bigbuck

An extended GM minivan with a tow pkg has a rating of 3500lbs. You are looking at about 15-1800lbs or so. Kinda tough to beat the versatility of a minivan. They are pretty good on gas out on the highway as long as you don't need a pilot's licence.

Nice Texas Cadillac!!! My buddy has one and it's been a great vehicle for him. He must have north of 400k on it by now and it's been pretty much trouble free other than regular maintenance. I've driven it a few times and LOVE IT. I see a truck in my future.

A Aikmann On Novar Rd. in Mississauga. You can either buy the bearings or have him service the reels.

Lew, on the other side of the QEW, it's Perkins and it's better than IHOP or Golden Griddle ever was. If you are going let me know, I'll try to meet up for brekkie with you and the gang.

I HOPE I HOPE I HOPE!!! I'm getting tired of this winter, it's been cold and long. A few more weeks till pike opens on GBay. Time to start getting my gear ready.

More good karma!! Congrats Merc on being a solid guy. Our community is a good group.

Nice!! I think my next vehicle is gonna be a Ford pickup. Dunno if I'm going to go SuperDuty or F150, time will tell when the time gets closer.

Look at JB's Fishing Depot. They have most stuff in stock but the store is too small for the amount of product on the shelves. Fishing World is also a great store with tons of selection in stock. Bass Pro is good but they have a lot of focus on their house brands which are hugely profitable for them and I'm not a fan of most of their products because of the 1 year warranty. Better to pony up and buy Shimano, Quantum, St Croix, Daiwa, Abu, etc... for the superior warranties. Knowledgeable and Courteous staff are also key. I think it's really important to have the product on the shelf ready for sale, if I have to special order something, I'd end up thinking twice and probably not buy it. If it's there for me to see and feel............From a business perspective, you have to have fairly deep pockets because you need to carry a lot of inventory.

Solo, that's some good karma for you. That's what I like about this board, everyone is helpful and there aren't any scammers out there trying to score off of other members.

Bigugli, unfortunately, some Pension Funds have failed to do what they were supposed to do. I can't comment on what happened in your situation without knowing more. Making a blanket statement that you would trust the mob over bankers or financial advisors again is mistaken. The mob loses money in the market.

Having been a Financial Advisor and Insurance Advisor for the past 14 years having seen Asian flu, the collapse of LTC, the Tech bubble and resultant Rubble, 9/11, the banking system locking up in '07 and the subsequent implosion in '08, I can still say that had you invested CONSERVATIVELY in Canada, you'd be doing fine. The problem with most people is that they jump into the market when everyone is making money and sell when they lose. I have clients who make A LOT of money who stress out about how they can make their RRSP contribution, never mind a TFSA contribution. Too many people are living beyond their means using credit cards and suck the equity out of their houses thru lines of credit. Stick to living off 90% of what you make and invest 10% for the long term. YOU WILL retire comfortably if you start that when you are young. Remember in the market, "Pigs get slaughtered". If you are greedy, you'll get killed sooner or later. GICs are good for keeping a few grand around for incidental expenses and short term savings.

Times are a lot different from when our parents and grandparents grew up with very little. There are too many ways out there to suck cash out of your pocket, cell phones, internet access, digital/satellite HD tv, leasing (as opposed to buying expensive cars), big houses, etc...etc....etc...

Do you NEED all of this stuff?? I still have 3 tube tvs in the house, the newest is 8years old, the other two are 17 years old, basic cable, a basic high speed internet connection, cheap cell phone deal for my wife 9(mine is expensive but I need it for work), decent home with a very small mortgage and 2 8 year old vehicles on the driveway. We eat very well but that is because I shop for specials.

I deal with these issues on a daily basis and most people don't get it until I get them to start journalling their daily expenses to see where their money leaks out. $10/day at Starbucks is ridiculous, get a couple of medium Timmies for $3 or drink the free coffee at the office or here is a novel idea, bring a thermos from home (I do when I'm on the road seeing clients). No shame in brownbagging folks!!! Bring a lunch from home whether it's leftovers or a sandwich. TREAT yourself to a lunch out ONCE a week, not every single day.

I can go on and on and on.

Conclusion: Be smart with what you earn, live within your means and you will be fine.

Depends on your field. Lots of good books mentioned. Study up on the products and sales techniques of your chosen fiels. Ultimately, you have to believe in what you are selling and never be afraid to pick up the phone even when a customer/client is calling to yell at you. Don't ever hide!!

Remember your ABC's (Always Be Closing)

Lunch is for losers

Coffee is for Closers

You are only as good as your last sale.

It's more of an off-season charger. CT has an Intelligent charger/maintainer thats 2 amps that goes on special for 19.99. I've kept my 3 deep cycles charged all winter with it (2 for the boat and 1 for my travel trailer).

I'd stay at the Days Inn or the Best Western, the Quality Inn and Suites that the Odyssey is at is now a Holiday Inn. With the Days Inn, there is a Perkins Restaurant (great brekkie)as well as Wrigley's Field Sports Bar (great wings).

