# What do you attribute your wealth to?



## Edgar (Mar 24, 2014)

So, browsing CMF, it appears there is a significant amount of wealthy individuals (probably why you are on this forum to begin with )

What I want to know is what you attribute your wealth to. More than likely, it will be a combination of things, but for instance, it could be your schooling was stellar and set you up for big things, it could be that one job you landed early in life that propelled you forward into bigger and better things, it could purely your investments, it could be your frugality, could be a stroke of luck that happened to you, etc. What do you attribute your wealth to?


----------



## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

Alot of bad luck and fighting and surviving along the way.


----------



## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Hard work, brains, winning the lottery.

Ha ha not quite. The biggest thing was being eager to learn, and willing to think in new ways. I had to revise my whole way of thinking. The typical person today, who is raised and educated to work for a boss, has no idea how to manage money and what it takes to accumulate money. Understanding the use of money for investing, compound interest, and business in general is key. After 50 years of study I still know very little but I have done a few things right.

Here is a thought experiment. Have you ever heard of someone who won a multi million dollar lottery prize and a year or 2 later, were worse off than when they got the money? Happens all the time right?

On the other hand, have you ever seen an interview with some rich person who said, if they lost all their money, they could make it back in 5 years? I have seen this more than once, a good example being Donald Trump who was practically bankrupt in the early 90s.

Now if there were 2 stores side by side, one selling lottery tickets and one offering to teach classes in investing and money management, which do you think would get more customers? Which do you think would be of more value?


----------



## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Allāhu Akbar.......(Working in Saudi Arabia).


----------



## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Frugal parents, hard work, an inheritance and good luck.


----------



## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

Nemo2, I've enjoyed reading snippets about your life through CMF and your article on Boomer & Echo; I'm wondering (if you're willing to share) what exactly did you do in Saudi Arabia?

I'm not wealthy relative to others here but I am probably above average in my peer group. I'm almost ashamed (but thankful) to admit it's entirely due to my parents. Their help through college and letting me continue to stay at home has allowed me to go on trips and such while still growing my net worth. I'd be at $0 or worse if I had to do it all myself from 18 years old. Really, I wouldn't have been able to do all that I've done so far.


----------



## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Barwelle said:


> Nemo2, I've enjoyed reading snippets about your life through CMF and your article on Boomer & Echo; I'm wondering (if you're willing to share) what exactly did you do in Saudi Arabia?


Nothing exotic, (or even quixotic), I'm afraid.......a major Canadian telco, (with whom I was employed in a sales capacity in Toronto), needed someone to push paper around, and I was lucky enough to be that someone.......(for 7 years, 6 weeks, and 2 days).


----------



## fraser (May 15, 2010)

Having the smarts at an early age to quit working and go back to school, hard work, taking the chance to change careers when I did not like what I was doing, being debt adverse, having the ability to see an opportunity/challenge and take it, willingness to relocate,, and a very healthy dose of common sense and skepticism, etc.

But....the most important was marrying the right person. Someone who supported me and had the same approach to finances from when I was a poor student all the way through to financial independence/retirement and various re-locations.


----------



## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

I found a business partner that worked as hard as I did but was 5x as smart.


----------



## GoldStone (Mar 6, 2011)

Edgar said:


> More than likely, it will be a combination of things, but for instance, it could be your schooling was stellar and set you up for big things, it could be that one job you landed early in life that propelled you forward into bigger and better things, it could purely your investments, it could be your frugality, could be a stroke of luck that happened to you, etc. What do you attribute your wealth to?


All of the above - and then some!


----------



## uptoolate (Oct 9, 2011)

Pride in a job well done... oh and being born in Canada into a post-war boom probably helped too.


----------



## Toronto.gal (Jan 8, 2010)

Eder said:


> I found a business partner that worked as hard as I did but was 5x as smart.


If your partner stuck with you [for how many years?], I'm sure you complemented each other, otherwise he/she would not have been that smart. Could be that he/she thinks/thought that you were 5x as smart!


----------



## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Edgar said:


> So, browsing CMF, it appears there is a significant amount of wealthy individuals (probably why you are on this forum to begin with )
> 
> What I want to know is what you attribute your wealth to. More than likely, it will be a combination of things, but for instance, it could be your schooling was stellar and set you up for big things, it could be that one job you landed early in life that propelled you forward into bigger and better things, it could purely your investments, it could be your frugality, could be a stroke of luck that happened to you, etc. What do you attribute your wealth to?


