I am currently 47 years old. Unfortunately in that time frame I have lost a lot of family members. Some (most) were accidents, some to age, some to cancer, and one to suicide. That’s 11 deaths total. Only 1 person out of 11 had a will. When you are grieving the last thing you want to do is close an estate up. It’s even harder if nothing has been prepared in advance. After the initial shock of the death settles (the phase where everyone is usually nice), greed comes through in a most alarming manner. I’ve watched people turn into monsters. Make sure you have a will!!!! or people will fight.  I know most people hate thinking about their death or their spouses death but honestly it’s just a fact of life. I’ve personally been the executor of 2 estates now. This is my advice: 1. If your young get life insurance. If you’re retired it’s not worth it. 2. Make sure you have a will. 3. Make sure you have a personal directive. 4. Make sure you have a power of attorney set up. 5. If your married make your spouse the beneficiary of your TFSA and RRSP(has to be done through the account not the will), they will roll into the spouses account without taxation. 6. If you’re married, and you own a house, make sure both names are on the title, joint tenant, NOT tenant in common. This activates right of survivorship on property and doesn’t have to go through the estate. 7. If you’re married, both people should have their name on all the vehicles, joint, otherwise it’s a headache after death. 8. Buy a file folding system. I have a plastic one that has a clasp and handle. 9. Put EVERYTHING in this file folder that would be needed if you died tomorrow. a) all land titles B) information on house insurance so it can either be eventually canceled or name changed over. C) your will (or the location of your will),  power of attorney, and personal directive D) the information for your car, car insurance, and registration on vehicles. E) information on life insurance. F) all current year papers needed for filing your taxes. Because the survivor will have to do it and will need that information. G) where your household bills are. ALL OF THEM, electricity, gas, Netflix, magazine, subscriptions everything you can think of that is in their name. Because you are going to have to cancel them. H) their credit card information where to contact to cancel the cards I) birth certificate, SIN numbers, marriage, license, etc. J) information on all your investments accounts, bank accounts, etc. K) anything else you can think of for your situation If you’re married, I’d have one box per person. When you die, the funeral home will issue many death certificates. And your lawyer will give you copies of the will. These will be needed to change over any accounts. Everything else goes through the estate which is taxed and the lawyers take their fees so I’d avoid this as much as possible especially if you’re married. This is why having property in both people‘s names is so important because it doesn’t have to go through probate. I am widowed now and I have my black file folder and my two remaining children know if something happens to me, all they have to do is grab the folder. Everything they need to take care of my estate will be located in this folder. At the beginning of every year, I open this file up and go through everything to make sure it’s up-to-date. If you are young and do not own much or can’t afford a will, you can draft one up but it must be handwritten to be classified as a legal document. You cannot type it out!! If you’re not worth much, everything will most likely be sold to pay your bills and cover your funeral expenses. But you can state who your executor will be in your handwritten will.  Disclaimer I’m not a lawyer or an accountant and this is not legal advice. Talk to a lawyer and talk to an accountant. Make sure everything is set up for you and your situation. These are situations that I personally ran into. Good luck Also I’ll add in. IF you have a lot of assets make an appointment with your accountant first. They will tell you how to properly set things up. Then take that information to your lawyer.