Get the bigget one you can find. With that small a TM on a 16ft'r, it's on high most of the time and will suck juice outta the battery hard. You really need at least a 55lb.

For those who go for brekkie first, the old Golden Griddle is now an IHOP. I'll swing by the booth for sure.

Wow, Lazarus is actually going to speak in public. For those that don't know about him, this guy could boat a musky up on the North Pole. He is very secretive about his techniques and spots and to get a chance to hear him, I'm in.

This guy is a complete moron!! I feel sorry for his family and for the poor taxpayer. His family will probably have to pay an undisclosed sum for his release (if they don't skin him first) and External Affairs will have to pay staffers who knows how much to deal with this. I'm being a bit coldhearted but I don't suffer fools and this guy certainly qualifies. Who in their right mind goes to a war zone who doesn't have any business there (soldiers, media, mercenaries (oops, I meant private contracters), and the like).

So why are we called "Hosers"? We should be called "Hozees"!

Roy, how bout we just call ourselves "The Hosed"??

Where is the PM from??? There will be no meaningful reform in our fuel supply as long as Calgary is calling the shots. The Chretien government let the refiners and oil companies get rid of their competition (the individual gas station owners) and the whole retail structure was reworked to suit them. I never could figure out how that was supposed to be good for the consumer. There are fewer refineries which are artificially tightening the gasoline supply. Now I don't blame the oil companies for not wanting to spend billions on new refineries when the internal combustion engine may be going the way of the dodo bird in the next 25-50 years or sooner. We are getting hosed and there is nothing we can do about it. Saudi Arabia has 4 million barrels/day of excess capacity capability so really, Libya shouldn't really affect the market as much as it has with 1.6 million barrels/day of output. I think with all the unrest in the Middle East, we can expect oil prices to continue upwards and gas prices to do likewise. Unfortunately for us, who really knows what kind of regimes are going to take power in these countries. The people there in all likelihood whon't be any better off than they are now.

You won't need another battery, you should be fine running the 1 for the riggers and electronics. You are going to need 2 or 3 for the MinnKota depending on how big you go.

As for riggers, I think they are all pretty good whether you go Cannon, Scotty or Walker.

HDS 7 is a great unit.

Since you are a musky guy, you know all about Salty's, you're going to need a couple.

Your trailer will need to have the bearings greased at least once a year or so depending on how much you use it. Other than that, make sure the tire pressure is good EVERY time you go out.

Boatcovers, if you found one that is specific to your boat you should be fine.

Now get out and slime it on season opener!!

We gave up our membership once the kids were out of diapers. The meat there is very good, the produce, not so bad but you have to know your prices because the fruits and veggies can be very expensive. You always end up buying stuff that wasn't on your shopping list. When Price Club Costco started, they changed all the packaging on everything, instead of a 24 of Coca Cola, it became an 18 and you saved a buck, everyone thought it was a great deal, actually, it cost you more per can. Laundry detergent, dry goods, canned goods, the list goes on and on. They drove all the suppliers crazy with their demands to change the standardised packaging. They build their stores for free, the membership goes towards contstruction. I'm not a big fan but as mentioned above, there are perks, like the buffet, the Ford discount, etc.... Catch it on the right day and you can skip lunch and dinner. If you want to save money, know your unit cost, not the cost per package, you need to know the cost per can.

What's happening now is that we are entering a 'New Age of Austerity'. We have had it too good for too long. Our parents had to scrimp and save and really, we haven't, not even close. There were times when it may have been a bit tight but it didn't last too long. There has been too much money available and now the majority of people are overextending themselves. I'm not just talking about the average working stiff either. In my house, we eat steak, roasts, ribs, chicken, fish and the like very regularly, how you may ask?? I don't make $200k/yr. Every Saturday morning I have my ritual, while the fishing shows are on, I go through the ads for the week. Over the course of the week during my travels, I will stop at the various stores to pick up the specials along with some of the basic staples, bread, milk eggs and the like. I have a freezer that is very well stocked in the basement as well as a well stocked pantry of dry goods. Why buy a can of tomatoes for $1.49 when you can get them for .88 each on special. Buy a dozen or two. Why pay $7.99 or higher per pound for a Prime rib roast when you can get it for $3.99/lb? You just have to be a smart shopper. That's what our folks did. The only time they went into debt was to buy a house. Now we have car payments, mortgage payments, credit card payments, daycare, etc....etc...etc....

Problem with some of the big box house brand stuff is service, you can't go to Aikmans or one of the either repair guys out there and expect him to have parts. Stick to Abu, Quantum, Shimano or Daiwa. Spend more on the reel and less on the rod. You get what you pay for with Baitcasters.

IFF (if and only if) I had a sled and it wasn't the last week of my busy season, I would be on this like white on rice. Just goes to show what kind of a guy Wayne is, offering up his little piece of paradise to us OFC'rs. If you do make it up there, I hope you slay the walters and brookies.