🚨 The Hard Truth Dividends are not free bonus cash. When a company pays a dividend, its share price typically drops by that amount. Spending that cash actively drains your long-term growth. Total return is the main metric that matters. 📈 The $1,000,000 Difference Invest $250/month into the S&P 500 from age 22 to 65: • Cash out the dividends (~8% price return): $1.11M • Reinvest every dividend (~10% total return): $2.14M That is an extra $1,023,000 simply for letting compounding work. ⚙️ The Solution Turn on DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment Plan). It systematically uses your payouts to buy more shares without manual intervention or commission fees. More shares create larger dividend payouts, which buy even more shares. read more
Canada has lost a total of 110,000 jobs over the past two months, including 68,000 in September. Canada's unemployment rate also jumped to 6.5%. Not the be a bummer but Canada has gotten the worse of the trade war since it started. Something needs to give.
I started beginning of September, I have allocated a portfolio that is diversified around the world and I wanted to maximize my growth with risks. Although I tolerate risk, I don’t tolerate NASDAQ level of risk. Anything else that I could add or remove or should I keep it this way?
I am excited to share that my portfolio crossed $70K for the first time. Two and a half years ago it was sitting at $7,753. I also received my first dividend over $50 — $52.32 from SCHD. It's not life-changing money, but with overall dividends of September at $80, it feels good to see some valuable money rolling in. Still a beginner, still learning every day. Sharing the journey as it happens 📈 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
President Trump says Russia will supply millions of tons of diesel to U.S. and global markets. 📊 Key Highlights: ⛽ U.S. diesel prices hit around $6.28 per gallon. 🤝 Trump reached a supply agreement with Vladimir Putin. 📉 The goal: Increase supply and bring fuel prices down. ⚠️ The U.S. temporarily eased sanctions on certain Russian diesel shipments. 🌍 BUT THERE'S A CATCH! Analysts question whether the deal will significantly lower prices, while Ukraine criticizes the move. 📈 Could this change the global energy market? 💬 What do you think? Smart move or risky decision ?read more
Wall Street is getting increasingly bullish on $NOW ahead of earnings… Three major firms raised their price targets on ServiceNow today: Wells Fargo: $175 to $190 RBC Capital: $130 to $176 Barclays: $134 to $160 RBC specifically highlighted accelerating enterprise AI momentum, strength in federal demand, and a growing deal pipeline. Still one of my favorite long-term investments… read more
Project Kuiper is basically Amazon's answer to Starlink. Now, many reports suggest that it will start between late 2026 to early 2027. Now that SpaceX is innovating and improving their technology so much, I personally think that It'll be hard for Amazon to get into this market and scale. Unless, they do something where they bundle it with their Amazon Prime Subscription meaning 2 tiers 1 which is the normal Amazon Prime tier and the other which is the Amazon Prime + the internet service. And, if they can be somewhat successful and/or scale quickly do you think this can be a major part of Amazon's revenue? Now, looking on the affect on SpaceX this could potentially be the silent killer of Starlink. I think so because one, Amazon are very trusted and two, they already have a huge customer base. I'm still bullish on SpaceX but, this could be a threat to Starlink very soon. Lmk what you think. I'm down for a discussion in the comments!
