Grey Power: "putting money aside" (2)

I see red flags when I read certain statements in a recent Stats Can report about Canada's aging population because, although I wasn't mentioned by name, it relates to me and millions of others my age, i.e., 65 and up. (My D.O.B. is Sept. 1949, so 65 is just around the corner). Some red flags have to do with green.

As reported in the London Free Press (Nov. 26):

     ...as the so-called baby boomers age there will be
     fewer people in line after them to pay for their care.

     "There's a kind of an intergenerational difficulty in
     that," (emeritus sociology professor) Beaujot said.
     "As we're preparing for a society that will have more
     health care costs, we should have been putting
     money aside for that."

See the red flags? More people will need care. Fewer people will pay for the care. Where will the money come from? We should have been putting money away long ago, personally, provincially, federally (i.e., governmentally). We should be saving now.

Like many others I'd like to be 20 again. Long hair, polyester bell-bottoms, wide Paisley ties, bright yellow shirts with long pointy collars, platform shoes, 25 cent glasses of beer. Oh yeah, take me back this minute. But could I stand the cost of the steps needed to prepare for the future? It would be tough sledding, for certain, so I don't blame young people today for not wanting to bear rising costs for an aging class at the same time they're trying to get their own educational needs, apartment, house or new family in order.

Provincial and federal governments may feel they have their hands tied. Large red flags like current debt loads, low tax climates ("Cut costs, cut taxes or else!"), struggling economies and rising costs (in more areas than health) don't make a pleasant mix. We seem to be facing an unsustainable situation now and a more troubled one in the future. Magic pill? It can't appear fast enough.

The large number of red flags makes me think we are a country at war with itself, and with that image comes reminders of what Canadians did 70 - 75 years ago when faced with an all-consuming calamity, World War 2. We shelved our business-as-usual approach to life and sacrificed - for a time - much of our energy and wealth with the hope to vanquish a determined foe. The same type of push is needed today.

More to follow.      

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Please click here to read putting money aside (1)

Live Small: I like 'Hello, Gord'

The $3,099 espresso machine is too rich for my blood and the fingerprint recognition technology seems a bit cold. ("Sure, I can make you an espresso but show me some ID first!")

I prefer walking over the The Red Roaster in Wortley Village and hearing a warm human voice.

"Gord, you're lookin' good this morning."

(I sure am.)

Photo from Nov. 17 London Free Press

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This Old Economist: “Adjust the Dream Dial”

There has been a change in our economic vocabulary.

From ‘driving, relentless, unlimited, easy’ to ‘dampening, weakening, shrinking, contracting.’

Someday a government, business or economic leader will tell families they must “adjust the dial downward on the Canadian, American or European Dream” and families will get it. They’ll realize the economy and environment have been pushed past sustainable limits for many years.

Start saving change and fivers for tough times.

‘Be Prepared’ like good little Cub Scouts.

[Photos by G.Harrison]

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Please click here for more This Old Economist

$$ FAX 12: The vulnerable Canadian

Do you have a vulnerable side?

If you’re a consumer and your debt is growing, you do.

It appears average debt per Canadian household has increased 33% in the last few years.

If interest rates increase in the future, what will happen to your monthly payments?

Start saving up!

[Photos by G.Harrison]

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Please click here to view $$ FAX 11

$$ FAX 11: “Downsize the Dream”

Retirees are planning to work longer because the Canadian Dream is becoming unaffordable.

Questions: 1. What did boomers spend all their money on if they can’t retire after 40 years?

2. If boomers don’t give up their jobs, how will the next generation live once their expectations are dashed?

Answers: 1. Larger-than-life lifestyle.

2. Small lifestyle, perhaps in parents’ basement. 

[Photos of Aug. 21, London Free Press by G.Harrison]

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Please click here to read $$ FAX 10

$$ FAX 10: “We’re short”

We Canadians are crummy savers.

And too many of us bought into big homes, excess furnishings, expensive cars, plus more. Much much more.

Short? 

Reduce spending. Pay down debt. Save money, even $1 per day to create the habit.

[Photos by G.Harrison]

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Please click here for $$ FAX 9

This Old Economist: “Do we share wealth fairly?”

Some Canadian job sectors grow wealthier.

Is Canada’s wealth shared fairly?

E.g., between private and public sectors, the two arms of a strong country?

[Photos by G.Harrison]

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$$ FAX 4

Europe is hanging on by its fiscal fingernails, and, as a result, Pres. Obama is deeply worried about the future of the U.S.

