u/Sam19490104

I have a work trip that will be a 5 hour flight away from where I live. Babe will be a month old. Work doesn’t know I’m pregnant yet, but has made it clear this is a necessary board meeting.

What to do? Of course money matters, but I’m not sure what the best option is.

I have an old friend from undergrad who lives in the city. I could maybe ask her if I can bring babe and drop them off with her for the week? She’ll have a one year old. I would pay her.

Try to survive conference life in a hotel room with babe & … my mom? Bring the person I plan to use as our part time babysitter?

Leave babe at home and ask our part time baby sitter to come and be with babe, ask my parents who live a 3 hr drive away to come and help my partner too? This option feels like it might be the best, but leaves me thinking I’m a $h!+ mom for even thinking of it.

To start, I have no idea about cost and of course that matters. For this moment, this board meeting, I know being present is likely to be a non-negotiable.

Only kind advice please. Already catastrophizing in my mind.

Ugh, my Gmail is full 🫠

Trying to decide which option to choose. One of my co-students loves the Individual Workspace and uses the scheduling tool to manage additional office hour or collaborator meeting requests.

I try to use my academic email for most things, but if it’s for a login I think I’ll need post grad I prefer to use my personal gmail. The scheduling tool seems neat. I tried and with my free version of Gmail it’s not as agile. For example it blocks out portions where I might have an event that is simply a conference for 4 days in a row.

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I work in mortgages in Alberta and wanted to put together a helpful guide for nurses/healthcare workers who are thinking about buying a home.
Nurses can be strong mortgage applicants because lenders generally like stable T4 income, predictable employment, and essential-service careers. But approvals are not based on job title alone. The details of your income matter a lot.

Here are the biggest things to know:
1. Full-time permanent income is usually the easiest to use
If you are full-time permanent with guaranteed hours, lenders can often use your base income from your employment letter and pay stub.

2. Casual, part-time, and overtime income can be used — but usually needs history
A lot of nurses earn strong income through overtime, shift premiums, casual shifts, callback, weekends, and stat holidays. That income may help you qualify, but lenders often want a two-year history before they use it.
So even if you are working full-time hours as a casual nurse, the lender may still treat your income differently than guaranteed full-time income.

3. Your documents matter
Before applying, it helps to have:
Recent pay stubs
Letter of employment
Last two years of T4s
Notices of Assessment
Proof of down payment
Three months of bank statements
Student loan/vehicle loan details if applicable
The better the file is packaged, the smoother the approval usually is.

4. There is no special “zero down” nurse mortgage
In the standard mortgage world, nurses still need the normal minimum down payment:
5% down up to $500,000
5% on the first $500,000 and 10% on the amount above $500,000 up to $1.5M
20% down for $1.5M+
If you have less than 20% down, the mortgage is usually insured.

5. Debt can reduce buying power fast
Vehicle payments, student loans, credit cards, lines of credit, and personal loans all affect mortgage qualification.
A nurse with great income but a $700/month car payment may qualify for much less than expected.

6. Maternity leave does not automatically stop approval
Buying while on maternity leave or returning from leave can still be possible, but lenders may want a return-to-work letter, employment confirmation, and income history.
This is one of those situations where it is better to ask early instead of waiting until you already found a house.

7. FHSA can be very useful for first-time buyers
If you are a first-time buyer, look into the First Home Savings Account. It can be a powerful tool because contributions may be tax-deductible and qualifying withdrawals can be tax-free.

8. Get a real pre-approval before shopping
A good pre-approval should review your income type, debt, credit, down payment, employment status, and documents — not just give you a rate hold.
This matters a lot for nurses because variable income can be treated differently depending on the lender.

Bottom line: nurses often have strong mortgage profiles, but the approval depends on how the income is structured and documented. If you are casual, part-time, using overtime, on leave, or carrying student/vehicle debt, get your numbers reviewed before you start making offers.
I also work with nurses, healthcare workers, first responders, and frontline professionals in Alberta, and I may have access to special mortgage rates and cashback options for nurses and first responders depending on the lender, product, and qualification details.
Happy to answer general questions here too.

Looking for a rental from ~July 22nd - Aug 29th. I realize the dates are a little off of a regular schedule. We dont need all of these dates and can provide specific dates.

About Us:

- Couple, age 30-40, with one partner pursuing a PhD at SFU. We are both working professionals & I need to be on campus for research during this time. I will have other dates that I am in Vancouver for thought the year. If it works I would be happy to look at staying again.

Non smoker. Have part time custody of a mini dachshund, but if no pets are allowed we won’t bring her. We have owned our home for over a decade and don’t have rental references, but can provide other references. We can provide other references.

If there is space we would like to invite another couple out for a weekend.

Hoping for:

- 1 bed min ideally

- furnished

- laundry

- parking

Open to:

- partial kitchen

- studio

- basement suite

- carriage home

- ideally close to transit or close to hiking trails or a beach as we will only have one car

Posting to FB marketplace too. Have looked on Air B&B, but thought this might be an option too.

Thanks in advance for any ideas and leads, this community can be so helpful! :)

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