Fr0m Money Canada:
This couple built a $500K ADU in their parents’ backyard to beat $1.8M home prices — but there are trade-offs. Is there a better way?
Unattainable home ownership due to increasingly exorbitant home prices is something that many North Americans are affected by, no matter how diligent they are with their finances.
Take Aislyn and Ali Benjamin, who were priced out of their dream neighbourhood in California, and instead of chasing listings and feeling a sense of discontent, the Benjamins built a US$500,000 (C$700,000) Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) in the backyard of Ali’s parents’ property.
“This was the best decision we ever made,” Ali, 35, said to Business Insider (1). “It allowed us to save so much money and live where we wanted.”
Home prices in Canada aren’t fairing any better, particularly in metropolitan areas. In Toronto — where the average home sale price was about $1.059 million in September 2025, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (2) — even small detached homes have become out of reach for most families.
Before moving, the Benjamins paid US$3,065 (C$4,300) a month for a two-bedroom apartment. Their new 1,200-square-foot ADU — complete with three bedrooms, a private sauna and a small gym — now costs about US$2,880 (C$4,000) a month, including utilities on a 15-year mortgage. That’s a modest saving of around US$185 (C$300) a month, but their payments now go toward equity, not rent.
They also benefit from lower power bills, thanks to their parents’ rooftop solar panels, and they split utilities. With no condo or HOA fees — something that can easily add hundreds per month in newer Toronto buildings — their overall expenses are significantly lower.
Then there are the hidden savings: Ali’s parents can offer help with their dog negating the need for boarding fees, as well as future childcare savings once they have children. Here in Canada, even with the federal 10-a-day childcare plan (3), Toronto daycare costs can still range from $400 to $500 per month as of 2021 (4).
1
Of course the issue of being able to afford housing is a huge problem in most of the developed world. A couple living in a neighboring town here bought parcel of ground for a house. To save money they then bought a prefab house from a European company and had it installed on the property. The city then told the couple that the prefab house didn‘t meet German standards/specs and made them remove it. I don’t know what all the issues were but the couple is out a lot of money.
3
priced out of their dream neighbourhood in California…
I want Tribeca! I deserve Tribeca!!!
Ladies, you don’t have to do this. Be good to your children.
Mother-of-two, 28, shoots baby dead in front of two-year-old daughter before telling child’s father ‘I sent her to God’
A 32-year-old nurse practitioner in Tennessee fatally shot her two young sons and 88-year-old grandmother before taking her own life in a tragic quadruple murder-suicide, authorities said.
Trump on Sunday also renewed his calls for an American takeover of the Danish territory of Greenland for the sake of US security interests.
‘It’s so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,’ Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington from his home in Florida.
‘We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.’
Donald Trump warned Colombia could be the next country to face a military operation, while clarifying that the US was ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after ousting its leader Nicolás Maduro.
When asked whether the US would pursue a military operation against the country, Trump bluntly replied, ‘It sounds good to me.’
Colonialism, Expansionism, Piracy, Imperialism.
We extort and pilfer, we filch and sack
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
Maraud and embezzle and even hijack
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me
We kindle and char and in flame and ignite
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
We burn up the city, we’re really a fright
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
We’re rascals and scoundrels, we’re villains and knaves
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
We’re devils and black sheep, we’re really bad eggs
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me
Called it yesterday, Cuba ain’t next. Rubio confirmed yesterday.
Remember that Florida wins presidential elections for maga and they need the cuba issue to do so. Cubans favor maga by a wide margin, got caught during Watergate and they stole Al Gore’s winning election
Grim
Haha
Somalis in Minnesota could learn a lot from old white guys in New Jersey:
https://www.nj.com/politics/2026/01/are-they-making-too-much.html
Joseph Dougherty, in charge of operations, earned $558,774 in 2023, up from $247,199 in 2018. Brian Curran, in charge of finance, saw his compensation grow from $247,199 to $502,577. The state paid the company $57.4 million last year to operate group homes for 285 people in south Jersey.
I’ll do the math for you, that’s $201,403 per person per year. Per Person, for ONE YEAR.
Pretty sure it’s cheaper to just send them on an all-inclusive cruise for a year.
Hear that noise? Neither do I. It’s China sitting very quietly while we calculate the price we’ll charge to sell oil to them. And Putin is sitting there half-drunk, in shock and speechless.
Fucking brilliant.
nonprofit group home operators
non profit?
If that is non profit, please provide an example of profit.
Ten 419
Art or RentBore,
Al Gore lost the election because he failed to carry his home state. No other reason.
Who’s Al Gore?
grim: Who is approving these huge raises for these execs?
