I started DividendStrategy.ca almost three years ago with the first ever online Beating the TSX update. What was the motivation to start a blog? When I was asked to start writing the BTSX articles for the Canadian Moneysaver magazine, I thought, “Why should such an easy, powerful strategy only be available to subscribers, and only once a year?”. And so it began.
But, as a DIY investor, I’m interested in a lot more than BTSX and dividend investing. I’ve tried hard to make DIY dividend investing as easy as possible with posts like:
But I’ve also explored deeper questions, like “What is money for?” in posts like:
There are a lot of blogs that peter out after a year or two. I, on the other hand, feel like I’m just getting started. Writing is fun, it helps me connect with other people with similar interests, and it gives me a reason to keep learning and refining that knowledge. Most of all, I am honoured to be in a position to share what I have learned with you.
As you might imagine, there is also a lot of learning that is specific to running a blog. Writing well is just one of them. There’s also a TON of technical skills to develop, graphic design, SEO, and, yes, marketing considerations. After all, what’s the point of running a blog if no one is there to read it?
It turns out, I love pretty much everything about blogging. I love how it makes me a more competent steward of our family’s finances. I love how I can write what I really think and discover that those beliefs resonate with you too. And, most of all, I love that I can add value to the world by helping other DIY investors on their paths.
And so, the time has come for a change. After three years, it’s time to make the blog better. The wrinkles have (mostly) been ironed out, I know who I am as a blogger, and we have built a community of 2000+ email subscribers. It’s amazing to me that hundreds of people visit DividendStrategy.ca every single day.
Here’s what’s going to change.
Our look
The old look is a little too . . . corporate – not really the vibe I’m going for. I love graphic design and have enjoyed the process of creating something more personal. In fact, the whole blog is going to have a little more “Matt” in it going forward. Here’s what to expect:
New content
All the same content will exist on the new blog, with a couple of new features. The screenshot above is a sneak peak at one of them: “Favourites”. On that page you’ll find my favourite books, blogs, podcasts and other things that I have found, and still find, valuable.
You might also notice a “Work with me” page where people can learn about the kinds of topics I might be able to help them with in terms of freelance writing, speaking engagements, etc.
This blog is at a stage where there is monetary value in the things I do. I won’t lie – that feels really good, but I refuse to put up a paywall for BTSX info or plaster the site with ads. Instead, I’m exploring ways to add value with related work.
I am also exploring taking on “affiliates”, albeit VERY selectively. I respect you, the reader, and care deeply about the integrity of DividendStrategy.ca, so I will only affiliate with products and services that I truly believe in and can vouch for. One of the first will be QTrade, the amazing discount brokerage that I’ve been using myself for over ten years. Frankly, they deserve the business, and readers of this blog will be entitled to incentives not available elsewhere.
Posts: more frequent and more variety
Up until now I’ve generally posted only once a month. From now on, I’m going to at least double my posting frequency.
At the same time, you can expect even more variety in the content of the posts: more personal stories – successes AND failures, interviews, and recommendations. I spend a lot of time learning about personal finance and investing; why not curate the best of it and send it your way?
More for charity
Thank you to those who have donated to the blog over the past year – you know who you are. I see every one and deeply appreciate the gesture. Total donations to this point were $1240, which means that our charity, Doctors Without Borders, has received $248 – thanks to you!
Going forward, I am going to increase the portion of blog donations that go to charity from 20% to 50%.
Here is what I have been reading, watching, and listening to:
To close this email, I thought I’d share the best of what I’ve been reading and listening to over the last few weeks – enjoy!
Blogs
Nick was one of my favourite bloggers, even when I thought he was a dogmatic index investor. With this post he turned his attention to dividend-paying stocks and revealed that it’s dividends, not capital gains that drive the majority of stock market returns.
Mark runs the Canadian investing blog, My Own Advisor. His recent post looking at Canadian dividend ETFs is certainly worth a look for those who prefer not to buy individual stocks.
Podcast
I’ve been binging episodes of The MapleMoney Show. Tom’s a great interviewer and often the short format (~30min) is perfect for my attention span while not sacrificing quality of content. This one is from last month, but really stuck with me. I love investing in Canada’s big banks, but it’s good to know what might be up and coming.
The MapleMoneyShow: How Technology is Challenging Canada’s Big Five Banks, with Andrew Chaw
Book
I just finished reading The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel and it is fantastic. The basic premise is that you can’t be good at money just by studying money; you have to understand yourself and your own psychology.
In my opinion this is the key to building wealth effectively. It’s also the key to enjoying that wealth. This book is incredibly well written. Every chapter is a short, beautiful explanation of a single profound concept. It’s so good you’ll want to read it quickly, but I would recommend sticking to one chapter per day.
Great work Matt…..I love every bit of it. Keep it up, I’d sorely miss your wisdom and writing skills.
Thank you, Eve. I really appreciate that 🙂
Congrats!
Just don’t neglect the BTSX
Fair enough, Jacob. I’m sure you’re not alone on that one. BTSX is too important to neglect.
Congrats on the new look and the new invigorated dividendstrategy.ca!! It all sounds very exciting and I’m looking forward to seeing the new version live!
I’ve always appreciated your posts and the engagement you maintain with your readers
Thanks, James, that’s how I feel about it too – invigorated. A bit more work to be done, then I’ll switch it over. Fingers crossed for the transition.
Wow! Exciting developments. I listened to TheMapleMoney Show for an hour. Great stuff.
Tom does a great job. Feels good to spread the word about high quality content.
The new look is very good
Glad you like it, Marko. I have pages and pages of ideas and iterations, but once I landed on this one it really stuck.
Congrats on the new look and thanks for all you do !!
Thanks, Gus
Thank you Matt. I started investing in April/2020 and cannot tell you how much more confidence I have going forward, in great part to you. Don ‘t be going anywhere soon!
It sure has been a good 1.5 years since you started investing! I’ll still be here for all the ups and downs.
Sharp and clean new look! Looking forward to the more frequent posts.
Thanks, Reiner. There’s no shortage of inspiration and I’m looking forward to sculpting more ideas into posts.
Enjoy your writing Matt. Presently I’m with Wealth Simple after they took over Canadian ShareOwners. I find they are expanding their product but wonder how u compare them with Qtrade?
Wealthsimple is a “robo advisor”, although I prefer the term “automated advisor”, so doesn’t really compare to a full service discount brokerage like QTrade. Still, there is a role for automated advisors and QTrade has come out with their own called Virtual Wealth. I’m anxious to try it and will report back, if possible even doing a head to head with Wealthsimple.
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