What would you do if you found a way to earn $500 per month in tax-free and passive income? Canadians have several ways to generate a passive income, but one of my favourites is using the Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) to hold a self-directed portfolio of dividend stocks.
When you invest in the right combination of dividend stocks and use the power of compounding to accelerate your wealth growth, making $500 a month is possible. The best part about it is that you do not need to work hard since the market will already do it for you.
There’s no shortage of dividend stocks you can invest in for this purpose. Today, I will discuss two stocks that might fit the bill for such a portfolio.
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Enbridge
Enbridge (TSX:ENB) might be one of my favourite picks among dividend stocks to buy and hold for the long run. The $167.92 billion market cap energy infrastructure company has an extensive network of pipelines that it uses to transport a lot of the crude and natural gas produced and consumed in North America. It also has one of the biggest utility businesses in the region that provides additional and stable cash flows for the business.
Enbridge has a resilient business model that lets it pay shareholders their dividends regularly. The company has been distributing quarterly dividends for around 70 years, having increased payouts for over three decades. As of this writing, Enbridge stock trades for $76.90 per share and pays investors $0.97 per share each quarter, translating to a juicy 5.05% dividend yield that you can lock into your TFSA.
Telus
Telus (TSX:T) is another pick to consider for your self-directed investment portfolio. Telus is a giant in the Canadian telecom space, boasting roughly a third of the market share and a $25.75 billion market capitalization. The company operates subscription-based services across wireless, wireline, TV, and internet segments, giving it a defensive appeal and recurring revenues.
Higher interest rates in the last few years weighed on the company’s financials, resulting in a dip in share prices that inflated its dividend yield to double digits. Fortunately, the company’s performance has since improved, especially as its cost-cutting measures bear fruit. As of this writing, it trades for $16.49 per share and pays investors $0.4184 per share each quarter, translating to a 10.15% dividend yield. It might be the right time to invest in its shares and lock in those high-yielding dividends.
Foolish takeaway
The table below illustrates how investing a hypothetical $45,000 in Enbridge stock and $40,000 in Telus stock can mean over $500 per month in tax-free dividends in your self-directed TFSA portfolio. It’s important to remember that the example is only for illustrative purposes. When using this strategy, it’s much safer to diversify across several stocks to get similar returns.
| Ticker | Recent Price | Amount Invested | No. of Shares | Annualized Dividends per Share | Total Annualized Payout |
| ENB | $79.90 | $45,000 | 563 | $3.88 | $2,184.44 |
| T | $16.49 | $40,000 | 2,425 | $1.6736 | $4,058.48 |
| Combined Annualized Payout | $6,242.92 | ||||
| Monthly Total Payout | $520.24 | ||||
