U.S. President Richard Nixon ended the U.S. dollar's convertibility to gold in 1971 (see my previous post for details). From that moment, we entered the era of "fiat currency." The Nixon Shock had a massive impact on the global financial system, freeing the U.S. government from the constraints that had previously imposed greater discipline on debt and deficits (money supply and credit access is becoming much easier..) A new era of massive borrowing, persistent deficits, and currency manipulation followed. Over time, financing growing government spending through ever-larger deficits became the norm, and currency erosion became a feature of the system. This has contributed to a significant loss of purchasing power worldwide. This chart reminds us that preserving wealth requires looking beyond nominal returns. What truly matters is maintaining real purchasing power over time. $1,000 held in cash since 1971 would have lost most of its purchasing power today !!! Welcome to the fiat world! Moral of the story: Invest in productive assets such as hard assets, equities, real estate, businesses...dont let your cash idle ! Paper money is ultimately backed by nothing more than trust and confidence...read more
Personally, growing up, life wasn’t so easy for me. There were zero handouts. There was an ugly divorce between my parents that shattered us further financially. And by no means would there ever be a trust fund. But here’s the deal, I am forever grateful for all of it. Why? It built me into a machine. By 31, I hit coast FIRE and now I spend most of the year traveling and living what I call my rich life. I’m sharing this with you all because it wasn’t ever and will never be about the money. Yesterday evening, I walked into a restaurant here in Montenegro overlooking the sunset. The waiter asked me what I wanted upon entering the restaurant as he held a menu up. My reply: “give me your best, no menu needed.” I had fresh sea bass paired with a tasty Greek salad and a glass of local wine. Investors, please do yourself a favor and stop living for money. Live life and experience it all. Money is merely a tool to allow you to experience. Now I’m here to just document my journey to $1M and share how I will be 100% work optional by 35: https://www.instagram.com/ari.gutman?xtok=MTZlYW1ldjNqaHM2bA%3D%3D&utm_source=qrread more
One part of $SOFI that is quietly exploding… Home loan originations just hit a record $1.39B last quarter. That is up roughly 74% YoY, and more than 3x where they were just two years ago. Personal loans get most of the attention, but SoFi is building real momentum across lending.
Just arrived home from a quick trip to London - it was my first time visiting. What a cool city. Full of friendly people. And so much character! Found it super interesting to learn that there’s still very much a ‘saving’ mentality in the UK. But that seems to be changing. Shoutout to Max for delivering an incredible speech (as usual) about Blossom. He presented our platform and mission in a great way and it was very well received by the Brits!
I was able to put 20 percent on a home this year and paid off a car. I could be sad about my portfolio shrinking but I honestly realize I enjoy the journey of building. Everyone should try their best and appreciate everything they have. Dumb post but I just wanted to share some appreciation. $VFV
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
I like this list because it spreads exposure across different bottlenecks instead of relying on one AI winner. My focus: • real demand • competitive advantage • earnings growth • valuation • position sizing Some names are much more speculative than others. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DenFMqaA_8a Not financial advice. DYOR.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.
