Comments for gailvazoxlade.com

Comment on Sins of the Father by M

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:20:50 +0000

Gail, Point #3 ought to be drilled into everyone’s head regardless of age. I’m going to copy that point for my son. And, to my mind, you’re my official “Oracle of Ontario”.

Comment on Sins of the Father by Joanna

Joanna — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:12:52 +0000

I don’t think I will ever be able to afford a mortgage here in expensive Toronto, so I guess I don’t have to worry about paying that off My partner and I have really come around to the idea that home ownership is not necessarily the best goal for us. As renters, our costs are very fixed and we can budget accordingly for everything else. My parents had an expensive condo they owned, but their maintenance fees were so high they were paying more than we are for rent! So if we just keep renting, what’s the difference?

Comment on Sins of the Father by Call Me What You Want Even Cheap

Call Me What You Want Even Cheap — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:05:46 +0000

Thankfully my mother is in good shape in her retirement. She never believed having much debt was good when we were growing up, so she was pretty smart with her money as a single parent.

Comment on Sins of the Father by Amelia

Amelia — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:57:09 +0000

What scares me the most about retirement is not ours, but our parents’. What the heck do we do with a parent with debt, no plan, no money and LOADS of emotional baggage? What about looking after an aging parent you don’t get along with?

I doubt very much that I’ll ever retire, I like working. I’d certainly drop to very part time, babysit my potential grandchildren and travel travel travel. Meanwhile, Hubby and I are working extra hard to pay off our mortgage as quickly as possible.

Comment on Sins of the Father by AndreaM

AndreaM — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:25:56 +0000

I hope to be as smart and savvy as my parents – no mortgage (they got that thing paid off in 10 years of owning the home); never carry credit card debt; plan for savings (retirement), education for us chitlins, and save up for major purchases. Pay in cash. Although now they save the cash, plonk it on a cc, use the cc (no balance!) and reap the points rewards.

My mom retired in her fifties and my dad was 60 when he retired. He returns to work seasonally as a hobby some years. They have a cottage; babysit their grandchildren periodically; winter in the states.

I grew up in their household well aware of the power of a budget. I’m trying to live by their example. We have a mortgage but something affordable and we used the 1.5 rule – our mortage is 1.5 times our income. The house is roomy and lovely and our biggest challenge is budgeting maintenance. We have debt because we’re dopes and now we’re on track to be debt free next year. We have an RESP for my husband’s youngest child (older ones are already living on their own / in their jobs). Retirement planning is big for us. We want this mortgage gone. We have plans for our next house.

We’re planning now on how to support children through their schooling / young family planning and taking care of aging parents in the coming years.

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Comment on Garden Savings by GS

GS — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:06:24 +0000

My cross-the-street neighbours have a front yard full of vegetables and it looks fine, everyone loves it. Makes me hungry when I walk past in August. Since our house faces the opposite direction we get the sun in the back. We started using raised square foot gardens (also Mel Bartholomew’s book) because we didn’t want our pets to get into them. It’s so much easier to plant, weed, and water, and so much more organized – seems like we waste less seed, soil and water.

Comment on Garden Savings by Julie

Julie — Thu, 24 May 2012 01:55:53 +0000

I moved into a house with a less than desirable lot for growing things, but a very sunny driveway leading back to the garage. I bought several laundry tubs, without the legs, and used them as planters for things that needed alot of sun. Not lovely looking, but workable. When we moved to another house, I took the tubs with me, and even though we have a large yard, I still have them on the driveway, just now more pleasingly surrounded by railway ties and planted with more of a kitchen garden focus. I’ll not win any Architectural Digest awards for this, but a lettuce bed at my side door is lovely.

Comment on Why Aren’t You Using an RESP? by This and That: Another week, another giveaway | Canadian Capitalist

This and That: Another week, another giveaway | Canadian Capitalist — Thu, 24 May 2012 01:37:39 +0000

[...] “The Feds want to GIVE you money and you don’t want to take it? Whazzup with that?” asks Gail Vaz-Oxlade as she encourages readers to save for their children’s education through a RESP. [...]

Comment on Garden Savings by Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 24 May 2012 01:19:38 +0000

I read your post right before I went to BJ’s. BJ’s had a nice selection of vegetable plants. I bought 3 nice tomato plants for my deck. Amazon recently had a free Kindle book about container gardening. I can’t wait to read it now. Thanks Gail!

Comment on Garden Savings by Alero

Alero — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:50:44 +0000

Thanks for the post, Gail. While I’m not a veggie-gardener, I apply the same logic to my bedding plants. I generally let my perennials go to seed every year and then happily wait to see what comes in subsequent generations. To date, I’ve added to my “crop” of balloon plants, snow-in-summer & tiger lilies by employing this method. Deadheading is good to keep things looking pretty but letting Nature do what she will with the seeds means a very light touch to the wallet in the springtime when it’s time to getting the bedding plants in order. If you’re not afraid to transplant & have a lot of patience, you can create a wonderful perennial garden in a few short years.

As for my garden plot, it’s used every year by a pair of ladies who keep it completely weed-free and beautiful all summer long. Potatoes, peas, corn, zucchini, beans & carrots seem to be their staples. I have the best of both worlds!!!

Comment on Garden Savings by ana

ana — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:31:48 +0000

just got my herbs planted (and blogged lol) and veggies are going in tomorrow. and for everything else that i haven’t grown, i’ll be visiting the local farmer’s market. i love this time of year.

Comment on Garden Savings by Angela

Angela — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:22:34 +0000

I agree re: the farmers markets not always being cheaper. I paid 3 dollars for 3 sticks of rhubarb last week! That said I like to support farmers and the rhubarb was delicious. I also like buying local. This year I am going to try growing herbs on my apartment balcony for the first time – I bought mint from loblaws recently and not only was it overpriced they’d flown it in from Mexico. I don’t understand how it’s cheaper for supermarkets to buy things from other countries and not support local farmers here in Ontario.