First, do this test for your electricity efficiency!

the reno-climat program

There’s a difficulty with most so-called economic behaviour in the world: it pays attention only to the first price tag, and rarely to the second. The first price tag is the sticker at the store. The second price tag is the cost of operation and maintenance. Then, there’s the third — the price you don’t pay, but someone else does. It’s called an externality, and there’s a lot of that going on, and it usually falls to government to pay it, or no one at all.

Truly economic behaviour would consider all prices, including these externalities. For these, a mitigation fee could be paid. I’m going to talk about this now, but first, admire this rubber coaster:

In Quebec, we pay the Electronic Waste fee when we buy electronics. We also pay an environmental tax when we buy tires – at $3 per tire. Then, when you want to scrap your tires, you can bring them to any garage that does tire service, no questions asked. Many go to developing countries for a second life, and those that are not fit for reuse go to a recycling plant. They used to be stockpiled — a good practice where recycling technology hasn’t kept pace with the supply — but then, in the early 1990’s, someone accidentally set one ablaze both in Quebec and in Ontario. That kicked recycling into high gear! Quebec announced last summer (2012) that the last stockpiled tires from its various dumps have now all been recycled.

These three price tags (in fact, there are more) also exist when you buy a home. After the purchase price, you first have to pay the excise/land transfer/”bienvenue” tax (and the seller has other closing/selling costs to pay at end of ownership). Then you have the necessary mortgage and condo fees on a weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly basis. After these, the cost of upkeep: annual taxes, house insurance, and the energy and other utility (e.g. water) bills. Lastly, and inescapably, repairs and renovations.

(When shopping for a home, it’s good to consider all the costs. I created a spreadsheet to track these, along with square footage and features. It helped me consider the objective value of what I was looking at purchasing. I gave properties a star rating for meeting critiria and also the important, subjective value of how the place felt.)

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