Having lots of money.


----------



## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

OK, for reals, I started working early in life, by fluke I started making a lot of money very young, and I saved a lot of it, and I've been investing in markets since I was 18 years old, with a very hands-on approach. I got divorced once and that was a wealth-destroying event, but I was able to recover because luck and habits have been on my side.


----------



## Edgar (Mar 24, 2014)

MoneyGal said:


> Having lots of money.



that's a winning answer


----------



## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I always had the attitude that I would take on any challenge. So when opportunities arose involving geographic moves and risk, I always took them when I perceived them beneficial to achieving my objectives. It worked out OK. I was the only person in my extended family with a university degree but that was just a door opener. Many of my classmates worked at Ontario Hydro all their lives.

I was also careful about spending. We spent a lot. But we always got maximum value.


----------



## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

On my way.....last couple years i have had a wealth increase.
owning a buisness in a sector that has a lot of demand and next to no young people are entering.
connecting with a business that is growing rapidly and on the ''bus'' with them and part of the team(they force me to leave my comfort zone).
learning to use the business capital as a tool and buying/paying for outsourcing work(work on the business instead of in it-that is huge--learning to ''let'' go and get out of the way and be the support/coach role
creating small goals that are reachable on a short term basis and not looking to far ahead(important imo)measurable goal posts when added together meet a yearly goal but yearly goal on its own is daunting
I am not ''there'' yet but these are helping me a lot


----------



## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Toronto.gal said:


> If your partner stuck with you [for how many years?], I'm sure you complemented each other, otherwise he/she would not have been that smart. Could be that he/she thinks/thought that you were 5x as smart!


Haha thanks for the vote of confidence...


----------



## Tightwad (Mar 28, 2014)

Edgar said:


> What I want to know is what you attribute your wealth to.


Well not due to investing. I never believed in getting money for nothing.

I just don't pi$$ my money away and refuse to be a puppet to the markets.

I'm quite self sufficient and do not have to rely on many services.

And I even retired early. :biggrin:


----------



## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

I'm not wealthy (yet, if ever) but I already know what my answers would be.

Luck - I just happened to buy real estate in 2003 before the market run-up. I only hope my next purchase will be so lucky. I also have a couple of inheritances waiting down the road, barring anything unforeseen.

Frugality - Having growing up in a working class household, this was ingrained in me from a very young age. I'm also pretty much convinced there is a genetic component to this behavior, because it takes such minimal effort on my part.

Self-sufficiency - An extension of frugality, but worthy of its own mention. I'm not afraid to "get my hands dirty" with basically anything.


----------



## Tightwad (Mar 28, 2014)

nathan79 said:


> I also have a couple of inheritances waiting down the road.


Pretty sad pattern of thought.

I'd be writing you out of my will if we were related.


----------



## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

Tightwad said:


> Pretty sad pattern of thought.
> 
> I'd be writing you out of my will if we were related.


Death is inevitable; might as well discuss it.

My mom is always giving me a hard time for saving so much of my income, especially since I don't earn a lot. She says I shouldn't be worrying about my retirement since I'll basically get everything she owns. Of course, I don't listen to her, and I don't want to rely on her money anyway.

You sound like one of those petty and judgemental family members who is a real joy to be around.:encouragement:


----------



## Tightwad (Mar 28, 2014)

nathan79 said:


> You sound like one of those petty and judgemental family members who is a real joy to be around.:encouragement:


Well one thing I am not is one who talks about or even thinks about an inheritance.


----------



## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I actually don think it's wrong to talk or think about an inherentance. 

In my my family, my parents and family talked about money and finance at a very young age. In their culture, they looked at wealth as family wealth, and as something that gets passed on in the future. Wealth is looked at from the elders as something like knowledge that gets passed on. Being that English is not their first language, they relied on the kids very much to help managed the finances. There have been many conversations with my parents on how to plan the estate to minimize the taxes, ect. 

My parents were so worried about making sure here is an inheritance, that they don't like to spend anything. The ironic thing is none of the kids need or want the inheritance. All of us have hit or will hit financial I dependant at an early age. As kids, we are constantly trying to convince our parents to spend more, we will send them on trips, and buy all the things for them that they want because then they don't feel that they are overspending. 

The fact is, all of the siblings know exactly what the inheritance is. None of us want it or need it, but when the time comes we will accept it as a wish from our parents. 

