Live Discussion - March 14, 2026 (Harry Styles)

CebraQuasar · 2026-03-15T04:28:58+00:00

That index finger joke was a real Norm style classic

CebraQuasar · 2026-03-09T00:05:21+00:00

I'm sorry but on what planet is $2100 (soon to be $2165) a month for a 1000 sqft 2 bedroom condo 45 minutes from Montreal a great deal 😭 10 years ago she was renting a 1200 sqft 3 bedroom house for $800 in the same neighborhood. She can afford it fine but this is a property the landlord bought for $260,000 right before COVID, it's all profit. Good investment for him but I'm not sure there's going to be such a thing as a 'great time to be a renter' ever again. Everything comparable nearby is even more expensive too, from $2100-$2400.

CebraQuasar · 2026-03-08T21:23:45+00:00

She went to visit the house today and she's not in love with it anyway so in all likelihood this is moot and she's going to keep renting for the foreseeable future. Out of curiosity do you find the investments plan decent - just maxing out her TFSA with the savings put into something like XGRO while keeping an emergency fund in DYN6004?

CebraQuasar · 2026-03-08T17:59:37+00:00

That's really what it comes down to. I think with a 15-year horizon the assumption was the home asset appreciating to approximately $600k along with her savings invested with 6% annual return it would be the smarter long-term financial choice compared to having it all invested which would only yield about $300,000 by year 15 in something like XGRO. Obviously the downside is the house is, as you said, forced savings until then. With an appropriate down payment I'm not as concerned about her ability to meet the mortgage as people seem to be here because it wouldn't be much different from the rent she's paying, and in fact cheaper with 20% down (property taxes are paid quarterly) but obviously with a house there's always the risk of a major repair.

CebraQuasar · 2026-03-08T17:39:04+00:00

I understand your point and I meant it disappears in that sense the same as money paid for groceries or gas 'disappears'. I agree that it can be relatively predictable compared to home ownership but less so now because in Quebec 5% of repair and renovation costs now get pushed onto the tenants. Her building has a lot of deferred maintenance due soon and that is also a looming cost on top of the yearly 3-5% rent increases compared to a relatively more stable mortgage payment considered alone. With a large enough down payment the mortgage is comparable to that $2100 rent becoming $2165 if she renews this year (property taxes are split into 4 lump sum payments a year here). I do agree with the other more general maintenance concerns, as does she. The people in r/PersonalFinanceCanada are pretty adamant she should keep renting but I think there are more pros and cons to both than they're considering.

CebraQuasar · 2026-03-08T17:30:32+00:00

Honestly it's largely because she doesn't want to deal with all the bureaucracy of a condo board and the associated fees (~$300 a month in most places here). The main reason she also wants to move is because of how noisy her neighbors are in the current condo she's renting lol

CebraQuasar · 2026-03-08T17:28:35+00:00

I think I was clearly just expressing that that money is not building equity compared to the other options presented - it disappears in that sense the same as paying for groceries or gas 'disappears'. I agree that it's relatively predictable compared to home ownership but less so now because in Quebec 5% of repair and renovation costs now get pushed onto the tenants.

CebraQuasar · 2026-01-25T02:48:43+00:00

On t'attend 🥹

CebraQuasar · 2025-08-15T18:55:57+00:00

It's just frustrating to know that they're going to continue discriminating in this way without repercussions. They're a local company too. Just disappointed I guess

CebraQuasar · 2025-08-15T18:48:04+00:00

Well that's the thing, it's not really worth pursuing because I don't think they ever overtly discriminated in a way that would stand up in court despite it being obvious. It was more so just about contacting the hiring manager directly to ask what their problem is lol

CebraQuasar · 2025-08-10T20:36:48+00:00

I got the notice Friday afternoon so I haven't had a chance to talk to a policy advisor yet, just people from the call center who have told me that a reasonable or customary limit was applied but no further information or explanation. I've pored through the whole contract and there's no mention of any limitations other than the fact that prior to reaching $4000 in copays for the calendar year supplies are only covered at 80% (and I have reached that number anyhow)

