Another question for the trades guys here

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I hired a guy from Kijiji to install a drop ceiling in my basement just recently.

His ad made it look like he was a drop ceiling specialist. When I spoke with him on the phone, he seemed very knowledgeable and passionate about this job. I was under the impression this is all he did for a living.

He followed up with me after initial quote anxious to do my job.

He drove all the way from Bowmanville to Stoney Creek (1.5hrs) to do my ceiling and spent about 12 hours straight from start to finish. He did a fantastic job.


Turns out the guy is a security alarm and vacuum installer by day, and does drop ceilings on the side.

He showed me pics of all his collector cars (some still undergoing restoration), his ATV'S plural (just bought a new top line Honda), his multiacre property, his dirt bikes, told me about his recent trip to Jamaica and more.

I understand how he gets the money to pay for all this stuff..... this is how its done----> work hard, and make da ca$h.



.
BTW, he did a great job, for reasonable price, and I wouldn't hesitate to hire him again!
 
So?

Motivated self starter earns money, buys toys. Wow.
 
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SunnY S said:
I hired a guy from Kijiji to install a drop ceiling in my basement just recently.

His ad made it look like he was a drop ceiling specialist. When I spoke with him on the phone, he seemed very knowledgeable and passionate about this job. I was under the impression this is all he did for a living.

He followed up with me after initial quote anxious to do my job.

He drove all the way from Bowmanville to Stoney Creek (1.5hrs) to do my ceiling and spent about 12 hours straight from start to finish. He did a fantastic job.


Turns out the guy is a security alarm and vacuum installer by day, and does drop ceilings on the side.

He showed me pics of all his collector cars (some still undergoing restoration), his ATV'S plural (just bought a new top line Honda), his multiacre property, his dirt bikes, told me about his recent trip to Jamaica and more.

I understand how he gets the money to pay for all this stuff..... this is how its done----> work hard, and make da ca$h.



.
BTW, he did a great job, for reasonable price, and I wouldn't hesitate to hire him again!
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This is not a success story in my eyes
 
omnivore said:
This is how I live my life.
I work. Hard. Alot. And often I don't like what I am doing. My work has nothing to do with those lifelong interests each of us have. I never would have become a labour trade if I were to choose solely based on what I want to do. It did however, allow me to step right into a $60,000/ yr job at 19 yrs old, right out of high school, what feels like a lifetime ago.
However, I take pride in doing it very well, and more often than not, people will wait sometimes months to have me do the job instead of some other butcher.
I tell myself that I have it pretty good, having my calendar pre-booked 30-60 days in advance for the past 15 yrs...never a famine or lull in the steadiness of work in the past 25 yrs. But, I do not get to do something I love for a living. I tell myself it is work, and work isn't supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be WORK. I will however probably retire to disability, as my body takes an absolute smashing daily, and I can work 10 days a week anytime . My back aches, hands and wrists are torn up with so many yrs of carpal tunnel and more, that never ever get a rest. Hurting, sore or not, I am back on the job the next day. My lower back,hands and forearms take the brunt of it-worst part is, what tiny bit of personal time I have to chase my passions, requires vigorous use of those very same body parts- lower back, hands and forearms. They never get a break.
I do like when I have clients who have $, time, and an appreciation for art and value. I get to showoff, and get paid to do it. And unlike a plumber or electrician, people see the work and marvel at it and it is appreciated. That is how I excuse the fact that I get paid less than plumbers and electiricians- clients don't ever think about those guys until **** goes sideways, then they curse them. Who ever said "Honey, we haven't had a leak in this house in 20 yrs.....make sure you send that plumber an Xmas card"? lol

I hope my kids never end up doing anything like I do.
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Jesus christ that doesn't sound like fun at all. What the hell do you do for a living?


My motto for work has always been "Do the least amount of work for the most amount of money" :lmao:

Laugh all you want but my last gig i worked 2 hours at most per day, rest of the time i surfed the internet, listened to music or slept.


For all you guys killing yourself to make good money, why not hire some dummy to do the heavy lifting for you? I paid a guy 10$ an hour to lift all the shingles up to my roof, strip the old ones and clean everything up. Why would you break your back for 10$ an hour?
 
Schneller said:
Confucius say:

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
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I love wrenching on my motorcycle. I would never want to do it as a job. The fun part of it would disappear pretty quickly.
 
Paul1000RR said:
Laugh all you want but my last gig i worked 2 hours at most per day, rest of the time i surfed the internet, listened to music or slept.

?
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Sounds as your present gig
 
SunnY S said:
I hired a guy from Kijiji to install a drop ceiling in my basement just recently.