This week my brokerage paid $7.76 My Roth paid MAGY paid $1.02 HOOW paid $2.59 PLTW paid $2.50 STAG paid $0.87 NVII paid $1.73 YETH paid $1.76 XDTE paid $0.85 QLDY paid twice for $2.02 Down from last weekread more
Here are 🚩3 big flags🚩that signal a company might not be a good investment, and I'll walk you through how to check for each one. (Free Stock Checklist at the end) --- 1️⃣ Declining Revenue or Earnings📉 🛑 Why it’s a red flag:A company with falling revenue or earnings may be losing market share, dealing rising costs, or the overall industry is shrinking. ✅ How to Check for This: A) Look at the Income Statement📊 - Find the company’s total revenue and net income in its latest financial report. Top-line & bottom-line, respectively. - Compare revenue and net income across multiple quarters/years. 3 years or 12 quarters is more than enough to indicate a trend - If both are consistently declining, it’s a warning sign. B) Check Earnings Reports🗂️ - Look at the company’s quarterly earnings reports to see if they’ve missed expectations multiple times. C) Compare to Competitors🔍 - Is the entire industry struggling, or just this company? 📚Website for financial reports: https://www.marketwatch.com/ --- 2️⃣ High Debt Levels 🛑 Why it’s a red flag:Companies with a capital structure heavily debt-reliant are more vulnerable in economic downturns and might struggle to repay obligations. ✅ How to Check for This: A) Find the Debt-to-Equity Ratio (D/E)📊 - Go to the company’s Balance Sheetin its latest report. - Find Total Debt and Total Equityand calculate: Debt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Debt ÷ Total Equity** - A D/E ratio above 2.0 (varies by industry) is usually risky. B) Check Interest Coverage Ratio🔍 - Look at the Income Statement for EBIT (Earnings Before Interest & Taxes). - Find Interest Expense and calculate:Interest Coverage Ratio = EBIT ÷ Interest Expense - If this ratio is below 1.5, the company may struggle to pay interest. 📚 Resources: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/debtratio.asp#:~:text=Key%20Takeaways&text=A%20company's%20debt%20ratio%20can,has%20more%20assets%20than%20debt --- 3️⃣ Poor Cash Flow 🛑 Why it’s a red flag:A company can be profitable on paper but still run out of cash to fund operations. ✅ How to Check for This: A) Find the Cash Flow Statement📜 - Look at Operating Cash FlowOCF). - If OCF is negative for multiple quarters, the company may be in trouble. B) Check Free Cash Flow (FCF)💰 - Free Cash Flow = Operating Cash Flow - Capital Expenditures - A company with negative FCF can’t reinvest in growth without taking on debt. 📚 Read more about Cash flow: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/07/easycashflow.asp ___________________________________________ Thanks for reading, I am open to engage in friendly conversations so I encourage you to leave a comment!💬 Access my free stock checklist at the link below⬇️ https://investingwithcole.gumroad.com/l/stockchecklist read more
Originally published on Blossom on April 30th, 2024 Please find retrospective commentary at the end. What TIMING? Today we add an ultimate tool to our kit just in TIME for its first use. I love TIMING. Think hammer/screwdriver - because this is one to use quarterly in our double-digit annualized return mission. For those new/fairly new to this series, I ask that you re-read KTS #11 and KTS #19 before proceeding. We learned that 78% of the trading volume is performed by INSIDERS (Institutional + company insiders as defined by KTS #11). INSIDERS are the market makers - and we as INVESTORS accept we can’t beat ALL INSIDERS, but we can beat MOST INSIDERS and nearly all INVESTORS. We also learn in this series that we listen, read, and TIME markets following early INVESTORS movements. We don’t buy stocks in perpetual declining patterns or sideways for-who-knows-how-long patterns (KTS #10). Hope is not a successful investment strategy despite being the most popular one. When the fundamentals, the technicals, and the INSIDERS activity align, we come in and ride that surf. So hammer time – let’s go! In KTS #19, we identified a tool to watch INSIDERS (1) & (2), officers/directors. Today, we target the WHALES of INSIDERS, (3) the Institutions, Hedge/Mutual funds, etc. So how do you monitor their buys/sells – after all, these guys aren’t just buying 50,000 shares. They accumulate positions over weeks in the hundreds of thousands to multi-million shares in a company. Quick fact: they will use ALL investment vehicles available to build a position of their targeted size to do it. That’s options, preferred stock, open market stock, warrants, convertible derivatives, etc. AND THEY WILL DO THEIR BEST TO ACCUMULATE THE