Tim Walz drops his bid for a 3rd term as Governor of Minnesota.
Good for Tim and the party. At least someone knows when it’s time to call it quits after screwing up.
In other news another close friend of mine, slightly older, got the axe today after decades of work.
Who approves? They probably approved their own raises, it’s a private company that looks to be 100% funded by the state, which is the wet dream of every fraudster.
Hey liberals, what happened to rescuing the little brown children in zip ties being ripped from their parents? Did you abandon them already? Where’s your compassion? Is that narrative not bringing in ratings and outrage any more?
Tim pulls out… his boyfriend didn’t like it.
Grim: Ok, but the state is not over sighting that?
Lib: Sorry about your friend. The layoffs are happening, and older people are a target, because of their expense.
Did anyone watch the Steelers game yesterday? It would be great if Aaron Rogers could win at least one more playoff game in his career. I’ll watch the highlight reel of the game later today on YouTube.
It is a holiday in Bavaria tomorrow, Epiphany. I need to go grocery shopping today as everything will be closed except for gas stations.
Eddie,
Al Gore is a highly acclaimed fantasy filmmaker.
3b – Walz sold his house when he became governor in 2019 and has only lived in the Governor’s Mansion since then. Pension vested and moving to somewhere else? Canada?
Did Al Gore see this message from Billy Bob Thornton?
https://x.com/TexasAllianceEP/status/1861090588445004219
Freshly baked rolls and coffee out of those luxe espresso machines at the gas station will get you through the day Euro Gary.
For ze Americans, here’s what a mediocre Polish gas station looks like:
h**ps://youtu.be/5ZHqw5oPs4I?si=8wXrnMItaqY3D6qO&t=450
Or just get the fried chicken.
You will not take my oil.
What is the most important lesson one is to take from this scene?
Assuming one cares about the future that is..
White Trash Eddie says:
January 5, 2026 at 11:14 am
Did Al Gore see this message from Billy Bob Thornton?
https://x.com/TexasAllianceEP/status/1861090588445004219
Would you eat gas station sushi if they served it in Poland?
Bucee’s Gas in Texas serves Briscut and BBQ… WaWa here at least the new one by me has ok sandwiches and breakfast burritos etc. KwikTrip or QuickTrip stopped at had all kinds of fresh baked good.
Chad watched the Steelers game OTA, picture was great even if only ATSC version 1. Fox really cheaped out on the Giants game though. Cameras were old and game looked like it had a lot of motion blurr.
Dark I put in a channel master pre amp on the coaxial line what a difference that made. I did try the antenna to wireless device to router to tv thing. It’s just to much data to bounce around wirelessly all over the house and eventually you get a lot of stuttering. On new years the tv was 15 minutes off due to the laggy transmitting of data.
What is the most important lesson one is to take from this scene?
What’s your take?
Juice: I guess the plan was to stay in the Governor’s mansion, or move up from there, like 8 year as VP in D.C. The VP residence is very nice. That did not happen, so what does he do next? Canada as you say, nah I don’t see it.
General tso, the world is waiting for you to take Taiwan. , it’s so close just a stones throw away making it difficult for any nation to protect. As for your oil, I think ChiFI can help you put together a black swan event that can bring your oil back
Where’s the ten at?
General Tso is not interested in chips. Only delicious deep fried chicken and steamed white rice. For you Walking, I will put in a third limb of broccoli.
Reading little Gary’s posts reminds me how maga at its heart is simply about racism.
re: ” wet dream of every fraudster.”
A Co-workers son took a job as a personal assistant aka aide for a congresswoman. He spent a few years down in DC learning the ropes as he was chauffeuring the congresswoman around as it was undignified for her to drive herself and as well as picking up her dry cleaning or attending events without aides. He caught onto the NGO grift and went that direction as he was tired of picking up dry cleaning and being berated for not driving fast enough in DC traffic.
Using his connections in DC he was able to start up an NGO. Named it “National Alliance” or some other Bla Bla Bla….They would take in the grant money and distribute it to other “worthy” local partners around the country and provide awareness but the main goal was fundraising.
Well all they really did was apply for Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) Grants.gov, sam.gov and any other NIH, DOE, NIFA and you name it funding opportunity they could find.
Does all that government money make it down to the local chapters and partner organizaitons? I don’t know but I do know he managed to carve out a nice lifestyle and has a nice spread in a fancy zip code in Virginia. Salaries and awareness make good business for sure especially when you have an expense account and set your own salary.
For Fraud the GOP approved of: See Rick Scott
Conventional political wisdom would typically advise candidates to steer clear of mentioning their past controversies.
