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How much more do reinvested dividends add than spending them?

$500 a month into SPY, SCHD and QQQ with dividends reinvested or spent: end balance, dividends received and the last year's income.

Confluence Zone operator · Data as of September 30, 2026 · Calculated October 1, 2026 · Recomputed monthly

Summary

Putting $500 a month into SPY for 20 years with dividends reinvested ended at $566,043. Spending the dividends instead left a balance of $450,935 plus $40,871 in dividends received, $491,806 in total.

The gap was $74,237. Dividends taken out earned no interest. Yearly dividend income at the as-of share count was $5,637 reinvested and $4,490 spent.

As a share of the reinvested balance, the gap was 3.7% for SPY over 10 years, 13.1% for SPY over 20 years, 6.1% for SCHD over 10 years, 8.2% for QQQ over 20 years. The gap grew with time and with the dividend yield.

Reinvesting vs. spending dividends, $500 a month

Case	Put in	Reinvested balance	Spent: balance	Spent: dividends received	Spent: total	Gap (share)
SPY 10 yearsOct 2016 to Sep 2026	$60,000	$136,164	$124,644	$6,466	$131,110	$5,0543.7%
SPY 20 yearsOct 2006 to Sep 2026	$120,000	$566,043	$450,935	$40,871	$491,806	$74,23713.1%
SCHD 10 yearsOct 2016 to Sep 2026	$60,000	$113,521	$92,387	$14,251	$106,638	$6,8836.1%
QQQ 20 yearsOct 2006 to Sep 2026	$120,000	$1,063,801	$946,000	$30,667	$976,667	$87,1348.2%

Spent total = the spent balance plus all dividends received. Gap = reinvested balance minus spent total; the share is relative to the reinvested balance.

Estimated yearly dividend income

	Reinvested	Spent
SPY 10 years	$1,356	$1,241
SPY 20 years	$5,637	$4,490
SCHD 10 years	$3,687	$3,001
QQQ 20 years	$4,452	$3,959

Shares held at the as-of date times the dividends per share over the prior 12 months, before tax.

How it was calculated

$500 went in on the first trading day of every month, including the first month. Reinvested uses dividend-adjusted prices. Spent buys at split-adjusted prices and takes each dividend out as cash on its ex-dividend date. Cash taken out earns no interest.
Each buy or sell was charged 0.15% as a cost. Taxes, currency conversion costs and interest on cash are not included.
Dividends were handled in the two ways above. Taxes on dividends are not deducted.
The as-of date is the last trading day of last month (September 30, 2026). The numbers are recomputed at the start of each month.
Buy and sell decisions use the close, and trades fill at the next trading day's open. See the backtest spec

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Common questions

How much did the dividends add up to?

Dividends received when spending: SPY 10 years $6,466; SPY 20 years $40,871; SCHD 10 years $14,251; QQQ 20 years $30,667.

Does tax change the picture?

This calculation does not deduct dividend tax. US dividends paid to Korean residents are withheld at 15%, which shrinks both what is reinvested and what is spent.

Would the results change with an amount other than $500 a month?

In this SPY, SCHD and QQQ calculation, the returns stay almost the same and only the amounts scale. Only the basket method, which buys whole shares, differs a little.

How were dividends handled?

Reinvested: each dividend bought more shares at the price on its ex-dividend date. Spent: the shares held through the day before the ex-dividend date times the dividend per share were taken out as cash, with no interest. Dividend taxes are not deducted on either side.

Would the result be the same when investing in a currency other than dollars?

No. This SPY, SCHD and QQQ calculation is in US dollars. Exchange rate changes and the fee and tax differences of locally listed ETFs are not included.