This is not just a company. This is an empire. What They Do Amazon operates across three major pillars. First is North America retail, the e-commerce and Prime membership business that most people know and use daily. Second is International retail, the global expansion of that same model. Third and most important to investors right now is Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing and AI infrastructure arm that is the financial engine of the entire company. On top of those three segments, Amazon also runs one of the fastest growing advertising businesses in the world, quietly eating into market share that once belonged exclusively to Google and Meta. The Numbers Are Impressive Amazon delivered a standout Q1 2026 performance. Revenue came in at $181.5 billion, up 17% year over year. Net income hit $30.3 billion, nearly doubling from the prior quarter's $21.19 billion. EPS of $2.78 crushed analyst expectations of $1.63, a 69% beat. AWS grew 28% year over year to $37.59 billion, its fastest growth rate in 15 quarters. Advertising revenue surged 24% year over year to $17.24 billion, beating expectations and solidifying Amazon Ads as one of the most powerful platforms in digital marketing. The stock has gained roughly 16% in 2026 and touched an all-time high of $278.56 in May. The AWS and AI Story This is the heart of the Amazon investment thesis right now. AWS has reached approximately $150 billion in annualized revenue run rate. AI revenue is growing triple digits year over year. Amazon's Bedrock AI platform saw customer spend rise 170% quarter over quarter and processed more tokens in Q1 alone than in all prior years combined. Bedrock is now used by over 125,000 customers and approximately 80% of the Fortune 100. Amazon has also secured major AI partnerships with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta, signaling that the world's leading AI companies are choosing AWS as their infrastructure home. Amazon's own homegrown Trainium AI chips are delivering meaningful cost savings that are already showing up in AWS margins. The $200 Billion Question Here is where the story gets complicated. Amazon has committed to spending $200 billion in capital expenditures in 2026 alone, nearly a 60% increase from 2025 and a staggering 4x increase from 2023 levels. The vast majority of this is going into AI infrastructure, data centers, and proprietary chip development. This has caused free cash flow to collapse to just $1.2 billion in Q1, which sounds alarming until you understand why. Amazon is making a massive generational bet that demand for AI computing will far outpace what anyone currently expects. CEO Andy Jassy has been clear, they would rather build ahead of demand than fall behind it. The market is watching this very closely heading into Q2 earnings. Earnings This Month This is critical for your Blossom audience right now. Amazon reports Q2 2026 earnings on July 30, just two weeks away. The company has guided Q2 net sales of $194 to $199 billion and operating income of $20 to $24 billion. Prime Day, which historically generates billions in compressed retail and advertising revenue, is expected to be included in Q2 results for most major markets, making year-over-year comparisons particularly favorable. The key metrics to watch are AWS growth rate, AWS operating margin, and any commentary on when the $200 billion capex begins to generate meaningful free cash flow returns. What Analysts Are Saying Wall Street is broadly bullish. The consensus 12-month price target sits around $312 with individual targets ranging from $250 to $370. Evercore ISI named Amazon their number one large-cap pick for 2026 with a $285 target, citing attractive valuation and AWS momentum. The stock currently trades well below most analyst targets, which many see as a compelling entry point ahead of the July 30 earnings catalyst. The Risk The capex story is the biggest near-term risk. $200 billion is an extraordinary commitment and if AI demand does not scale as fast as Amazon expects, free cash flow pressure will persist and weigh on the stock. Regulatory scrutiny on Amazon's AI partnerships and e-commerce dominance is also ongoing. Competition from Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud in the cloud space is intensifying, and any deceleration in AWS growth would be viewed negatively. Tariff uncertainty has also added some pressure to the international retail business. Bottom Line Amazon is one of the most dominant businesses ever built. The retail flywheel, the AWS cloud empire, the advertising powerhouse, and the AI infrastructure buildout all point to a company that is not resting on its success, it is doubling down on the future. The $200 billion capex bet is bold and not without risk, but Amazon has earned the benefit of the doubt. With earnings on July 30 and most analysts seeing 15 to 25% upside from current levels, this is a name that deserves serious attention from every investor in your Blossom community. Do your research. Know your risk tolerance. Never invest more than you can afford to lose. This post is for educational purposes only and is not financial advice.
Hey space stock holders!! Next week, on July 15 at 1 p.m. ET, I’m joining @maxstocks and Global X for an AMA live on YouTube! We’ll be discussing SpaceX ($SPCX), satellite communications, defense and space technology, public vs. private space companies, and the opportunities and risks investors should be watching. $ORBX Ask us anything here: https://www.youtube.com/@globalxca
I’m at a loss for Telus right now, New CEO everyone seems to have a different mind set on what to do. My average price is 21$ I bought it for dividends and to hold extremely long term. As much as I want to DCA I’m terrified of a dividend cut and what follows after that. I’m considering stopping investments to $T and finding a new dividend stock to invest in. The gambler in me wants to keep buying to lower average cost. Anyone have any thoughts on this stock!?
