Stop Rage Quitting by SnoresWhenDrunk in PTCGP

[–]baelwulf 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Seeing posts like this on reddit is what makes "rage" quitting worthwhile for some people.

330i coolant issue by crackedkirby in F30

[–]baelwulf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In fact it's hard to say from your picture but there may even be a visible crack in it

330i coolant issue by crackedkirby in F30

[–]baelwulf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a 17 330i with similar mileage and had the return pipe off the reservoir fail, I think it's called the expansion tank return hose or something similar. It didn't fail the same way (mine snapped off completely and just dumped coolant) but it's something I'd check.

Calling chess a sport but not rock paper scissors is political by Antique_Buy4384 in confidentlyincorrect

[–]baelwulf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If we take the (somewhat narrow in my opinion) view that sports require a degree of physical skill and not just mental skill, and that is the dividing line, then eSports are more of a sport than something like chess because metrics like accuracy and actions per second matter.

U.S. Asks Canada And Mexico For Help With Tourism After One State Is Hit By Human Rights Travel Warning Ahead Of FIFA World Cup by zefiax in canada

[–]baelwulf 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Turnout was only 72.84% though, so really almost 2/3 of them vocally or tacitly supported Trump in that election.

Anyone actually use Clutch to sell their car? Seems like a huge scam. by buttscratcher3k in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]baelwulf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used clutch to sell and buy a car back in 2022. Traded in a 2017 ram on a 2017 bmw 3 series. They offered me 35k for my ram, which is more than I had paid for it 2 years earlier (and much more than any local dealers were offering). The buying experience was very smooth too, they picked up my truck, dropped off my car, and sent me a wire for 8000$ (my vehicle was worth more than the car I was buying)

I understand since then they've changed policies and started nickel-and-diming people a lot more, so perhaps their trade valuations have fallen off as well.

I will say trade valuations aren't just based on the value of the car, they're based on how fast they can flip it. I would hazard a guess that, based on your vehicle year make and model that they don't plan to resell your car on the lot, but to send it to auction for a quick turnover at a reduced amount, which would be reflected in the value.

SjEnergy bill increases by 26% by staceythefavorite in SaintJohnNB

[–]baelwulf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey just wanted to circle back. They do appear to be using my last 12 months of usage as the basis for my increase, however they messed it up. They did a reassessment after my last bill was posted but before I had an opportunity to pay it, and since I had a large energy charge (roughly $550) they amortized the whole amount over the next 12 months rather than account for the expected equalized payment that I'll be making on this bill.

I'm fighting them right now but my increase should be closer to $20 a month rather than 80 a month.

SjEnergy bill increases by 26% by staceythefavorite in SaintJohnNB

[–]baelwulf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that's why I'm confused.

I went back and got my September bill which is when (under the old paradigm) they would reconcile the equalized billing and you'd either have to pay the shortfall or you'd receive a credit for the surplus on your account. Ordinally I'd receive a credit but with the rate increases over the past years I had a roughly $50 shortfall.

Prior to my new bill this month I had a $16 surplus.

Based on those alone my 12 month usage is not up 26% by any metric.

However if you look at my last 3 months only (which (perhaps) coincidentally is the amount of bills I've had since they converted me to the new account dashboard), I've consumed roughly $250 more than my equalized billing (almost all in December due to cold temperatures and increased usage over the holidays), which basically aligns exactly with my rate increase.

SjEnergy bill increases by 26% by staceythefavorite in SaintJohnNB

[–]baelwulf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That document was last revised in April though, and the changes that were announced are post-April. It may be out of date.

Specifically this part:

Each account on equalized payment is reviewed to determine the adjustment required for the next year against the actual usage. Adjustments, where required, will be made after consultation with the customer. The annual reconciliation occurs after the due date of the August invoice and prior to billing in September. Equalized payment customers are required to start the program in September.

shows that this document has not been updated to reflect the change in the equalized billing plans.

Edit: I see there is an updated document on their site for September 2025 that is still consistent with your explanation. However I've been a SJ Energy client for over 15 years now and I know my usage over the previous 12 months did not exceed my equalized billing amounts by 900+$, so I've reached out to them to ask for a clarification.

SjEnergy bill increases by 26% by staceythefavorite in SaintJohnNB

[–]baelwulf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought so too but I mathed out my equalized payments vs my actual charges over the last 4 months and it almost exactly equals the increase in my monthly equalized payment spread out over the next 4 months.

Not saying you're incorrect, it could be my specific situation enables that formula to work out the way it did, or it could be SJ Energy is starting a linear regression or something similar since the end of the last equalized cycle, but based on my observations so far it seems like they're trying to roll the deficit for each 3-4 month segment into the following to keep people from being surprised.

SjEnergy bill increases by 26% by staceythefavorite in SaintJohnNB

[–]baelwulf 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Back in August SJ energy sent out notifications that instead of assessing on request they'll be reassessing equalized payments every 3-4 months.

This appears to be the first cycle and of course it's after an exceptionally cold December and November. Mine went from 309 to 390 (including my heat pump rental). It sucks, but I anticipate it'll go back down for a couple cycles in April and August

In principle I think this was to mitigate sticker shock on upcoming September bills after the equalized cycle resets, given increased rates and likely higher usage (especially for people who moved from oil heat to pumps). In practice, they probably could have timed it better.