But U.S. Sen. Rick Scott went out of his way, quite literally, on Thursday to attend former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial in Manhattan and remind Americans that he once ran a healthcare company that was slapped with the largest Medicare fraud fine in U.S. history.
In a press conference outside the courthouse in Manhattan where Trump is on trial, Scott compared the criminal charges against Trump to the federal Medicare and Medicaid fraud investigation that resulted in $1.7 billion in fines against Columbia/HCA, the healthcare company that helped make Scott the United States’ wealthiest U.S. senator.
Oh, and liberals, what about the women bleeding to death in parking lots? Have they been rescued?
See? Fraud is just good business. Especially if it’s senior citizens and the us government
Booooyah!!!
12:25 it’s funny right? When women die..
In fact many women have died because “abortion” is healthcare. Sometimes lifesaving
3b – I am pretty sure Walz is now fearing prosecution. The House Oversight committee already called them all down to testify and well they are of course resisting.
You can bet they already have enough to trap Walz in a lie, they have been investigation for years now. The “Feed our Future” scam which has forty seven suspects charged so far started under Biden beginning on 2022. Amidst that FBI investigation which began with raids in into the Feeding Our Future locations in the winter of 2022, potential fraud(s) were also identified and investigated in a number of other state-run social services schemes, including day care, emergency housing, autism therapy for children, home health assistance, and Medicaid.
There are whistleblowers from the inside speaking to the DOJ now. All roads lead to the higher ups in the government at this point.
Gary? How long have your people been in the US?
See, I doubt seriously you’d qualify for “classical American” status.
Anyone who still thinks “all of this” is a good idea?
Anyway. How takes off like a rocket. Everyone looooves fossil fuels!
Is there anything more hilarious than watching a liberal trying to be relevant?
LMAO.
“Dow” not how
MSNBC host: “Isn’t it a positive that we’ve maintained a foot hold in South America?”
Dickhead liberal expert: “It’s apparent that Trump is going to try and take Greenland?”
MSNBC host: “But China and Russia have been pushing their way into South America. Wasn’t this a good move by the Trump Administration?”
Dickhead liberal expert: “Oh Trump thinks he owns the Western Hemisphere?”
I think once congress wakes up they’ll bury Trump. They’ll override his Vetoes start to hold his feet to the fire by his bloated ankles. This will be the year that karma and Mother Nature take their toll. Cha-Ching. It’s almost time. Tick tick tick
Upchuck Schumer 2020: “Trump says he has a plan for Venezuela. Give me a break, he has nothing!”
Upchuck Schumer yesterday: “It’s an outrage what Trump has done to Venezuela!”
We stopped importing scientists and now importing influencers!
(Paywalled source)
Influencers and OnlyFans Models Dominate US ‘Extraordinary’ Artist Visas
The O-1B visa, a work permit reserved for individuals deemed to possess “extraordinary ability” in the arts, has become the pathway of choice for social media influencers and OnlyFans models seeking to build careers in the United States. Immigration attorneys told the Financial Times that influencers now make up more than half their clientele for O-1B applications, a shift that has accelerated since the Covid-19 pandemic as lawyers and talent managers have adapted the visa’s criteria — originally designed for traditional artists — to fit the metrics of online fame.
High follower counts and substantial earnings can establish commercial success under the visa’s requirements, landing a brand promotion contract can qualify as an endorsement of talent, and appearing at a store opening can count as performing in a “distinguished production.” The total number of O-1 visas granted annually increased by more than 50% between 2014 and 2024, even as overall non-immigrant visa issuance grew by just 10%. Fewer than 20,000 O-1 visas were granted in 2024. Some attorneys said they worry the fixation on algorithm-driven metrics could disadvantage traditionally trained artists whose work doesn’t generate viral attention
Juice: I am sure the co-workers Son, must be a Republican and the Congress woman he worked must have been Republican too. Democratic politicians are good people they do not do engage in corrupt self serving activities. They are dedicating their live to helping the American people.
Fast: We can t go around threatening to take Greenland, a part of Denmark who is a NATO member. Greenland is on the roads to independence , which in my mind does not make sense with only 57K people, but if that is what they want, than that is their right.
If they do become independent and the US can entice them to join the US, then that is fine too, but in the meantime Trump needs to knock off the Greenland crap.
Boomer Remover,
I worked in Italy for 18 months. Gas station coffee there, especially on the Autostrade, was the best!
I guess this is the response once should expect from someone who self-admittedly says
“I long ago stopped analyzing” – “have no idea” – “I no longer pay attention”
SmallGovConservative says:
January 4, 2026 at 5:45 pm
Some-One says:
January 4, 2026 at 5:21 pm
“…ubiquitous regardless of party.”
