Category Archive: finances

Final upgrades

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Thu. March 27, 2008

Bloody hell. I just wrote a couple of paragraphs about my day and the damn browser crashed on me. Ugh. Well here we go again.

Whoo, I’ve had a full morning. Today I had another appointment at the design centre to finalize all of the selections the consultant and I had drafted out during my previous visit. In the end, I did decide to go with my full wish list–so yeah: that’s one big chunk of change. Throughout the process I was letting out big sighs of disbelief. I mean, the whole thing was like this weird dream where I’m signing away large amounts of cash. It felt totally unreal. I mean, how often do you get to do that, right?

The lead up to this morning has been mildly rough. I’ve been really apprehensive about the whole thing because I’ve been worrying about where I’m going to get the funding to do everything that I want to do for my place. When it comes to monetary things, often I worry a great deal. In the end, things usually work themselves out due to paying close attention to flow or other circumstances, and I end up having worried for nothing. It just turned out that this morning’s meeting was just another case where circumstance was on my side.

OK, so here’s some background. I have to pay 15% of the purchase price as a deposit for my place. I’ve already paid off a large sum of that, but not the full percentage yet. I have to come up with the balance of that cash (which is a couple thousand) by my possession date next April. Secondly, since I’m trying to finance my upgrades, I only have to pay off 35% of the total cost of the upgrades as a down payment. That can be spread out, but it’s still a hefty bill. So you see, that’s why I was concerned. I mean, I was worrying about where I’d come up with the cash to take care of both. So this morning is where the magic happened.

As I signed away on pages and pages of forms, the design consultant told me that the down payment for the upgrades would count toward the 15% balance. What in the world?! She punched in the numbers into a document, and after deducting the upgrade cost, the remaining balance due next year turned out to be just a few hundred. She wasn’t sure that the numbers were right, so we calculated it all out together, and indeed, it was correct. Oh, but since it was just a few hundred, I told her that I could write another cheque for that balance and throw it toward a larger down for the upgrades. So I did that, and when she punched in the numbers into the document, the balance listed was $0.

$0.

What in the world??? Effectively then, I don’t have to pay any more come next April. Again, we were both questioning the numbers, but yeah, they worked out. That is absolutely insane. It frees up funds for other uses! It’s certainly one less thing for me to be stressing out about. Craaazy! I may have had doubts before, but seriously, I can do this! I’ll be honest and say that I really feel blessed that something this important has a bit of resolution, know what I mean?

And so, today was a good day.

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Showroom glam

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Sat. March 22, 2008

I took time today to head up to Vaughan today to check out the suggested big appliance showroom located there. Yeah, even though possession is still on April of next year I was told to go there and get measurements for the stove that I want. See, I’m planning on upgrading to a slide-in range, and for that to be accepted they need the measurements when I finalize the upgrades so that they know how much to cut from the counter top. To me, it seems ever so slightly ridiculous because I won’t be sure whether the model I want now will still be available or have the same dimensions when it actually comes time to buy the darn thing. Now, I’m not even required to buy anything at the moment, so really this trip was for exploratory purposes.

Anyway, I was sort of in awe of everything in the showroom. So many choices! I went in with stainless steel appliances in mind. See, the condo comes with five appliances. They’re plain white and pretty basic. I sort of want to go the stainless steel route just for the sake of making it all look rich, you know? It also increases resale value when it comes time for all of that. By going to that showroom place, I’m getting decent credit for those white appliances if I upgrade them.

All in all, I don’t think I need to touch the washer/dryer since that part is pretty tucked away anyway, right? So that leaves the fridge, stove, and dishwasher. For stainless steel, I wasn’t expecting to really go far over $2500. Hoooly crap was I wrong. I think I was seduced by all of the showroom glam. I sort of gravitated over to the Kitchen-Aid appliances which…yeeeah. They’re expensive, and yet, so very very nice.

*SIGH*

I can’t directly afford it all right now…but I will be able in the future when I actually need to buy the darn things. So, I’m not entirely scared of drowning yet. However, man, it’s just adding yet another thing to the pile of expenses that I need to consider for this whole thing.

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So many upgrades

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Fri. March 7, 2008

Despite my possession date being moved back to April, the whole design process is moving along. Today I had my appointment at the design centre where I had to pick out things like flooring, tiling, finishes, cabinetry, etc. Sound mildly simple enough, right? However…really, it was quite tough. There’s so much choice, and it was difficult to really decide on how I wanted things to look. I mean, what I choose is what I’ll be stuck with (barring any weird renos). The consultant and I agreed to just formulate a list of everything that I wanted, just as a catch-all list. In the end, I chose an upgrade here, an upgrade there, etc etc. By the end, I was shocked to see the cost of all upgrades ramped up to $18K! Holy crap. Granted, at that price it’ll all look quite swank, but wow, I don’t know if I can justify spending that much. On top of that, I also have to worry about upgrading my appliances, buying furniture, etc etc. The costs are mounting!

