Enjoying a casual evening at home, Tip of the week Maybe. (Financial)

Enjoying a casual evening at home, reclining in my favorite easy chair reading, while the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage was chatting on the telephone. I seldom pay attention to phone conversations. After all, I only get one side of the conversation, which may be misleading at the very best. I've been caught in that trap before with some pretty dire consequences. I am not going to get caught again, if I can help it.

Then an odd phrase caught my attention: "plastic surgery." My ears perked up and I heard my wife say, "I certainly agree with that article and I'm going to do some plastic surgery myself."

Well, you can imagine what thoughts were racing through my head. When she hung up the telephone, I queried her about it.

In my book, plastic surgery is a big step.

"You do support me in this plastic surgery plan, don't you?"

There are times to disagree with your spouse, but as a husband for over 45 years, I have never discovered that time. Forcing a smile, I nodded in the affirmative and told her she had my full support in whatever she decided.

I had to admit that the "time" had finally come to our humble abode. Who am I to fight it? I go by this motto, "He who smiles and agrees with his spouse lives to smile another day."

I plan to smile until the day I die.

I never really thought about plastic surgery, but perhaps my wife was right. Perhaps she could use a little face-lift. For me to get a face-lift, the surgeon would need a huge construction crane. Then comes the awkward part, what do they do with my face after it was lifted?

Women, more than men, are a little sensitive about their appearance. For a man, "appearance" means he showed up. A woman has an altogether different approach to the term "appearance."

Some women look in the mirror and see where some improvements could be made. For example, they see bags under their eyes that could not get through the airport carry-on luggage size requirement.

Then there is the problem with their nose, which could stand a little tweaking. For all practical purposes, one of those double chins has to go. Moreover, what woman couldn't use a tummy tuck and other snippings of the flesh?

Believe me; I never would have brought it up, but if that makes my wife happy, then whatever it costs, we can put it on a credit card. The only problem with putting something like this on a credit card is that by the time you pay it off you need another procedure.

But, she is worth it in my checkbook. I have no compunction whatsoever of writing out that check.

Each day I checked the appointment calendar hanging on our refrigerator to find out when she would be going in for the surgery. Day after day, I looked, but could never find any appointment.

I supposed she was a little sensitive about the whole thing and did not want it staring at her day after day on the appointment calendar. Whatever the reason, she had my silent support, for all it was worth. I am sure she would do the same for me. That is what marriage is all about. Supporting one another in the developments of life, whatever that development might be.

I decided to tuck this little bit in the back of my mind and, however it developed would be all right with me.

One day this week, I went to the Slurp N' Burp Café for a quiet lunch. The issue was far from my mind as I enjoyed a delicious lunch. As I finished my last cup of coffee, the waitress brought my bill and I pulled my wallet out to pay for it.

In searching my wallet for a credit card I discovered, much to my chagrin, that there were no credit cards to be found. Somehow, I had lost my credit cards. Perhaps, in the morning when I was getting dressed they dropped out of my wallet as I was placing it in my trousers.

The problem with that theory was that all the other cards in my wallet were intact.

Fortunately, I had my cell phone and called my wife.

"Honey, I've lost all my credit cards. I'm here at the restaurant and I can't find any credit cards in my wallet. Do you have any idea what I did with my credit cards?"

"I cut them all up."

"You did what?"

"You said you supported my plastic surgery plan, didn't you?"

"But, I thought... "

"You, thought what?"

Oh boy.

Dear reader: please disregard the first part of this column. If you happen to read my obituary in next week's newspaper, you will know that my lovely, vivacious, eternally youthful wife did not disregard the first part and I'm currently Resting In Pieces.

Being the fifth largest city in Canada and the home of almost 1 million people

Being the fifth largest city in Canada and the home of almost 1 million people, Edmonton is flourishing. Together with its infrastructure growth and population, there is a surge of vehicles on Edmonton's roads. All these drivers need to get around, and there's no shortage of routes to get anywhere; with a network of connecting roads, you can get from Summerside to St. Albert with ease.

Whether you're taking a road trip across the prairies or commuting daily via Calgary Trail, all Edmonton drivers need car insurance. Rates are changing in Alberta, which is why every driver in Edmonton should take advantage of price comparison shopping to get the best rate.

Let's see what's going on with auto insurance in Edmonton.

The Average car Insurance rates in Edmonton and Alberta

Alberta auto insurance premiums on average were $122/month in 2017, while Ontario auto insurance premiums averaged around $161/month in 2017. Drivers in Albertan pay around 25 per cent less for car insurance than Ontario drivers.

It's interesting to note that on average, women pay less for Alberta auto insurance premiums than men - $116/month compared to $126/month paid by men in 2017, but this is pretty much standard across Canada.

