Things I Like: some keys are very expensive

I was told this morning how much I would have to pay to fix the innards of my remote-entry car key. (The new battery I put in last week didn't bring it back to life).

!$115!$   !$115!$

["Some keys are more than expensive"]

Several of the things I could spend $115 on ran through my mind:

lumber (I can buy enough red cedar for 2 - 3 dozen birdhouses, worth $500 at least)

hockey (I can buy 6 regular season OHL London Knights tickets or half a season's worth of old-timer hockey, pour moi)

craft beer (five lovely trips to Milos Craft Beer Emporium at Talbot and Carling, or 30 - 35 bottles at the LCBO)

valuable supplies (food, gear for the shop, t-shirts, etc.)

I said to the dealer, "I can still open and close the car door with just the key, right?"

He nodded and I promptly drove home.

All I have to do now is remember to lock the door manually when it's filled with lumber, hockey tickets, beer, or other valuable supplies.

Life is about priorities : ) Wish me luck.

Photo by GH

***

Please click here to read more about 'things I like'

This Old Economist: “You’ve got 10 months”

Interest rates will likely rise soon, perhaps in mid-2013.

Those with rising household debt have little time to get their house in order.

Many countries have developed unaffordable, unsustainable lifestyles - and played fast and loose with the environment - for almost 70 years (“Bigger is better!!” proclaimed governments, business leaders and market economists).

How quickly will families adjust to a more austere lifestyle?

[Photos by G.Harrison]

***

Vulnerable? Please click here to read $$ FAX 12: The vulnerable Canadian

High household debt? Please click here to read more about the problem.

This Old Economist: “Correction - there’s more than one problem”

So, what else is new?

After all, many consumers are wired to spend much more money than they earn, as if their life depends on it. (It likely doesn’t).

Correction #1: “Some” Canadian consumers...

Correction #2: There is more than the problem of rising unemployment.

- a weakening or self-correcting economy

- an increase in interest rates

- continued damage to the environment

(For starters).

Recommendations

- reduce spending

- pay down debt

- save money for tough times

(For starters).

[Photos by G.Harrison]

***

Please click here for more This Old Economist

It Strikes Me Funny: The exciting conclusion of 'A sale on lasagna and the ultimate chef challenge'

[The following column was first published in The Londoner in May, 2003. I dusted it off because it relates well with a recently posted story, i.e., Live Small and Prosper PT 3: It’s time for Frontier Stew]

A sale on lasagna and the ultimate chef challenge

[Oh. Please click here to read the exciting first half of the story. You know, for context.]

... A cashier said she had stopped making her own lasagna because she couldn’t match the price for 5 pounds of the PC brand. I pressed ahead.

With noodles, mozzarella, pasta sauce, tomatoes, cottage cheese, beef, peppers and mushrooms. I figured I had about 8 pounds of ingredients. Total cost $17.08. It was going to be close.

On an icy morning in early April I assembled the ingredients, sliced and diced, grated cheese and cooked noodles. By 11 a.m. the delicious aroma of fried onions, peppers and spice filled the house and by noon all was ready to spoon into two casserole dishes.


["I also make Frontier Stew. So good it will draw tears": photo GH]

An Italian sausage, onions, garlic and a few spices brought my costs to approximately $18.50 so I needed 9 pounds of very tasty lasagna to win household glory.

“How are you going to weigh it?” Pat asked innocently.

I stopped stirring the sauce and replied, “I hadn’t thought of that.”

After a short pause I suggested confidently, “We’ll go by total volume. I’ll measure the sides of each pan and multiply by how deep it is.”

I arranged fat layers of noodles, cheeses and sauce in the greased pans, and quietly celebrated as the ingredients approached the rim of each dish.

After careful measurements and calculations I estimated I had 24 cubic inches more lasagna than two pans of store-bought - for $1.50 less.

After 35 minutes at 350 degrees the steaming lasagna was served.

“It’s delicious,” Pat stated. “Perhaps I’ll take some to mother’s tonight.”

One vote of confidence was reward enough.