I know I can tack it all onto the purchase price and have it taken care of via the mortgage. However…do I want to? Putting it on the mortgage will ultimately raise the price by a good chunk in the long run. It really might be the only way to afford what I want though. I might have to cut back on some of those upgrades though just as a matter of making it more reasonable. None of it is finalized yet. I have a lot of time to think it through. I better work things out soon though or else it’ll eat away at my mind.

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A tax surprise

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Sun. February 17, 2008

Yesterday I decided to spend some of my time doing my taxes. It’s probably just more evidence that I’m a geek but I actually find the task a little bit entertaining. The whole procedural nature and the this-number-goes-here-this-number-goes-there thing is kind of fun. It’s like a bit of a treasure hunt in order to get to that last number.

I laid out all of my forms in bed and started punching the numbers into my calculator while I was listening to music. Prior to getting to the end I had high hopes for an OK refund. In my previous years the refund has always been substantial because I always had a lot of tuition to use as a credit. This is really my first year where I’ve worked for the full 12 months. Anyway, when I did get to the end, I was kind of shocked. From my calculations I actually owed the government a few thousand. What the hell?! If doing taxes is like a treasure hunt, this would be like opening the chest only to find that it’s booby trapped. Well, I guess since I have no dependants my numbers are just going to naturally end up that way. Still, I’ve never been in a situation where I’m actually owing.

So, OK. Since I really don’t want to give that much money to the government, I’m going to have to pay myself. I wasn’t planning on making an RRSP (I think the equivalent is the 401K in the US) contribution this year due to saving for the condo, but I guess it’s best that I do so. I mean, it’ll lower my net income, right? If I add enough to it, I’ll get a refund. Of course, it’s not like that refund is free money–it’ll have to go back to wherever I’m going to get that money from. At the very least, that money would stay with me.

Man, the working world still holds a lot of surprises, doesn’t it?

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Pushed back a few months

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Sat. February 16, 2008

A few days ago someone came to the door to try to deliver a registered letter. Unfortunately no one was here to answer the door so a notice was left behind for us to pick it up at the post office. Thing was, the postal carrier didn’t write on the notice just who the letter was for. So it sort of just sat around until my father called the post office and found out that the letter was actually for me. Eh? I wasn’t expected any registered mail, so I was intrigued. It’s only today that I had the chance to go pick it up.

Bad news.

It’s a letter from the builder of my condo. It says that due to circumstances “out of [their] control” the tentative date would have to be pushed back. It’s being adjusted up to April 8 of next year. When I read the letter I was pretty disappointed. I fell into one of those silent contemplative modes. Luckily, I was already alone and didn’t have to deal with anyone. I drove home stunned, but kept it all in perspective.

First of all, I already expected that this might happen. Apparently I’m not the luckiest man in the world. Ha! By pushing it by four months, at the very least it will give me more time to accumulate more resources. Precious resources! I need to save for the upgrades, furniture, and see if I can produce a bigger down payment. That all would have been a tall order if it was left to just a time limit of 9 months. With 13 months…it’s a bit more tolerable.

Over the past few months, I’ve been watching the Phase 1 houses go up in the area, and I’ve been cheering for them because really once their done then most of the focus will be turned to my building. I guess it really doesn’t matter too much at the moment any more.

So, it is just with a little bit of sadness that I am resetting my countdown clock. That’s life. :-?

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Vicious December

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Thu. December 13, 2007

When I left work for home, I saw a long line up for the streetcar so I decided to hike up to the station. I love cooler days like this because I find it easier to free the mind of thoughts. In the summer, I tend to focus on sweat which isn’t so much of a pleasant thing to meditate upon. By the time I left though it had just finished snowing a couple of centimetres. So the sidewalk was covered by a layer of watery slush. I was wearing my Rockports, so I found it pretty difficult to deal with the slush. My footing slipped many times as I shuffled along. I didn’t fall, but I very well could have if I kept going. In the end, I gave up after a few blocks and headed for the nearest streetcar stop.

I have boots, which is what I’d normally wear when I’m anticipating this type of weather. It’s just that they’re ridiculously heavy. I wore them for one week a couple of weeks ago. By the end of that period my knees were achy and my legs were constantly worn out. So, I’ve stopped wearing them and have been wearing my summer shoes in the meantime. Of course, that’s problematic. They’re not suited for this type of weather. The shoes need good traction. So, I think it’s really time to buy proper footwear once again.

