Hey,
The fifth month of the year is already over. Once again, a lot has happened that’s throwing my finances into disarray. I’m starting to worry that I won’t be able to reach my goal—and that I might even be stagnating. But more on that later. Let’s take a look at the performance, as usual.
📈 Performance:
S&P 500: +9.50%
MSCI World: +8.00%
DAX: +7.10%
Dividend portfolio: +3.94%
My top and bottom performers in May were (Top/Flop 3):
🟢 ($CSCO (+3,18 %) ) Cisco Systems +32.18%
🟢 ($LLY (+1,79 %) ) Eli Lilly +18.93%
🟢 ($TXN (+4,85 %) ) Texas Instruments +12.84
🔴 ($PEP (-0,29 %) ) Pepsi -8.31%
🔴 ($TSCO (+1,24 %) ) Tractor Supply -9.25%
🔴 ($PETR4 (+1,71 %) ) Petroleo Brasileiro -12.25%
Dividends:
May 2026: €348.79
May 2025: €369.70
Change: -5.66%
E.On’s dividend was paid out in April this year, and I also paid capital gains tax on the Allianz dividend. That’s how this difference came about. On a gross basis, there was a 3.54% increase compared to the previous year.
Sales:
🟥 None
Purchases:
🟩 3 shares of Procter & Gamble ($PG (-0,79 %) )
Savings plans:
($CTAS (+0,83 %) ) Cintas (€50)
($MC (+2,87 %) ) LVMH (€50)
($MSFT (-1,97 %) ) Microsoft (€25)
What else has been going on?
As I mentioned at the beginning, quite a bit happened in May that’s throwing my financial planning into disarray. First off, the first bill for the solar panel system came in, and it needs to be paid. That was planned, though. So far, so good.
My laptop broke, so I had to get a new one. That wasn’t planned and is another blow.
For the building insurance, the new construction discounts are gradually being phased out, which is why the premium here is also €120 higher than usual. But I didn’t just miscalculate that—I also didn’t anticipate the payment being debited at all. Well, that’s just how it goes with debits that only come once a year.
Furthermore, the tax return has been filed, and we now have to pay an additional €1,200 (income from my wife’s self-employment).
On the other hand, the solar panel system won’t be connected until the end of June, which is why the final bill will likely arrive in July. So maybe I’ll manage to pay for the system without having to dip into the money set aside for the loan payoff. Everything will work out, and I’m not worried that anything might go wrong. The money is there, I just don’t want to touch it. But as is often the case, something like this really throws the finances into disarray, and with the additional expenses (home insurance and a laptop), I’ll have to save up that money again. My hope of investing fully again starting in April was already gone anyway. But now I’ll probably be busy building up my emergency fund again for the whole year, which will cost me another year of investing. So I don’t know how much more I’ll be able to invest at all.
My pension portfolio has currently been reduced from €650 to €500. This is also something I didn’t want to do, but it’s now unavoidable. However, the €500 will definitely continue to be invested.
🥅 Goals for 2026:
I’m aiming to reach €85,000 in my dividend portfolio this year. I’m currently at around €78,500, so at least theoretically, anything is still possible. I still have the dividends to reinvest. A pure price increase would now require an 8% rise. So that’s a bit unrealistic. But with the reinvestment of dividends plus price appreciation, it’s definitely doable.
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