One of the best parts about investing is dividend income. A smart income-investing strategy can help you build wealth faster through a dividend reinvesting plan (DRIP), or give you income to supplement your lifestyle or even fully fund it.

Most dividend stocks pay you every quarter, but a select few pay out dividends every month. Some investors prefer monthly dividends because they match your income with bills like rent, utilities, and credit cards. Based on the time value of money, it's also better to get paid monthly rather than quarterly as you'll be able to invest or spend that income sooner.

If you're looking for monthly dividend stocks, keep reading to see two attractive buys right now.

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1. Realty Income

If you're looking for a dividend stock, a great place to start is with Realty Income (O 0.59%), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that currently pays a dividend yield of 5.7%.

Realty Income is a great safe stock to own for a number of reasons. First, it's a triple-net REIT, meaning its tenants pay for property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. Operating as a triple-net landlord puts some of the risk involved on the tenant rather than the landlord.

Realty Income primarily holds stand-alone retail storefronts, and generally leases to recession-proof businesses. Among its biggest tenants are Walgreens and 7-Eleven, and the stock also has a solid track record of performance in both bull markets and bear markets.

As a dividend payer, Realty Income's track record is also hard to beat. It's paid 652 monthly dividends and has raised its dividend every quarter for the last 108 quarters. Most dividend stocks, on the other hand, only raise their dividends every quarter.

Realty Income is looking to new areas for growth, forming a joint venture to enter the data center REIT market, a promising corner of the industry. The company is also expanding in Europe and has a multitrillion-dollar addressable market to grow into.

As a REIT, the company should also benefit if interest rates fall as it will make borrowing rates cheaper for acquisitions and its dividend yield becomes more attractive to income investors.

2. EPR Properties

For monthly dividend seekers, another option that currently sports an attractive dividend yield is EPR Properties (EPR -0.64%). EPR specializes in entertainment and experiential properties such as movie theaters, amusement parks, ski resorts, and more.

The business has stabilized following a sharp sell-off at the start of the pandemic, which led it to suspend its dividend temporarily, and it now offers a dividend yield of 7.2%. It began paying a monthly dividend in 2013. The company generally raises its dividend most years, though its dividend is still below where it was before the pandemic.

The company owns 352 properties, and it's well-positioned to benefit from a trend in the young adult generation of spending on experiences rather than things. For example, travel spending has held up well during a time of high inflation and pressure on consumer spending, while many discretionary retailers have complained of weak demand.

According to EPR's research, 74% of baby boomers also feel the same way, prioritizing experiences over products and things. 

While the movie theater industry has experienced some headwinds, box office sales were up in 2024 from 2023. EPR is also diversifying to areas including a new hot springs resort in Colorado, part of its push into experiential lodging.

Management is focused on reducing its exposure to the movie theater business and growing in other experiential areas including eat and play, theme parks, ski resorts, and fitness and wellness centers. Given the tailwinds in travel and experiential activities, that seems like a smart move.

Overall, if you're looking to get exposure to the experiential retail market and want a high dividend yield that pays you each month, EPR Properties looks like a great stock to own.