I don't see what is wrong with talking about it.


----------



## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

I'm not financially wealthy relative to others in here but we`re doing OK. 

Probably a few factors in no particular order: willingness and passion to learn about this stuff, fear of debt, desire to be independent, good health to date, I enjoy planning, a supportive and loving family.


----------



## crazyjackcsa (Aug 8, 2010)

I'm not wealthy, and my wife and I don't make a tonne of money in our jobs. Everything we do have though is through one simple axiom: Avoid debt. It's allowed us to do more than any of our peers. In essence, we do more with less, because we avoid doing too much.


----------



## Taraz (Nov 24, 2013)

I started working when I was 14 (13 if you count babysitting), and I've never had any debt (no student loans, no car loans, no mortgages, credit cards are paid off in full every month). 

The most successful people I know started working in their early teens, and most of them are also quite debt-adverse.


----------



## Sammi (Nov 12, 2013)

Saving saving and saving. I've been blessed to also have a very decent paying job with a Defined Benefit Pension.

A am also a bit frugal and try to pay less for everything.


----------



## ashin1 (Mar 22, 2014)

High paying job and learning for previous mistakes


----------



## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

I started working young (my first job other than babysitting or newspaper delivery was when I was 12 years old). This was due to my dad working all the time and never being home and my mother being a money hungry b*tch (ie she would never spend money on clothes for me, I went without underwear for a number of years and scrounged shoes off my classmates, once even stealing a pair I'm ashamed to say). My father was loving and would give us money but it was always to my mother with the intention of spending it on the kids. 

So basically as soon as I was able to work I started working to earn money to buy clothes and other necessities. At age 14, with the help of my moms sister who worked there, I was hired as a cashier at an IGA. I worked there a few years then moved onto Canadian Tire. For years I biked back and forth to work, which was roughly 30 km’s round trip, on country roads, with no light (didn’t want to spend money on a light!).

I moved out of the house at age 15, ended up moving back in, then at age 17 met a young man who was an automechanic by trade but had recently moved to repairing commercial kitchen (restaurant) equipment. He was a hard worker and his parents were way less dysfunctional than mine, so they were a good role model. We became engaged and lived together for almost 10 years. We made good money but never saved – I could blame parents for not showing us, but I know lots of young people figure it out on their own. We just spent everything we made. I never believed I would own a house.

We split up when I was 29, I left him for a variety of reasons, and it was tough as he was a good guy, just had some bad habits. Shortly after I met my (now) husband. He was unemployed, having recently declared bankruptcy with his business, and lived in his mother’s basement. What a catch!

Fast forward 15 years, he really was a catch, he just needed someone in his life with a stable income (me) to help him go back to school. He is now a licenced master electrician with his own contracting company, and works for the Canadian Forces fulltime. We track every dollar we spend, and pay ourselves first.

If it weren’t for good role models (ie my ex-fiance, his parents and a few other good people) in my life, I am positive I would end up having a bunch of kids to a bunch of different guys, on welfare, possibly addicted to drugs, without a hope in the world of having anything nice. These role models along with my own need for nice clothes, etc really lead to what little wealth we have today - which my husband and I are trying to figure out how to retire on early and still live a nice life.


----------



## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

^ Now that's a success story, Addy.....well done! :encouragement:


----------



## uptoolate (Oct 9, 2011)

yes indeed! :encouragement:


----------



## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

Some great stuff in this thread - the large segment of financially clueless Canadians would be well served to follow the examples here... but I expect they will continue to buy houses they can't afford and rack up debt. :hopelessness:


----------



## Jacq (Feb 8, 2014)

Having and raising 2 kids on my own was a big factor - knowing that I wanted to give them a better life than I could if I kept being somewhat flaky. Actually going hungry for weeks at a time because I had a kid to feed and he came first during my first year of university was, in hindsight, a good experience in an "as god is my witness, I'll never go hungry again" Scarlett O'Hara thing.

Reading Your Money or Your Life about 15 years ago was huge for me. I could see that financial independence was a goal I could really get behind. I come from a family of well-off money hoarder types, so couldn't see the point to trying to save as much as possible until I saw that it could buy me freedom, choices and peace of mind. Also, the Great Depression aged parents and grandparents taught frugality tricks, however theirs was more compulsive / fear based so maybe not such a good lesson. I still have an aversion to that kind of mindset / hyper-frugality with no purpose other than being the richest person in the graveyard.