Young drivers in Edmonton (aged 25 and under) paid around $187/month in 2017 for Alberta car insurance. Alberta auto insurance premiums go down as drivers grow older. For example, in 2017, people aged 31-35 paid around $152/month, people aged 46-50 paid around $122/month, and people aged 56-60 paid around $100/month.

Alberta drivers with a taste for luxury vehicles can expect their car insurance rates to increase. Drivers with cars valued between $40,000 - $80,000 paid around $170/month for their premiums in 2017.

For Albertans choosing to buy a modest vehicle valued between $10,000 and $20,000, they can expect their Alberta auto insurance premium to be about $123/month. This means rates would be similar for luxury brand older models of compact car brands such as Kia, Mazda, Ford etc.

Facts to Know about Auto Insurance

LowestRates.ca (an online rate comparison website for auto insurance, credit card rates, loans and mortgages) launched its 2018 Auto Insurance Price Index report. This is Canada's only price index to use proprietary data to track the average quarterly cost for car insurance paid by Canadians. The data comes from the hundreds of thousands of quotes processed every year by LowestRates.ca. The index report shows that since the fourth quarter of 2016, the price for Alberta auto insurance has been increasing by 5.1 per cent in 2017, which means that the average Alberta driver paid more for car insurance in 2017 than in 2016.

Police have jurisdiction when it comes to deciding who is criminally responsible for a motor vehicle accident but when it comes to the auto insurance claims, the insurance company makes the decision. It's the insurance company that will investigate the crash and make a ruling about who was at fault - which ultimately decides whether or not the insured will have to pay the deductible.

Statistics from the Insurance Bureau of Canada's (IBC) 2014 top 10 most stolen cars revealed that cars made between 1999 and 2007 were in the top 10. Industry experts believe that part of the reason thieves target older model cars is because fewer of them have anti-theft devices. Additionally, the IBC states that sometimes car owners make it too easy for car thieves to get away with their vehicles. Around 20 per cent of all stolen vehicles had the keys left in them.

Although parking tickets are a pain and an avoidable expense for drivers, insurance companies aren't concerned with how many a driver has; thus, they don't affect car insurance rates. However, if tickets aren't paid, you won't be able to renew your driver's license or registration; and if get your driver's license suspended it will affect your insurance rates.

Top 10 Common Car Problems

It is hard to make this kind of list since the things that go wrong on the car are endless. This is not written with pessimism, but as many drivers have experienced even on new cars a thing or two can go wrong.Not to mention the older ones, an old car is a like an aging man, the older he get's the more grumpy he becomes.

Here's a list with the top 10 car problems from our point of view. Not only are they problems of mechanical nature, they are usually problems that drive you nuts:

1. Flat tire most common car problem but the most easy to fix. Often happens at the least convenient time. Having the right equipment and knowledge to help yourself is crucial.

2. Dead battery: how many of us made that face of despair when we put the key into the ignition and... Nothing or a short click. Especially during winter months. An easy problem to fix, but best preventing it on time by changing the old battery.

3. Ignition problems: the car will crank but won't start. The problem can be solved on your own in a couple of minutes or it can take days and a tone of money. The list of probable causes is pretty long.

4. Various leaks: oil leaks, coolant leaks, break fluid leaks etc. In most cases (if the leak is not severe) they don't cause big problems while driving. The moment you see them, get it fixed, it only get's worse over time.

5. Electric and electronics problems: these kind of problems manifest themselves as if the car is possessed by an evil ghost. Various glitches, signal lamps warning about nothing, endless diagnostics and car mechanics going out of their mind are just some of the symptoms.

6. Sensor problems: a car problem that has the most fancy name.These are the eyes of the ecu unit. Since exposed to dirt, moisture, cold, heat etc. Cause the most of the electronics problems.

7. Bad serpentine belt: it makes that squeaky noise that gives you a bad chill down the spine. Nothing serious, if the car is properly maintained you won't hear of it. Otherwise, it can make a lot of problems.

8. Car bulb failure (headlights, taillights): when your vision from the car during night driving decreases it's either time to check your eyesight or the signalization. The headlight bulbs are easy to spot when they burn out, the tail lights can go on not working for months (unless you have the proper dash warning). Make a check of the signalization from time to time.

9. Cracked windscreen: you get in a second, but you usually look at it for months. When the crack happens, fix it right away or else your putting yourself and the your passengers at risk.

10. Body scratches and minor dents: looks like a little acne on an otherwise beautiful face. You look at it and say: " wow what a beautiful face, but look at the acne....". Can be solved with a few tricks and perhaps minor body repair.