⚠️ Warning: This post was vetted through AI. You may want to look away now. 😂 After experiencing the uninformed and unwelcome opinions of people shaming the use of AI, and, even more frustratingly, misrepresenting my financial situation, I decided to reread The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck*. It reminded me of something I already knew: Not every opinion deserves my attention. Fundamentally, I don’t participate in negativity, harassment or hate. I don’t need to convince everyone that my choices are right, and I certainly don’t need the approval of people who have decided they know my financial situation better than I do. But I did feel that the developing culture of AI shaming deserved my attention, not because I want to argue with the naysayers, but because I think there’s an opportunity to have a more positive, productive and inclusive conversation about it. I genuinely enjoy sharing my financial growth, milestones, lessons and journey here on Blossom. It’s one of the fun parts of this app for me. I’m excited about what I’m building, and I enjoy sharing the process with people who are interested in learning, growing and having conversations about money. And just to be clear: I don’t use AI because I’m illiterate, incapable or unintelligent. I was a professor in a dental department at a post-secondary institution. I know how to think, research, question information and form my own conclusions. Using AI doesn’t equal incompetence. It’s a tool. A tool that helps me organize my thoughts, be more productive, communicate ideas and accomplish my goals. And I actually think there’s something beautiful about that. Technology can make participation more accessible. It can help someone find the words they struggle to find, organize thoughts that feel overwhelming, communicate in a language they’re still learning, or simply make it possible to participate when life is busy. That feels more inclusive to me, not less. Of course, AI isn’t perfect. It can be wrong. It can misunderstand context. It can produce information that needs to be checked. That’s why I believe in using it responsibly: question it, fact-check it, protect your privacy and ultimately take responsibility for what you choose to publish. That isn’t giving up your intelligence. That’s using your intelligence to use a tool well. AI is here. It’s ubiquitous. And honestly, it has barely begun. We don’t shame calculators because people used to do long division. We don’t shame spreadsheets because people once balanced books by hand. So why are we suddenly treating the use of a new tool as a character flaw? Telling someone to stop using AI because it’s “not real” is about as logical as trading your laptop for a pen and paper, your smartphone for a corded home phone, and your GPS for a paper map. Technology changes. We adapt. And perhaps the most important part of all of this: The people who have reached out privately, with thoughtful messages, encouragement, curiosity and kindness, far outweigh the toxic noise. Those are the people I choose to give my energy to. AI isn’t going away. Neither am I. And I’m not going to spend my time arguing with people who are determined to misunderstand me. I’d rather keep learning, keep questioning, keep investing and keep moving forward. You don’t have to use AI. You don’t have to like AI. But you also don’t get to decide what tools someone else is allowed to use to build their life. And yes…AI helped me write this. 😉 I’m okay with that.read more
📈 THE BD INVESTING ANNUAL SUMMIT — OCTOBER 24 ( IN 2 WEEKS) We’re bringing the BD Investing community together LIVE in Toronto for 5 hours of investing education, market discussion, networking, food & more! 📍 Toronto 🗓️ Saturday, October 24 ⏰ 4–9 PM EST | Doors open 3:40 PM 🅿️ FREE Parking 🎤 SPEAKER LINEUP - Panels (fireside chats) Bilaal Dhalech — BD Investing AI Infrastructure • Is AI a Bubble? • BD Portfolio deepdive • 2027 Market Outlook & Predictions • Hot Sector Themes • The Road from $0 → $1M Azia Mery @aziamery & BD Financial Wellness for Beginners • Building Your First Portfolio • ETFs • Investing Do’s & Don’ts Shraddha Shah & Nathalie Valenzula Investing 101 • Dividends • Long-Term Wealth Building • Options trading 101 • Market Psychology & Controlling Emotions Adrian Bar — Canadian in a T-Shirt x BD @canadiantshirt Fireside Chat with BD • Current Investing Landscape • Taxes 🇨🇦 • Market Trends • Personal Investing Journeys • LIVE Q&A 🎟️ YOUR TICKET INCLUDES 🍽️ Free food & beverages 👕 BD Investing T-Shirt 🎁 Exclusive swag (Blossom , BMO , Wealthsimple) 🤝 Networking with investors & the BD community 🔥 FEW TICKETS LEFT — grab yours before we sell out! GET YOUR TICKETS — https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/bd-investing-annual-summit-tickets-1998125442988read more