SHARES WITHOUT INVESTORS BEING ABLE TO DETECT THEM. Because, if INVESTORS catch on, they will not be able to build the profitable position size. The wolves fight among themselves… and certainly any other species (INVESTORS) to rip every piece of meat off the carcass and chase them away until they're finished. And being nocturnal, they attempt to go completely unnoticed while the INVESTORS are sleeping. But, by law, these WHALES have to report their holdings (for each stock, the number of shares they own) by 6 weeks after the quarter ends. So 4x a year. So when do you think most all of these whales file the form if they don’t want you to catch on? That’s right - THE VERY LAST DAY THEY HAVE TO IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH THE LAW! So once March ends (1Q), 6 weeks later puts us at the 2nd Friday of May. 2Q - June 30 + 6 weeks = 2nd Friday of August. 3Q is then Friday of the 2nd week of November. 4Q is the 2nd Friday of February. The weekend right after these come out are major homework weekends, if you really want to outperform the market and realize ridiculous profits. This SEC form (13-HR/13F) at the SEC EDGAR site is filled with all kinds of nuggets. And I give you this hammer as an investment housing warming gift. Shown above, we are coming up on a big release by all of the funds on May 10th (some actually file on Thursday just to make sure they beat compliance). So you have time to get ready. Ok, so I know what to look for and when to look for it. But which funds should I look at? And how do you do it? Here’s some pointers: Find an ACTIVELY MANAGED FUND THAT HAS A HISTORICAL DOUBLE-DIGIT ANNUALIZED RETURN, and start there. We know mutual funds, ETFs, and hedge funds are dilutive-by-design investment vehicles. If these fund managers are realizing 15% annualized returns, then you know some stocks are the workhorses that are carrying all the weight of the underperformers, such that when all securities in the fund are averaged together, it brings the collective fund performance DOWN to the 15% annualized return in our example above. So if we just track these successful INSIDER WHALES - and instead of buying their fund - just buy the gross outperforming stocks within their fund that carry all of their underperforming stocks (baggage) and still beat the S&P500, then we will absolutely kill the S&P500. Get it? You can go find a find right now, and download its last 8 (or even more if so inclined) FORM 13-HRs (2 years, 1 per quarter, right?). And you can see them building positions into stocks before it shows up in the market. Then, when these breakout technically, we pile in with our measly 500 shares. Amazing, huh? Didn’t I tell you this Knowledge Transfer Series gives you some amazing meat? You will learn all kinds of insight about stocks, markets, and cycles here – we are just getting started. You will learn why the market behaves like it does around these releases too. I have been successfully using this method for over 25 years with amazing results. We are humans and we have brains - so let’s use them against the humans that don’t use them (Conventionalist indexers). As INVESTORS that share the vast ocean waters with these INSIDERS, we are either plankton or barnacles to these whales - choose barnacle and ride along. Retrospective commentary - October 17th 2026 This is another great re-read. The first paragraph is golden and very, very relevant right now. Read it a 2nd TIME to make sure it is ingrained in the membrane: “For those new/fairly new to this series, I ask that you re-read KTS #11 and KTS #19 before proceeding. We learned that 78% of the trading volume is performed by INSIDERS (Institutional + company insiders as defined by KTS #11). INSIDERS are the market makers - and we as INVESTORS accept we can’t beat ALL INSIDERS, but we can beat MOST INSIDERS and nearly all INVESTORS. We also learn in this series that we listen, read, and TIME markets following early INVESTORS movements. We don’t buy stocks in perpetual declining patterns or sideways for-who-knows-how-long patterns (KTS #10). Hope is not a successful investment strategy despite being the most popular one. When the fundamentals, the technicals, and the INSIDERS activity align, we come in and ride that surf.” We recently published our study of over 10 13Fs for the second quarter. Released on August 17th, it gave us AMAZING insight into which ocean currents the whales are currently following. Here’s an excerpt from our analysis, published as KTS #113: “ [...] But who do you align with? The whales. 