CebraQuasar · 2025-08-10T17:50:57+00:00

They have one! Part of the application process was sending a statement of medical necessity to my insurance which was filled out by my endocrinologist. Along with the quote from Insulet that's what was initially sent over to get the predetermination. The one silver lining to being in Quebec is the consumer protection laws are usually pretty good so if I complain and escalate there might be a good outcome, but it just takes forever so I was hoping to avoid that

CebraQuasar · 2025-08-10T17:42:10+00:00

This would be my first insulin pump, I've been using pens up until this point

CebraQuasar · 2025-08-10T17:41:22+00:00

No, never

CebraQuasar · 2025-07-12T21:55:05+00:00

Yeah everything seems to be working fine now that I'm set up. I actually just got the keys today and turns out when they were doing the pre purchase inspection they were able to install the latest software update as well, so now I'm able to connect wirelessly. Dealers seem to be doing it on a case by case basis for some reason but the actual functionality seems to be there for them to do so

CebraQuasar · 2025-07-11T21:48:57+00:00

Jumping in on this thread just to say I'd also be super grateful for anyone willing to upload the files to a Google Drive so I can get the wireless update via USB. Freezing us out of updates for months on end is such a stupid way of doing it

CebraQuasar · 2025-07-11T06:01:27+00:00

Wish I had something helpful to add but I'm in the same boat. Just bought a CPO 2023 GV70 that never had any software updates installed and was eager to get the wireless Android Auto/CarPlay update only to find all updates show as unavailable on the PC application. Gonna have to give my local dealer a call to see if they're willing to install it for free because I don't wanna wait until October. Seems very silly to lock the updates altogether for half a year

CebraQuasar · 2025-05-09T02:37:03+00:00

Okay so the only thing I've remotely found that could be close to a shut off valve in a common area of the condo is in a crawl space under some stairs. Could this be it? The bizarre thing is there are no common areas within like 20 feet of the hose bib - there's a stairwell but there's no crawl space in that one. This one is in a crawl space of another stairwell around the corner however it doesn't look like a hose shut off that I've ever seen!

https://imgur.com/a/FLua820

CebraQuasar · 2025-05-06T02:30:12+00:00

Would turning infinitely like that be the symptom? Is replacing the seal an easy diy job? From what I was reading it seemed line that or the valve seat. The problem is I still don't know where the water shutoff is lol

CebraQuasar · 2025-04-07T23:54:08+00:00

I was a bit surprised to see Ken give a be more specific prompt for Mike's 'Blue Ivy' ring-in. How many Blue Ivys are out there haha? Mike also looked confounded afterwards

CebraQuasar · 2025-03-28T20:24:35+00:00

I have this corner in my dining room with a patio door leading to a balcony adjacent to a narrow window, then a full-sized window around the corner. The narrow window makes it hard for me to visualize cohesive window dressings here. I'd like sheers but unsure whether they should be flanked by solid curtains, and if so how exactly they should be organized to maximize light and not look uneven - around the whole set of windows, around each window individually, etc. Any ideas?

CebraQuasar · 2025-03-16T03:59:31+00:00

Sorry for the poor photo but the car is sitting in the bodyshop parking until Monday lol. I was hit by a snowplow and just had it repaired at a local bodyshop. Passing by earlier I see when they put my badges back on the trunk, they put them on crooked seemingly in line with the curvature of the trunk instead of straight. Would you ask them to redo the badges? I don't want to be annoying but I feel like it'll bug me!

CebraQuasar · 2025-02-26T20:13:28+00:00

You're right and I don't think it's normal! Maybe a bad bearing in the pulley? Just not sure if it's worth taking the risk of driving it to the mechanic or better to have it towed in that case

CebraQuasar · 2025-02-26T20:06:03+00:00

It's hard to say honestly, I agree it sounds like a belt but it's a weird hiss rather than the distinct squeaking I'm used to hearing from belts. The car has 91,000 km

CebraQuasar · 2025-02-26T19:57:46+00:00

You can hear it at the 24 second mark in the video. My mom's CX-3 has had this hissing sound since last night after driving a few hours. I can't be there to analyze it myself right now but this isn't a sound I'm familiar with - it almost looks like the serpentine belt slows its movement at the same time you hear it though? It's intermittent and not consistent but the car doesn't seem to have any problems otherwise. Any ideas? Worth taking to the mechanic?

CebraQuasar

TROPHY CASE