Comments of a Dem stooge
I got a nice toy for Christmas the new Meta AI Glasses. I am impressed how well the AI works on it’s own with and integrated with Apps on my iPhone. It can do lots and lots of things for sure.
I look at my dog and say Hey Meta what kind of dog am I looking at and it can identify the breed. I ask it to read me the text on a page displayed on my screen and it provides a quick summary. Makes calls, txt messages seamlessly too.
Photos are good and the video recording has very good stabilization.
I don’t really need to look at my phone for example while driving. I can just say Hey Meta do this or that and it will. Impressed so far. Battery life is excellent and the case acts as a backup battery and charger too.
Imagine if the government functioned this way: The Raiders are set to pay $50 million next year to coaches they’ve already fired for losing. I could have done the same job and walked away with millions.
Public or private…same chit happens. The majority of humans are useless, while the minority carry them all.
walking.
love the CM7777
Great amp
Juice,
Nice, thanks for sharing. Was wondering about those glasses…
Eddie
My take
If the stuff is that valuable, you shouldn’t waste it
juice
Just wait till your doctor is wearing one while he’s checking your prostate
Pumps- AI is very fast and responsive especially for multimodal like taking a picture and for example identifying the dog breed.
Zuckerberg is burning billions in data center inference to keep it that responsive.
Their capital expenditure is expected to be $100 billion for this year alone and much much more in the coming years.
New massive giga scale facilities like Prometheus, expected to come online soon and another data center named Hyperion are designed to scale to multi-gigawatt levels to Meta’s AI powered “personal superintelligence”.
All hail the AI…..
Pumps – NFL “dead cap money” for released, fired or sitting the bench.
NY Giants…$45 million.
Player Cap Status 2025 Cap Hit
Daniel Jones Dead Cap (released) $22.21 million
Darren Waller Dead Cap (retired/released) Undisclosed (part of $28.98M total)
Victor Dimukeje Inactive/PUP list Undisclosed (part of $3.318M total)
Eric Gray Inactive/PUP list Undisclosed (part of $3.318M total)
Anthony Johnson Jr. Inactive/PUP list Undisclosed (part of $3.318M total)
Russell Wilson Active Roster, limited playing time $11.03 million
They also owe fired Coach Brian Daboll $10 million still… That is $153,425 a week until he is fully paid out.
where Dow at?
I have a few of my team in Colombia.
They are pro-Trump.
They are happy about Venezuela, and they think the current president of their country is nuts.
We talk pretty candidly, so I’ll take this as fairly truthful representation of the current mood there.
So much for China’s ambitions in South America.
last time I checked the UN doesn’t have a military. Toothless tiger.
The Security Council is meeting in emergency session in New York to address the US rendition of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro from Caracas, a move that has sent shockwaves through the region and beyond. The UN chief António Guterres told ambassadors there must be respect for national sovereignty, “political independence and territorial integrity,” after warning on Saturday that the US had set a “dangerous precedent” for the world order.
Lol- UN Security Council President this month is Somalia..
“UN Security Council President this month is Somalia..”
They might have some extra bribing money. Be very careful.
Booyah
https://nypost.com/2026/01/05/media/the-california-post-to-launch-on-january-26-a-game-changer-for-the-golden-state/
The Smfraud in Minnesota should open your eyes to how everything that you think the government is safeguarding is smoke and mirrors. Everything is rubber stamped and there is no accountability at any level.
Juice: You for your Somali, Somaliland, and Puntland, which is another Somali land. Somali does not even have a real functioning government at this point, Somalia should not be President of anything.
Brt: Or is it Republicans just making a mountain out of a mole hill?
Probably a lot of both.
3b – They are all just living the American dream…. The fact is these folks are brilliant. We may even soon find some individuals accused of embezzlement and misuse of U.S. taxpayers funds are now holding official positions within the Somali government and are diplomats here in our country and actually have legal immunity from prosecution.
Juice: And some of the money may have gone to Al shabaab, the Islamic terrorist organization.
re: Greenland….
Look fact is the Danish are eventually going to sell us Greenland just like they sold us the islands of St. Thomas, St. John and Saint Croix a little over 100 years ago.
Greenland has no army and well Denmark has only four ships, four helicopters, one maritime patrol aircraft, and six dogsled teams to patrol the island that has 27,000 miles of coastline, comparable to Earth’s equator in length. The Danish do not have the ability to defend Greenland. The people of Greenland want an American presence there….for both protection and well it’s a very poor place $3 billion in GDP.
There is also a significant potential for undiscovered oil and gas.
It’s a Win Win…I don’t think we should name it Trumpland but hey I don’t get a say either.
