Earning a steady passive income that you don’t have to work for would make your life easier. Making a steady monthly income through investing is everyone’s dream, but what does it take to earn $5000 per month?
You will need to invest at least $2 million for the year to make approximately $5,000 per month through dividend investing. With riskier investment choices, such as day trading or options trading, you can substantially reduce this capital requirement. However, majority investors taking this riskier route have reported failure in the long run.
If you have that type of money to invest and earn $5,000 per month, that’s great. Since most people don’t, however, this article will focus more on how the average investor can slowly build their portfolio and eventually earn $5,000 per month. Let’s keep going, shall we?
IMPORTANT SIDENOTE: I surveyed 1500+ traders to understand how social trading impacted their trading outcomes. The results shocked my belief system! Read my latest article: ‘Exploring Social Trading: Community, Profit, and Collaboration’ for my in-depth findings through the data collected from this survey!
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Can You Earn $5,000 Per Month in the Stock Market?
You can earn $5,000 per month in the stock market, and many people do it. However, most that earn such significant returns in such a small time frame already have millions of dollars to invest in the beginning.
To get to a passive income of $5,000 from the stock market, you’d have to invest a total of $2 million over a year or $165,000 each month. The figure might be slightly higher or lower depending on the dividend stocks yield in your portfolio.
So, if you’re an average person who’s looking to boost their income through the stock market, you shouldn’t go into it with the expectation of significant returns from the very beginning. It usually takes months, if not years, to see a substantial return on your investments.
Making $5,000 in the Stock Market Each Month Isn’t Easy
Unlike what some online stock market “gurus” would have you believe, making a significant, consistent income is far from easy, especially on a month-to-month basis. A joint statement among stock market sites and forums is that over 90% of investors lose money in the stock market, and unfortunately, this is 100% true.
The safest way to make money in the stock market is through dividend stocks.
However, since yields are only around 3% for most sectors, earning $5,000 per month solely through dividend stocks is impossible for the vast majority of investors.
Wanting To Make Quick Money Is the Wrong Approach
Many people planning to get into stock trading look at the stock market as a quick and easy way to make a quick buck, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure, numerous people make millions from the stock market, and they’re probably no more capable than you are, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to do it as well.
However, you should be prepared to invest a lot before seeing positive results, not just in the form of money, but also time and effort to learn and get better.
Growing Your Dividend Portfolio
Dividend stocks are companies that share their profits with shareholders, meaning that if you own the stock, the company will pay you money. The amount of money you receive depends on the number of shares you have.
Dividends are usually paid quarterly.
Getting to a dividend portfolio that pays you $5,000 per month isn’t easy, but it isn’t impossible. So, how do you actually do it?
First and foremost, before even building a portfolio, make sure that you know everything there is to know about the stock market, investing, dividends, and other related topics. You should only play the game when you know the rules.
One of the better ways to learn about the stock market is through books, and one book that I would strongly recommend as you embark on this journey is The Warren Buffett Way, written by Robert G. Hagstrom (available on Amazon.com).
Why Dividends?
Only companies with a long history of turning a profit will pay out dividends, which makes them a much safer investment than most other stocks on the market. Additionally, most of these companies look to increase their dividend yield each year, which means the income should compound soon after the initial investment.
Building a Dividend Portfolio
Diversify, diversify, diversify.
This is the most important thing for building a steady and long-term oriented dividend portfolio. You might want to include a range of good companies from 5 to 7 different industries, as diversification is the best way to minimize risk.
When selecting the companies you want to invest in, you should prioritize stability over growth. You can measure a company’s stability by taking a look at its credit ratings. For example, look at the Value Line Composite Index, which ranks its 1,700 companies from A++ to D.
Another critical metric to look at is a company’s payout ratio, which is the percentage of profits that the company gives out to shareholders in dividends. It’s best to aim for a payout ratio of 60% or less to allow for some wiggle room in the case of unforeseen trouble the company might face.
As previously mentioned, a lot of dividend-paying companies increase their dividend yields every year. An excellent place to look for these companies is the S&P Dividend Aristocrats Index.