I think one of the biggest mistakes investors make is assuming a stock must be cheap just because it has fallen. A stock can drop 40% and still be expensive. It can also rise 50% and remain undervalued if the business and earnings expectations are improving even faster. That is why I try to look beyond the chart. With companies like $SOFI, $NOW, $ZETA, and $AMZN , I care less about where the stock traded six months ago and more about whether the business is becoming more valuable today. Are revenues growing? Are margins improving? Is the competitive position getting stronger? Price movement creates attention. Business progress creates long-term returns.
2027 MORTGAGE RATE FORECAST HAS BEEN RELEASED- If you're waiting for mortgage rates to crash before you buy a house, you might be waiting a while. Major experts like Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association predict rates will hover between 6.3% and 6.5% all through 2027 "Borrowing costs are staying relatively high. Waiting it out might not save you as much money as you think. Your purchasing power will still depend heavily on home prices and your personal savings"
Tomorrow at 1 pm EST, I’ll be live with @maxstocks and Global X for a conversation on: • SpaceX • Satellite communications • Defence and space technology • Public vs. private space companies • The evolving space economy • Opportunities and risks investors should be watching And more! https://www.youtube.com/live/svndD8PvyEg
Since so many people ask how to invest in this sector, or this country, or this asset, I’ve decided to make a comprehensive guide on how you can invest in specific areas. This is NOT portfolio advice, simply information about tickers that you can research yourself. Save this for later so you have a list of ETFs to come back to! Canada: $XIU$XIC$ZCN All expose you to the TSX in Canada. These ETFs consist of all top Canadian companies and access to our national stock exchange. $VCB$VGV$VLB$VAB$VSB$VSC$XBB$XCB Expose you to Canadian bonds; whether it be long-term, short-term, corporate, government, etc. $VDY$XEI$CDZ Expose you to Canadian dividend companies $XRE$ZRE$VRE Give access to Canadian REITs $ZEB$XFN$RBNK Lets you buy the Canadian banks USA: $VFV$ZSP$XSP$XUS$HXS Lets you buy the S&P 500 (learn about hedged vs. unhedged in my other post) $XQQ$HXQ$ZQQ All give you access to the NASDAQ 100 $IWR$VO$VOE$VOT$IJH$SCHM Lets you buy US Midcaps $IJR$IWM$VB$VBR$VBK$SCHA Lets you buy US Smallcaps $DIV$SPYD$RDIV$DHS$VIG$SCHD$VYM$DGRO$SDY Give access from small to high dividend US companies $VTI$ITOT Lets you buy the whole US market $TLT$IEF$VGIT$GOVT$SHY$VGLT Give access to US bonds $XLC$XLY$XLP$XLE$XLF$XLV$XLI$XLB$XLRE$XLK$XLU All give you access to each sector in the S&P such as financials, energy, healthcare, etc. International: $XEQT$FEQT$VEQT$ZEQT Give you an all-in-one exposure to Canada, US, emerging and global markets. $VEA$IEFA$SCHF$SPDW$EFV$EFA Give access to general international exposure $EWJ$EWU$EWC Gives direct access to developed international countries $INDA$MCHI$EWT$EWY$EWZ$EWW$EIDO$EWM Gives direct access to emerging international countries Assets: $KILO$PHYS$CGL Let’s you buy gold directly through ETFs $SVR$HUZ Let you buy silver through ETFs Savings/Interest: $CASH$HISA$PSA$HSAV Access to Canadian savings and interest payments $HSUV-U $PSU-U $HISU-U Access to US savings and interest payments There’s so many ETFs I didn’t go into with dozens of categories, but this should give you some basic starting point to look into your ETF investments. This is simply the starting point, when choosing your investments always research the ETFs, what they provide to you, their fees, your goals, your risk, and what you’re looking to get out of investing. As always do your research and happy investing! Subscribe to the newsletter: relatablefinance.substack.com