I think it would be wise for many U.S. citizens to prepare for a change in lifestyle. 

Recommendations: Look for a smaller house near a bus route. (Then... reduce spending, pay down personal debt and save money for tougher times). 

Photo by G.Harrison

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Please click here to read $$ FAX 3

It Strikes Me Funny: “Oh, that shirt looks nice on you”

It came as no surprise, that an hour or so before going to our friends’ house for supper on Saturday night, my wife presented me with a new shirt.

She knows I don’t often make the effort to buy new clothes because - not that I don’t appreciate them - new duds are far down on my list of needs or priorities in life.

In the late 1960s, early 1970s, I was a very impulsive shopper, especially related to clothes. They make the man, I thought. And the shopping habit makes one poor as well, I slowly learned.

‘Live small and prosper’ is now my motto and my ‘saving habit’ is now much stronger than my ‘spending habit’. (E.g., in the last year I’ve saved enough to train across Canada in ‘The Canadian Train’, from Toronto to Vancouver, in an upper berth, all meals included. And I’ll look pretty snappy in my used jeans and T-shirts).

However, when my wife buys me a new shirt, to make her man, I won’t turn it down, especially if it’s plaid - my favourite colour.

[Photo by GH]

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Please click here for more It Strikes Me Funny

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This Old Economist: “Good jobs are going up in smoke”

["Feed the pig before it sinks."]

[No matter how Canadian jobs stats are sliced and diced, our Conservative Federal Government has no sustainable plan to bring good jobs back to our country. Thanks to its short-sighted, unsustainable, “business as usual” free market economic plan that includes tax breaks for the wealthiest among us (aka “the job creators”) ...good jobs will not grow in good numbers. Jan. 30, G.Harrison]

As if in support of my recently espoused theory - i.e., reviving the job market will be more difficult than bringing a dead mackerel back to life - a well-written letter to the editor appeared on Jan. 28 in The London Free Press.

Tax breaks don’t create jobs

“Gerry Macartney (London Chamber of Commerce) says corporations should first get their tax reduction and then work with the government to find ways to create jobs. I don’t think so.

Why on earth would a corporation create more jobs and more goods just because it gets a tax break? Short answer: It wouldn’t and never has.

The real problem is 10 years of stagnated or declining wages for the workers, with the resulting decrease in demand for goods and services. The money is now tied up in the assets of rich corporations and individuals who literally do not know how to spend their mountains of money.” Gerry H. Grand Bend

You think we’re in trouble now, Canada, with a government that can serve up no sustainable, viable Plan A for jobs yet rewards corporations for being... corporations.

(Is pushing the toxic tars sands a viable job plan once unmanageable future costs to our natural ecosystems and personal health are considered? Is there any wonder Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has drafted a plan to limit future funding to the health care systems we’ll need in the future?)

Directly related to the letter, just wait ‘til more Canadians, now up to their eyeballs in debt, start paying it off regularly as if there is no tomorrow. What will happen to supply and demand of consumer goods then? Do the Conservatives have a sustainable Plan B for that day, decade, or Age, as in The Age of Austerity, with capital letters?

It’s almost as if the wealthy, in their desire to have it all, missed the lesson the tobacco industry learned years ago. That is, if you kill your customers, you’ll eventually run out of customers.

Don’t let your dreams go up in smoke.

Reduce spending, pay down debt, and save money for tough times ahead.

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Please click here for more from This Old Economist.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: “Cheap socks suit my cheap feet”

Sit down. Prepare to be shocked!


["Where did Gord get all these new socks?"]

Three years ago I survived - quite handily - a “Buy No New Clothing Year”. Back then I stared you right in the face, with my eyes all squinty-like, and said I wouldn’t even look at new clothes.

Except for one errant purchase I succeeded in my quest.

(My goof: I bought a $12 straw garden hat which I didn’t return when I caught my mistake; I put it in my closet, and haven’t worn it since because I found a used one to take its place. That’s not the shocking part. Sorry, I digress).

A second year went buy. I made but a few purchases of used clothing.

This year has been the same... until Saturday.


Hold onto your hats. I bought six pairs of new socks for $7.00 at Winners, prompted by the fact that socks I had once repaired were showing holes again.

Then I bought a new pair of shoes at The Bay ($91) to replace my old loafers. (One shoe has been leaking through the cracked sole for 2 - 3 years but both uppers still look good. I’ll polish them and just wear them now on dry days).