***

‘One vote of confidence’ and a big serving of household glory! Fantastic.

Then there’s the savings. Incredible.

Rising food costs are not to be feared. Buck up. We can cook our way to cheaper grocery bills and good health.

Please click here to read more about rising food costs.

.

Live Small and Prosper PT 2: It’s time for Frontier Stew

[Economists say the cost of food in Canada could jump by 8% in the coming months and stay that way for the next year. Breads, grains and cereals will rise the most, with the global costs of wheat, corn and soy increasing. Analysts say the cost of meat also will rise, because livestock consume the same grains.” - Food Prices Forecast To Rise, Mar. 21, London Free Press]

To stay alive, maybe McDonalds will make the Big Mac just a bit smaller.

Maybe Canadians will eat a meatless meal once per week. Maybe twice.


Maybe some will switch from Double Chocolate Oreos to McVitie’s Digestives. They are ‘The Original’ after all.

Maybe PM Harper will increase corporate taxes by 1 or 2 per cent and we’ll all live happily ever after.

What do you think? Any of those ideas stand a chance?

Here’s what I think. In order to survive, save a few dollars here and there, all Dads and Moms and kids over 14 need to learn how to make Frontier Stew. And I don’t mean heating up a tin from the corner Valu-Mart. I mean the real Frontier Stew. The stuff that early Canadians ate from a pail. The stuff that made this country strong.

Yes, we’ve had some downturns and recessions, many Thing$ are going North $$, The Leafs won’t make the playoffs, and we may have to throw a handful of oatmeal into our next batch of BBQ burgers - to stretch the ground chuck, you know what I’m saying - but deep in our genes lies the ability to make stew so fine it makes tinned stuff taste like the crap that it is.

(Admittedly, Puritan Irish Stew, with its preformed chunks of meat, passes muster while camping).

And not only can we make fine stew, we have the opportunity to save money in the process.


["Homemade saves money. Frontier Stew is in there!": photos GH]

Warning: A digression ahead.

Years ago, while shopping, I saw a pan of frozen lasagna on sale for $9.99, and for a brief moment I was tempted to buy it. Then I recalled what a pan of frozen lasagna tasted like at the last staff supper I attended. It was crappy stuff, especially compared to homemade. It lay there in the tinfoil pan like a wet pair of socks.

So, believe it or not, I stepped back and challenged the makers of Equity frozen lasagna to a duel.

“I bet I can whoop your skinny little butt,” I said (inside my little round head, of course) to the CEO of Equity Co.

I tore up my grocery list, turned my cart away from millions of dollars worth of prepared and frozen food and tracked down all the ingredients for fine lasagna.

Though my bill came to more than $9.99, I left the store certain in the belief I would whoop serious butt when I got home.

Stay tuned.

***

Please click here to read Frontier Stew PT 1.

.

Thing$ Going North $$: Beer prices

Aaaggghhh!

[Headline: Beer Price to Rise?

Brewers may get a reprieve this year from tight supplies of malting barley in Canada, but higher costs will likely force them to raise the price of beer next year.

Flooding lowered the quality of the latest barely crops in Canada and Australia, leaving some unsuitable to turn into malt. Mar. 8, London Free Press]


["The glass should always be half full": photo GH]

This hurts.

I’ve been keeping a list: Thing$ Going North $$.

I’ve been checking it (more than twice; I think the official list is up to an even dozen, all important items).

And today is a sad day. Not only do I have to add one more item but the item happens to be a heavy favourite of mine - beer.

When will the misery end?

How will it end? With an empty mug? I can’t think.

***

Please click here for more about Thing$ Going North $$.

.

It Strikes Me Funny PT 4: Is ‘restaurant trouble’ big trouble?

I asked three very important questions the day before yesterday. I now have the answers, thanks to my dependable and completely trust-worthy research department.

One. “Will the rising global population affect the price of food on our plate... ?”

The answer is YES. Most definitely.

However, there are three things that presently buffer Canadians somewhat from rising commodity prices, food costs and much-higher menu prices.