A final yet crucial step in this process is to reinvest all of your dividend income. Over time, you’d be surprised how much compound growth you’ll see in your portfolio.
How Long Will it Take?
As most veteran investors would probably tell you, investing is a long-term game. If you’re looking for a get-rich-quick scheme, it simply isn’t one. Investing and building a portfolio that brings you a monthly income takes plenty of patience, knowledge, and perseverance.
It would probably take years, if not decades, for you to start earning thousands every month from dividends, depending on the capital you have to begin with.
Other Methods for Making $5,000 per Month in the Stock Market
While dividends are the safest way to get to a steady monthly income in the stock market, they’re certainly not the only option. Let’s take a look at some of the other ways you can potentially start earning thousands every month from stocks.
Selling Options
Options trading is an excellent way to boost your income. You can try out many different strategies with options, as there are different types of options and other variables at play.
Tastytrade has an excellent introductory video to options trading:
One strategy you can use is selling options with a far-out expiration date since those have higher premiums.
Day-Trading
Day trading may not be the most popular strategy among investment advisors, and rightfully so. Still, it’s undeniable that it’s the fastest and riskiest way to earn a full-time income from the stock market.
Successful day-traders are all over the internet, or at least many claim to be successful. However, the vast majority of people who attempt day-trading end up losing all or most of their money. Additionally, day-trading is very stressful and requires a lot of mental toughness and self-control, on top of impeccable knowledge of stocks and how they move.
If you want to learn more, The Trading Channel has an excellent video that explains day-trading and how you can potentially make a career out of it:
Author’s Recommendations: Top Trading and Investment Resources To Consider
Before concluding this article, I wanted to share few trading and investment resources that I have vetted, with the help of 50+ consistently profitable traders, for you. I am confident that you will greatly benefit in your trading journey by considering one or more of these resources.
- Roadmap to Becoming a Consistently Profitable Trader: I surveyed 5000+ traders (and interviewed 50+ profitable traders) to create the best possible step by step trading guide for you. Read my article: ‘7 Proven Steps To Profitable Trading’ to learn about my findings from surveying 5000+ traders, and to learn how these learnings can be leveraged to your advantage.
- Best Broker For Trading Success: I reviewed 15+ brokers and discussed my findings with 50+ consistently profitable traders. Post all that assessment, the best all round broker that our collective minds picked was M1 Finance. If you are looking to open a brokerage account, choose M1 Finance. You just cannot go wrong with it! Click Here To Sign Up for M1 Finance Today!
- Best Trading Courses You Can Take For Free (or at extremely low cost): I reviewed 30+ trading courses to recommend you the best resource, and found Trading Strategies in Emerging Markets Specialization on Coursera to beat every other course on the market. Plus, if you complete this course within 7 days, it will cost you nothing and will be absolutely free! Click Here To Sign Up Today! (If you don’t find this course valuable, you can cancel anytime within the 7 days trial period and pay nothing.)
- Best Passive Investment Platform For Exponential (Potentially) Returns: By enabling passive investments into a Bitcoin ETF, Acorns gives you the best opportunity to make exponential returns on your passive investments. Plus, Acorns is currently offering a $15 bonus for simply singing up to their platform – so that is one opportunity you don’t want to miss! (assuming you are interested in this platform). Click Here To Get $15 Bonus By Signing Up For Acorns Today! (It will take you less than 5 mins to sign up, and it is totally worth it.)
Conclusion
Getting to an income of $5,000 or more per month in the stock market isn’t an easy task. To do so, you’d need to buy around $2 million worth of dividend stocks, which is impossible for most people.
However, with enough patience and dedication, you can slowly start building your dividend portfolio and create a solid income within a few years. Alternatively, you could also try selling options and day-trading, which are far riskier.
BEFORE YOU GO: Don’t forget to check out my latest article – ‘Exploring Social Trading: Community, Profit, and Collaboration’. I surveyed 1500+ traders to identify the impact social trading can have on your trading performance, and shared all my findings in this article. No matter where you are in your trading journey today, I am confident that you will find this article helpful!
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