Want to respond to @ronan's feedback yesterday (and the feedback in the comments) with my own post so my response doesn't get lost in the thread Will start my saying I hear the concerns and am taking them very seriously and this is something I take personal responsibility to fix. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to write out their thoughts and see a ton of passion from everyone in solving these issues. As @ronan mentioned, Blossom has always had a spark and uniqueness and it's our job to make sure that spark doesn't go away as we grow. Here's my summary of the top problems I'm hearing and my plans to fix them: 🤖 1. The rise in AI slop posts crowding quality content - This was the #1 problem raised across the comments and is one we're actively working on. We're following @jacobb's suggestion of an 'AI detection' feature with the ability to see less posts like this. This is set to go live in 3-4 weeks, will see if we can accelerate this 😢 2. Us vs them mentality, hostility especially to new creators - This one is a bit tricky as we don't want to overly police what people say. But there's one example someone gave of a new user being called a loser that are blatantly against our community guidelines of respecting one another. I think the same way we've built in spam/scam detection, we need to do the same for these kinds of comments so we can uphold these guidelines better 🏆 3. Too many milestone posts crowding out quality content - I think there is an important place on Blossom for this kind of content as the milestones are encouraging to other investors in their journey (including myself). I think the issue more so is the volume of them. Curious for folks feeling this issue whether they've tried clicking 'see less posts like this' as that should fix this issue. If not I'll investigate and perhaps not a lot of people know about this feature. I think #1 and #3 stem both stem from the feeling that quality content isn't being rewarded... let me think deeper about how to solve this problem more broadly as I definitely see this too and I don't think fixing AI slop will fully solve this. One commitment I have is to spend much more time connecting with and chatting with Blossom's creators, I want to solve this problem as much as you guys do. One good news is we recently hired our first product manager (who is a Blossom shareholder and creator) who will be fully dedicated to helping me solve this and together we'll have much more time to chat with your all and think about how to solve these problems. 🙏 Let's get Blossom back to the glory days of this community!read more
Okay guys… don’t freak out, but I’m actually not investing my dividend this month! I’ve spent so many years trying to save money and trying to optimize every dollar but I as I accumulate more and more money, I started wondering what the point of it all is, if I can’t enjoy it. I’ve already built a portfolio that can sustain me for YEARS, even without working. So this month, I’m spending my monthly dividend of $188 at Sephora! I wanted to write this post to remind everyone that life is all about balance. Trust me, I’ve had absolutely no balance before - not eating out, not buying ANYTHING for years, skipping lunch to save $20, absolutely no freedom. And for a while, that feeling kept me feeling very safe. But if I could go back in time, I wish I spent more time with my friends, I wish I went out with all my co-workers for drinks after a long shift, I wish I spent some money on hobbies. Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great week, and do something to treat yourself this week. Since you’re on this app and reading my post, I already know you’re the type of person to take their finances seriously so I just want to remind you that you’re doing great and it’s ok to enjoy your money sometimes 🩶
The other day @paulsantori commented on a post of mine talking about taxes and it got me thinking....How many times do we actually get taxed on the same money? I earn income → pay income tax. I buy a house → pay property tax every year. I buy something → pay sales tax. I take my family out for a meal -> more taxes I invest → potentially pay tax on dividends, interest or capital gains. I drive → pay taxes built into fuel. Buy a new car = taxed, buy a luxury car = taxed even more. It feels like the same dollar gets taxed over and over as it moves through the economy. Obviously, taxes pay for the services and infrastructure we all use. I’m not arguing that taxes shouldn’t exist. But it’s still pretty crazy when you stop and think about just how much of your income never actually makes it into your pocket or stays there.... Earn it. Taxed. Own it. Taxed. Spend it. Taxed. And then we wonder why building wealth takes so long. Rip to all those Etfs that I could've bought instead lol read more