One of the best parts about the Blossom community is how open everyone is sharing knowledge and experiences. To make things easier for anyone just starting their investing journey, here’s a simple glossary to help understand and simplify various terms. Common Terms: Dividend: A share of a company’s profits paid to shareholders, usually quarterly. Ex-Dividend Date: The cutoff date by which you must own a stock to receive its next dividend. ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund): A fund that holds multiple stocks or bonds, traded like a single stock. Covered Call ETF: An ETF that owns stocks and sells call options to generate extra income (higher yield, limited / capped upside). Earnings Report: A company’s quarterly financial performance summary. EPS (Earnings Per Share): A company’s profit divided by its number of shares. Market Cap: A company’s total value (share price × number of shares). ACB: The total amount you’ve paid for an investment, including the purchase price plus any fees or commissions. Book Value: The value of a company according to its financial statements (assets minus liabilities). Yield: Annual dividend as a percentage of the stock/ETF price. Liquidity: How easily an asset can be bought or sold without impacting its price. Volatility: The degree of price fluctuations in a stock or market. Index: A benchmark of stocks (e.g., S&P 500, Nasdaq, TSX). Bull Market: A period of rising stock prices and optimism. Bear Market: A period of declining stock prices and pessimism. False Breakout: When a stock’s price moves above (or below) a key level, making it look like a new trend is starting, but then quickly reverses back. P/E Ratio: Price-to-earnings ratio (stock price ÷ EPS), used to assess valuation. Blue Chip: Well-established, financially strong companies with a track record of stability. Diversification: Spreading investments across assets to reduce risk. Broker: A platform or firm that facilitates buying and selling investments. Limit Order: An order to buy/sell a stock at a specific price or better. Market Order: An order to buy/sell a stock immediately at the current market price. Bid/Ask Spread: The difference between the highest price buyers offer and the lowest price sellers accept. Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA): Investing a fixed amount regularly to reduce the impact of market swings. Capital Gain/Loss: Profit or loss from selling an investment for more/less than its purchase price. IPO: When a company first sells shares to the public. Index Fund: A fund designed to mirror the performance of a market index. Short Selling: Selling borrowed shares, hoping to buy them back cheaper. Margin: Borrowing money from a broker to buy investments, which amplifies gains and losses. Margin Requirement: The minimum amount of your own money (equity) you must maintain in a margin account to open or keep a leveraged investment position. Margin Call: A demand from your broker to deposit more funds or sell assets because your account equity has fallen below the required margin level. Time Horizon: The length of time you plan to hold an investment before needing the money. Short horizons = more risk-sensitive, long horizons = more room to ride out volatility. Stock Split / Reverse Split: A split increases the number of shares (e.g., 2-for-1) while lowering the price per share. A reverse split reduces the number of shares (e.g., 1-for-10) while raising the price per share. Your overall value doesn’t change just the math. Long (Being Long): Buying a stock or asset because you expect the price to go up. Short (Being Short): Selling a stock you don’t own because you expect the price to go down, so you can buy it back cheaper later. TER: The total yearly cost of owning a fund, including the management fee plus other costs like administration, audits, and legal fees. MER: The annual cost that a fund charges for management (includes any leverage costs if used). Management Fee: A portion of the MER that goes directly to the fund managers for running the fund. Withholding Tax: A tax deducted on dividends/distributions from foreign investments (e.g., U.S. dividends to Canadian investors face a 15% withholding in TFSA/Non-Registered accounts). Total Returns: The full picture of an investment’s performance, including both price gains and dividends/distributions. CAGR: The average yearly growth of an investment over time. NAV: The price of one share of a fund (stock or etf) NAV Depreciation: When the fund’s share price goes down over time. Mutual Fund: A pool of money from many investors used to buy a mix of stocks, bonds, or other assets. Bond: A loan you give to a company or government, and they pay you back with interest. Asset: Anything valuable you own that can generate money. Portfolio: Your collection of