Started working on the farm doing regular farming chores at a very young age, you definitely learn that there's only one way away from that life (picking rocks 12 hours/day half the summer, never ending manure shoveling...) - ie. get an education.

Always needing a new challenge with work and moving on (usually to higher pay) once I've learned something and get bored.

Lucky with real estate/choices of house. Unlucky with men, but got the realization that if anything was to change or improve it was 110% up to me (self responsibility). Lucky with friends who have basically thrown jobs my way without my looking for them. Lucky with having 2 kids who are more frugal and non-materialistic than I am (although it is annoying when an adolescent starts calculating your groceries purchases and tries to put you on a budget). :tongue-new: Lucky in getting out of the O&G market in mid 2008 during the divergence period when the company I was working at imploded due to high oil prices and hedging problems (I was laid off that summer so pulled everything out of the market at a good time) and not getting back in until a few months later at the very bottom. Lucky that in 2000-1, I lost what seemed like a large amount of money in the market at the time but in hindsight was small potatoes - teaches a good lesson about bubbles and euphoria.

Little to no desire to compete in status terms of cars, homes, trips. Just more of a utilitarian mindset. Although I can appreciate beauty when I see it, I don't really need to own it. Or I will, but it's on a very small sub-set of things. Like my RV is top of the line in its class, and I have a purse fetish. Always love getting a good deal on those things though and don't mind waiting to get it.


----------



## Tightwad (Mar 28, 2014)

Jon_Snow said:


> Some great stuff in this thread - the large segment of financially clueless Canadians would be well served to follow the examples here... but I expect they will continue to buy houses they can't afford and rack up debt. :hopelessness:


The secret is sacrifice.

They all want to live like royalty (rent the fanciest apartment and pi$$ all that rental money away) instead of sacrificing luxury and saving money fast for a big down payment on a house.

The same applies to car payments.

No mercy from me.


----------



## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

Tightwad said:


> The secret is sacrifice.
> 
> They all want to live like royalty (rent the fanciest apartment and pi$$ all that rental money away) instead of sacrificing luxury and saving money fast for a big down payment on a house.


I can’t agree with this line of thought more. For many years I spent everything I earned, and have since realized that there’s no need to buy fancy things for the house, drive expensive vehicles, wear designer name clothing, etc. The community I live in (vastly military) amazes me how many of my neighbours live pay cheque to pay cheque, when really the lowest military pay is pretty good income in my opinion. My friends complain they are in debt, but meanwhile their partner (or maybe themselves too) are buying expensive video gaming systems, always eating at restaurants, buying new trucks every few years, motorcycles, ATV’s, boats, you name it! And they gaff at my husband who likes to cycle to work – they can’t comprehend that someone would do something “so stupid” as to bike to work. I find it very difficult to feel sorry for these people in any way.


----------



## brad (May 22, 2009)

Tightwad said:


> The secret is sacrifice.


I would take this a step further and say "the secret is to sacrifice without making it feel like a sacrifice." If you feel like you're sacrificing all the time, your good habits are unlikely to be sustainable. You have to learn to like living within your means, to the point where it doesn't feel like a sacrifice but instead becomes the way you _want_ to live. In part that means ignoring the crowd and following your own path, which isn't always easy, but it doesn't have to feel like a sacrifice if you learn to adjust your desires and expectations.


----------



## Kursor (Mar 7, 2014)

I attribute a large part of my wealth to:
- my parents savings and spending mentality.
- graduating university debt free from the profits of my then small business
- living at home for 4 years after graduation (I know, shameful by western mentality of moving out at 18 and living independently paying some else's mortgage)

Parents background:
Immigrants to Canada with no money. Saved a lot. Didn't go into debt for anything except mortgages. Paid each off within 10 years. Didn't eat out. Didn't spend on any vacations, extra curricular activities, gambling, alcohol, toys or luxury cars. They had no clue about balance transfer, line of credit, leasing/financing cars, credit card. 

My parents current status:
Owns house no mortgage
Mom retired at 55.
Dad works to keep busy until CPP/OAS kick in. Lives very comfortably and simple, although they don't spend on anything except food, utilities, taxes 

My parents fallacies:
- Cars - They always bought brand new Japanese reliable cars and drove them for 10+ years. They refused to buy used because they thought they'd be wrought with repair bills. My mom doesn't drive, so only one car owned at a time.
- Investments - they only invested in gic, savings accounts. Very risk adverse. Didnt take into account inflation eating at their savings.
- Real Estate - their unwaivering belief that real estate is the best investment and can only go up. Only bought new construction houses aside from their first house. Good thing they only bought houses to live in.
- investment in children - they focused solely on academics. No extra curricular activities, vacations, life experiences. 
- English - their belief that if you know the language your options and wealth are limitless.


