I never thought I’d find myself writing a “what I did during my summer vacation” essay in my 30s, but bear with me: I fixed up my house. Why is this a personal finance topic? Because it can save you a bundle of money, especially right now when shortages of both supplies and labour are sending prices through the roof.
Last week I used a five-day staycation to recaulk our kitchen and upstairs bathroom, coat our beat-up, second-hand farmhouse dinner table with epoxy resin and patch up several dents and holes in our plaster walls (yes, plaster – not drywall – dating back circa 1935). I’d been trying to find someone to take care of all of this for months – to no avail. With the reno market in Toronto still on fire, many contractors are understandably only interested in bigger jobs. Plus, some of the quotes I’d been hearing about from friends and social media were downright scary. (Try $170,000 to replace 25 windows.)
So I decided I’d do it all myself – and now I wish I’d given it a try years ago. YouTube has made it so much easier to do anything from fixing a garage door to painting furniture on your own. It’s the reason that, going into my DIY week, I knew to buy a razor scraper and a caulking gun, not to mention a hand-held torch to blow out bubbles in the epoxy.
I also wish I’d realized earlier that I’d probably be pretty good at this stuff. I’ve always has knack for crafts. But I grew up thinking that men do the odd jobs around the house – a task my husband absolutely dreads, by the way. So it didn’t occur to me until recently that if I was good enough to hand-draw our wedding invitations I also had enough of a steady hand to make a smooth line of silicone.
Of course, lots of women do all the fixing around the house (I even know someone who does her own plumbing). And, happily, the ranks of female contractors are growing. Yet, somehow, it took me this long to think that maybe I could do it, too.
In the end, the recaulking turned out great, the table got a major facelift and most of the wall repairs are virtually invisible. I did mess up my very first plaster patch, but it still looks better than the door knob-shaped crack that was there before. And it’s immensely satisfying to know I will never have to shell out hundreds of dollars to seal the shower or fix new dings.
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Erica’s personal finance reading list
The next chapter in the battle over compensation for air passengers
WestJet is appealing an order by the Canadian Transportation Agency to pay up $1,000 as compensation to a passenger whose flight was cancelled at the last minute due to crew shortages. Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) require airlines to compensate travellers for short-notice (within 14 days of departure) flight disruptions caused by issues within their control. But Westjet is arguing – citing the same regulations – that it shouldn’t have to pay because the cancellation was necessary for “safety purposes.” Some critics of the APPR have long held that the rules are poorly designed and hard to enforce. This case will likely show whether they are right.
The other side of retirement planning
“People spend more time planning a two-week vacation than a lifetime of retirement,” Jaye Smith, a retirement coach, recently told the Wall Street Journal. What’s a retirement coach? Someone who helps you figure out that nonfinancial but all-important part of retirement: what to do with yourself when you’re no longer bound to the 9-to-5. Although this article focuses on the U.S., it has some original and sensible tips that Canadians can also use on how to go about it.
Not really going back to the office
Many companies are ordering employees back to the office, but not everyone is complying. A recent U.S. survey found that less than half of workers told to go back five days a week are actually showing up from Monday through Friday.
Will your home insurance replace your engagement ring diamond?
Likely not, unless you have a special rider for it, an Ontario woman recently discovered. The same holds for things like a valuable comic collection, a fancy bike or a pricey guitar.
Give it a listen: Quitting your job the right way
Whether you’re going quietly, or not, you should always do so gracefully, HR expert and career coach Sarah Vermunt tells CBC host Paul Haavardsrud.
Video of the week
Going back to DIY YouTube, I found Beth Allen’s DIYHIPChicks channel particularly useful (although, I gotta say, I’m not a fan of the word “chick”). Ms. Allen does DIY in a way that works for busy parents, with tips on how to minimize the mess or how to preserve a paint-drenched roller so you can start where you left off after a run to a pediatrician’s appointment or a Sunday kids’ soccer game.
The money-free zone
I’ve been less and less impressed with the selection of movies available on the usual streaming services. So I signed up for a free trial of The Criterion Channel. As leery as I am to add new subscriptions to my budget, I’m thinking this one will make the cut.
In case you missed these Globe and Mail personal finance-related stories
- BMW’s heated seats subscription is the latest sign of micropayments taking over our lives
- City dwellers traded condos for country life in the pandemic. Now, some are moving back
- Could removing best-before dates help reduce food inflation and waste?
More Rob Carrick and money coverage
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Even more coverage from Rob Carrick:
- 🎧 Catch up on Stress Test: Is the middle class dead for millennials and Gen Z? • Gas prices are soaring. Are electric vehicles an affordable solution? • Crypto is booming, but should you invest? • How are young Canadians dealing with soaring rents? • Inflation is squeezing our finances. What can we do about it? • Is a hot housing market squeezing Canadians out of their small towns?
- ✔️ The housing file: How bad is housing affordability? Even a crash won't help • Sell the family home to lock in profit and then rent? Better not • Why young adults can't afford houses: Hard work got you more in the past than it does now • Five reasons you should not buy a house till you're at least 30 • Now more than ever, owning a house is not a retirement plan
- 📈 Investing: The 2022 ETF buyer's guide: Best Canadian equity funds • The 2022 Globe and Mail digital broker ranking: Does the zero-commission revolution flip the script on who's best? • With bonds sinking, conservative investors are waking up to risks they never saw coming • A five-step plan for dealing with the sad fact that almost every investment is falling lately • The best financial advice in advance of retirement? Work on your marriage • One-year GICs are the best deal in town for safety seekers • What to do if the financial plan you paid thousands for disappoints
- 💰 Your money: Are you prepared for the pandemic wealth boom to blow up in our faces? • This hard-working 24-year-old is nailing it financially. But where's the happiness? • Who should and shouldn't worry about the wave of rate increases this year, and what every stressed-out borrower should do right now • Don't make this potentially costly assumption about the CPP Survivor's pension
Are you reading this newsletter on the web or did someone forward the e-mail version to you? If so, you can sign up for Carrick on Money here.
Erica Alini