(According to economists, the three factors that currently buffer Canadians are as follows:

The high Canadian dollar

the high proportion of food costs unrelated to crop prices such as marketing and transportation

intense retail competition)

Two. “Is there a magic pill we can take to make the bad news go away?”

No. Many thing$ are going North ($$ co$t-wi$e $$), right along with global population, and will continue to do so. Menu prices at the Malibu Restaurant will eventually rise and cause weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Three. “Can we return to the 1940s when a burger and fries cost 10 cents?”

Dream on.


["Shop on. Eat out. Pay tomorrow - just like the 1940s"]

Rather than dreaming on, however, we should make an effort to discover ways (though they be transient, like the aforementioned buffers, i.e., the high Canadian dollar, retail competition, etc.) to deal with the inevitable higher restaurant tabs.

For example, if eating out is dear to your heart and you believe that the Canadian pace of eating out should be maintained (i.e., at 17.7 million restaurant visits per year), perhaps you could try the following:

Prioritize your monthly expenses in order of importance to your lifestyle, reduce spending in less-important areas, take the money saved and go grab a burger.

For example, maybe TV Cable isn’t really high on your list anymore now that Charlie Sheen’s TV career is in the toilet.

Fifty, sixty, seventy dollars (depending on the cable package) will buy a nice evening out on the town or a pretty darn big bag o’ burgers every Friday, right?

(I think I’m onto something here).

How much money are you spending on your cell phone, phone bill, iPad, gas, oil, tires and hubcaps for the car, Levis, Nike sneakers, new sweaters, books, street meat outside Canadian Tire, cartons or bags of cigarettes, cookies, ice cream, soda pop, cat food and vet services for the year, curtains, couches, shag carpet, big screen TVs and Ottomans for the rec room, or on a myriad of other stuff too lengthy to mention?

Admittedly, with rising prices everywhere, something will have to give, but many Canadians have hundreds of things on their lifestyle priority list and can easily shed a few. I bet some people don’t even know what they spend their money on. It just flows through their hands in a habitual consumerism-style frenzy each week. Heck, if it wasn’t for the flashing neon lights above restaurants and diners, some people would even forget to eat between shopping trips.

So, I don’t think the restaurant industry should worry too much about raising their prices a bit.

Do you?

And the headline that sparked four related posts, i.e., “Trouble on menu,” shouldn’t cause panic for the average Canadian for now.

Right?

Shop on. Eat out. Pay tomorrow.

***

How was that for a suitable ending?

Sure, I could have said ‘reduce spending, pay down debt, save money for tough times ahead,’ but “Shop on. Eat out. Pay tomorrow” has such a lovely ring to it.

Please click here to read It Strikes Me Funny PT 3: Is ‘restaurant trouble’ big trouble?

.

It Strikes Me Funny PT 3: Is ‘restaurant trouble’ big trouble?

[Please read PT 2 for context. I’ll wait.]

“...London (England) became the world’s largest city during the coal-powered industrial revolution, a tipping point for the steep rise of Earth’s population. Wealthy countries use many times more resources per capita than poorer nations, but as global incomes rise, increased consumption may stress the planet more than population growth.”

“In 1975 only three cities worldwide topped ten million. Today 21 such megacities exist, most in developing countries, where urban areas absorb much of the globe’s rising population.” (National Geographic, Jan. 2011)

The Earth’s population reached 1 billion in the early 1800s.

It reached 2 billion about 130 years later in 1930.


["Burgers cost almost nothing in the 1940s"]

It reached 3 billion 30 years later in 1960. I was 11 years old and cannot remember any big party at the time.

It reached 4 billion 14 years later in 1974. I didn't notice. I was too busy teaching young students how great the Great Lakes are. Bob Dylan released the album Planet Waves. Maybe he knew something I didn’t.

It reached 5 billion 13 years later in 1987. Bob Dylan didn’t put out an album that year. I was bummed out.


It reached 6 billion 12 years later in 1999. Bob Dylan didn’t release an album that year as well. I was bummed out again.

It will reach 7 billion 12 years later in 2011. I think Dylan has something in the works this time ‘round to mark the occasion.