I need to head into the malls sometime soon. Thing is, do I really want to brave the crowds? I’m really tempted to put this off until later. Besides that, I don’t want to add yet another thing to my growing list of expenses this month. December is a month that’s vicious on the bank account. Spending can easily get out of hand if it isn’t kept in check, right? I’ve still got to buy gifts. I also have to pay for a windshield replacement–it’s been cracked since before my Arizona trip. There’s also an anticipated expense taking place on Wednesday of next week–I’ll talk about that one when the time comes. There’s a lot to do, and a lot to buy.

I figure that I can rest a little bit once the month is over, but meanwhile…eternal vigilance!

Uh…and less long walks to the station.

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The design book

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Thu. December 6, 2007

Last night I got a message on my cell telling me to come into the home builder sales office to pick up my design package. Damn I was excited. I mean, for a while now I’ve been imagining just how everything would look in the condo, and now these docs are bringing me steps closer to having a clearer image of it all. I stopped by the office right after work. When I got back to the car, I opened the envelope and proceeded to “ooh” and “aah” at what I was seeing despite the fact that it was pretty dark and I wasn’t getting a clear view of it all.

So, here I am at home now. I’ve had a good look at everything, and damn, things are going to cost a lot. I’m pretty torn. Heh. I want to make the place all fancy but I have to be conscious about my budget. Just how much can I pile onto the mortgage before the budget becomes too tight? What kind of luxuries can I afford to live without? For example, do I need granite counter tops in the bathroom? That’s only ~$480. Hardwood flooring would be an extra ~$4500 (!). Laminate is included–is it worth it to upgrade? The super-fancy kitchen upgrades would cost anywhere between $2300 – $4300. Did you know you can get an elongated toilet for around $800? Is an elongated toilet any more comfortable? I dunno. I’m curious.

And what about appliances??? ARGH!

Oh man, so much to think about. I guess I need to do a few things to get my thoughts organized (because right now they’re scattered all over the place). I should do the following.

  1. Set a budget.
  2. Prioritize the areas that I would want to pour money in.
  3. Differentiate between needs and wants.

Eventually I’m going to be called in to meet with the design consultant. I’m sure everything will become clearer after speaking with him/her. In the meantime, I’m going to have to adjust to my mind being in hyper mode for the next little while.

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“Under the gun”

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Wed. December 5, 2007

Ooh, some days I find that I need to de-stress really quickly when I’m at work. Otherwise, I end up with unseemly outbursts of undirected ire, and that’s not good for anyone. I had such an outburst today, and it was totally unintentional. It was close to the end of day and the conversation among some team members was sort of related to how we were all hired to work at our company. The topic eventually turned to seniority and some people jokingly said some things that were sort of unfair in my mind. I exclaimed “bullshit!” I could feel the frustration mounting even though it really shouldn’t have bothered me.

I think I let it get a little out of hand. I could tell when a colleague from another department had to ask me what this was all about. I said that it didn’t really concern him. He replied that he just wanted to know because I seemed to be “under the gun.”
Well, I guess that if anyone put me “under the gun” it was myself. For a while now, I’ve been frustrated at the idea that I’m relatively underpaid. See, I’m not even sure that it’s true. It’s not like I can tactfully get my colleagues to tell me how much they’re getting–that info is much too personal. However, I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m paid the least among the people in my department. As a result, my morale has been on a downward trend. I usually keep this to myself–and only occasionally vent about this to my friends. I guess it was bound to come to the surface at some point. I just really hope that I didn’t lose face, because if I did, it would not be a good thing at all.

Well, the chance to correct this will come in the spring with the annual review. I’m hoping that I can gather enough intelligence to leverage my position for something better. Otherwise, if I recognize that there’s no growth and that other people are being recognized for their effort while I’m being ignored, then I’ll have to go elsewhere for employment. Simple as that. I’m willing to wait it out though. See, despite all this frustration, I know that “underpaid” isn’t really underpaid. I’m sorta blessed to be earning what I’m getting. It’s just enough to pay the bills and basically get me started in real-estate. Not everyone has the ability to do that, right?

When I left work, my mind was sort of muddled. I chose not to focus on anything that had just happened, but chose instead to focus on the cold. When I approached the streetcar stop I saw a really long line up. I quickly said “screw it” and decided to walk up to Bloor St. in the cold weather. My jacket was unzipped and I walked slowly with my head held high. It really did help to clear the mind.

Anyway, now that the outburst happened, I should keep a slightly lower-profile for the next little while. I don’t mind. I just need to keep doing my job the best I can. I have some faith that no matter what I’ll be given exactly enough for whatever I need.

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