3b – One man’s terrorist is another man’s president.
Current Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was just at the White House in November. Not long ago he was a member of Al-Qaeda and part of their global jihad….US forces arrested him and imprisoned him from 2006 to 2011 in Iraq. We had a $10m bounty on al-Sharaa’s head until a year ago.
Juice: Never happen today in my opinion. The world won’t tolerate one country selling a part of their country that has a non- white population to another country. It smacks of slavery and I agree. As I understand it, the Greenlanders want independence, eventually, from there they could become part of the U.S. if the price is right. Everything has a price, even national dignity.
Juice: You got a point. Al Sharaa seems to have done a complete about face from his Islamic days.
Mamdani s Tennant Advocate has called for the seizure of private property and called homeownership a form of white supremacy. This was from 7 years ago apparently so maybe she has changed her mind.
Greenland will likely declare their independence first. I think it’s unlikely to go directly from Denmark to the US. The See Eye A will do their think from within Greenland.
Defens Greenland has extensive autonomy now, although how much can they really do with only 57k people. They are subsidized to the tune of around 500 million a year. The original plan was for ultimate independence but slowly. That could change of course, but I agree independence first, and then the U.S. could make an offer for it. Everything is for sale.
Hey, does anyone know when the next NO KINGS rally is?
Like he cares what a woman think🤣🤣🤣
Trump, who last week ratcheted up threats to take over the self-ruling Danish territory in the Arctic, should be taken “seriously when he says that he wants Greenland,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in an interview with broadcaster TV2.
“But I will also make it clear that if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War,” Frederiksen added.
5:41 the midterms … stay tuned
3b,
You might think the following is meant to be antagonistic, but it is not. I’m curious what you and others think re: Greenlanders want independence. Should they be allowed to vote and then have it? Should Northern Ireland? Wales? Texas? California? Individual counties or towns? I realize rules vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdictions, but the principles for or against remain the same.
Someone: I don’t see your question as antagonistic. In the case of Greenland before Trump the national government of Denmark had already granted Greenland a large degree of independence, and with the understanding that ultimately and with Denmark already in agreement, Greenland would become independent. Once independent the U.S. could approach the government of Greenland and seek to have it become a part of the U.S. for a price of course.
As for Northern Ireland it was an abomination since its creation in 1920. It never should have been created, but the Brit’s caused a lot of problems all over the world, and Northern Ireland was one of their Frankenstein creations. It was only supposed to be temporary, or that’s what the newly independent government in Dublin was led to believe, and large parts of what became Northern Ireland, never should have been included in the failed state to begin with. As for Wales support for independence at least according to the polls is around 55 percent or so. In the event Wales votes for independence at some point I would support it, it’s their right. As for towns voting to secede, I would support people’s right to vote yes if that’s their choice. If like referendum voting, but understand they come with their own potential problems or drawbacks.
Secession would solve a lot of problems. Humans tend to vote with their feet once they realize they can’t replace their government. What is regions were able to do the same?
“What if”
Brt: Or is it Republicans just making a mountain out of a mole hill?
I would say it’s more than that. People tend to get lost in the sheer magnitude of the numbers. I’m always amused at how people will fight tooth and nail on a $20 million dollar local referendum on a school but be indifferent to the fraud going on throughout every state at both the state and federal levels.
BRT: I think on the local people feel they have more control, as opposed to state and national levels. Ironically I have seen that people who advocated massive local spending over the years are the first to leave when their kids graduate high school.
btw, if you want to put this in perspective, teaching in one of the most wealthy towns of NJ, they installed a new system on the copy machines today. I have to scan in, they monitor what I do, and the copy machine now informs me of how much I am costing the district each job I run. No joke, for my one class it was 75 cents today. This complacency allows your kids education to be literally nickel and dimed while someone from outside of the country with no education can come in, fill out a form and get millions of dollars sent to them with no oversight whatsoever.
they also have the dude in charge of the “Learing Center” dancing with the Mayor, so I would argue, it probably is their local money going bye bye as well
Some-One,
You might think the following is meant to be antagonistic, but it is not. I’m curious what you and others think re: Greenlanders want independence. Should they be allowed to vote and then have it? Should Northern Ireland? Wales? Texas? California? Individual counties or towns? I realize rules vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdictions, but the principles for or against remain the same.
Depends. When Obama was President the Gov of Texas did threaten to secede frequently. I am not sure whether there are many principles, though “don’t give money/benefits to the poor” seems to be a consistent one.
I’d say it’s high time NAR was brought up on ethics charges. They continue to push narratives that harm buyers and sellers to protect the dollar signs.