Dividend Investing: Dependable income for all seasons of life and markets

by Jenny Harrington

Dividend Investing by Jenny Van Leeuwen Harrington, is the definitive book on how to construct a portfolio of dividend income paying stocks to create a dependable, consistent source of income to be used as a source of supplemental income, replacement income to support a healthy retirement or simply a source of emotional comfort.

Dividends have long provided a reliable source of income used by everyone from the ultra wealthy to pragmatic hard workers who have diligently saved for retirement. Once established, a dividend stock portfolio can provide income that is not only tax advantaged, but can grow steadily into the future, keeping up with inflation, all while requiring only minimal intellectual work and no physical effort on the part of the investor.

Readers will learn how to fully research a stock to reduce the risks of downside and ensure a steady future stream of dividend income. They will then learn how to construct and maintain a well organized portfolio that is appropriately diversified by style of company as well as industry and sector. Readers will learn how to navigate the inevitable missteps of dividend cuts and negative surprises, while maintaining the integrity and income generation ability of their portfolios.

Ms. Harrington shares insights and experiences of her clients as they have navigated dividend income investing, and in doing so, brings her readers into a world of like-minded, real people who have worked hard, saved responsibly and are able to use their dividend income streams to live their lives happily and without financial stress.

Genres: Finance

Kindle Edition

Published April 8, 2025

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars – Jenny Harrington’s Dividend Investing is a great book! The author explains the rationale behind employing a dividend investing strategy which she freely admits isn’t for everyone. Many people believe that dividend investing (DI) is best for those just about to retire or those already retired. I disagree and think the idea has merit for a portion of your total portfolio. As I write this, the US stock market is in an incredibly volatile period with the second Trump presidency and I, like many other retail investors, am reacting to reduce my losses almost daily. Companies are not, rightly so, releasing annual forecasts and roughly 60% of CEOs are anticipating a recession.

In any event, the book is laid out into three sections: DI theory, DI practice and DI Implementation/personal stories. In the first two, the author illustrates how her firm identifies and selects stocks. She also explains her portfolio construction process which is interesting and helpful. Section three, the author’s personal stories, is my favorite. I enjoyed reading about practical implementation of the strategy and the effect on people’s lives.
In summary, the book is a quick and easy to read guide to dividend investing.

A big thank you to Harriman House and NetGalley for an ARC.

[Jack Eyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dividends are King

A thoughtful, practical reasoned book on income investing for every age. Although becoming a serious investor only took place after in my early 20’s believing the keys to making money in the stock market was a simple issue of being smarter than everyone else. It was not the solution though to a grand lifestyle of riches. After another few decades of devouring every practical manner of stock market analysis, finally using many of the kinds of dividend investment strategies found in the pages of this book, the light came on. Only wish I had these insights before I knew playing the stock market like a roulette wheel was foolish; impractical. Dividends wins the prize…

[Connor Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I gave this 3 stars just coming off of 2 books I liked more. Overall, learned a lot about the actual nature of companies that pay dividends and their yields that I didn’t know before, which I found interesting.

Harrington definitely makes a compelling case for a dividend income portfolio and it feels like something I would consider in retirement.

I think the case studies were my favorite part of this book, it was really cool seeing what real accounts could yield, even in market draw downs.

[Harshan Ramadass · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t normally give 5 stars unless the book is ground breaking. But I’ll make an exception here. This is one of those rare easy to read, common sense investment books on the lines of classics from Bogle, Munger or Buffett. The author has pulled off a rare trick without dumbing down- it seemed like she’s speaking to non Wall Street folks who love investing but don’t do it as a professional, people like me. Loved reading this.

[Suresh A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative & educational book for dividend investors. Jenny shares several useful lessons that she has learnt including some of her worst mistakes. Very lucid & easy to read and absorb and put into practice.

[Andrew]

Dividend investing: “it’s not how much money you make, but how much you keep and how it hard it works for you for generations.” “You’re going to advance in life by what you learn, so keep learning”, a nice refresher on Benefits of steady income from dividend investing.