$BIGY cut distributions. If you didnt see that coming, you need to understand where your return comes from. Roc is not exactly your own money coming back to you, the fund let it appreciate first.... You give bigy your hard earned $100, they take it invest it into the fund and distribute the diffence. if the fund goes up 30% that year they give you $30 in distributions back, that is technically your own money coming back to you. Why is this a problem sor some funds and not others? It depends on the underlying! bigy is saying they will payout more then the appreciation of the underlying stocks. most people will say this happends from the covered call underwriting however most of these funds actually net zero or loose money on there underwriting. Whats next, is nav erosion or a distribution cut to save the NAV. Most of these funds are overpromising because the market was good recently. in otder to keep that promise you will see it in the nav. $HHIS I have been blowing the whistle on as well. Showing a cool 30% distribution that seems unlikley in a bear market. Writing covered calls alone will bring that distribution up to what? probably not much and if the stocks in the etf dont preform then your just stuck with 2.5% fees for nothing..... All this is to say that total return comes from somewhere and you should defiantly look into where that is. we have enough $MSTE bag holders baiting others into buying there convition, dont be that, really look into the funds you may want to hold. read more
There's so much of it online, including on blossom, so I thought of a way to spot bad/garbage financial advice from finfluencers. Here is a list of common investing misconceptions and improper terminology. If you spot content with this... You know what to do with it! 🗑️ 1. 'My dividend income from an ETF' ... funds give DISTRIBUTIONS. Clear sign of an inexperienced investor 2. 'I made blank%' ... Is it total return? Is it price return aka capital return or is it dividend/distribution yield? Is it time weighted return, money weight return? Is it on initial capital invested or or or. Missing that detail makes the statement meaningless or even ....misleading 🗑️ 3. 'Dividends/distributions are "free money”'... It isn't free money... It comes directly from the stock/fund you're invested in. A clear sign of not understanding how companies and ETFs distribute cash. 4. 'My investment is in the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 etc '.... no, they are indices you invest in the index ETF or mutual fund. There is a difference. Not understanding what an index fund is, and how a product attempts to track it can lead to very poor fund selection. 5. 'ETFs are diversified'.... Factually misleading... it depends completely on the ETF... You need to look under the hood to know the underlying holdings and the effective number of stocks. You could own 5 ETFs of one stock each or a few in a certain sector. The product itself doesn't make it a diversified investment. 6. 'MERs don't matter' ... MERs are a huge determiner of future fund performance and wealth. For example, a 2% MER is 50% LESS total returns for the 'world market' over 30 years. Clear sign of garbage content when disregarding something we can control. This is a basic of financial hygiene. 7. 'A stock is cheap because it's down blank % or because it's down blank % from its ATH' .... Price does not equal valuation... Ever. If you're picking stocks, a falling price could mean many things, including a mature business in decline, permanent decline. 8. 'Risk is volatility' .... Volatility is only ONE form of MEASURING price variance. Returns, time, benchmark, etc needs to be taken into consideration. 9. 'Bonds are safe or bonds don't lose money' .... Bond prices fluctuate and can do so wildly. Bonds may be less volatile than stocks, however, they still carry the risk of losing money and volatility. 10. 'I'm up 20% because my portfolio is larger by 20%' ... Portfolio value can change from CONTRIBUTIONS ... You can lose capital on your investments and contribute more than you lost and say... Hey my portfolio is bigger so I made 20%. Without knowing if new money was added and how much... 11. 'I beat the market' ... 'My performance compared to this benchmark is' would be the accurate way to frame it. One needs to know their twr and the return of 'the market'. W ithout sharing their benchmark and risk metrics, its pretty meaningless... No receipts means throw it in the trash. 12. 'Taking profits' ... You mean realizing a capital gain 🙃 it's just a tax event guys. 13. 'Good company means a good investment' ... Valuations matter and not all good companies are good stocks and vice versa. 14 'Paper loss , paper gain... You mean UNrealized loss or gain. The gain and loss are just not material tax events, that's all. Your portfolio value is your portfolio value at that time nonetheless. Don't think it isn't important just because it's not yet a tax event. 