The Downsizing (again)

And so it begins...

We signed the papers to list our property with a Realtor this morning.

At first, we were convinced to try and sell it ourselves - there are all kinds of resources (and companies) around that will help with the process - Propertyguys.com comes to mind. We spent a lot of time wondering about this, but in the end decided to pay significantly extra and hire someone who does this for a living.

I feel that the real estate business has been as resistant to change, and had a strangle hold on the MLS system for decades. But today you can list on MLS yourself, hire a notary public yourself for all the legal stuff, take your own photos, guide your own open houses, and negotiate your own deals.

But we want none of that. In a declining market like we have here in Vancouver (plus two other properties in the same complex for sale for significantly less than we would want) it's no time for amateur hour. And we would be amateur hour.

Maybe we'll sell ourselves next time. But I don't think there will be a next time.

Owning versus Renting

I've run countless spreadsheets over the last few weeks, and have maintained a very diligent "net worth" process over the last two decades. And the numbers just don't lie.

Although we've made money with several of the houses we've owned, there are several where we didn't. We didn't lose a lot, and we probably lived for less than what it would have cost for rent. Or did we?

Today there's three factors that we considered:

1. Even if we made a profit, we probably didn't make any money on the house. Likely not as much as if we had access to the invested cash. We know that the house is a home, and that it's important to have a home, but people in the rest of the world have homes too, and they rent. So we think at this stage of our lives, renting is the future.
2. The boomers are not getting younger. All the homes we'll want to downsize out of tomorrow will be bought by ..... who? Not our kids ... they can't afford it. There's only so many people in SE Asia that want to buy in Port Coquitlam. We think we're getting out before the mad rush to sell.
3. We're willing to pay for flexibility and freedom. Owning a home ties you down. Owning in a Strata lets you out of the maintenance aspect of a home - but you pay for it. Time to opt out.

The next job is to convince Laura that we don't need a car.....

Square

I've heard of the Square application for smart phones for a while now, but has only recently been available in Canada.

Since Laura and I are now on a major "downsize", and I look forward to having a gigantic garage sale in the spring, I thought it would be really beneficial to accept credit cards.

I had no idea it would be this simple.

I have a cheap Samsung Galaxy Ace smart phone, and it's compatible with the Square service. So all I did was download the app into the phone (free), sign up on the Square website (fast and free), and link my chequing account to the Square service. In total, the whole process took five minutes.

Square will be shipping the device (the dongle in the picture above) in the mail for free.

Square makes its money by charging a flat 2.75% fee on any transaction you do with the device. It accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.

It begs the question - why shouldn't everyone have this capability?

Cashless society, here we come!

One Year Low Carb

February 11, 2012 was when I discovered that the way I was eating was likely killing me.

I'm probably more susceptible than most to a high-complex-carb diet, but that's what I was eating. I called it vegetarian, but it was more like "lots of bread and pasta, with some veggies thrown in for good measure".

A large part of my diet was breakfast cereal (Multi-grain Cheerios, oatmeal, all the "healthy" stuff) and bread (Silver Hills sprouted grain mostly), potatoes almost every day and orange juice to start my mornings.

The new diet/lifestyle throws all the old conventions on their head. Fat is good, protein is good, processed food (including bread and anything made out of grain) is bad, sugar is bad.

I've lost 15 pounds and have been easily able to keep it off (I'm never hungry). I'm eating all the foods I used to avoid - meat mostly (even bacon). I am not eating bread or processed food of any kind. I haven't had a bowl of breakfast cereal in a year, and I think I've had four slices of Silver Hills bread in the last 365 days.

What I've learned about the "vegetarian/carb" eating over the last year has made me really angry. I thought I was doing well the whole time - exactly as the nutritionists tell us to - but I think it's likely the source of all my trouble (heart bypass surgery and a stroke).

The difference? Other than the weight, nothing I can really tell. Only that I'm confident that this style of eating is healthier. It could be healthier still (cut back on the cheese, yogurt, and apples), but I'm 85% of the way there - so good enough.

A typical day now looks something like this:

• Breakfast - Shake/smoothie made up of avocado, spinach, berries, protein powder, coconut milk, banana. 3 cups of coffee.
• Lunch - Apple, cheese, almonds.
• Dinner - Meat of some kind (steak/fish/chicken), sweet potato, broccoli, salad (spinach/tomato/avocado).
• Snack - Yogurt (super high fat, super low sugar, Greek style), frozen blueberries, walnuts.

I'm never hungry, and I eat as much as I want. I call it kind of a quasi-Paleo/slow-carb/archivore diet - made especially for me....