[James OLC]

Great thread - thanks to everyone for the great discussion and informative insights. Investing is such a fundamental life skill that it really should be part of a basic high school education.

My two bits and my "ten":

1. The easiest way to consistently and (relatively painlessly) invest is through work. take advantage of your companies retirement plan if you can but resist the temptation to just sit on it - sell what you can, when you can to avoid finding yourself over exposed in the company that you already depend on.

2. Try not to too emotional about your investments... Easier said then done but you have to try. This applies to buying, holding, and selling.

3. Find the balance that you're comfortable with... Decide what you can handle risk/return wise and try to avoid investing with regrets. Like Greg has advocated, over the last year I've "abandoned" most stocks that don't pay a dividend in favor of a low risk, "guaranteed" return.

4. Keep in mind that your broker has his own agenda and it's in his best personal interest to sell you specific stocks.

As I mentioned earlier, I've gone the low(er) risk route and have focused on dividend paying stocks. Long story short.... For 3 and a half years i bought in to my old company's retirement savings plan - they matched my contribution up to 11% - at anywhere from around $7 to $11. When I left they were at around $9.50 and my retirement holdings were almost all in the companies stock. After I left the stock tanked, reaching a low of $4.50 before the company was bought by the Chinese for $10.08 - saving my bacon and forcing me to reevaluate my strategy

Now I hold (not in any order):

Enerplus (TSE:ERF) - oil and gas exploration - pays 0.18 a month while trading at 25.90. Good foundation but not a bunch of upside; the yield makes this one work.

Artis Real Estate (TSE:AX.UN) - commercial real estate - pays 0.09 a month and trades at 14.11. Decent growth but again, the yield carries it.

Student Transportation (TSE.STB) - yellow school buses - pays 0.046ish a month and trades at 6.57. steady growth and a good yield.

NAL Energy (TSE:NAE) - oil and gas exploration - pays 0.07 a month and is trading at 7.90. The dividend cant be maintained at this level and has to come down. The stock price/performance reflects this... I dont like it but I'll take the dividends for now.

Parkland Fuel (TSE: PKI) - local refiner/gas station chain - pays 0.085 a month and trades at 12.86. good yield and is performing well over the last quarter.

Temple Real Estate (CVE:TR.UN) - commercial real estate - pays 0.04 a month and trades at 4.90. good yield but limited upside.

Liquor Stores (TSE.LIQ) - liquor stores - pays 0.09 a month and trades at 15.15. good yield and i understand the market.

Petrobakken (TSE.PBN) - oil and gas exploration - pays 0.08 a month and is trading at 13.02. They overpaid for some assets, got hammered by the market, and put together a solid quarter. The yield is lower than some but they're up 40% in the last month or so...

Mullen Group (TSE.MTL) - oil and gas services - pays 0.25 a quarter and tradex at 19.56. One of my weakest yields but sustainable if not exciting)

Americas Petrogas (CVE.BOE) - oil and gas exploration - no dividend but good growth potential. As Greg suggested earlier, i rode this one up 60%, sold the profits, and hope for another run.

With those I see a decent return on the dividends alone. My upside is probably limited on most and its always painful to watch some run up until exdividend date then drop like a rock the day after but it's about as reliable return as I could find.