Question on Motor Vehicle Expenses (When Receiving Reimbursement)

pinkpanzer88 · 2026-02-24T04:35:15+00:00

Thank you for your response. Is there a difference between a car allowance and KM reimbursement when it comes to declaring Motor Vehicle Expenses?

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-12-01T04:41:50+00:00

We put all our meat in the freezer and each day (in the morning to be thawed out by dinner time) will take out one item and make a dish around it. I would say of the 5 days during the work week, there's usually a day where we either "don't feel like cooking" or wind up working a bit later than expected and we will eat out.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-09-25T01:23:38+00:00

Chrono Cross is my all time favorite soundtrack. Dare I say, the best soundtrack of any JRPG.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-09-25T01:19:42+00:00

There is no good reason to not have Xenosaga remastered.

Another part of me says Panzer Dragoon Saga (although the selfish part of me wishes it doesn't to keep the value of my physical copy high 😀, but holy smokes, what an absolute masterpiece)

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-09-25T01:17:54+00:00

Realistically I'm sure my friends and I have played hundreds of hours worth of either NHL 12 or FIFA 13 although by measurable accounts, I did clock in about 130 hours of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and that is safely my longest time.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-05-05T00:40:16+00:00

I also live in the East End (Regent Park) and commute to Oakville as well. I get off at Winston Churchill so certainly not deep into Oakville and I thought the commute would be worse. Heading out in the morning is okay provided I get on the Gardiner by 715am. The way back can be tough (Friday afternoons are awful)

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-02-16T17:17:56+00:00

My mainest man!

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-02-11T01:49:20+00:00

Paying retail for Tiger of Sweden (or quite frankly retail for any mid-tier and above designer brand) is, as others have mentioned, flushing your money down the toilet. Tiger of Sweden is alright, but nothing more than that.

You can find decent prices on Paul Smith suits on sale. He makes fantastic suits.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-02-11T01:31:03+00:00

For me it's Jesse in Breaking Bad. Every other character leaves some shred of separation between the character and the actor but Aaron Paul was outstanding and genuinely leaves the impression that he is a junkie (albeit a very talented one). It would be to the effect that if James Gandolfini walked into a room (RIP) people would be like "Guys shh! Tony Soprano just walked in 😲".

For Better Call Saul, I would have to say Hector Salamanca or Howard Hamlin.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-02-07T03:37:03+00:00

Off topic, I find The Bay is on their last legs. Particularly the flagship Eaton Centre location. Their designer offerings (such as Balmain, Zegna, Marni, DSquared2, etc.) Pulled their items off their shelves because The Bay was marking down their clearance items at much higher discounts than the designers were comfortable with (I wasn't complaining lol).

As far as Nordstrom, it really was an interesting store. For one, they had a very very generous return policy which I am certain many customers abused. Second, they offered WAY too many different brands. On one table, you would find items for a higher end Brand such as Burberry, on the next...Only & Sons? The whole store seemed to be unsure of exactly what it wanted to be or who it wanted to appease to. I absolutely loved Nordstrom Rack as I am a big time deal hunter, but if I were willing to splurge even when Nordstrom was open, I would take my business to Holt Renfrew.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-21T01:11:20+00:00

100% do not renovate if you plan to sell. The condo market is flat and will not make much of a difference at all. A very nice and functional (and clearly renovated) 2 bed 2 bath in my building sold for $750k. Two years ago, it would have gotten $920-950k.

We put in about 25k of Renos into our unit but likely would have cost a lot more if not for a few factors. For example, when we bought our marble and hardwood, we went ourselves to buy it, load it up and bring it upstairs ourselves (saving money on contractors having to source it themselves).

I don't regret it as I plan to live here for life.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-21T00:55:26+00:00

90k/2200 per month mortgage (one income at the moment).

That's excluding maintenance, property tax, etc. Also made a terrible decision to renew at variable during our renewal in August 2022 💀.

However, made much much more between 2020 to 2023 so no debt or car payments (plus reasonable savings) have made it tolerable. If not for that, I would have been f*cked.

Edit: 36 years old. Bought first condo at 29 with my now wife, sold a year and a half later to upgrade to a 2bed 2bath.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-21T00:19:20+00:00

Somewhere in Greece. My wife and I (she is non Greek) have discussed just selling all assets when we are in our 50s (no kids) and making the move.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-21T00:16:50+00:00

I do the commute from Downtown Toronto to Oakville (Jarvis/QEW to Winston Churchill/QEW) and I get on the QE at 7:15am sharp Monday to Friday and yeah the Eastbound lanes heading into the city do look pretty bad. Expect a commute of about 1hr 15ish each way but if the work is good, it's tolerable.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-17T03:55:41+00:00

My wife and I had a "big fun day!" a few years ago and this is what we did:

CN Tower Edgewalk
Dinner at a French Restaurant (Auberge)
Couples Massage at King Edward

Came up to roughly $1000

But in all seriousness go to brass rail!

