Queercents

A few weeks ago I wrote about a study that said gays and lesbians spend more money on home repairs. I was full of questions – you can thank my statistics professor for my skepticism. Well, I got an e-mail this week from Matthew Tumminello of Target 10, the author of the study. Here’s what he had to say about the study . . .

You mentioned that the survey included responses that were only from the New York area but in fact it was fielded nationally. I agree that if the survey were limited geographically it would not be representative. We wanted to be sure to have rural, suburban and urban folk from every region of the country. We fielded the survey online and tried our best to get a good geographic cross section.

Regarding the sample size, determining the proper number of respondents is a complex process. That’s why we turned to a formal research company (Socratic Technologies) to help us with the methodology and science behind the survey. The total sample size was 611 and that is enough to produce results with 90 to 95 percent confidence levels. I can assure you that we took a very academic approach to the survey methodology and produced strong, valid numbers. If you talk to other researchers I think they’ll tell you that this was a strong sample size. Read the rest of this entry »

How many of you have started summer gardens as a way to defray your family’s grocery costs? James had some great tips for container gardening back in February. And I had some ideas last Fall about stretching your food dollar by gardening. As we head into summer, many people have probably already planted their gardens and are smack dab in the middle of the maintenance phase. Here are a few things that can help you cut back on gardening-related expenses this summer. The whole goal was to reduce your food costs, right?

1. Collect gray water in a bucket. I have a 5 gallon bucket that stays in the kitchen sink. Whenever I wash my hands, rinse vegetables, or rinse off dishes, I collect the water and then take it outside to water the plants. It’s a little unbelievable how much water you can save this way. Just be sure that you’re using phosphate-free soap and you’ll be OK using the gray water on flowers or on vegetables. The soap even helps to keep the soil loose, especially in containers, where the soil can get packed down tight.

2. Mulch. Mulching helps the soil retain water, and it will help you do less weeding. Yard clippings and dried leaves are great sources of free mulch. You can even mulch with shredded paper from your office. Just make sure you put a light layer of soil over the paper so that it doesn’t blow away. Last year I didn’t mulch my containers – I only mulched the plants I had in the ground. This year I mulched everything, and my plants are so much happier, and I’m using a lot less water in the garden. I only have to water once a day instead of twice. Read the rest of this entry »

A national survey conducted by Target 10, an LGBT marketing agency based out of New York, gays and lesbians are more likely to spend money on home improvements than heterosexuals.  In fact, gay couples plan to spend 50 percent more on home improvement projects than non-gay couples over the next 12 months, despite the down economy. These homeowners intend to spend an average of $2,077 within the next 12 months while non-gay couples intend to spend only $1,384.

And with 63 percent of gay homeowners intending to start home improvement projects within the next 12 months, it’s not surprising that more than half also plan on purchasing more new home appliances or furnishings within a year’s time. The kitchen in particular is high on their “to do” list. In the next 12 months, 34 percent of gay homeowners reported that they intend to replace a kitchen appliance vs. 27 percent of straight homeowners.

“Gay men and lesbians have a reputation of being major home improvement shoppers and this survey reaffirms that,” said Matt Tumminello, president of Target 10. “Renovating and refurbishing homes is in many ways a part of gay culture. Even in bad economic times, they are not stopping.” Over the last three years, 72 percent of gay homeowners had made home improvements. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m getting a new deck this summer. The fence in the back yard is falling down and desperately needs replacing, and my last attempt at making a patio in the back yard has turned into a muddy mess. So, it just makes sense to get a low deck built while the contractors were here anyway.

I wish I didn’t have to bother with this. I wished I just rented. Sure, people always complain about not being able to fix up a place when they rent, but I’d really rather move to a place with a nice fence and deck instead of shelling out $5000 to build a new one.

Yes, $5000. And half of that is just for the lumber. This is in Canadian dollars, but convert it to whatever currency you like and it’s still a lot of money. Every year, actually, there’s something that costs a lot of money in a home. It’s really made me understand that housing is not an investment. It’s a consumable item that’s not much different than buying a movie or a good set of tools. Whether it’s worth the cash outlay depends on a lot on how you plan to use it, how long you’ll own it for and what your rental alternatives would be.

Try here for a calculator to figure out if you should rent or buy a home. When I ran my own numbers, I would have come out ahead by $60,000 if I had rented for the past 16 years instead of purchasing my home. And I’ve owned my house during the biggest run-up in property values in history! The number that tanked my calculations (on the calculator and in real life) has been the endless repairs and upgrades I’ve done to my home. Yes, the $50,000 reno made a kitchen just the way we like it, but I could also have taken 10 around-the-world trips for the same amount of money that would also have left a smug smile on my face. The deck and fence are just the tip of the iceberg. Read the rest of this entry »

This spring our attic has been insulated.  We’re also getting new exterior doors for the front and side of our house.  A new furnace and air conditioner, too.

We started making our house more energy efficient in October before the economy really went sour.  We don’t actually have the cash for all of these expenditures, and will dip into our line of credit which has a ridiculously low interest rate, because the ecoENERGY program and home reno tax credit makes it impossible right now not to invest in improving your home.