15. "The market is going to crash when .... the market is going to rip when.... buy this ... sell this" .....Predicting market movements, up and down, the duration, start and end dates, essentially macro market timing, has been studied academically for decades. No one can predict the future as much as finfluencers claim.... we cant even predict the weather next season with any accuracy let alone the next few years! These aren't just pedantic corrections. The wrong terminology and concepts often reveals a lack of financial fundamentals and understanding of principles. It could also reveal poor intentions. For example, someone who says “my ETF paid me a 10% dividend” may genuinely believe they've received a 10% RETURN, when they could actually have a fund that distributed 10% while the underlying investment LOST value. That's a much more important mistake than simply using the wrong word.... Be careful with who you follow, the content you ingest. And don't just believe me blindly... Look up financial concepts/terminology if you're unfamiliar with it and build up your knowledge base... once you start connecting the dots... you'll quickly be able to spot a charlatan in seconds of reading a post. Happy Thursday Blossomers!read more
As a Canadian, where should I hold my US DIVIDENDS? 🇺🇸🇨🇦 This is a question I get asked all the time, in fact I was just asked this question on stage at BlossomCon Toronto last month. I go into much further detail in my full-length YouTube video below but here is the quick summary, from worst to best: 👇 ####################### WORST - Non-Registered ❌️❌️ I do NOT recommend holding US dividends in your non-registered account, why? Because you are taxed HEAVILY! US Dividends get the worst tax treatment, there's 2 parts to it: Part 1: Withholding Tax 🇺🇸 US Dividends face a 15% withholding tax that's taken right off the top. So instead of receiving $100 in dividends, you only receive $85. That $15 is taken off immediately and sent to the US government. Thankfully the Canadian government offers a Foreign Tax Credit to avoid double taxation. So you pay the 15% tax on US dividends upfront but then you get that money back from the Canadian government with the tax credit. Part 2: Canadian Tax 🇨🇦 The tax credit helps you "avoid" the US taxes but you CANNOT avoid the Canadian taxes. Unlike Canadian dividends, the Canadian Dividend Tax Credit does NOT apply to US dividends. That means that your US dividends are FULLY taxed at your marginal tax rate. If you make $100K, you're in the second tax bracket so any US dividends you earn, you pay 30% of that in taxes... In contrast, Canadian dividends would only be taxed about 9%.... big difference! ############### Better - TFSA 🥈 The second best account for US dividends is the TFSA. (Note the FHSA will be treated the same as the TFSA here) The TFSA is tax free, from the Canadian side. But you cannot avoid US taxes in the TFSA... So any US dividends you earn in a TFSA will face a 15% withholding tax to the US government. And there's NO WAY to avoid it. You can't claim a foreign tax credit in the TFSA, that 15% is gone. That can hurt but it's still much better than paying 30% or 40% in taxes like you would in a non-registered account. ############### BEST - RRSP 🏆🥇 The BEST account for US dividends is the RRSP. The RRSP is the ONLY account where US dividends are fully tax sheltered. No Canadian taxes inside the RRSP and you waive the 15% withholding tax on US dividends. So if you're expecting $100 in dividends, you receive the full $100. (Note: the LIRA and RRIF also have this exemption on that 15% tax) ############# Important Point #1 - Use USD 🇺🇸 To waive the 15% tax on US dividends, the ETF must be in US Dollars. CAD versions of US ETFs will not work here. I have a whole video and a whole Blossom post about this important point: 👇 https://link.blossomsocial.com/7uYa/me8x9yze ############# Important Point #2 - Ensure the RRSP Makes Sense for You ✅️ Avoiding tax on US dividends is NOT the reason to open an RRSP. Make sure the RRSP makes sense for you based on your income, tax bracket, retirement plans etc. If you're in the bottom tax bracket, the RRSP won't help you. Stick to the TFSA instead. But if you're already using the RRSP, then definitely hold your US dividends there to make the most of those tax savings! Again I go into further detail in my latest YouTube video below, happy investing! 😁 https://youtu.be/rcuXIBtJ1yA?si=MYg-PtHEJewk3qnA read more
I accepted the transfer bonus via Wealthsimple. It’s a 3% payment over 24 month term for my account balance, or approx 1.2 free $XEQT shares per month. Questrade has had my TFSA since 2020, and Wealthsimple since 2024. Combining them will make some actions I do a bit easier, but to be honest, it’s the incentive juicing my returns that is the driving force behind this. Questrade can definitely entice me back down the line if they care to. They sill hold 8 of my other accounts. Anyway- you guys may see a flurry of micro trades - that’s me selling off the fractional shares that WS advised I do before the transfer.