🐋🐳 Because they move the markets. And the only thing you really care about is price movements over TIME. Did you get that? I’ll say it again. The only thing you really care about is price movements over TIME. Simple as that. So attaching yourself like a barnacle to a whale is how to generate outsized returns over TIME…..because the WHALES (institutions) have pools of capital to deploy into equities. They move markets. So why do we do it? 🤔 Two reasons: (1) A phenomenal place to identify potential stock candidates to invest in for outsized returns. 🤑 AND (2) A tool to forecast where the market is headed. 😃 Those seem like good reasons to do it, right? 🤣😂 Now you know why Beskar hasn’t missed a single opportunity to observe these whale events over the last 31 years! 🤑🤑🤑 [...] Today, we get to go directly to the insight. 🫡 Why? Because this is a critical TIME in the real estate/banking crisis cycle. The age of chaos and volatility is here and whales can help guide us through the choppy waters. [...] Whales are constantly making moves. Albeit slow moves. Whales are huge beasts – they don’t turn 180 degrees like a predator shark in the water. No, the whales take a long TIME to change in such a direction. [...] So realize that whales typically scale INTO positions. And then the scale OUT OF positions. And this process typically takes many, many quarters …….even years to complete. A slow turning mammal indeed. [...] The important thing to understand is that we can watch the whales in their environment by tracking them. And we get clues throughout the year. The great news for you? As a Beskar Capital member? We do the number crunching…..and the analysis for you! 😎🏖️🌴🏄♀️🌊🏄♂️🌊🏄🌊🐚🐳🐋 It is a massive undertaking as there are several nuances in processing and visualizing these datasets from all of the whales we follow. And the whales play tricks on you. They purposely change equity listing spellings to throw off any key field database joins or relates. In other words, they don’t want you to follow them!!! 😂🤣 And most we don’t want to follow most of them anyway. 🤔🤓🧠 What? After all of that explanation. We don’t want to follow most whales? That’s right. You see. The secret to Beskar’s approach is to hone in on the whales that have ……….” That’s all for Blossom/X 🤣 If you want to see which whales Beskar Capital follows and what insights Beskar Capital gleaned from them, a membership is probably your best option…. So what are you waiting for? Natural selection is alive and well. I always give you my best! 🏆 This is the Way! 🏄🌊 read more
$RKLB just announced a delay for the unnatural Neutron launch to 2027. That one stinks for holders. Not a great day to announce it. Nail in the coffin. Just wow. Just gotta accept it, no other choice. I don’t even think I’ll have ice cubes, maybe just grass.read more
📈 My investment strategy is boring. And honestly, boring has been winning for me. I don't chase the next hot stock. I don't try to predict the market. And I definitely don't feel the need to trade every day to build wealth. Instead, I invest in ETFs like VFV and XEQT. Why? Because I've learned that building wealth doesn't have to be complicated. 📊 VFV gives me exposure to 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. through the S&P 500. 🌎 XEQT gives me diversified exposure to thousands of companies across Canada, the U.S., and international markets. Rather than trying to pick the next winning company, I'd rather own a piece of many of them. My strategy is simple: Invest consistently. Keep my costs low. Reinvest and let compounding do its work. Stay invested through market ups and downs. Think in decades, not days. I've been investing for years, and one of the biggest lessons I've learned is that you don't need to be constantly doing something to make progress. Sometimes the hardest part of investing is simply having the patience to do nothing. No panic selling. No chasing hype. No trying to get rich overnight. Just consistency, discipline, and time. And watching my portfolio grow over the years has only reinforced why I believe in this approach. Boring doesn't mean you're losing. Sometimes boring is exactly how you win. 🌱 Of course, ETFs still carry risk, and past returns don't guarantee future results. This is simply what's worked for me. 💬 Are you a long-term ETF investor, or do you prefer picking individual stocks? #ETFInvesting #VFV #XEQT #WealthBuilding #LongTermInvesting #FinancialFreedom #CanadianInvestors #WomenWhoInvestread more
