u/ElectricalCheesecake

I talked with a guy yesterday who is teaching ESL in Northern Alberta. He just finished his education degree and is doing his first year of teaching at 51 years old. He worked in the oil industry prior to becoming a teacher. He summed it up perfectly: "I have never done so much work for so little in my entire life".

I asked him why he would make the change so late in life, and his wife wanted him to do it (she is also a teacher). It didn't make a ton of sense to me, but it was refreshing to see a real-life instance of "the shoe being on the other foot".

I realize this is going to be a very niche situation, but I'm hoping someone can give mr some guidance.

I have an Ibanez SV5470F that I recently bought for a good price. However, I'm not a fan of the pickups in it. I bought a set of Fishman Fluence HSH and then quickly found out the battery won't fit anywhere due to the slim body. So my plan is to instead put the Fishmans in my RG2550Z, and take the pickups from that (Tone zone, true velvet, air norton) and put them in the SV5470. I would be switching all the electronics over, since I'll have to replace the pots to use the Fishmans anyway. I don't care about losing the True Duo system in the SV5470. Are there any problems I'll run into doing this? The only one I can foresee is that the SV5470 has direct mount, but on paper it seems like everything should work out fine.

I apologize as I know this question has been asked many times by others, but the housing/mortgage market both seem to be pretty volatile recently and I would like current information.

My girlfriend and I are looking to buy a house in the next 2-3 years. She is just starting her first "adult" job, and she is expecting to make 90-110k a year, depending on how much overtime she works. She has been a student for most of the past 8 years so she doesn't have a lot in the way of savings right now. I make 95k a year now, but will make 110k a year 3 years from now. I have 135K saved right now, spread between FHSA and TFSA. I am hoping to save ~40k more in the next 2 years while my expenses are low. I am 33 and she is 27. We both have no debt and no kids (and will not have any). We both pay into a defined benefit pension plan.

Most of the houses in the area we're interested in are around 600-650k. We know we would likely be approved for a mortgage in this range, but we are first time home buyers and are just trying to get an idea of what we can comfortably afford so we don't end up house poor. We don't live expensive lifestyles, but would like to do more international travel now that she has a well-paying job. Would we be comfortable buying a 650K house with 20% down?

EDIT: we are planning on getting married soon, and she makes 90k a year based on her regular (no overtime) full time hours.