----------



## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Far too many people appear to be incapable of differentiating between 'wants' and 'needs' ..........and, quite often, unable to identify, (even to themselves), why they want the stuff they believe they want................but I'm glad they're out there in this consumer driven economy....and I'd like to give them a rousing cheer..."Keep it up guys!"


----------



## Tightwad (Mar 28, 2014)

Addy said:


> For many years I spent everything I earned, and have since realized that there’s no need to buy fancy things for the house, drive expensive vehicles, wear designer name clothing, etc.


And why do they? In many cases, to impress everybody else. One forum I am on has a "watches" folder. LOL. Now, I love a Rolex and watches in general and I can afford any, but it'll be an absolute-zero day in hell before I spend that kind of money on a watch that does not even keep time as well as my $70 Casio radio-controlled watch. But back to that watch folder in the forum. I once asked if they would wear a watch like that if there was nobody there to see them wear it. That didn't go over well and touched a nerve...guess it is worn to impress. That said, I am sure some wear them because they appreciate what goes into one.



Addy said:


> My friends complain they are in debt, but meanwhile their partner (or maybe themselves too) are buying expensive video gaming systems, always eating at restaurants, buying new trucks every few years, motorcycles, ATV’s, boats, you name it!


Because they are bored and their lives are empty. They buy material things for short term happiness, sort of like a kid during Christmas. They get into a new activity, buy the latest and greatest and you see it all for sale the next year at a garage sale.

I have a motorcycle, I bought it new back in 1991 and I still have it. My last car was bought new and kept 15 years and sold to a friend. My last cell phone was replaced after nine years.



brad said:


> You have to *learn to like living within your means*, to the point where it doesn't feel like a sacrifice but instead becomes the way you _want_ to live. In part that means *ignoring the crowd and following your own path*, which isn't always easy, but it doesn't have to feel like a sacrifice if you learn to adjust your desires and expectations.


Exactly! That is what I meant.


I have the means to buy just about anything I can think of. Will I be happier? Nope, because I am happy in my own skin. I have hobbies that allow me to be creative, that is something kids these days aren't the very least. They are too busy texting and socializing on a stupid cell phone...that is socializing???


----------



## Sasquatch (Jan 28, 2012)

I came here as an immigrant 47 years ago with one suitcase and $ 200.- to my name. I furthered my technical education, met a nice girl that I'm still married to and was lucky enough to have had a WELL PAYING GOOD STEADY JOB. 
I wouldn't call ourselves wealthy in the traditional sense, however, we can pretty well afford to buy whatever we want, whenever we want. In my books that's more than anybody could ask for.
Our recipe for success is so simple, it's ridiculous...... 
1. never, ever spend more than you earn and always save a small part of your earnings. 
2. Never pay anybody for anything you can do yourself, be that maintaining your car, building or renovating your house, doing your taxes or whatever.

That's it, plain and simple

Strangely enough I never had the desire for expensive cars and such, even though I could afford it now. It just wouldn't feel right to spend a ton of money on a heap of metal filled with computers and gadgets, Just not my cup of tea I guess :-(


----------



## Islenska (May 4, 2011)

Wealth is a state of mind

Well remember my first year at Uof Mb 1972, lived for a school term on a $1400 bursary, $1200 student loan, and some pocket money from the summer job. For weekends we had a few brews and a case of beer over the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, we had the time of our lives!

As my old band wrote :All you need is love"


----------



## Tightwad (Mar 28, 2014)

Sasquatch said:


> Never pay anybody for anything you can do yourself, be that maintaining your car, building or renovating your house, doing your taxes or whatever.


I repaired my furnace with a new module for $129 shipped that I ordered out of the US and that the local suppliers up here were unwilling to sell me because I was not a contractor. The part up here was $403 plus the cost of the service call. I extend my middle finger to the HVAC service industry up here and they can go bankrupt for all I care.

And for $5, I later repaired (the relays were hard to source) that electronic module when I had the time, so I now have a spare.

Just one example of many. The service industry would be out of business if they counted on me.