🚀 From a Struggling Chipmaker to an AI Computing Powerhouse! Can strong leadership transform a struggling company into a global technology leader? Dr. Lisa Su has spent 12 years proving it can. 📅 October 2026 marks 12 years since she became AMD's CEO in 2014. Here's what investors can learn. 👇 1️⃣ THE GREAT AMD TURNAROUND 🔄 When Su became CEO, AMD faced financial difficulties and fierce competition. She refocused the company on high-performance computing, engineering innovation and disciplined execution. AMD rebuilt its competitive position against Intel and NVIDIA. 2️⃣ INNOVATION CHANGED EVERYTHING 💻 Su helped drive AMD's transformation through: 🚀 Ryzen: Revitalized PC processors. 🏢 EPYC: Expanded data-center computing. 🤖 Instinct: Entered the AI accelerator market. These products helped establish AMD as a major competitor in advanced computing. 3️⃣ STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS 🤝 Three important deals expanded AMD's capabilities: 🔹 Xilinx (2022): ~$49B acquisition strengthening adaptive computing. 🔹 Pensando (2022): Expanded data-center networking. 🔹 ZT Systems (2025): Strengthened AI systems expertise. Together, these moves positioned AMD beyond traditional processors. 4️⃣ AMD BY THE NUMBERS 📊 FY2025 (USD) 💰 Revenue: $34.6B (+34%) 🤖 Data Center Revenue: $16.6B 💵 GAAP Net Income: $4.3B 📊 Gross Margin: 50% Q2 2026 🚀 Revenue: $11.5B 💰 Gross Margin: 54% AMD's annual revenue grew from approximately $5.5B in 2014 to $34.6B in 2025. 5️⃣ CHALLENGES & RISKS ⚠️ Despite its success, AMD faces: ⚠️ Intense competition from NVIDIA and Intel. ⚠️ Dependence on external chip manufacturers. ⚠️ AI spending cycles and export restrictions. ⚠️ High innovation costs and rapid technological change. 6️⃣ THE NEXT CHAPTER: AI 🤖 Lisa Su remains AMD's Chair and CEO. Her next challenge is expanding AMD's position in AI infrastructure through Instinct accelerators, EPYC processors and advanced data-center systems. Can AMD turn growing AI demand into sustainable profits and shareholder value? 📚 THE INVESTOR LESSON ✅ Strong leadership and execution can revive a struggling business. ✅ Innovation and strategic acquisitions can build competitive advantages. ✅ Long-term growth must translate into sustainable profitability and cash flow. 💡 THE REAL UNCLE SAM TAKEAWAY Lisa Su transformed AMD by combining technical expertise, strategic focus and consistent execution. Her legacy demonstrates that rebuilding a company's competitive strength can create opportunities for long-term growth. 💭 LET'S TALK, BLOSSOM COMMUNITY! 🌱 What best defines Lisa Su's legacy? 🚀 AMD's turnaround 💻 Ryzen and EPYC innovation 🤝 Strategic acquisitions 🤖 Expansion into AI 👇 Which achievement will matter most for AMD's future? The Real Uncle Sam Making Financial Education Simple. Learn. Invest. Build Wealth. 📚 SOURCES • AMD FY2025 Financial Results • AMD Q2 2026 Financial Results • AMD Annual Reports and Corporate History ⚠️ Educational purposes only. This content is not intended as financial or investment advice.read more
I've been really MIA on Blossom since the passing of my sister... It's given me a lot of time to reflect on things. I still enjoy everything about finance and check my portfolio often, but I really want to stress the importance of realizing why we are doing this. What is the end goal of all of this? Seeing a loved one go in their early 30s is difficult, and it's made me realize that the time we have on this planet is really, really short. I have come to the realization that staring at numbers and watching them grow isn't as important as spending some of that time with loved ones. I want to start taking the kiddos on more vacations, buy the van that the wife wants, and try to see my parents more. The key for me will still be to be responsible with my finances, but instead of waiting for that next portfolio goal, waiting for the kids to grow older, or waiting to retire... why not live now? The whole point of becoming wealthy is to USE THE WEALTH, not to stash more and more so we can become so rich that we never actually enjoy the short time we are given on Earth. When the drunk driver went head on with her Uber vehicle, I truly believe she had no clue, could've just been chilling on her phone in the back then dead the next second...goes to show our life could end at any second and we might not even realize it. This post isn't saying we shouldn't be financially responsible, but that we should also enjoy life today... Tell your loved ones you love them, and use your finances to better your life. Willread more
ETFs vs stocks: the tradeoff in one sentence. One stock is a bet on a single business; an ETF is a basket of many. With a stock like $NVDA, you capture the full upside when the company wins — and the full pain when it stumbles. An ETF like $SPY spreads you across hundreds of companies, so one bad earnings report barely moves the needle. But you also give up the shot at a ten-bagger. Neither choice is "right." The real question is how much risk you can live with — and how much research you want to do. Not financial advice.
