Salary Day Investing — July 2026: Up 0.50%, But the Portfolio Is Quietly Taking Shape

  Salary in. Transfer done. Shares bought.

July was a quiet month on the surface ,the portfolio climbed 0.50%, nudging my overall return from +0.96% up to +1.46%.

Not exciting numbers. But underneath the surface, quite a lot happened.


📊 July Portfolio Breakdown

Stock    Shares    Opening    Closing    Change
SCHD    2.3191    $31.71    $33.47    +5.55%
PLTR    0.2064    $116.67    $123.06    +5.48%
O    0.4    $61.96    $63.87    +3.08%
XLV    0.1637    $158.66    $162.55    +2.45%
BRK.B    0.048    $500.39    $511.54    +2.23%
NVDA    0.15    $200.09    $200.75    +0.33%
VOO    0.2147    $686.81    $686.65    -0.02%
JEPQ    0.4263    $61.46    $58.25    -5.22%
QQQ    0.0686    $736.40    $687.99    -6.57%     
                               

The standout this month was SCHD — up 5.55%. A dividend ETF posting that kind of monthly return is always a pleasant surprise.

PLTR (Palantir) also impressed in its first month in the portfolio — up 5.48%. More on that below.

The disappointments were QQQ and JEPQ, down 6.57% and 5.22% respectively. Tech sentiment was soft in July, and both positions felt it. They pulled the overall return down considerably — without those two, the month would have looked much better.


New Addition: PLTR

This month I added Palantir (PLTR) to the portfolio.

If you're not familiar with the name — Palantir is a US data analytics company whose primary customers are government agencies and large enterprises. Its AI Platform (AIP) has been gaining significant traction as organisations look for ways to operationalise artificial intelligence on their actual data.

It's not a dividend stock. It's a growth position, and a volatile one.

But here's my thinking: the defensive side of my portfolio is already well covered — SCHD, O, VOO, BRK.B. What I wanted to add was some growth exposure to a business I genuinely believe in. AI-driven data analytics for governments and enterprises isn't going away. If anything, the demand is accelerating.

Small position. Watching and learning.


This Month's Top-Ups

Three positions were added to this month — a combination of fresh capital and dividend reinvestment:

  • SCHD: 1.5656 → 2.3191 shares
  • VOO: 0.1443 → 0.2147 shares
  • QQQ: 0.0338 → 0.0686 shares

SCHD and VOO are the core of what I'm building — steady compounders, consistent dividend growers. Every additional share is another small engine added to the machine.

QQQ was down 6.57% this month. Which meant the same monthly transfer bought more shares than it would have a month ago. That's not a silver lining I'm forcing — it's just how dollar-cost averaging works. Down months buy more.


July Dividend Income

Date    Stock    Dividend
7/7/26    JEPQ        $0.19
13/7/26    QQQ        $0.02
16/7/26    O        $0.08
Total       $0.29

JEPQ was the biggest contributor this month at $0.19 — even as the price dropped 5.22%, the monthly income distribution arrived on time. That's the point of holding a monthly income ETF: price volatility is one thing, cash flow is another.

Cumulative dividend income now sits at approximately USD 2.24 — past the USD 2 milestone. The next target is USD 4.


How I'm Thinking About July

+0.50% is fine. Not spectacular, but the portfolio is moving in the right direction.

What I'm more focused on is the shape of the portfolio itself. This month it grew — new positions, additional shares, widening income streams. PLTR adds a growth dimension I didn't have before. The additional SCHD and VOO shares add to the compounding base.

The month-to-month returns will fluctuate. Some months will be better than this. Some will be worse. What matters is whether the underlying structure is getting stronger — and in July, it was.

Same plan next month. Same transfers. Same process.

One paycheck at a time.

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