In 2007 the federal government of Canada launched an ecoENERGY Home Retrofit program to provide homeowners with up to $5,000 to offset the cost of making energy efficiency improvements.  Then the Ontario Retrofit Rebate Program was introduced which matches dollar for dollar up to another $5,000 of the ecoENERGY rebates.  Now you can get back a potential $10,000 on improvements.  The Ontario Power Authority and Enbridge Gas Distribution have also thrown some of their own energy efficiency rebates into the mix.  To top all this off, one of the incentives announced in the 2009 budget was a tax credit of 15% (up to a maximum of $1,350 on home renovations between $1,000 and $10,000) to get Canadians to spend this fiscal year.  Also on April 1, the grant rates on the above mentioned ecoENERGY program increased 25% for a limited time.

These deals have put me into buying mode, and this is where the priorities of our partnership have clashed. The improvements I want to make aren’t flashy.  They are things you can’t actually see.  But they are things that will impact the resale value of our house and make it much more comfortable to live in for the time being. Read the rest of this entry »

The reckoning has begun. Our kitchen is well on its way to completion – just the floors need to be done – and the bills have started to roll in. I was telling the accountant at work about the renovation, and she said, “So, now you’ve already got the debt to worry about!” And what did I say? “No, actually, it’s already paid for.”

This made me feel good. And this goes back to the very beginning, and how we got to this place.

Start saving early. We knew from the moment that we took ownership of our place that we had to replace the kitchen – it was just that bad. But we also knew that we were not prepared to go into debt to make it happen. Our ING Direct Home Renos account was started! Two years later, we had the money necessary to make the dream a reality.

Automatic Savings: the only way to go. In order to reach our goal, we took advantage of weekly automatic withdrawals from our chequing account, which helped to slowly but surely build up the cash we needed. I know this advice is reiterated on all sorts of personal finance blogs – pay yourself first, etc. – but I had to mention it just one more time. (Seriously, just Google that phrase, and you’ll see what I mean.) Read the rest of this entry »

What should have been the simplest part of the whole renovation process turned out to be the most trying.

Here are the lessons we have learned this week, and not without some suffering:

1. Get your story straight impeccably gay.
2. Watch them like a hawk – or, as Toshi likes to say, be a stalker.
3. Don’t let them get away with anything.

Allow me to elaborate.

1. Communication with your better half is essential. Toshi has done almost all of the planning for this kitchen reno, spending hours on Ikea’s kitchen design software (which operated at a snail’s pace on our Mac). When he told me his expectations for the countertop – specifically, the overhang on each side of the peninsula – I had in my mind that I understood what he was saying.

I was wrong. Read the rest of this entry »

Right now, we’re saving money by virtue of the fact that we’re at a standstill with the renovations. It will take at least another week before the countertops arrives. Until it is in place, we don’t have a sink. Until we have a sink, we’re not going to bring in a plumber to hook up the dishwasher. Somewhere along the way, we want to tile the floors, but not until the counter is done. The waiting is interminable!

Plus, we’re eating a lot of microwaveable food.

In the meantime, I’ve been calculating the cost of the renovation, including how much we’ve managed to save by 1) waiting for sales, and 2) timing our renovation to take advantage of discounts. Including applicable taxes (ah, Canada), I figure we’ve saved over $1,300. The final tally is still out, but it looks like we might be actually coming in under budget!

An anecdote: last week, when the delivery guys brought our appliances, I had a weird conversation with the driver. He asked, “How much did this all cost you?” I started breaking things down – the appliances, the cabinets, installation… He cut me off: “Overall, how much is it going to cost you?” I gave him my ballpark figure. He scoffed. “Man, you paid too much. You could have had the whole thing – cabinets, installation, everything – for just $3,000.” He then handed me a card. I was certain he was going to refer me to his cousin, Vinny. But, no, it was his Sears business card, and he asked me to put in a good word for him. Bizarre. Read the rest of this entry »

Implement these 4 ideas to help sell a house or upgrade a home without straining the household budget.

Those Saving money is now back in vogue, especially when it applies to real estate, but homeowners still want to spruce up their houses – either to sell them faster or to enjoy them more. Those who know how to do small home improvements on a shoestring budget can reap big rewards and benefits in a variety of ways.

Here are four ideas that can help save money while also boosting curb appeal, home equity, pride in home ownership, and overall enjoyment of hearth and home.

Embark on a do-over without overdoing it.
Upgrades that are affordable can also be impressive, as long as the money is spent wisely to invest in those specific features that deliver the greatest impact. Use imagination and grand vision to conceptualize the entire project, but then whittle down the wish list to just a few selected priorities. Read the rest of this entry »

Nearly there – after a week of final plans and last-minute changes, our kitchen is nearly complete!

Here is how the week has played out so far:

Sunday – We were able to trade the ancient oven in our kitchen with another guy in the building. Our stove, though old, was working fine – his oven had just conked out. So he slipped us $25 to help pay the removal fee, and swapped his oven for ours.

Monday – The demolition team arrived! For some reason, they didn’t know that we wanted them to dispose of the fridge and stove. After a couple of phone calls to the office, however, we sorted things out. We came home to an empty space where once there had been a kitchen…

In the evening, the Sears delivery guys arrived with the new appliances. Along with the Ikea boxes, there is no room left in the apartment at all. Read the rest of this entry »