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.
📊 Investors rotated out of AI and into value as another hot inflation print landed. The Dow jumped 1.08%, the S&P 500 added 0.33% and the Nasdaq edged up 0.08% after being down 1.4% at its low. September PPI rose 1.3% on the month and 6.3% on the year, the biggest gains since 2022. 🤖 Anthropic’s third quarter revenue grew to $16.8 billion from $11.6 billion in the second, sources told CNBC, a slower sequential climb than the jump from $4.7 billion in Q1. Some traders read it as too slow to justify the run in chipmakers, though the Financial Times reported the company turned cash flow positive in the quarter. ☁️ CoreWeave ($CRWV) rebounded 5.94% to $69.69 after sinking as much as 9.5% in the morning. Deutsche Bank’s Brad Zelnick called Wednesday’s 15% drop a buying opportunity, arguing the company is scaling responsibly with near-term liquidity in decent shape. 🐊 Crocs ($CROX) spiked 6.15% to $124.77 after Barclays upgraded it to overweight and lifted its target 18% to $139. Analyst Adrienne Yih pointed to direct-to-consumer strength, promotional discipline and growth coming from newer franchises rather than the Classic Clog. 🏦 Bank of America ($BAC) got an upgrade to outperform from Baird, which kept its $62 target for 21% upside. The firm called Wednesday’s selloff overdone and likes the 2027 net interest income outlook, despite yesterday’s earnings miss and higher expenses. 💾 Chip stocks fell for an eighth straight session, the longest slide for the iShares Semiconductor ETF since 2015, down more than 15% over the stretch. Seagate ($STX), Western Digital ($WDC) and SK Hynix extended losses on memory glut fears, with Elon Musk posting that China will be making a lot of RAM in 2028. 📉 The Russell 2000 fell into correction Wednesday, ending 11% below its August 14 record close. Breadth improved elsewhere though, with more than half of S&P 500 names back above their 200-day moving averages, up from about 40% in late September. 👨🏻💻 Researched and written daily by @timeminoread more
How does a 16-year-old build a six-figure stock portfolio? In this episode of the Retail Rundown Podcast, 16-year-old Charan from New Jersey shares how he went from a 7th grade stock market competition to running a six-figure portfolio, while building 240K+ followers on Instagram and a 30,000-member Discord community along the way. That journey has included some huge swings, including a nearly $100K win on $PENG options and a $60K options loss on $AAOI that completely changed how he sizes trades, takes profits, and cuts losses. Charan explains how he researches stocks using AI and social media, why he’s bullish on memory stocks like $SNDK and $MU, why he bought $NBIS after Michael Burry went short, and why he thinks dropping out of high school to day trade is a mistake https://youtu.be/ZZ_PetTNbBo?si=QSEmMhrjwRYQ9Alw
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. read more
Is it okay to pause investing when life gets expensive? And how much does having kids really change your family budget? Welcome back to Episode 24 of Financial KarMoe! This time, @karyungtom and I talked about the financial realities of raising a family. We share our experiences with slowing down investments, the impact of parental leave on household income, preparing for major home repairs, and why paying down your mortgage can also be part of building your net worth. We also discuss whether it's worth continuing to invest small amounts when you need to focus on other financial priorities. 📈 We get into covered-call ETFs, investment fees, and why comparing portfolio returns isn't always as straightforward as it looks. Kar explains why it's important to distinguish between comparing investment strategies and trying to isolate the impact of fees. We also touch on why covered-call ETFs may lag during a rapid Bitcoin rally. 🧸 And because we're both dads, we talk about the expenses that come with raising kids, from daycare and extracurricular activities to toys, family vacations, and airfare. We even share some thoughts on buying secondhand to save money and the challenges of finding time for a date night when you have little ones at home. Shoutout to @matt.41, @cjs033, @noviceadvisor whose questions/comments we featured. 💬 We'd love to hear from you: What's the biggest expense that has increased since you had kids? Let us know in the comments! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1MRpfzzoxQread more