His ad made it look like he was a drop ceiling specialist. When I spoke with him on the phone, he seemed very knowledgeable and passionate about this job. I was under the impression this is all he did for a living.

He followed up with me after initial quote anxious to do my job.

He drove all the way from Bowmanville to Stoney Creek (1.5hrs) to do my ceiling and spent about 12 hours straight from start to finish. He did a fantastic job.


Turns out the guy is a security alarm and vacuum installer by day, and does drop ceilings on the side.

He showed me pics of all his collector cars (some still undergoing restoration), his ATV'S plural (just bought a new top line Honda), his multiacre property, his dirt bikes, told me about his recent trip to Jamaica and more.

I understand how he gets the money to pay for all this stuff..... this is how its done----> work hard, and make da ca$h.



.
BTW, he did a great job, for reasonable price, and I wouldn't hesitate to hire him again!
Click to expand...

Works 80 hours a week and has no time to enjoy all of his things?

How much debt? Does he own all of those things? Or is he working 80 hrs a week just to make his minimum payments?

When I see someone down the street from me with a nice $500,000 home and a brand new F150 FX4 and a Nissan Armada in the driveway I don't assume they make a lot of money... I assume they are in debt up to their eyeballs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Same when someone buys a new toy hauler, or upgrades their trailer. Some people make good decisions, others not so much, can really generalize as not always someone with a fairly expensive home and new cars are necessarily in debt. Could be they had a smaller home, sold it for a good profit and were able to put half of the cost of the house as down payment etc.

Wife and I both have new cars, she bought hers cash, mine had a healthy down payment, my new home is more than half paid and we are very comfortable with any payments, even if one of us lost our job.

Most people own money, but how they manage their finances is the key.

caboose56 said:
Works 80 hours a week and has no time to enjoy all of his things?

How much debt? Does he own all of those things? Or is he working 80 hrs a week just to make his minimum payments?

When I see someone down the street from me with a nice $500,000 home and a brand new F150 FX4 and a Nissan Armada in the driveway I don't assume they make a lot of money... I assume they are in debt up to their eyeballs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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ZX600 said:
Same when someone buys a new toyhauler, or upgrades their trailer. Some people make good decisions, others not so much, can really generalize as not always someone with a fairly expansive home and new cars are necessarily in debt. Could be they had a smaller home, sold it for a good profit and were able to put half of the cost of the house as down payment etc.

Wife and I both have new cars, she bought hers cash, mine had a healthy down payment, my new home is more than half paid and we are very comfortable with any payments, even if one of us lost our job.

Most people own money, but how they manage their finances is the key.
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You mean like those mortgaged toy haulers? Lol
 
matthew said:
I love wrenching on my motorcycle. I would never want to do it as a job. The fun part of it would disappear pretty quickly.
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It doesn't. What you get out of your job in terms of satisfaction depends only on you. I am one of those "crazy people" who actually loves what they do, and is happy to go to work. I could make more doing something else but how much is much happiness worth? Would I change some things? Sure, who wouldn't? But things don't have to be perfect in life to be happy. Nobody above me is incorrect though, there are jobs that are not worth doing (carrying shingles, landscaping...) for the money involved, for me. But that doesn't mean that someone else doesn't love those jobs as much as I do mine.

It may sound crazy, but everyone who says that they work so they can do (insert fun thing here), is the same as me. Except the thing I would do as my recreation is wrenching on toys (bikes, boats, cars). Not all trades are fun, some downright suck. But there is lots of work available for motivated people, and there can be more than enough money.
 
crankcall said:
secured line of credit is a mortgage (shhhhhhh , don't tell the customers)
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Yupppp. And also don't tell the customers they'll be upside down on it the entire time until they have about six months left lol
 
My line of credit is unsecured , interest is only 1.6% they wanted 6% for home equity line lol they haven't changed mine in 8 years I don't thjnk they realize how low it is
 
Yea I think that is just nuts, but then I think about it and if a family uses it to go on trips, or every weekend to go up north instead of a cottage, maybe it's justified.... what do I know, I sleep in a tent when I go to the track
kellen said:
You mean like those mortgaged toy haulers? Lol
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carboncat said:
My line of credit is unsecured , interest is only 1.6% they wanted 6% for home equity line lol they haven't changed mine in 8 years I don't think they realize how low it is
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TD has a new Line of credit (secured) which is based on your home equity at only 3% (i know because I declined it a couple of weeks ago) that is the best you are going to get so I think Kellen and Tim are right that yours is prime +1.6.
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