investments. Option: A contract that gives you the right (but not the obligation) to buy or sell a stock at a set price. Future: A contract to buy or sell something at a set price on a future date. REIT: A company that owns real estate and pays investors income from rent. Alpha: A measure of how much better (or worse) an investment did compared to the market. Beta: A measure of how much an investment moves compared to the market. Sharpe Ratio: A way to see if returns are worth the risk taken. Hedging: Protecting your investments from risk. Rebalancing: Adjusting your portfolio back to your target mix of assets. FCF: Free Cash Flow Understanding these terms makes investing far less intimidating. If anyone feels other terms should be included, please share in the comments. I’ll update this post so we can build a complete beginner-friendly resource together! *Sorry tagged a few etfs for reach 🫣read more
Today, I’m taking a moment to appreciate how far God has brought me. This car means a lot to me because I know the work, patience, and sacrifices that go into building the life you want. It hasn’t always been easy, but I’ve learned to keep going, trust God, and stay focused on my goals. I’ve also learned that you can’t please everybody. Some people will celebrate your progress, while others will question your decisions. That’s life. At the end of the day, you know what you’ve worked for and what it took to get here. I’m grateful for how far I’ve come, and I pray God continues to give me the wisdom to keep growing. Never forget where you started, and don’t be afraid to appreciate how far you’ve made it. ❤️🙏 All thanks and glory to God for this blessing, and special thanks to $SPCX for last week’s trade with my trading community. I’m grateful for the opportunities, the lessons, and everyone who’s been part of the journey. 📖 ECCLESIASTES 3:12–13 “I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.” To me, this verse is a reminder that it’s okay to enjoy what you work hard for. Sometimes we’re so busy chasing the next goal that we forget to appreciate what God has already blessed us with. Not everybody will understand your choices, and that’s okay. I’m just thankful for what God has allowed me to accomplish. All glory belongs to Him. 🙏 🙏 MY PRAYER FOR EVERYONE READING THIS ❤️ Heavenly Father, I pray for everyone reading this post. You know what each person is going through, even the things they don’t share with anybody. You know their worries, their struggles, and the things they’ve been praying for. Lord, please give them strength when life gets hard, peace when their minds are troubled, and hope when things don’t go as planned. Bless their families, provide for their needs, and open doors of opportunity for them. For those who have been working hard and waiting for their prayers to be answered, please give them the patience to keep going and the faith to trust in You. Father, guide their steps, protect their homes, and surround them with people who genuinely want to see them do well. Remind them not to give up just because things are taking longer than they expected. Help them appreciate the little blessings along the way and give You thanks through both the good days and the difficult ones. My prayer is that everyone reading this finds a reason to smile, receives good news, and sees better days ahead. May God bless you and your family, provide for your needs, and give you the strength to keep moving forward. In Jesus’ mighty name, AMEN! 🙏❤️ read more
The greatest loss in 2026 is common sense. I dont like elon. Thats plain to see, but if I had to put a reason to it I would say it is because he is a salesmen first. Just a reminder that powerful people will say what is in there best interest first. We should do what is in our best interest first.
Paramount just closed a $111 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery. 🎬 It's the biggest media acquisition ever. We break down what it means for Hollywood and for investors. One family now sits behind Paramount, HBO, CBS, and CNN. Here's what that means for your money. 👇 https://www.learntolovemoney.com/blogs/paramount-warner-bros-111-billion-deal
$QQQ: Cracks in tech suggest the bearish move will continue, every rally that occurs before clearing 720 will vanish. Semiconductors are under pressure.
Market orders vs limit orders: two ways to place a trade. A market order buys or sells instantly at the best price available right now. It guarantees the trade goes through, but not the price — in a fast move, you can pay more than you expected. A limit order only trades at your price or better. Setting a $210 limit to buy $AAPL means you never pay more than $210 — but if the stock runs higher, your order just sits unfilled. For most beginners, limit orders are the safer default. Not financial advice.