📊 Hot inflation data and an AI selloff pulled stocks lower. The Nasdaq fell 1.88%, the S&P 500 dropped 1.11% and the Dow slipped 0.09%. September CPI rose 0.6% on the month and 3.7% on the year, above the 3.6% expected, with core at 0.3% and 2.6%, both a tick hot. ☁️ CoreWeave ($CRWV) nosedived 15.46% to $65.78 as worries mounted about how much debt tech companies outside the Magnificent Seven are taking on for the AI buildout. Its bonds got hit too, with the 2032 notes yielding 14.8%. Oracle ($ORCL) fell almost 9%. 🏦 Bank of America ($BAC) declined almost 5% after third quarter revenue missed. Regulators also hit the bank with more than $1.2 billion in federal penalties for failing to report over $5 billion in suspicious transactions. Morgan Stanley ($MS) beat expectations but still closed nearly 3% lower. 🥄 Bending Spoons ($BSP) ripped 41.20% to $53.46 after filings showed Berkshire Hathaway put another $330 million into the Italian serial acquirer, taking its stake to 4%. That follows $600 million invested during July’s Nasdaq IPO. 🥇 Morgan Stanley sees gold reaching $5,000 an ounce by the second quarter of 2027, keeping it as the bank’s top commodity pick. Strategist Amy Gower says central bank buying and ETF inflows have pushed prices above $4,000 even though the old relationship with real yields would put gold under $3,000. 🛢️ U.S. oil majors hit record intraday highs as crude climbed on Saudi-Houthi fighting and Iranian attacks on Hormuz shipping. Exxon reached $177.36, Chevron $222.20 and ConocoPhillips $142.50. WTI settled up 1.01% at $95.09, with gasoline averaging $4.33 a gallon against $3.08 a year ago. 👨🏻💻 Researched and written daily by @timemino read more
Tony retired in 2024 in his 30s with a portfolio size of just over $850,000. Can Income Investing Fund Early Retirement?! In this interview I talk to him to better understand what it took for him and his wife to walk away from their job in their 30s and live off their investments. We'll see hportfolio built around covered-call ETFs and investment income actually sustain early retirement? Tony, better known as @onemadtony on YouTube and Blossom, is a Vancouver-area investor who left the workforce in 2024 with approximately $850,000 invested. His portfolio has since grown to around $1.23 million, even after withdrawing more than $100,000 over roughly two and a half years. Tony shares his unconventional journey from early trading and dividend investing to covered-call ETFs, income investing, and financial independence in his late 30s. We explore how he structures his portfolio, manages retirement withdrawals, and balances investment income with long-term growth. In this interview, we discuss: 🟣How Tony's upbringing shaped his relationship with money and investing. 🟣 Why his mother's cancer diagnosis changed his perspective on work, retirement, and time with family. 🟣How he and his wife decided they could afford to leave their jobs. 🟣 His three-part portfolio strategy: living expenses, long-term core holdings, and a more flexible investing account. 🟣 Covered-call ETFs, distributions, and why a high yield doesn't automatically mean a sustainable return. 🟣 His real-life experiment comparing his income portfolio against $XEQT , $VFV , $QQC , and $HYLD under the same withdrawals. 🟣 Retiring with an approximate 5–7% annual withdrawal rate, keeping a cash reserve, and managing risk. 🟣 The psychological appeal of investment income versus selling shares to fund retirement. 🟣 Why understanding the risks of income investing is just as important as understanding its benefits. 🟣 What financial independence has taught Tony about enjoying the journey instead of waiting until you reach your goal. One of Tony's biggest takeaways is that financial independence isn't just about reaching a portfolio target. It's about having the freedom and flexibility to spend time with loved ones when it matters most. Tony also offers a thoughtful perspective on the income-investing debate: the strategy that works best on paper isn't necessarily the one that helps you feel comfortable enough to stick with it. But before relying on high-distribution ETFs to fund retirement, it's essential to understand where the distributions come from, the potential trade-offs, and what could go wrong. 