Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Yesterday Mrs. Caj and I discovered that our upstairs toilet’s wax gasket was not working and thus it was leaking, so we decided that this was a home repair project we could tackle (we have actually done it before). We have the Time/Life book of complete home repair which does explain in detail how to fix this problem, so I went off to the Hardware store and picked up two wax ring gaskets (or flanges).

Why Buy Two?

Simple, I know my inability to do anything correctly (when it comes to home repair or improvement) the first time. I do usually succeed on the projects I attempt (I don’t try things I know I can’t do), but I usually mess it up the first time, so I have learned the importance of buying back up parts for the project.

This home repair would have cost well over $100 if I could have found a plumber that would have come in on a Sunday, but in the end cost me $13 (for both flanges). It also needed to be done, given the toilet is on the second floor of our house, and this kind of a leak can really make a mess of the main floor ceiling and possibly compromise the home’s structural integrity (water damage to trusses). We also replaced the toilet flapper which caused water to leak, which cost me money as well (water bill).

My wife and I were also still talking to each other afterwards (occasionally we quibble in these kind of projects as well). 

Advent Financial Calendar Box Day 2

For your Financial Advent Calendar, today’s box has a slip of paper in it:

Day 2: Investigate and open a TFSA account for January 1 2009. 

Sort of a Financial Christian Fortune Cookie, really.