Why, if that’s not enough to knock you over... the last two weeks have been a very big time for me as far as “new” purchases are concerned.

Because I’m selling my motorcycle in the spring I bought a new bicycle ($399) from Herms Sports one week ago. And I’ll likely buy a new or used bike trailer - to hold my camping gear - sometime before next June. (Wee camping vacations to Paris, Zurich and Brussels are in my future. You’ll be the first to hear about them).

Gasp. I also bought new lumber ($70) from Home Depot about two weeks ago. I have a birdhouse sale in mid-October and my supply of rescued lumber is running low for the first time in 3 - 4 years.

Maybe I’m on an “excessive consumption” roll. Maybe the flood gates are now open and there’s no turning back!!


["Relax. Gord's feet are now sitting pretty": photos by GH]

Stay tuned.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: “Oh yeah. Used jeans look hot.”

I suggest to you there are people in the world who would take one long look at me and ask themselves, “Should I do what Harrison does and buy used jeans that are actually better looking on him than I imagined?”

Really. How could they not?

I mean, I do. I look down at my pretty feet that hang out of the bottoms of my pretty jeans (hot, hot, hot) and look forward to my next trip to Value Village.


["Pretty feet. How can you think otherwise?": photo by G. Harrison]

Right now I’m thinking, maybe by next June I’ll need another pair at about $6.99.

What do you think about when you see my pretty feet and used jeans?

Hey, be nice! (Remember, the blog is entitled It Strikes Me Funny, so you’ve got to expect quirky every once in awhile).

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Please click here to read more Austerity Without Anxiety.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: “These boots are made for walkin’...”

Walkin’ to the workshop, that is. They’re made for walkin’ to the compost bin too.

And for stopping to feed the birds on the way. And for cutting the grass, especially when it’s a titch damp outside.


["Like Thomas the Train, the boots are useful.": photo GH]

I purchased the rain boots many, many, many years ago, and because the depth of puddles in Wortley Village never got up to the tops of the boots but once (Remember the storm of ’77?), I tossed them into a corner in the basement and forgot about them... for many, many years.

Now they get lots of use. Instead of buying some ‘work-around-the-house’ boots a while back, I went looking for my old rain boots, found them covered in dust, washed them off, cut off the uppers and placed them on the steps inside the back door.

I slip them onto my feet several times per week. I left a tab at the back to help pull them on. Wasn't that clever?

When winter comes, I switch to fur-lined boots, but ‘til then, the rubber cut-offs do lots of walkin’.

And tamping earth down into holes in the lawn after a local skunk digs for grubs.

And edging the lawn in spring...

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Austerity without Anxiety: Le jus du feves (and it’s free)

Excuse my Gr. 9 French. I’m very rusty. Plus, I didn’t always pay attention to M. Duvellieux, if that really was his name.

However, when I opened the fridge door this morning to look for something cold to sip (perhaps even to splash in my face while coffee brewed), I spied a drink so outside the box I felt it needed a unique name.


["Such a fine cold drink": photo GH]

Le jus du feves cannot be purchased in a store. It is found - free of charge - in one’s steamer after steaming vegetables for supper.

In my case, while I enjoyed steamed yellow and green beans for last evening’s meal, le jus was chillin’ in the fridge.

And a few moments ago, I - still in my jammies - watched shards of gray cloud fly across the sky above my back deck whilst sipping a cold, refreshing glass (did I mention it’s free?) of la jus du feves avec real vitamins.

***

I only know one other person who drinks steamer water.

Raise your hand if you do too. Or comment about a free drink you enjoy.

Please click here for more Austerity without Anxiety about Apricot Jam.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: “Just make the jam last longer.”

I wouldn’t usually buy apricot jam from Unger’s Market because the store is all the way across town and a Valu-Mart - loaded with jams and marmalades - is located 250 meters from my front porch.

My wife frequents the market, however, because it’s close to her mother’s apartment and the two ladies often do their shopping together now that my wife’s mother has given up driving. (She’s 90 years old. Not a bad move).

Though I wouldn’t buy it (or travel across town for groceries unless assisting someone else), when I see jam in my fridge I will eat it.


["Just make it last a long time.": photo GH]

I consider the small jar of expensive jam a treat and in order to make it last a long, long, long time (e.g., more than a month), I’ll enjoy it once or twice a week only. And when I do, I’ll just spread a wee bit on toast.