🍿Fun Facts: Tony shares how @mr.financial is one of his most favorite Blossomers with his detailed, in-depth videos/posts which create good engagement. 😃 Also similar to @karyungtom, he plays and is a big fan of Magic: The Gathering! 💬 I'd love to hear from you: If you were financially independent today, would you prefer to live off investment distributions or sell a small percentage of your portfolio each year? Why? ... For me personally, I am comfortable enough to sell a small portion of my portfolio, as that way I could have more control over how much money I can withdraw and could potentially lower tax implication based on a more optimized drawdown strategy. https://youtu.be/GmRSZ-v4BO8read more
What’s the most important thing you look for when researching a stock and finding a winner? What are the things that a stock must have in order for you to own it? Let me know below, i’m super curious!
After nearly 21 years of picking individual dividend growth stocks, I finally reached a point where I had to ask myself the big question.... Do I want to spend the next 40 or 50 YEARS doing this???? When I started investing, I LOVED stock picking. I enjoyed reading quarterly reports, going through investor presentations, comparing valuations and trying to figure out which company in my portfolio was the best place to put my next dollar. And .... I still enjoy it!!! However, after nearly 21 years of doing it, I started looking at the amount of time I was spending versus what I was actually getting in return.... There is a pretty important distinction between being good at researching companies and actually being able to consistently OURPERFORM a broad market index AFTER fees, taxes, mistakes and all the other things that come with trying to beat the market AND add in the time you spent that could have been spent elsewhere, like at my day job. And the empirical data wasn't exactly making me feel better about my odds... it had been glaringly obvious for years. So I did something I never thought I would do as a lifelong stock picker..... I sold EVERY. SINGLE. STOCK. in my TFSA. And then I moved into 7 broad market ETFs 3 of which factor tilt. I still kept some factor tilting because apparently I wasn't quite ready to give up my active investing addiction entirely 🤪 The biggest change for me wasn't actually my portfolio.....It was my LIFE. I was spending easily 10 plus hours a week researching, monitoring and thinking about my investments. And even when I wasn't sitting at my computer, there was always that little part of my brain wondering whether I should be doing something differently. Now?.... My portfolio requires a fraction of the time. I've gained back more than 10 hours a week that I can spend with my wife, working on the things I actually care about or frankly just existing without thinking about whether some company I own is going to miss its earnings estimate by 3 cents and start to crash.. You can put any of the billion scenarios into that sentence and I was thinking of it (ADHD brain). The reduction in stress has been even more valuable than the time. I didn't even REALIZE I was carrying that market stress around... but my wife sure noticed! I'm no longer constantly asking myself whether I picked the right stock, whether I should sell something, whether I'm missing an opportunity or whether I'm doing enough to outperform the market. The funniest thing is.... well not really funny, kind of sad, after almost 21 years of trying to become a better stock picker, I ended up realizing that maybe the better decision was to stop trying so hard to be one. There was still one question I couldn't answer until enough time had passed.... Did I actually make the right decision? It's now been 10 months since I made the change. It's still a very short period of time... but enough to short out my feelings on things. I've just finished my latest portfolio update, where I go through all 7 ETFs, exactly how I've structured the portfolio, how I'm using factor tilts, and most importantly... What actually happened over those 10 months.... and how did the portfolio perform compared to my benchmark and the S&P 500. https://youtu.be/3khfZJ7SY0g I'm not going to spoil the results here..... watch to see whether I regret walking away from over two decades of stock picking.read 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