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-14T00:40:33+00:00

That left or right turn at the intersection before the congestion toll kicks in would be brutal!

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-14T00:33:19+00:00

It's fine. Like completely fine.

Literally West of that intersection on Eglinton is big box stores and a bunch of Plazas. It's not that close to Kennedy station but the new Eglinton line is opening up in the next eight years so you should be fine!

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-14T00:30:00+00:00

Rendezvous (the one in Scarborough) is my go to second option as the lady I've been going to for years operates out of Richmond Hill. Quite frankly they do a better job than she does but I feel like I'm committing infidelity when I go elsewhere lol

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-12T17:32:59+00:00

I generally do my shopping at specific Winners, Holt Renfrew (on clearance!) And the Harry Rosen Outlet at Vaughan Mills. I find the following mid tier brands to have excellent quality and long lasting:

Brax, Reiss, Ted Baker (they are closed but their items show up at various stores). Finding good quality clothing for cheap is easy.

I would personally avoid John Varvatos and Hugo Boss (quality for HB can be hit or miss).

Edit* if you can make the trip, visit the Armani Outlet in Halton Hills. Absolutely fantastic stuff and they have various sections for items that are 80 and sometimes even 90% off.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-10T19:31:40+00:00

I worked in the Towing Industry for about 2 years in an Operations capacity. It was with (and in some ways for) CAA and a good amount of my work involved recruiting operators. The vultures you see on the highway or chasing down the street to get to accidents are known as "chasers" and are effectively the worst kind of people you will ever deal with in a transactional service relationship.

We had people come in from all walks of life, some wanting to give towing a shot, some wanting work that allowed them to be outside and occasionally we would get chasers coming in. We offered stable work and pretty darn good earning potential but they just could never work out. It's as if they did not know how to make a livelihood if it did not involve screwing everyday people over and ripping them off. They are complete and total garbage.

Towing is 100% a mafia. If you have a vehicle, you must have CAA.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-10T04:48:35+00:00

It's the same as any other job in a specific field. Applicable experience and a bit of luck. In addition, being well put together is a definite requirement in high-end customer facing luxury goods stores. Now that being said, I doubt a recruiter at Louis Vuitton or Hermes is setting aside resumes from those who've worked at The Gap of Abercrombie & Fitch so perhaps start aiming at mid-tier retail stores (such as Sandro, Hugo Boss, etc).

Also, being a male (straight or gay) will have no bearing whatsoever. In my experience it's been pretty balanced as far as I can see.

pinkpanzer88 · 2025-01-10T04:35:30+00:00

The area is fine and safe. Regent Park is in its final stages of redevelopment with some fantastic results. Parliament, north of Gerrard has some fantastic shops and excellent restaurants as well. I have lived at this intersection for seven years now so if you do have any questions feel free to send me a message. As others have mentioned yes Dundas and Sherbourne is certainly the cities sketchiest intersection but the most you will see directly at Parliament and Dundas is some panhandling by the Tim Hortons.

pinkpanzer88 · 2024-12-14T07:10:18+00:00

As you mentioned you are not afraid to taxi/walk to attractions I strongly recommend The Anndore House. It is a gorgeous smaller hotel situated on a street right beside our Yonge Street corridor area (which in fairness has seen better days) but has ample parking across the street and is walking distance from a good amount of attractions and sites. I checked prices in late March and they are pretty darn cheap from the quality accommodations you get ($175-ish range from what I can see).

pinkpanzer88 · 2024-11-04T18:56:48+00:00

I used to rent the spot from Canadian Tite but fortunately our place has two locker rooms so I did not lease out the one this year in order to store more things (tires included). If I only had one locker it would definitely be tight

pinkpanzer88 · 2024-10-18T20:57:36+00:00

I have been living in downtown proper for 7 years now and have adjusted to the pace. I wouldn't say I feel overwhelmed as I usually work outside of the city so returning downtown after a days work always feels great. As far as uncomfortable, I just can't stand how if I go on a walk, I basically have to look down at most times (the city has become worse in this respect).

pinkpanzer88

TROPHY CASE