This week, I got estimates for the replacement of the trap for the car shelter. WHile I was at it, I asked about fixing a problem that has bugged us ever since we bought the house.
With the car shelter so close to the house (they're about 12" apart for half of its length), a lot of snow get stuck between the house and the shelter. And that side of the shelter's roof is almost impossible to clear of the snow. I have no way of removing that snow during the winter, so the space fills up with snow. The problem is that if it rains, that snow becomes quite heavy, and it applies a lot of pressure on the car shelter's tarp.
It is probably one of the reasons why the trap now need to be replaced. On top of that, there is a basement window that gets completely burried in snow which will also need to be replaced soon.
So the guy who did the estimate told me that usually the type of shelter that we have is not placed so close to a house, because of that problem. To fix that, half of the shelter would need to be converted into a lean-to shelter (with a single slope).
Now, I have two estimates. The first one is just for replacing the current tarp with a new one, and is for about $1100. The second one is for converting half of the car shelter, and for a new tarp for the rest, for about $3200. Ouch!
The second choice would probably the best for the long-term, since it would last the longest and prevent further damage to the house. Princess and I will probably take this course of action, but are taking the week-end to think about it.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Net Worth Update
As of October 1st, my net worth was $47 780 (up 3.9% from $45 984).
If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth is $36 316 (up 4.7% from $34 671).
Assets ($118 321, up from $117 089)
Another encouraging thing is to see my student loan melting fast. It will be fully paid back in December 2008. I never accelerated repayment of this loan, since the interests are tax-deductible. Still, it will be nice to see that one go!
If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth is $36 316 (up 4.7% from $34 671).
Assets ($118 321, up from $117 089)
- Bank Accounts $4 246 (down 32% from $6 252)
- Emergency Funds $2 729 (down 3.4% from $2 825)
- RRSP Accounts $30 974 (up 9.8% from $28 213)
- Non-Registered Investments $4 214 (up 15% from $3 641)
- Home $75 600 (stable)
- Credit Cards $3 195 (down 5.5% from $3 380)
- Student Loan $3 156 (down 7.1% from $3 399)
- Mortgage $56 890 (down 0.2% from $56 994)
- Heat Pump Loan $7 247 (down 0.6% from $7 293)
Another encouraging thing is to see my student loan melting fast. It will be fully paid back in December 2008. I never accelerated repayment of this loan, since the interests are tax-deductible. Still, it will be nice to see that one go!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Cost of Fixing the Car Shelter
Princess and I have to replace the tarp of our car shelter, and this is going to cost us more than expected. We were planning about $500 for this, but it looks like it will cost us twice that.
When we bought our house three years ago, we also bought the previous owners' car shelter. Although it was paid seperately from the house and wasn't new, it was still a deal at $100.
Now, after patching it for two years, the tarp is so old that it's tearing up in multiple places. Princess' brother, who used to work in that sector, had told us it would probably cost us something like $300-$400 to replace it.
Turns out he hadn't realized how large our shelter is. It's big enough for two cars comfortably, and we've even managed to squeeze in a third small one when we had to. When I asked for a quote from the original company, as well as a second one referred by the brother, the amount was pretty much the same -- around $800. I figure that after we ask for a few modifications, replacing a few of the missing anchors for the legs, and taxes, the total bill will be pretty much $1000.
This had me questionning the necessity of having a car shelter for the winter. I've thought about shoveling the snow for one winter, but I must admit that the prospect is far from appealing to me. We will probably end up replacing the tarp, but it was a shock to realize the amount of money we will have to spend on this. Convenience has it's price!
The money will come out of my emergency fund. I will make sure to plan better for this in the future.
When we bought our house three years ago, we also bought the previous owners' car shelter. Although it was paid seperately from the house and wasn't new, it was still a deal at $100.
Now, after patching it for two years, the tarp is so old that it's tearing up in multiple places. Princess' brother, who used to work in that sector, had told us it would probably cost us something like $300-$400 to replace it.
Turns out he hadn't realized how large our shelter is. It's big enough for two cars comfortably, and we've even managed to squeeze in a third small one when we had to. When I asked for a quote from the original company, as well as a second one referred by the brother, the amount was pretty much the same -- around $800. I figure that after we ask for a few modifications, replacing a few of the missing anchors for the legs, and taxes, the total bill will be pretty much $1000.
This had me questionning the necessity of having a car shelter for the winter. I've thought about shoveling the snow for one winter, but I must admit that the prospect is far from appealing to me. We will probably end up replacing the tarp, but it was a shock to realize the amount of money we will have to spend on this. Convenience has it's price!
The money will come out of my emergency fund. I will make sure to plan better for this in the future.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Investing Principles and Exercise
In the last two years, I have been spending (or rather investing) a lot of time improving my knowledge of personal finances and investing.
One of the principles that I have learned, and which I have been trying to integrate into my investing habits, is that quality, consistency and persistence win this race. You have to have a good plan, and stick to it.
I have decided to apply it to another area of my life -- health.
You see, my day job is that of a computer analyst. So I work in front of a computer most of the day, formulating solutions to problems and typing quite a lot. This requires a lot of concentration and mental energy. As a result, when I get home I don't have a lot of energy left and usually just sit in from of the television, or reading. As you can imagine, this is not good for me or my waist line.
I have tried to exercise on before, but the major problem I have hit is that I usually have dinner right away when I get home. The thing is, once I've had dinner, it is almost impossible for me to exercise. Call it a lack of will if you want, but the fact is that exercising on a full stomach is not good!
So, I have decided to exercise as soon as I get home on weekdays. I will spend 30 minutes on the threadmill at least 5 times a week. I will take this one week at a time. Slow and steady.
I call this my personal health investing project.
One of the principles that I have learned, and which I have been trying to integrate into my investing habits, is that quality, consistency and persistence win this race. You have to have a good plan, and stick to it.
I have decided to apply it to another area of my life -- health.
You see, my day job is that of a computer analyst. So I work in front of a computer most of the day, formulating solutions to problems and typing quite a lot. This requires a lot of concentration and mental energy. As a result, when I get home I don't have a lot of energy left and usually just sit in from of the television, or reading. As you can imagine, this is not good for me or my waist line.
I have tried to exercise on before, but the major problem I have hit is that I usually have dinner right away when I get home. The thing is, once I've had dinner, it is almost impossible for me to exercise. Call it a lack of will if you want, but the fact is that exercising on a full stomach is not good!
So, I have decided to exercise as soon as I get home on weekdays. I will spend 30 minutes on the threadmill at least 5 times a week. I will take this one week at a time. Slow and steady.
I call this my personal health investing project.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
An Experiment in Credit Card Arbitrage
In recent weeks, I have been reading on credit card arbitrage. Basically, this is borrowing money using those 0% offers from credit cards on balance transfers, and using it to invest in a safe, fixed-term investment. At the end of the 0% offer, you pay back the money you borrowed and keep the interests you made on it. Since you are borrowing the money for free, even a 4% interest rate translates into free money.
So, I decided to do try this to see if it is worth the effort. So I signed in for a new credit card from Citibank, which is offering 0% interest on transfers until August 2008. I did this on September 16th. I am still waiting for the card and transfer cheques.
I will keep you posted on my progress on this experiment.
So, I decided to do try this to see if it is worth the effort. So I signed in for a new credit card from Citibank, which is offering 0% interest on transfers until August 2008. I did this on September 16th. I am still waiting for the card and transfer cheques.
I will keep you posted on my progress on this experiment.
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