How Large Does Your Portfolio Need to Be to Generate $9,400 a Month?
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
A retiree targeting an average $9,400 landing in checking every month needs $112,800 a year from investments, although payments from this portfolio arrive on different schedules. This six-holding income portfolio gets there with about $1.72 million, based on yields pulled on November 11, 2026.
Each yield below is the annual payout divided by today’s share price. Mix them by weight, and the portfolio yields about 6.6%, which means that $112,800 divided by that blended yield comes to roughly $1,715,000. This leads to a portfolio breakdown of 20% holdings, each getting about $343,000, and the 15% holdings getting about $257,000 apiece
Global X SuperDividend ETF
Global X SuperDividend ETF (NYSEARCA:DIV) holds about 50 of the highest-paying dividend stocks and passes the cash along monthly. It takes 20% of the portfolio. Its $1.272 annualized payout on a $19 share price yields 6.6%, providing about $1,897 a month.
Keep in mind the monthly check moves around. It’s $0.106 now, down from $0.1705 in 2015. Top holdings include pipelines, shippers, tobacco, and utilities, so the income leans on mature, slow-growth businesses.
DNP Select Income Fund
DNP Select Income Fund (NYSE:DNP) operates as a closed-end utility fund. A closed-end fund has a fixed number of shares that trade like a stock, so its price can drift away from the value of what it owns, called net asset value. It gets 15%. At $10 a share, its $0.78 annual payout yields 7.7%, or about $1,656 a month.
DNP has paid $0.065 every month since 2006. Before buying, check the price against net asset value on the sponsor’s site, since buying at a premium means paying more than the holdings are worth, and that gap can close fast. Funds like this also borrow to lift payouts, which can magnify losses.
Mid-America Apartment Communities
Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) is a real estate investment trust. It owns property and pays out most of its rental profit. It owns 105,136 apartment units, mostly across the Sun Belt. At a 15% weight, its $6.12 dividend on a $118 share price yields 5.2%, about $1,111 a month.
October’s payout marked its 131st straight quarterly dividend. The quarterly amount rose from $1.47 in 2024 to $1.53 in 2026, but increases have slowed as same-store operating income fell 2% last quarter.
MidCap Financial Investment
MidCap Financial Investment (NASDAQ:MFIC) is a BDC, a fund that lends to midsize private companies and hands most of the interest to shareholders. It’s 15% of the mix. Its $1.24 annualized dividend on a $10 share price yields 12%, the highest here, worth about $2,581 a month.
It’s also the shakiest check in the portfolio. The quarterly dividend dropped from $0.38 to $0.31 in 2026, and net asset value slipped 4% to $12.86. Ares Capital agreed to acquire MidCap for approximately $10.88 per share in cash and stock, with closing expected in the first half of 2027. Investors will receive Ares shares and cash, meaning MidCap’s current dividend cannot support long-term income projection.
Evergy
Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG | EVRG Price Prediction) is a regulated electric utility serving about 1.7 million customers in Kansas and Missouri. At 15% weight, its $2.89 annualized dividend on an $88 share price yields 3.3%, the lowest here, adding about $701 a month.
Evergy is where the income grows. It just increased its quarterly dividend 4% to $0.7225, up from $0.46 in 2018, and targets 6% to 8%+ annual earnings growth through 2030 as data centers add demand.
iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF
iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) holds long-term U.S. government bonds. Its $4.12 annualized payout on an $81 share price yields 5.1%. It holds 20% of the money, providing about $1,455 a month, roughly 15% of the income.
This fund is there as ballast. When stocks fall sharply, investors often rush into Treasuries, and long bonds rise, though that pattern sometimes breaks. Rising long-term rates sink its price: from the end of 2021 through October 2023, the fund lost 41%. It’s still down 34% over five years. With the 10-year Treasury at 5%, rate moves from here can swing it either way.
How Big a Stock Drop Can You Sit Through?
The bond slice in this $1.72 million mix is the buffer that tends to show up when stocks fall hardest, and the amount you hold is the real decision.
Before the first purchase, decide how big a stock market drop you can sit through without selling. If a deep slide would push you out, a bigger bond slice lowers your income but makes it more likely you’ll stay invested long enough to collect it. The mix, payment calendar, and withdrawal order behind a setup like this are laid out in a free guide to turning savings into a monthly paycheck.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
David Beren has been a Flywheel Publishing contributor since 2022. Writing for 24/7 Wall St. since 2023, David loves to write about topics of all shapes and sizes. As a technology expert, David focuses heavily on consumer electronics brands, automobiles, and general technology. He has previously written for LifeWire, formerly About.com. As a part-time freelance writer, David’s “day job” has been working on and leading social media for multiple Fortune 100 brands. David loves the flexibility of this field and its ability to reach customers exactly where they like to spend their time. Additionally, David previously published his own blog, TmoNews.com, which reached 3 million readers in its first year. In addition to freelance and social media work, David loves to spend time with his family and children and relive the glory days of video game consoles by playing any retro game console he can get his hands on.