Some might say to me, “Tell your wife to resist the temptation to buy expensive jams. Tell her to save her money and live by more frugal standards.”

News flash. We’ve been married 41 years even though we’re opposites in many ways. (That might have been part of the attraction when we met in 1969)

As well, I know when to keep my mouth shut - trust me on that one.

And I also know how to get good value out of a pricey jar of jam. Opposites or not, I can live an austere live without anxiety. That’s the goal around here, isn’t it?

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Austerity Without Anxiety (most of the time): Two people live in this one house

Granted, men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Sometimes, they’re from farther away than that.

Daily I’m reminded that two very different people live in my house. Sorry, our house.

He gets up in the morning, showers, dresses, makes coffee and then hunts and gathers for breakfast before sitting down to think or write.


["He leaves items on the counter to share with her": photos GH]

She rises a bit later, showers, dresses, dries her hair, puts on makeup while listening to CBC Radio news, then thinks about breakfast, often one that includes his leftover coffee (“Drat!”) followed by a toasted bagel from the nearby Little Red Roaster.

Coffee, refills and toast or bagel don’t cost much on a daily basis but over the course of a month or year can top out at a surprisingly high number.

He thinks about the cost everyday and eats the expensive PC Meusli she buys topped with the cheaper, crappier Cheerios on occasion (in his mind and wallet, closely linked, this makes the cost per bowl cheaper than straight PC Meusli). He often hopes she will do the same.

She has been cooking meals for 41 years and more often that not prefers to pay for someone else to toast and butter her bagel even though she buys two or three kinds of cereal just to have something on hand and (possibly) irritate her husband.

He often leaves leftovers out on the kitchen counter near the coffee pot to tempt her to the eat at home and save money. She knows this and thinks he’s a goof (though still quite the catch) and that nothing has really changed since they married in 1970.


He tries not to worry that the two of them aren’t always on the same page. Life is a journey and she recently made great homemade soup and muffins so nutritious and inexpensive lunches would be on hand.

And how much can fresh blueberries cost? (He doesn’t really want to know).

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To keep the peace - and keep from blowing a gasket - I remind myself often of the things I buy primarily for me, e.g., gas and insurance for the motorcycle, tools for the workshop, bargain books, used T-shirts...

That reminds me, I need a good used, sweatshirt for fall.

Please click here for more Austerity Without Anxiety.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: A cheap apple and lemon drink

If I keep this up for another 25 years (or so), I’ll be as healthy as a horse and rolling in the money I save.


["Professional-type photo by GH"]

To a tall glass of tap water I add a titch of apple juice (they say it’s 100% juice and low in acid right on the bottle - how healthy is that!) and a few drops of pure lemon juice (squeezed in an economical fashion from 21 lemons).

The apple-lemon combination is tasty and bound to be good for me. Plus, the bottles last for a long time, saving me countless trips to the corner market.

My wife thinks I’m a cheap old cuss, and she’s right, as usual.

***

Some will say I could save more money if I didn't buy juice in plastic bottles but two people live at my house. Sorry, "our" house.

Please click here for another round of Austerity Without Anxiety.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: “No soap for you!”

The habit of practicing austerity doesn’t come easy. Some weeks I have to beat down my consumptive ways with a large stick - mentally, that is. (I don’t condone hitting myself with a real, gnarly, pointed stick).

But this week I’ve been staying close to home, working on back yard projects using rescued lumber and only stepping out to meet friends or family for coffee and play the odd hockey game. (Talk about ‘odd.’ My team beat the opposition for the first time in about 6 or 7 weeks!)

However, just because I’m close to home doesn’t mean I don’t try to look my best. I shower and change my T-shirt regularly and shave every other day using the latest in shaving technology, i.e., an antique brush, mug of soap bits and a razor.


["Next week I may smell like lilacs": photo GH]

The only part of the kit that will ever cost me money will be the razor - because I must purchase new blades once in awhile, but not often, thanks to my bearded ways.

The antique brush (purchased for $8 at an antique barn in Fenelon Falls; it's the best one I've ever had) should last my lifetime, since after a shower I often apply a bit of soap to my neck by hand. And the mug of soap bits is always filled to the top because my wife tosses leftovers into it regularly.

I think I stopped buying round soaps for the mug about ten years ago after seeing the bill for three bars to fill it.

“No soap for you! There has to be a cheaper way!” I said to myself then.

