
Broad dividend funds have paid roughly 3% to 4% in recent years. Yields above 7% usually come with more risk of a dividend cut, so a lower, steadier yield is a more realistic number to plan with. The free checklist above shows how to check whether a dividend is safe.
Why does a small bill matter?
Covering your first bill, even a $20 streaming plan, turns an abstract number into a paycheck you can see. Most people find the second and third bills come faster because reinvested dividends compound.
Does the calculator include taxes?
No. Results are before tax. Dividends in a taxable account are usually taxed each year, while dividends inside an IRA or 401(k) aren't taxed until you withdraw (or at all, for a Roth).
Track the real thing, bill by bill.
The Dividend Paycheck Planner shows which of your bills your dividends already pay, scores every holding for safety, maps your income across all 12 months, and projects your snowball. Excel and Google Sheets.
General education, not investment, tax or legal advice. Projections are illustrations based on the assumptions you enter. Past dividends don't guarantee future dividends.