Posted by For the month of March, the DOW rose 786 points. The DOW is now down 4.8% year to date. My investments increased by .78% during the month. YTD my investments are down 3.7%, only slightly better than the overall market. Interest and dividend income was $1056 this month. Withdrawals for living expenses came to $727 for the past month. The investment account used for living expenses generates an average of $780 per month. This means that there is still positive cash flow for now. In March I added 100 shares of YYY and 100 shares of Walgreen (WAG), and added $3000 to FPURX in my retirement account. YYY is a high income closed end fund that pays a 9.9% monthly dividend. I have money in six different closed end funds with an average dividend of 8.48%. Closed end funds that hold stocks have been holding up well. The ones that hold bonds have gone down in value, but still pay a nice monthly dividend.
I filed my 2021 taxes this past week. The TurboTax fee was $148, and I owe $308 in State taxes. I had income from a municipal income fund that had to be added to my state income. This was my first full year without any earned income or unemployment income. I am now 59-1/2, but I want to hold off taking money out of my retirement fund for as long as possible. Although I won’t be charged a penalty, any money I take out will be taxed as regular income. In my case, withdrawals would be taxed at 10%. As opposed to dividends from non-retirement accounts that have 0% tax if your income is under $41,675 in 2022. I had far less than the limit, which is why I didn’t have to pay any federal tax in 2021. Inflation is the biggest worry right now. The value of my home has increased by %13 in the past year. I expect home insurance will also go up again this year. My property tax bill increased by $560. It now costs me $420 per month, just in insurance and property taxes.