Parking some percentage of your money in dividend-paying stocks can be very rewarding. Some top consumer brands have paid dividends for decades (a few for more than a century). This provides a way to keep your money invested in stocks that can grow your holdings over time, while still earning cash income in the short term. In other words, you can maintain a cash cushion for as long as you need it with well-chosen income stocks.

Three Motley Fool contributors recently picked McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) as good places to start generating passive income. These companies make products people use every day and won't become obsolete any time soon. Let's find out a bit more about these three dividend stocks.

Parkev Tatevosian (McDonald's): Passive income at regular intervals with no definite end date can go a long way to make retirement more enjoyable. One of my favorite passive income sources right now is McDonald's stock. The company pays a quarterly dividend that has risen substantially over the years. 

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Source Fool.com