According to National Geographic, it may reach 8 billion 13 years from now in 2024, then taper off a bit before hitting 9 billion 20 years later in 2045.


["Want my recipe for Frontier Stew?": photo GH]

And the magazine states: “In the coming decades, despite falling birthrates, the population will continue to grow - mostly in poor countries. If the billions of people who want to boost themselves out of poverty follow the path blazed by those in wealthy countries, they too will step hard on the planet’s resources.” (pg. 40)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch in London, Ontario, Canada, where many people spend a smaller portion of disposable income on food than anywhere else on the planet, there is a growing concern about rising food prices (Corn is getting more expensive to grow! WTHeck!!) and that restaurant menus will change to reflect higher costs. Even the price of a big bag of burgers might go up a touch.

Several people are also nervous about the prospect of having to fry their own eggs and sausages in order to save money.

Will the rising global population affect the price of food on our plate as well?

Is there a magic pill we can take to make the bad news go away?

Can we return to the 1940s when a burger and fries cost 10 cents? (That may have include a chocolate malt).

I’ll look into it!

***

Please click here to read It Strikes Me Funny PT 2: Is ‘restaurant trouble’ big trouble?

.

I Ask You: “Will the cheap 1940s return?”

I liked it when hamburgers were 10 cents.

I liked it when pop was 7 cents a bottle. And it tasted like real Coke, fer cryin’ out loud.

I liked it when I could go to a movie for a dime, and a nickel bag of popcorn filled my lap. And it tasted like real popcorn, not this new microwave crap.


I liked gas at 25 cents a gallon, smokes at 10 cents a pack and when nobody worried about smog or cancer.

I liked the 1940s. Geez, the ‘50s weren’t half bad either.

Can we go back to those days, please?

Life today is just gettin’ toooo darn expensive.

***

Can we go back to those days?

Please click here for more good news.

.

It Strikes Me Funny PT 1: Is ‘restaurant trouble’ big trouble?

Headline - ‘Trouble On Menu’

“Rising fuel prices are hitting restaurants hard, a double whammy in an industry where many already struggle to survive.

“Couple that with Ontario’s rising minimum wage and an extra 7% tax on food in the form of HST in B.C., and many in the industry are facing “death by a thousand cuts,” said the head of a national association representing restaurants.” (Kelly Pedro, Mar. 11, London Free Press)

Here’s how I’m feeling.

If I can’t eat out several times per week, then my life - my lovely, normal, delightful, easy, convenient set of routines - will be over. OVER!


["Thing$ are changing so fast. What's going on?"]

If I have to pay more for an over-sized supper (nicely large enough for me to get tomorrow’s lunch or dinner out of it), then I’ll be hopping mad. HOPPING!

If I can’t pull up to a drive-thru window and pick up a neatly folded bag of hot, fast, cheap, sweet-and-salty-smelling and fatty-tasting grilled fresh supper (like, tonight’s burger night) - while I wait about 30 seconds - then I’ll likely put my fist through a wall. A WALL!

I mean, what are the alternatives around here?

More frustration to follow.

***

What’s this world coming to?

Please click here for more information about Thing$ Going North $$.

.

Series of Significance: “Thing$ Going North $$”

[The following posts, about ten costs or debts growing simultaneously that affect Canadians, appeared in March, 2010. They are still relevant today, though some figures are updated and the list is now longer.]

Live Small and Prosper: “Thing$ Going North $$” PT 1

My mottoes ‘Live Small’, ‘live small and prosper,’ and ‘reduce spending, pay down debts and save money for the tough times ahead’ seem to be getting more important every day.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the federal Conservatives try to squeeze a bit of one of my mottoes into our national anthem - while they’re tinkering with it in order to distract people from the fact they don’t know how to solve Canada’s large financial, economic and environmental problems.

(Hint: Start off with 'O Canada, our home and mortgaged land...

Then, after the phrase ‘true patriot love,’ throw in ‘save dough 'cause times are tough.’)


