So in 1992 the top 5% of Canadians had 21% of the wealth.  As of 2004, they have 25%, according to a stats can release a couple days ago.  The rest of us middle-income earners haven’t had much of a change.

More intriguing stats:

To be in the top 5%, you need an annual income of $89K. (in the US, you’d need $165K)

1 in 4 of the top 5% is a woman.

If you’re tempted to be bitter, take some consolation – the top5% paid 36% of the taxes CRA received.

Huge disclaimer: I am a Canadian money coach. I help people with the day-to-day financial issues like monthly cashflow/budgeting, getting out of debt, relationship with money. I am NOT a credentialed financial planner so today’s post is not professional advice – in fact, it’s not advice at all. It’s simply what I am going to do as someone who makes her own investment choices (and does a fine job, if I might add).

Here are 3 stocks I like:

1. Apple. After a lifetime of being on the fringe, dwarfed entirely by Microsoft, I believe they are going to take giant strides into the market – and not just the pc market, the electronics market. The Ipod, safari for windows, and the hype around the iPhone: all these are some pretty mighty thrusts into the imaginations and wallets of the market. I think this will continue into exponential growth, and that purchases of imacs and macbooks will rapidly increase over the next 3 years as well.
2. Bank of America. They give dividends of 5%. If the US lowers their interest rates in response to the credit crunch, this 5% will look increasingly attractive in comparison – plus, it’s a bank stock so the underlying asset will increase in value as well.
3. Timminco. These guys (Canadian) make solar grade silicon metal – used for alternative (solar) energy. They’ve got solid contracts already in place plus a market with more demand than supply.

That’s what I’d do – after triple checking their balance sheets etc. – but repeat after me: Nancy is not a financial planner or advisor.  This is not official advice.  It’s just a peak into her own personal portfolio.  She may regret any one of these purchases, if things don’t play out as planned!

So this isn’t exactly about money, although there’s $25 for grabs, and there’s lots of free stuff a blogger (ahem, like me) could win. David Airey has put together a luscious contest celebrating his 1 year anniversary of blogging.

Prizes include:

1. A unique wordpress theme for your blog by Nate Whitehill
2. A personal advertising/marketing plan by DoshDosh (I’m participating just for this!)
3. One year free hosting by I Love Typography (this site is the loveliest I’ve seen, ever, but I’m a typography freak too. Can’t make it, can’t design it but know and appreciate it when I see it)
4. A signed book by Lorelle, as in WordPress Lorelle.

And that’s just the first prize. I’m personally hoping for a prize down the list – free membership to Andy Beard’s members only site. (oh please, oh please).

If you’re a blogger and want to enter, here are the contest details. (but share some of the loot you win with me, will you?)

Trying

A little while ago I wrote an article on trying vs. allowing. Nancy thought it would be interesting to apply this to our relationship with money.

“Okay, so here is the spreadsheet for tracking your money. Can you use that for a month?”

“I’ll try.”

Proabably, this scenario happens once in a while in Nancy’s practice. I know it does in my counseling practice.

What does this “trying” actually mean?

The pleasant part of “trying” is that it’s open ended, that it points to a beginner’s mind. The not-so-pleasant part sometimes makes me think of clenched teeth, ‘trying but failing’ or ‘trying without much effort.’

It’s not a very powerful word, and if I’m right about the clenched teeth, the failing and the lack of effort, it’s a word that speaks of discomfort, disappointment and lack of energy.

Yuk.

That’s why the idea of “allowing” feels so much better. It’s still open ended. It’s a word that is sweet and expansive. It’s about opening one’s arms and saying, come in, come in! And in that, it is much more powerful.

Instead of being a good little girl then and “trying” to follow the advice of an authority, I can consider the advice of an experienced equal and allow myself to experiment with it. Instead of “ok, I’ll try”, we could have:

“Hmmm, I wonder what will happen when I see where all my money goes? What insights might I gain? How could doing this help me invite more interesting and helpful things into my life?”

–
isabella mori
moritherapy
counseling in vancouver
www.moritherapy.com

Love him or hate him, Brian Mulroney (make that the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney) is coming to town – to Chapters on Robson, specifically.

He’ll be promoting his newly released book, Memoirs at 8pm, Tue. Sept. 25th 2007.