And thanks to a highly-efficient system of using cast-offs from the tub, my neck smells like spicy coffee this week, my wife’s favourite choice. (Dove is number two).

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“Look at that cheap, sexy little number”

[Costs of car ownership in Canada per year: $6,972 - Victoria; $7,408 - Vancouver; $5,138 - Winnipeg; $5,411 - Kitchener-Waterloo; $7,625 - Montreal; $5,442 - Halifax. Totals include gasoline, parking costs, license renewal, plate registration, insurance premiums. July 23, London Free Press]

Two weeks ago I placed a few birdhouses on the front lawn to tempt passersby to stop and give me money.

A former student dropped by (many years have passed since I last saw Bonnie; she told me her age, and that made me feel considerably older, so I charged her double), as well as a fellow on a 1930s bicycle.

After saying good-bye to Bonnie, Derrick (the cyclist) and I had a long chat too about his old bike and a few others he owned. Because he lived nearby he left and returned within 5 minutes riding a 1940s model bearing a ‘Watson, Made in London Ontario’ emblem.

Derrick struck me as quirky and I like quirky. I invited him to inspect my old Raleigh (circa 1964, so I’ve been told) hanging in The Annex in my backyard. I listed a few problems with the bike and he said he could fix them.


[“Look at that cheap, sexy little number”: photos GH]

“I can tighten the brakes for you and get the gear shifter working. I’ll have it back by mid-afternoon,” he said.

He was true to his word, spotted, repaired and cleaned other items, presented a reasonable bill for service ($45) and I’ve been using the bike regularly ever since.

Now, I haven’t saved $45 worth of gasoline yet, but I’ll get my money back easily by the end of the riding season. I saved $20 last Sunday alone by leaving my motorcycle in the driveway and pedalling through Springbank Park instead.


[“Under the shady arms of a baobab tree. Might be a maple in Springbank Park.”]

I’ve been so happy to have use of a solid road-worthy bicycle that I’m now toying with the idea of selling my 1994 1100cc Yamaha Virago (within two years) and using some of the proceeds to buy a newer bicycle and child carrier (to haul camping gear).

The idea of camping trips within a 100 km radius of London interests me a great deal. Already, the London-Paris-Stratford loop has come to mind. I’d like to pedal the London-Zurich-Brussels loop as well.

Possibilities for adventure - all on a cheap and sexy bicycle - are endless, and affordable too. I might even save enough gas money to buy a new tent.

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Please click here for another exciting and austere adventure to the Village of Values.

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Austerity without Anxiety: “$21 later, I’m set for summer”

Socks. I’ve got lots of socks, I said to myself recently. But I could use a couple more T-shirts.

Frequent readers of this blog know I don’t rush off to buy new clothes very often. (I’m in my third year of “no new clothes.”) But I will buy used clothing on occasion.

And, yesterday, it was that time again.

Several of my old T-shirts were ready for the workshop, i.e., as stain rags. My “shop” shorts were ripped in several places. I felt I needed one more button-down shirt for fancy dress parties.

Frequent readers know where I usually head to renew supplies. The Village of Values is right, with 20 bucks in my pocket.

Years ago, after I showed off a new ‘used’ sweater during a meal with a dozen fellow hikers at a nice restaurant in Waterloo, a friend said - somewhat in shock - “You don’t wear other people’s clothing, do you?”


["Gord's all set for this summer, next year too": photos GH]

I was embarrassed for several seconds.

Then I realized, I like saving money. I don’t mind ‘hand-me-downs’ because I grew up in the 1950s wearing them and so did a lot of my friends at the time.


["Do the math. I had to borrow a buck from my wife."]

Guess what? So did a few of my friends around that dinner table in Waterloo. It was a good lesson for me. No need to feel like I’d broken some kind of immutable law, or feel shame. I wasn’t alone. Never will be. Some of the finest people I know grew up wearing their older brother’s pants.

Today I shop for new ‘used’ without a second’s thought. (Sorry, I lied. I do wonder if I’m just the second person to wear my new ‘used’ summer shorts!) Just about everything we touch and wear ends up at the dump. By the time I’m through with things, e.g., as a paint rag, they’re good and ready.

Admittedly, no one will ever call me a fashion plate.

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Do you buy second-hand clothes? New ‘used’? Hand-me-downs? Feel any shame? (You shouldn’t.)

Please click here to read more Austerity without Anxiety.

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