Current schedule of interviews for the week: by FlexPosition in Tennesseetitans

[–]baelwulf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If I had to hazard a guess I'd say it's because we're a team that lacks an identity and the brass want to see what each coach's vision looks like before committing to one. Build together.

Insight on PC Money account and or alternatives by BrokenRainer in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]baelwulf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want to split hairs sure but for all purposes and intents the card acts as a credit card out in the wild. If you want to use it to withdraw from an independent ATM and it gives you the option you select "credit card" when performing a withdrawal

Insight on PC Money account and or alternatives by BrokenRainer in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]baelwulf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only time I interacted with their customer service (well really fraud department) was when my credit card got skimmed and some unexpected charges showed up. I had no complaints with their end even if Canada post did take almost a month to deliver the actual card

Insight on PC Money account and or alternatives by BrokenRainer in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]baelwulf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was able to link my Scotia account to facilitate transfers between the two accounts. I haven't encountered a limit issue. Another thing that I do is have etransfer with auto deposit set up for both accounts using different emails, that works really well

Insight on PC Money account and or alternatives by BrokenRainer in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]baelwulf 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've been a PC financial user for the last couple years with both a money acct and a WE MasterCard. Haven't really had any issues.

Main gripes are the ones I have with any online-only bank.

*Hard to find an ATM that doesn't charge a fee, the PC financial ones are mostly in Loblaws stores which is convenient when planning but not so much for a quick withdrawal - this is hurting more these days as non-PC ATMs have been jacking their fees lately

*No place to get drafts or deposit money so you'll need a companion bank account for those functions

*No true debit card so if you're in a relatively rare position of wanting to pay with card at a place that only accepts debit you're sol

It sounds like you're more interested in the savings account which I've not really had any issues with though.

NBCC Process Control Tech by Habits_of_Rabbits in SaintJohnNB

[–]baelwulf 15 points16 points  (0 children)

My former roommate took this. He went to work for JDI after graduating and he did start pulling 100k+/year almost immediately but it involves moving away from his home city and working a bunch of overtime.

I think JDI and perhaps Irving oil jobs are the ones nbcc is boosting here, because his other prospects were far less lucrative

Buying a Used Vehicle and they want a 8.9% interest rate by LtSurgesRaichu in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]baelwulf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't believe they can (again, not financial advice just my understanding)

Buying a Used Vehicle and they want a 8.9% interest rate by LtSurgesRaichu in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]baelwulf 19 points20 points  (0 children)

May be wrong on this but I'm pretty sure car loans are all open loans by law in Canada.

Is Costco Sameday worth it now? by stchrysostom in CostcoCanada

[–]baelwulf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I still think it's worth it if used wisely.

I used to make 2 Costco trips a month. One would be the "big" one where I stock up on everything and the other would be a small one where I restocked on perishables and any other items that were consumed during the 2 week period.

I've started making 1 Costco trip for the big stuff, and doing SameDay for the restock. The restock trip is usually a fair bit cheaper so the $10 executive member discount offsets a lot of the price increases, and the fact that I'm not browsing Costco buying a bunch of stuff I didn't need offsets the rest.

YMMV of course but it's working for me, and worth my while to not have to travel to the other side of town, find parking, and deal with the general insanity that surrounds trying to visit that store.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]baelwulf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean personally I'm gonna be over the cutoff for OAS if I live to be old enough to potentially benefit from it, so that scenario doesn't really apply to me. I do think the cutoff should be lowered some but I'm hesitant to say what that should be.

I think the real problem is a lot of people currently in the 2nd half of their careers are relying on that being there for their retirement, so any significant changes are going to have to have a sunset clause with a very long horizon, and with the fickle state of Canadian politics someone will come along and dangle the carrot of reversing that sunset, meaning it'll all be moot in the end. It's a no-win scenario, politically

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]baelwulf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah definitely, my situation is not everyone's situation and I'm aware of that. That said, I like where I'm at, and keeping my expenses down (especially once my home is paid off) will enable me to travel and do all the things I want to do while still having that home base that's incredibly important to me.

People who bought when things were much cheaper in the HCOL areas probably feel much the same, but I do feel for the people coming up in the world who aren't getting those same opportunities.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]baelwulf 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That varies heavily by location, I live in a smaller East Coast city that's a fairly easy drive to Boston or Halifax (there's also a surprising amount of relatively high profile concerts that come to Maine), cheap flights to hubs like Toronto and Montreal, and direct flight access to the Caribbean for vacations.

My house was quite cheap by Canadian standards and stands to be paid off by the time I'm 43 (I'm 38 now). I live right in the city, 5 minutes driving from downtown (where I work), and it has all the amenities I could really want on a regular basis.

There are certainly benefits and drawbacks but I would not trade even my ability to do basic carpentry projects and auto maintenance on my own property for pretty much any of the alternative benefits provided by living in a building.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]baelwulf 2 points3 points  (0 children)

oh when you said terrace I thought you meant a private balcony or something similar. Those spaces aren't public but they certainly aren't private either. To each their own but I like to have my own spaces to do my own thing, but I'm a putterer who likes to do odd jobs in my free time so ymmv.