----------



## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

Have always done everything myself, that I could, as well. Similar issues here with the last 2 furnace repairs. Saved a bundle and just ordered parts online. Did my own home reno's too and from what I see out there I did a better job, lol. Have been self-employed for 25 yrs and retired for 2 years now (57). Had new vehicles in business but like to get a year old for personal vehicles. Can buy whatever I want though.


----------



## brad (May 22, 2009)

"never pay anybody for anything you can do yourself" works as long as you can do it yourself *competently*, and to the extent you can accurately judge your own competence. I've lived in lots of places that were built or repaired by DIY yahoos who were over-confident in their abiities but didn't actually have a clue. Luckily for them they moved out before things started falling apart, leaving their mistakes for others to pay for, but if you plan to stay put it sometimes pays to have a professional do it right the first time.


----------



## Tightwad (Mar 28, 2014)

brad said:


> "never pay anybody for anything you can do yourself" works as long as you can do it yourself *competently*, and to the extent you can accurately judge your own competence. I've lived in lots of places that were built or repaired by DIY yahoos who were over-confident in their abiities but didn't actually have a clue. Luckily for them they moved out before things started falling apart, leaving their mistakes for others to pay for, but if you plan to stay put it sometimes pays to have a professional do it right the first time.


Don't you get me going on "professionals" or licenced tradesmen.

I had to fix two total screw-ups within the first 6 months of moving into a new house. Luckily it is a bungalow so both plumbing leaks were easy to fix by myself who knows what they are actually doing. I can go into the details of incompetence.

I also have interlocking steps to my front door. I'll be tearing all that up in the near future and doing it "right" as I have in my last house. I am amazed that anyone can start a landscaping company and not have to get any training or have a clue what they are doing. And that applies to many trades.


----------



## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

Seems like you ask a "professional" for a price and they price out the job and then when you hire them you get some unskilled employee that does a hack job. Then they won't do it over. yes I'm speaking from first hand experience on repairs, reno's and 2 new builds. The lack of pride is increasingly frustrating, it's all about maximizing the invoice in the least amount of time. One of my kids had a bought a new house and they had to relocate after just over 2 years. The home inspection revealed trusses that had been hacked off and affected the structural integrity. New home warranty wasn't interested. Town wasn't interested either and it was their inspector that signed off the permits. What a joke. A friend of mine has been having a new house built and has been getting so frustrated at having to redo lots of things himself. Pretty well have to stand over most of the trades these days to see it done properly, sad state of affairs. My son saw so many issues with one new home that the builder didn't want him going in looking, said he kept finding things wrong!!!! I told them that should be the site super's job, that went over well, lol. Maybe it's just Alberta? as I recently looked at some in progress construction in BC and saw a lot more workmanship pride.


----------



## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

The two times to beware of new construction are
1. During boom times when the builder has to take whoever is available, and 
2. During tough times when the builder is squeezed for profit and has to cut corners.

As for DIY, just watch HGTV to see the hack jobs that Scott has to pull apart. Or Brian or Holmes. And often these homes have passed a home inspection, so beware the inspectors too.


----------



## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

There are many tradespeople out there who have been taught BY THE CONSUMER that cheap is what the customer wants, so cheap is what the customer gets.

My husband is a licenced electrical contractor (not just an electrician, if you don't have your contacting licence and a master electrician on staff, you can not legally do work for other people in Ontario just FYI), and has refused jobs based on the customer caring only about the bottom price. The customer did not care how well the work was done, as long as it was done and worked, and they scoffed at my husband insisting an electrical permit must be pulled.

So next time you get work done, the price quoted should not be the deciding factor - if the cheapest price is going to get you shoddy work, why bother. Not saying the cheapest price is always shoddy work, nor the highest price a guarantee of good work, but if you do not do your due diligence when hiring a contractor or tradesperson, then frankly it's your own fault if you end up with shoddy workmanship.

When we had work done on our house the price was a deciding factor, but it was no where near the top of the list. Top of the list was reliability, workmanship, liability insurance, among others - all more important to us than cost. We learned from experience, we went with the cheapest price a few times at first, sometimes got lucky but more often than not we ended up with shitty work that we had to pay someone else to correct, and in the end it cost more than the originally higher quotes that may have been from contractors who would have done the work properly to begin with.


----------



## Taraz (Nov 24, 2013)

Mechanic said:


> Maybe it's just Alberta? as I recently looked at some in progress construction in BC and saw a lot more workmanship pride.


