Comments on: Van-ity

By: Cory

Cory — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:51:10 +0000

My parents live in Mississauga Ontario and would love to have us move there so they can be closer to their grand kids. We live outside of Waterloo. In the spring we looked at a house in a very nice area of Mississauga. It was a 4 bedroom 2 car garage on a large lot 80X200. The house was clean but not particulary upgraded. It was listed for $879,900. It sold for $868K in a week. So even with a 600K downpayment you would still be stuck with a mortgage of $268K. We could do that but then we would have a mortgage. Where we live now we live on 2 acres and purachased the house for $670K in summer of 2008. When we bought it we sold our former house for $475K and added all of our savings a hefty $200K to make up for the difference. If I was to do it again I probably would have stayed in our old house and kept my 200K nicely in the bank. Thats moving up for you……

By: never mind

never mind — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:25:44 +0000

Garth, does it ever bother you that some of the comments just seem jealous, the advice sometimes ridiculous? who are you gearing to? who is your average reader? what’s their average education, class, income?
Just curious…

You start. — Garth

By: beng

beng — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:59:04 +0000

Speaking of Vancouver…

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/a-crush-for-condos/article1388228/

Everybody wanna live in da Van’ity

By: pjwlk

pjwlk — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:03:06 +0000

#31 nonplused: Nice rant(s) on the auto stuff fella, but you’re giving away your age. I’ve had many of the same experiences as you but you have to step into the new world. I’d like to counter some of your points for sake of conversation.

- You can’t legislate common sense and no matter what the auto makers do or don’t do there are still going to be people who do stupid things and shouldn’t be driving.

- You sound like a rear wheel drive believer. I was until one winter during a storm I watched car after car, all front wheel drive, and half the size of my “battle star” station wagon drive by me without an issue.

- Traction control has been the best thing I ever discovered by accident. It also does not operate over a certain speed, so your comment about excelleration is moot. Traction control has saved my bacon many, many times especially when towing my trailers in the winter. You may be thinking of Yaw (sway) stability control which I do agree can teach people bad habits. However people have bad habits regardless so perhaps it may save a life one day.

- SUV’s wind up in the ditches because four wheel drive makes people think they can stop a lot faster than they really can. Nothing will save idiots who drive too fast in 4WD

- Your back end kicking out is just another form of instability that can kill people and has for many years. I used to practice in parking lots bringing my rear wheel drive car back under control after intentionally making it fishtail… only to be harassed by the police for “playing”. Guess what? It’s pretty bloody hard to fishtail a front wheel drive car without using the rear brake. Even harder if you know how to drive them properly.

- I believe that front-wheel drive to be far superior to rear wheel and quite honestly auto makers should be making pickup trucks with front wheel as the two wheel drive postion and the back wheels kick in when switched to 4WD.

- 100km/hour is regular highway speed here in Ontario so I’m not sure what you mean by that.

- It’s the big nut sacks hanging from the back of the trucks that cause most of the problems if you know what I mean…

By: kc

kc — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:41:15 +0000

159 Elaine! on 12.06.09 at 11:09 pm <<<< you have got to be kidding me??? you the same chick from the top of this blog who wrote that letter?? who you trying to kid?

Somehow i have to say BullS**t that you follow this blog as a faithful as you state. You now come in here with KD and working your way up the ladder of hard knocks, listen sweet cheecks, sounds like you need to return to those hard knocks to re-learn wht you missed the first time around.

My grand mother used to say (bless her soul) remember that when you die you are as dead and broke as the guy laying next to you, value life over money.

cheers

By: Zero Net Worth

Zero Net Worth — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:35:43 +0000

I have to laugh when I read this. I’m also mid forties living in Vancouver (the West End in a shabby 1 bedroom rental). In my case though, I have zero savings, zero equity, and zero assets of any kind (not even a beater car). When I hear about someone complaining they only made $600K in 3 years, it sounds almost ridiculous.

Meanwhile, I just helped some local filmmakers finance a 2.5 million dollar feature film via a venture capital friend of mine, and will be lucky to pocket a $10K referral fee, and maybe one point on the back end. What a joke. Did I ever pick the wrong career path ..

By: MPM

MPM — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:00:24 +0000

Elaine, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. Be happy and quite whining.

By: Taxpayer like you

Taxpayer like you — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:38:11 +0000

157 TO – these people are municipal employees with a
great pension plan (and other benifits too I would think)
which is given a zero value in their net worth statement.
With a paid for house and no kids at home that is why they will be “better off” in retirement.

By: Elaine!

Elaine! — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:09:39 +0000

Thanks to Garth and the rest of you who offered constructive advice. I giggled at the rest of you who have the time and energy to spew hateful little barbs about what a selfish cow that I am. Tsk tsk jealousy is tremendously unbecoming, especially in this season of peace and brotherly love! Don’t worry, I get it – you’ve conjured up a great deal of resentment in your frustrated little heads over years of feeling screwed over by twats just like Elaine. Believe it or not, I used to be like you. I used to sit with my draft swilling friends at the legion dissing the man and the government that kept me feeling poor and useless. However, one day I woke up and realized that I was responsible to change my situation so I rolled my sleeves up, worked two jobs, ate KD and lived with roaches the size of kittens while I got a “hoity toity” nursing degree. When I got my first job I bought real estate in the dreaded Toronto and rented every room out to students and I slept on a pull out couch in the living room for years. I sold that property and went from there, so yeah, I have worked hard to get where I am. I am pissed off that I lost a wad of cash when I decided to become a henny penny like the rest of you at exactly the wrong time.

You see, people who hate too much usually feel pretty negative about themselves and heck, why wouldn’t you? You are stupid, lazy and scared little wimps who don’t have the courage to overcome the fear of living outside of the safe little 3 mile perimiter of whatever rat fink little town you were born in.

Incidently, I actually hate Vancouver. Living in Vancouver is like dating a model – all beauty, no brains. Tired retorts like “move somewhere else” are just not really always possible especially since we both have jobs that can only be found in urban centers – my husband is contractually tied here or we would leave for Ontario tomorrow. Incidently I don’t own a car, I ride my 12 year old bike to work ( no, I am not the angry, car kicking, spandex wearing type) I refuse to waste my life in commuter traffic in one of the 2 roads out of town with the worse drivers in the country just so I can get to my milquetoast home in a suburb when I can live 3 blocks from an ocean. So yeah, right now I will bleed this model for sheer joy her beauty offers me – knowing that I don’t have to stay forever.

Thanks everybody, it was fun and I wish you all happiness and bliss.

By: kc

kc — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:37:52 +0000

151 Wondering on 12.06.09 at 7:25 pm Garth,Vulture. — Garth please explain?

Shane
********************

Garth speaks in riddles so he’s not likely to get back to you on this. He even responds in Chinese, so we have to go to Babblefish to understand his response. Garth is too clever for us mortal souls.

Garth, it would be great if you could give responses that mean something instead of giving a quick quip!

Do a search…. garth wrote extensively on this subject… i think it was during the summer….