Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Caveat Emptor, I think the first time I heard that I was watching the Brady Bunch and Greg had bought a clunker that didn’t work, and his Father taught him the valuable lesson of, “Let the buyer beware” (gee thanks Dad, couldn’t you just give me my money back?).

Let me be clear about what I think of this sad statement, it is a simple excuse by people who sell (be it retailers, wholesalers, curbsiders, hucksters, snake oil salesmen, etc.,) to SCREW you! Well, sorry you bought that but Caveat Emptor eh? BITE ME, is my response to that. How did we get to a world where it is ok to screw your fellow person out of their hard earned money? Hey, I sealed your driveway for $500, but the stuff to do it costs $25 at Home Depot, but Caveat Emptor! WTF?

I really have little sympathy for folks who are “fleeced” on Internet scams claiming to get them a million dollars from Nigeria, that is not a Caveat Emptor situation, that is just plain old fashioned stupidity. I am talking about Car salespeople, who sell you a car they know is flawed, electronics store droids who wouldn’t know a CPU from WTF but try to sell you a warranty that you don’t need, and “Religious” organizations who just want your money so they don’t have to work.

My hope is that the theory of Karma comes into play for those folks, and they get what is coming to them. You could take the Christian view that they are all going to Hell (or at least a nastier part of hell than where I may end up), but one of my tenets of life is “they will get theirs in the end”.

Keep that in mind this Holiday season (all you retailers, and hucksters) –C8j

For those of you who live below the Mason-Dixon line, this post won’t do too much for you, but for those of us, who live at the whim of Mother Nature during the Winter, this is an interesting question.

In Ottawa, I continually have discussions and sometimes heated arguments with folks about whether you need Snow Tires in the winter. I espouse the use of Snow Tires highly because I drive a van, and have found that “all season” radial tires are, well, useless in snow (again this is only my opinion here). In a real snow storm (my definition is 15 centimeters of snow or more with high winds), you may as well be driving on ball bearings than All Season tires.

The arguments I have heard against snow tires vary but are usually:

• I only need snow tires for 5-10 days out of the winter
• My response to that is call me when you are in the ditch or spun out on the highway during one of those days, let’s discuss it then.
• If you plan on “turtling up” in your home during those days, then I guess you don’t need snow tires.
• I get worse gas mileage with snow tires on
• True, can’t really argue that too much, but how much is safety worth to you?
• My car is noisier with snow tires on.
• Also true, again, your stereo doesn’t have a volume knob?
• They cost too much
• Maybe, but again, what is the cost of safety? My guess would be about $400-$500 for a set of four snow tires. Another $200-$300 for rims too.
• All season’s get the job done most of the time
• Maybe

So if All Season’s don’t do much good in the real winter, and don’t do that much good in the summer, what are they good for? That’s a rhetorical question, folks.

Another good question is do you put TWO or FOUR snow tires on? Another opinion issue, I put on FOUR, but other folks are happy with two, that is a judgement call on your part.

It all comes down to where safety fits in your family budget. –C8j

This is an odd name to be given on a day where our neighbours in the U.S. orgy on spending as on no other day of the year. I have always found the U.S. wonderful neighbours, and I remember the first time I figured out their Thanksgiving was MUCH more than what we do in Canada. A snowstorm had closed the schools and I sat down to watch TV, and suddenly there were parades football games, TV Specials, the whole nine yards, this was Fantastic. I have tried to stay home most American Thanksgivings since that day.

So, why is this an excuse to take all your careful financial planning that you have done over the year, the debt reduction, the penny pinching and squander it, because of some sales? Not really sure on that one. I think this is one of those mob mentality things you see (like the Xbox this year or Furbies a few years back). Now, if you were smart, and saved up so you have a war chest to get your Christmas shopping done at a lower price, good for you my American Cousin, that kind of planning will service you well. Be careful, remember to only spend what you have, do not be tempted to buy other than what you need, but enjoy. For my American Cousins who are going to run up their Credit Cards and worry about it later, Shame on You!

Maybe NOW (right NOW) is a time to start a new plan. Don’t go to the big sales, but spend time at home and plan your Christmas shopping needs, and then go and buy what you need at whatever sales are left? Don’t SHOP, BUY! It’s a subtle difference, my wife shops, she looks around, “Oh we need that too” is usually her battle cry, me, I buy, what’s on the list, let’s buy it, and get out! Wham bam, done!

Christmas SHOPPING is going to be what breaks your financial plan, so be careful at those sales. If you are near the Canadian border, come up and visit your cousins, remember your mighty dollar is still worth a lot up here. –C8j