SCHD holders brag about the dividend. VOO holders brag about the growth. 10 years, dividends reinvested: $VOO : 316.5% $SCHD : 244.5% That's a 72 point gap. On $300K that's about $216K left on the table. SCHD's answer: a 3.2% yield vs about 1% for VOO. Cash in hand every quarter. In a rough year, that dividend check feels GOOD. My stance: I'm a growth guy. I want the compounding, not the coupon. Long-term buy & hold for me, I'll take the extra 72 points. But dividends aren't nothing. A payout that shows up rain or shine is real money. Which side are you on? The 3.2% yield now or 72 points of growth over 10 years? Where do you stand? 👀read more
🚨 A DECADE of dividend investing 👨💼 My portfolio is now worth ~$2M 💰 And it pays me roughly $10,500 in dividends EVERY MONTH 💵 8 HIGH INCOME ETFs with ZERO PRICE DECAY that I own or plan on buying!📈🔥 $SCHD 🏆 Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ~3.0% yield ~531% total return Pays quarterly Launched Oct 2011 $QDVO 🏆 Amplify CWP Growth & Income ETF ~11.2% yield ~52% total return Pays monthly Launched Aug 2024 $OVL 🏆 Overlay Shares Large Cap Equity ETF ~10.5% yield ~208% total return Pays monthly Launched Sep 2019 $SEPI 🏆 Shelton Equity Premium Income ETF ~7.9% yield ~27% total return Pays monthly Launched Sep 2025 $IDVO 🏆 Amplify CWP International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF ~6.1% yield ~114% total return Pays monthly Launched Sep 2022 $GPIQ🏆 Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Premium Income ETF ~9.9% yield ~105% total return Pays monthly Launched Oct 2023 $XQQI 🏆 NEOS Boosted Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF ~20.2% yield ~21% total return Pays monthly Launched Jan 2026 $HAKY 🏆 Amplify HACK Cybersecurity Covered Call ETF ~15.0% yield ~48% total return Pays monthly Launched Jan 2026 *Bookmark this one* 🔖👇 read more
Why I Avoid Unprofitable Businesses Like $TE$IREN$CIFR$CRWV$SPCX 1) High Dilution Risk 2) High Stock Based Compensation 3) Highly Unlikely Future Promises 4) Impossible to Value in Times of Panic I want as low as downside volatility with and high upside potential, and I believe that is more achievable with a basket of highly profitable, high growth, low valuation metrics businesses read more
Here are my top 9 most favorite books on the topics of money, investing, and the psychology related to it. 🙂 I have also shared my short takeaways from each of these books: ✅ Reboot Your Portfolio (Dan Bortolotti): By simply "owning the market" through globally diversified index funds, you will almost certainly enjoy better performance than the vast majority of investors who buy actively managed funds or try to pick their own stocks. Over the long term, index funds offer the highest probability of achieving your investment goals. ✅ Atomic Habits (James Clear): If you can get 1% better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done. Focus on making tiny adjustments to your behavior, as small changes lead to lasting improvements. ✅ Die with Zero (Bill Perkins): Maximize meaningful and memorable experiences in your lifetime when you are healthy and have the capacity to do so. Invest in experiences that yield long-lasting memories and pay you regular "memory dividends". ✅ The Simple Path to Wealth (JL Collins): Build a financial cushion (F-You Money) to give you a choice, and invest through low cost, broad-market, diversified index funds. ✅ Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki): Use your money to acquire assets instead of liabilities. ✅ Choose FI (Chris Mamula, Brad Barrett, Jonathan Mendonsa): Achieving Financial Independence requires a plan, much like building a house, but it is not a one-size-fits-all approach and you can tailor it based on your own journey. ✅ Quit Like A Millionaire (Kristy Shen, Bryce Leung, JL Collins): Spend your money on experiences that last a lifetime that on material stuff and consumer debt. ✅ The Psychology of Money (Morgan Housel): Managing your emotional impulses and learning how to behave in face of challenging money decisions, play a crucial role in your financial success. ✅ I will teach you to be rich (Ramit Sethi): Develop a "Conscious Spending Plan" that aligns with your values and financial goals. 📚 Learn More: https://youtu.be/KIXOYvKgtnw ➡️ What are your favorite money/investing/self-development book recommendations?read more
