The actual value of the U.S. Dollar is shrinking. When the value of your asset is shrinking ... change it for an asset that isn't ... insofar as is possible. Five years or so ago, you could have bought CA$1.00 for 65 - 69 US cents. Now it'll cost you 98 US cents - US$1.02. Check the exchange rates of several basic world currencies in relation to the U.S. Dollar in recent years. That should tell you something. How about buying shares of strong, quality companies, abroad, in stable, growing markets? Had you bought some of those (cheap) Canadian dollars back a few years ago ... and used them to buy some oil and gas shares, you'd be smiling now. I think it's true that more of Alberta oil and gas goes over the border than stays in Canada. There's talk of the Chinese gov't.-related agencies using some of their U.S. dollar bonds (the value of each of which has been suffering annual shrinkage on the world markets) to buy Canadian oil and gas producers and build pipelines to Pacific tidewater. Paid for, originally, by some of the cheap Chinese-made products that you've been buying in the "Dollar" stores. In fact, if you had enough for a down payment on your house in a year or so large enough to avoid buying mortgage insurance, you might well decide that it would be wise to just let those oil and gas shares (or other resource-based shares) just sit there and keep earning ... and growing. In fact, if you had the certificates issued, and used them as additional collateral to back your house loan, you might get by without mortgage insurance on an even smaller down payment than is usually required. My daughter, currently buying a house, is leaving some of her assets inherited from her mother to keep on running rather than liquidating to reduce her mortgage (the mortgage interest being deductible in the U.S., as it is not here). Go to Yahoo or another financial agent and ask for ECA.TO (large natural gas producer), SU.TO (oil, involved with the tar sands), IMO.TO (major shareholder is Exxon), POT.TO (produces potash fertilizer), etc. (interlisted on NYSE, IMO on AMEX - but apparent growth won't be as large, there, due to exchange losses) as some examples, then check their 1-year, 5-year, etc. increases in share prices ... and factor in the exchange rate to find what your gross rate of return would have been. Then you figure your tax load, and the effect of inflation to calculate your real rate of return ... that is, current rate of return. To figure your actual result, figure in the rate of growth, if any, of the asset for that year, as well ... and if you want to be more accurate, reduce that amount by the reduction that you would have suffered due to tax, had you cashed the asset now. Sometimes an additional, e.g. 3% gross rate of return will double your real rate of return, for the amount of tax will usually be a percentage of it - but the rate of inflation is a direct deduction, and is the same for each asset in any year as you go, but does not vary depending on the type of asset. Good wishes for managing your money wisely - in a worldwide market. ole joyful

About today's uptick in the markets: it's too soon to tell if the wide fluctuations we've been having are coming to an end. There may be some more big jolts to the markets: hedge funds collapsing when they have to sell good stocks at a loss to pay for redemptions; credit default swaps ("toxic" holdings); GM bankruptcy; continuing downslide in real estate values; prolonged unemployment of up to 8%; loss of consumer confidence. There is therefore every reason to believe that this recession will not be similar to recent ones, but will be longer and deeper. That said, the markets will begin a sustained climb when they "anticipate" a recovery within a few months or a year. I do not think we are there yet. But I'm sitting on a pile of cash because I sold half of our stocks about 4 months ago, and I'm gradually putting money back in stocks, a little bit every 3 months or so.

OK, hopefully we've put to bed the "don't hire an architect, designers are just as good and cheaper" mentality. Now we can get to the subject of economies and cost savings. Every time one of these threads appears (which is often), the poster asks about savings--but it's almost always addressed to the issue of fixtures, finishes and equipment. Where can I buy the cheapest: countertop, range, flooring, "scratch and dent" stuff...Consumers miss the point (or perhaps they simply don't know or recognize) that the truly expensive stuff lies elsewhere. What one may save on fixtures, finishes and equipment is peanuts compared to the cost of the rest of the custom home design and construction! For example, the type and configuration of the land and how the design of the house accommodates the land, and its characteristics, is the very first place to start looking and analyzing for economies and savings. There are sites easy to develop and build on, and there are site which are just the opposite. The second place to look is at the design concept and how the design can be developed into a final design which addresses the site, the needs and wants of the owner and the budget, while still making good, appealing and envigorating architecture. For example, a simple, well-organized house is always less expensive than a rambling, undisciplined and inexperienced design. Where are the major costs in any custom home: site development and improvements, foundation, exterior building shell, structural elements, and the building systems: HVAC, electrical/signal, plumbing service and waste. All the stuff that HGTV never, ever films or has their stars discuss. What do they discuss? Building custom tables for the dining space and putting lots of pots and pillows everywhere. The design concept and the developed design and construction documents are where all of these things are explored and resolved. This is one of many reasons why experienced architects offer much more professional service than designers who sit at a CAD keyboard. The third place to look for savings is the extent and quality of the design and construction documents--the drawings, specifications and bid documents. Skimp on these to save a few bucks, and in many--most--cases the consumer will wind up paying much, much more through misused and inappropriate allowances; through construction oopsies (a technical architectural term) where the builder or his subs use their own ideas and experience to fill in blanks in the drawings; and on and on. And then there's the situation where skimpy documents leave the consumer to spend many, many hours trying to make decisions about stuff which is necessary by not specified--door and drawer pulls, paint and stain colors, yada, yada. When it comes to design and construction documents and services, you get what you pay for. There is thread after thread on this forum of consumers with bidding and construction woes; consumers venting about all of the decisions and selections needed once construction starts. So...the point here is to shop for saving on flooring all you want. But if you really want to economize, pay attention to the truly expensive stuff, and the professionals who can best guide your through these sorts of decisions. Good luck on your project! :-)

So I won't have to type out a long sentence every time I mention it. "The type of spam where someone posts a vague comment to a usually old thread and then comes back hours or days later and edits it to include spam." Three words would be okay. Plus, I'm just trying to draw folks' attention to this type of spam because it has become increasingly common here.