Canadian Personal Finance Blog

That was the question of the weekend for us. Yes, the snow is now gone and we can actually look at our back yard and wonder how we are going to get that all cleaned up (but I digress). The other issue, was whether we should buy a new Bar B Q (about a $175 - $450 expense) or try to replace the ruined burner (made of aluminum, and rusted through to the point of being a safety hazard) which would cost anywhere from $24.95 to $52.00.

Now normally I would just open my wallet and buy a new bar b q, but I knew that although it sounds much simpler, there is a great deal of “assembly” still to do. The replacement of the burner could be fiddly and complicated, but it would still be simpler than building the entire bar b q (remembering I was going to have to do that with a new system as well). The replacement would also mean I had to clean out the bottom of the bar b q (with the shop vacuum, so it wasn’t as bad as I thought).

I was about to buy the common garden variety cheaper burner replacement, when I saw there were cast iron versions of these devices as well. I reached for it and felt how heavy it was, and that made me want to buy it. The aluminum version seemed flimsy in comparison, and I have done this replace with an Aluminum burner before, and wasn’t very impressed with what I got (it was better but not much better).

We ended up buying the $50.00 cast iron burner, along with some new lava rock, and after doing the job 4 times, and getting out a hack saw, the whole job was completed, with a minimum of swearing and arguing (which was a good thing). My guess is the burner will last a good long time, in fact I may have to remember to remove it, when I finally dispose of this bar b q, but we have used it a few times, and it seems to work to our satisfaction, and it does not make the grill look like a flamethrower either.

So let me begin that the following comments are an UNsolicited and UNpaid for endorsement by me of a garage here in Ottawa.

I have been taking my cars to Parker Auto Care for over 15 years now, and have never had any problems with the work done, or by the folks that work there. Dave Parker the owner proprietor does good work, only charges you for the work that needs done, and will not try to kill you “nickel and diming” you on things that can wait. Word of warning, Dave is also very busy, and you might not get in to see him right away (another good sign for most services like this, the busier they are, the better they are (most of the time)).

Why am I doing this? I have said more than once that the major allies you need in life are:

1. A good spouse
2. A good doctor
3. A good mechanic
4. A good dentist
5. A lawyer that takes care of you (not sure how you define good for that profession)

Dave fits (3) to a “T”, and I have no problems endorsing his business (and I must repeat, I am not getting paid to say this).

As most of my regular readers know, I tend to get a twitch and rant loudly when talking about payday loans and the places that give out this “alternate credit vehicle” (a term used by the industry). I have pontificated about this point many times, but now Stats Canada has put out a study about the growth of this financial alternative, and also who uses it. Perspectives on Labour and Income examines this whole industry in detail, but Stats Canada has put up a good summary on their web site about it.

Pay Day Loans Just Like the Great White, A Perfect Eating Machine

Three percent (3%) of families in Canada have admitted to using these kind of services in the past 3 years. The family’s main bread winner is typically between 35 and 44, which is also interesting (non baby boomers, more like Generation X’ers).

This quote makes me feel very sad:

Almost half of families who used payday loans reported that they had no one to turn to if they faced financial difficulty, significantly higher than for non-users (32%). More than one-quarter reported that they could not handle an unforeseen expenditure of $500, almost four times the rate for non-users. Nearly half could not handle one of $5,000 (17% for non-users).

Yikes, that really does mean we are living a little too close to the ragged edge these days and really need to think about how we spend our money.

I am not condemning you for using this service, but I do want you to think about how you can stop using these services. There are many different ideas out there on many different blogs and books you can get from your library, so please start a plan. Don’t feel like this is your only way to deal with this, because these Loan Sharks are not the answer to your financial survival, if anything they are the end of your survival, there is little chance of escape from these sharks. If you are paying 470% interest, your chances of getting out from under this is not likely.