Today is a very special milestone for me. I have reached 5000 followers on Blossom Social 🌼. Honestly, reaching this number for the first time ever feels incredible. When I started sharing my thoughts, posts, ideas, and experiences here, I never imagined that 5000 people would choose to follow along. Every follow, like, comment, reaction, and conversation has meant more to me than you may realize. You are not just a number on a follower count. You are the people who make this community worth being part of… A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has been following me from the beginning, to those who recently joined, and to everyone who has taken the time to interact with my posts. Your support encourages me to keep sharing, learning, and contributing to this amazing community. There will always be days when a post gets little attention or when you wonder whether anyone is actually listening. Then you look at a milestone like 5000 followers and realize that there really is a community of people out there who are interested in what you have to say. I’m genuinely grateful for every single one of you. 🙏 5000 followers is not just my milestone. It’s something we reached together. Thank you for being here. Thank you for following. Thank you for supporting me. And most importantly, thank you for being part of my Blossom Social journey. Here’s to the next chapter, more conversations, more learning, more sharing, and hopefully many more milestones together! 5000 and counting! ❤️ $USCL$QQCL$ENCL$HHIS$MSTE$HBTE$BANK$UTES$BIGY$EASY$QDAY$SDAY$CDAY$YTSL $XUS$QQC$TEC$TECI$CHPS$HEQL$FINN$VCNread more
There's still TIME! 😂 You just have to know how to read and listen to it. 🤓🧠 If you are still looking for a place to lay your head, you may want to try here. Link in Bio. Natural selection is alive and well. 😐 This is the Way! 🏄♀️🌊
Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers remarks after suspending trade negotiations Mark Carney says Canada is walking away from a deal that asked too much and offered too little. He highlighted that Americans sold nearly $600 billion in goods and services to Canadians last year — about $1.6 billion per day. At the same time, the U.S. claims a merchandise trade deficit with Canada, driven largely by energy imports. Canada supplies roughly 99% of U.S. natural gas imports, 85% of electricity imports, and 60% of crude oil imports. Canada will now match new U.S. tariffs dollar-for-dollar, while supporting affected Canadian workers and businesses and accelerating trade diversification beyond the United States. The broader strategy: invest in energy, infrastructure, defence, aerospace, shipbuilding, critical minerals, and Canadian manufacturing. Canada would rather walk away from a bad deal than compromise its sovereignty, strategic industries, or freedom to trade with the world. 🇨🇦 ::: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZTax-P4D1w&t=2584sread more
I’m Canadian and planning to retire in approximately 12–15 years. I currently have about $156,000 invested and contribute roughly $1,500–$2,000 per month. My approximate account breakdown is: • TFSA: about $115,000. Around 78% is XEQT, with the rest in CGL.C, ARTG, ALM, and NXE.TO. • RRSP: about $40,000, invested in XEQT. • Non-registered account: the remaining amount, currently invested in XEQT. • My TFSA is maxed until January, so most new contributions are currently going into the non-registered account. • I’m comfortable with high risk and currently prefer a 100% equity portfolio. I’m not particularly interested in a traditional bonds/GIC-heavy approach at this stage. I originally held VFV but switched to XEQT for better global diversification. XEQT has also performed strongly for me year to date, but I’m trying not to make decisions based only on recent returns. The main question is what to do with the allocation in my TFSA and how to direct future contributions. What would you do? Please vote and explain your reasoning, especially considering diversification, concentration risk, taxes in the non-registered account, and my 12–15-year retirement timeline. My expense are cheap and I don’t need much to retire, I think I can do it on 1.5M I have two vacation properties that are assets with no mortgage on either. Housing I currently rent, as I’m not wanting to be tied down to my current city. Vehicle is almost paid for. Sizeable inheritance coming down the line aswel. read more
We finally did it! After starting our investment journey in 1995 with a financial advisor I also started our own taxable investment portfolio in 1998 and grew it to over 77% of our total stock assets. Our FA held 23% of it and soon it will be zero. I hesitated way too long and should have done this years ago. About half of the assets need to be liquidated because they were in private equity and could not be transferred over in kind. One of the drawbacks to PE is that it takes between 30-90 days to get your money. This move allows us to remove $10k+ in yearly fees, consolidate our stock assets onto one trading platform, better in analyzing our overall performance across all of our accounts, and easier to gauge our upcoming 2027 RIFF withdrawals. We currently have 35% in fixed income/cash in our taxable accounts and another 12%+ more cash coming from our FA. The question is going to be what to do with this new flush of cash?......mostly in our RRSPs. Any suggestions for 2 retiree's in their last 50's-early 60's? You will soon see some changes to my Blossom portfolio % due to adding more investments/cash that will drop our All Time number.read more
I don’t trust any investing strategy I haven’t tested against my own panic. 😅 Turns out there’s science behind that instinct. Kahneman and Tversky found that losses hit us roughly twice as hard as equivalent gains feel good. So when the market drops and you feel like it’s the end of the world? That’s not drama, that’s your nervous system doing exactly what it’s wired to do. Here’s the part nobody tells you: the “perfect” portfolio on paper is worthless if you can’t actually hold it. I’ve watched people build beautifully optimized portfolios, then sell everything the second things got scary, locking in losses right before the recovery. The math was right. The human wasn’t ready. So now I ask a different question before investing in anything: not “what’s the highest return?” but “can I actually sleep at night holding this?” Your body answers that faster than any risk questionnaire. Tight chest, checking your phone every 20 minutes, that’s not weakness, that’s information. 🫀