From what I've heard, there's a trades surplus in BC; you can get a pro for far less than in other provinces.


----------



## DayTek (Sep 26, 2013)

- Buying our home new in '06 at 20 and 23-years old, instead of choosing to rent. After a major job loss by my husband in '11, had we waited, we never would have gotten into the market the way it is now…Our income is lower than when we bought the house, but we can handle our payments because it wasn't stupid expensive when we bought it. Luck was a contributor to that, but I feel we were responsible in making the decision to own at our age

- Deligent budgeting (Monthly budgeting, broken down into weeks).

- Good work ethic

- Saving for _everything_ (Wedding, trips, furniture, Christmas, emergencies)

- Not being impulse buyers

- Learning from other people's mistakes/successes and realizing our own and changing what needs to be changed

- Treating money as a tool, not an idol... "He that is of the opinion money will do everything, may well be suspected of doing everything for money." - Ben Franklin


----------



## Tightwad (Mar 28, 2014)

Mechanic said:


> My son saw so many issues with one new home that the builder didn't want him going in looking, said he kept finding things wrong!!!! I told them that should be the site super's job, that went over well, lol.


I had it written into the contract that I would have access to my home during construction 24/7 and a key once the doors were installed.

I worked with a smaller builder (not the usual big name crap builders) and ended up with a quality home. There are a few things I would have changed to meet some special needs years later, but overall it was a very good experience and I feel the same way 18 years later.


----------



## Tightwad (Mar 28, 2014)

Addy said:


> My husband is a licenced electrical contractor (not just an electrician, if you don't have your contacting licence and a master electrician on staff, you can not legally do work for other people in Ontario just FYI).


But you can do electrical work in your own home for yourself.

I don't know who wired the 7.5 HP electric motor of my compressor to the magnetic starter, but that tech would have been given his walking papers if I ran the company. I rewired it properly and neatly and also wired the BX into the 40A breaker in my panel. Same goes for the 50A circuit I just installed for my TIG welder. I work slow (AWG 6 is tough to work with) but I am picky and safety comes first.




Addy said:


> So next time you get work done, the price quoted should not be the deciding factor.


Unfortunately, you can pay more and get no better workmanship. I can offer the tech double the money for the same job and it will be done in the same time to the same shoddy level and he'll just pocket the difference. Workmanship (I prefer to call it craftsmanship) is a state of mind and that cannot be changed in a tech.


----------



## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

Tightwad said:


> I worked with a smaller builder (not the usual big name crap builders) and ended up with a quality home.


I think this is a great way to go. You may pay more as they do not have mass production on their side, or might pad themselves with bigger margins as they don't have a large corporation to cover the risk that they're taking on... but, you deal with the same people all the time, and these companies rely more on word of mouth rather than fancy advertisements and gimmicks, so they're going to make an extra effort to keep their customer happy.


----------



## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

Tightwad said:


> But you can do electrical work in your own home for yourself.


This is correct, as long as you pull a permit where applicable - if you want to do things legally that is. I imagine many just do the work with no inspection.

This is an interesting conversation, although it really has the thread off topic, but when we were in Winnipeg the city was considering a law (bylaw?) where when a house is sold, the home owner had to prove all work done to the house had a permit if required. Huge uproar about it as most houses in Winnipeg are very old and I'm sure had lots of work done over the years, what a nightmare that would be!


----------



## Pvo (Jul 4, 2013)

Not wealthy yet, but definitely wealthier than those my age (26).

Biggest factor to date is finding a partner who shares the same goals and work ethic. 

- We've both had jobs since we were old enough to work and always saved heavily
- Parents paid for majority of my school so I had no debt when I finished (still worked throughout school though)
- Even though we both work FT we have jobs on the side, consulting, furniture building & auto detailing www.ckautospa.ca. Most of the side work we do is together, so it's fun for us and we get to make a little extra money - win/win!
- We aren't like the majority of our friends who chose to rent/live DT and spend every other night out at a restaurant or club. We go out with them every few months and I have a hard time spending that much money on entertainment one night every few months, never mind doing it 2-3x/week!
- Bought a cheaper first house than we could afford. Allowed us to save heavily and purchase a second home shortly after. When we bought the second house we kept the first and it is now a rental
- Do all home renos (within reason) ourselves. Ie. install garage door opener, stone accent walls, crown moulding, build deck, board & batten, etc

Love hearing everyone's stories!


----------

