ASX dividend stocks are one of the most reliable sources of passive income that Australians have access to. Receiving dividends from owning ASX shares is passive income in its truest form. It requires no labour or presence, only an investment of capital.
Of course, finding said capital to invest is the hard part. So, how is one able to earn a substantial second income, say $500 a month, from ASX dividend stocks here in Australia?
Well, there are two ways an investor can earn $500 a month or $6,000 a year in passive dividend income.
The first way is to find an ASX dividend stock or a number of stocks that will give you that kind of cash flow up front.
This means that you'll have to start looking for high-yield ASX dividend stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Some popular options include ASX banks like Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), mining shares like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), or other established income payers, like Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW), Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), or Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL).
These ASX dividend stocks all currently trade on dividend yields of between 3% and 6%. That means you'll have to front up around $135,000 in capital right away if you wish to receive $500 a month in dividend income. And that's assuming these companies will all continue to pay at least the same level of dividend income over the coming 12 months as they did over the previous 12. This is often the case, but it is never guaranteed.
ASX dividend stocks: Start the snowball rolling
A broader income-focused ETF like the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY) might get you to $500 a month with a smaller upfront investment. After all, its current trailing yield sits at well over 8.5%. But the dividend distributions from ETFs like this can fluctuate wildly from year to year, thanks to their diversified underlying portfolio.
The second way you can get $500 a month in passive dividend income from stocks is by buying a company that is growing its dividend at a fast rate, even if it has a small initial yield.
A good example is Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL). At first glance, Soul Patts doesn't look like a great dividend stock. That's thanks to its rather paltry yield of 2.48% today. That yield would require an initial investment of just over $240,000 to immediately achieve our desired level of cash flow.
However, Soul Patts has been growing its dividends for well over two decades. In fact, it holds an ASX record of dividend increase streaks, having raised its payouts every single year since 1998. Over the three years to 2025, the company was able to do this at a compounded average growth rate of 15.1%.
If that rate of dividend growth continues (again, it is never guaranteed on the markets), an investor who put $100,000 into Soul Patt shares today could expect to receive approximately $2,854 in dividends over the coming 12 months. They would have to wait less than seven years to reach $500 a month, and after another seven years, they would be bagging almost $1,500 a month.
Although this second 'dividend growth' approach takes longer to get the snowball rolling, it is my favourite way of dividend investing.