To do my part, I’ll maintain a list of things that are going North ($$$), as far as our wallets are concerned.

First, our national debt will go over $600 billion in 2012, according to Canada’s Dept. of Finance.

(As of Feb. 27, 2011, this is still true, though it may happen earlier).

Second, our hydro bills will rise once we switch to the new ‘smart meter’ rates.

(They may rise more than anticipated).

Third, oil just past $80 US per barrel. That can’t be good (unless it’s burbling from your back yard. Is it? Call me).

(Feb. 27, 2011: Price per barrel is now $98.23 US).

Fourth, Canada’s average household debt to income ratio just went from 140 to 145 percent (predicted to be at 160 soon).

(It is now 150 percent).

Fifth, experts predict that higher interests are on the way, so mortgages and lines of credit will cost Canadians more.

Sixth, the HST (Hiked Sales Tax) will be starting in just a few months, and many shopping purchases and monthly bills will cost Canadians more.

Seventh, a copy of Batman’s debut in a 1939 comic book sold recently for $1.075 million US. So, if you’re into rare comics (and I say, why not), start saving up.

Okay, that’s enough good news for one day.

***

Canada, did I miss anything else going North ($$$)?

Have you bought a new piggy bank lately?

.

Live Small and Prosper: “Thing$ Going North $$” PT 2

I have the feeling that monthly expenses for North Americans will be going north for many years to come.

I suppose if I valiantly did research everyday into all the things that make us debtors in our own land I’d be one busy boy, so I won’t.

I’ll just keep a list for people of the province of Ontario and Canada as major bills come to my attention.


Please realize, of course, that I don’t always pay attention to any one thing for long.

8. Ontario’s provincial debt is approaching $200 billion. I’ll be out of town when it happens so someone please pop a balloon for me.

***

Is it too late to add the following? Reduce spending, pay down debt, save money for the tough times ahead.

.

Live Small and Prosper: “Thing$ Going North $$” PT 3

I may have missed something, but based on my limited knowledge, I don’t think anything has gone North ($$$) in Canada since Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

However, I just spotted news about another item that will soon cause monthly expenses for the citizens of Canada to rise, so I need to add it to the growing list.


9. This just in - Canadians are paying an average of 12 cents a liter more for gasoline at the pumps than a year ago ($1.04 average/liter at present), and they tend to move even higher in the spring, causing many drivers to wonder if they should drive fewer kilometres to save money.

Okay, that’s enough good news for one day.

(Average prices in London now appear to be between $1.15 and $1.21 per liter)

.

Live Small and Prosper: “Thing$ Going North $$” PT 4

Wasn’t it just yesterday I added something to this list?

Life seems to be getting more expensive here in Canada by the week, and now I wonder - is it all just long overdue?


Have we been living too high off the proverbial hog for decades?

My list, started in early March, now has a long-awaited number ten.

10. Core inflation increases: Our inflation rate, which includes the effect of volatile items such as fuel, fruit and vegetables, rose more than forecast in February and is now up to 2.1% for the last full year.

Higher car prices and a steep jump in accommodation costs during the Vancouver Olympics were the main factors driving the gain.

Raise your hand if you didn’t buy a new car or go to the Olympics.

Hey, me neither. We pay anyway.

.

Live Small and Prosper: “Thing$ Going North $$” PT 5

Recently, it came to my attention that two more very important items must be added to the list in 2011.

11. U.S. debt

It stands at about $14 trillion today and will likely hit $20 trillion in 4 - 5 years. Because it will be a BIG economic drag in the U.S., Canada and the London region for a long time I feel compelled to include it here.

12. Food costs

Prices will likely increase 5% to 10% over the next year or so.


Rising crop prices, e.g., related to corn, soy bean and wheat, will eventually cause food costs to go steadily North.

Especially affected will be thousands of items that contain corn syrup and other sugars, and meat stocks (chicken, beef, pork) that are fed on tonnes of locally produced grains.

More than the smoke from the BBQ will bring tears to our eyes this summer.

Cheers.

***

Please click here to read a series of related posts concerning US debt.

.