Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for July 29, 2019

How long has it been since we last saw Brad & Toni?

Where will Toni and Brad get the money for their dream home / mansion? I think it will be when they talk to Luann, Bernice, and Dez and realize there is a market for supplying squirrel repellent to campers.

All they need to do is have Toni get promoted to chief and Brad to captain.

Just need a lot of cheese.

“Don’t ask me how the economy works.” ✨

— Homer Simpson

I had wondered before why they were spending all that money fixing that room for Shannon if it wasn’t their house? Smells to me like TJ will partner with them to buy it. In my home state firefighters start small but their salaries go up quickly, and many I know have good homes. Guess it is not the same everywhere. Good luck to Toni and Brad.

Finally we get a Brad and Toni arc , I can’t wait to see what happens

Seriously? You spent a house down payment to fix up one room? Are the walls gilded?

Egg is still a Egg hummingbird or otherwise

In the West Coast that would qualify as a mansion. And if they are indeed in San Diego as people say, even what used to be considered a working-class bungalow, like the one I grew up in, now goes for half a million. Working-class people don’t own homes in San Diego unless they inherited them.

I had an M.D. degree, and there was no way I could buy a house like that when I first started. I bought a little one and worked my way up. It was just fine—nice and snug for a new family.

It probably did eat up most of their savings as the project didn’t pass inspection (lack of permits, etc.) and had to be done all over again to bring it up to code. We never did see what happened with that old witch from the inspector’s office.

This plot point hasn’t been forgotten! I’m glad that Greg and Karen have brought it back; hopefully these two will kick TJ to the curb and get a place just for the two of them!

From the looks of the house, I halfway expected to see Wally and The Beave tossing a football out front.

G & K – Please don’t team TJ up with Brad & Toni to buy this house. It’s more than a little weird if they all settle down as a threesome.

Very interesting start of a BRAD AND TONI arc. So we see the new wish list house, get a comment about Shannon’s room, and Brad’s hopeful hint about funding. Brings up all kinds of new possibilities, but I think a surprise might be in the offing.

Either Shannon’s room was remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright or they didn’t have much of a nest egg to begin with. Put another way, they did all the labor themselves, bought some materials (2×4s, wallboard, paint), so how much could that “remodel” have actually cost? If that “nest egg” was meant to be a down payment, lets do the numbers. At a minimum down payment of 10 percent on a bargain priced house of $200,000 it must have cost at least $20,000 to remodel Shannon’s room. (here in the Bay Area that house would be more like TWO MILLION and $200,000 for the down payment) …Oh! I forgot. T.J. was in charge. WELL, THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING !!!

What a nice change of pace to see Brad & Toni

Building permits are expensive.

What are Brad and Toni driving? Definitely not Toni’s old Prelude. Brad’s old Nova with a paint job? Doesn’t look like an X3 they both liked at the auto show before they were married. No nest egg due to new car besides remodel?

It is a magnificent house but sadly it’s WAY out of your budget. The only way you’ll get it is to get a promotion, a raise, or win the lotto. And because Toni has seniority over you, she’d get promoted first. But i’m sure brad has no problem being under her (sorry i couldn’t resist that.)

Want that house ? New plan, buy a lottery ticket !

Toni lets herself discouraged too easily. Maybe the house costs less than it looks. Maybe it has lots of repairs to do, maybe it’s haunted (ghosts, mice and cockroaches). Fortunately, Brad is positive and enthusiastic.

Easy to understand how young couples can go into debt quickly.

“Oh, yeah.” Pause. “That was a really stupid idea, wasn’t it?”

Not an omelet for two or three. If they spent $500 on Shannon’s room, how was that a nest egg? With a renter, they should have save $20,000 by now.

Hmmm…. Will Brad get a second job to build up a down payment for the house?

Will his mom and dad offer to help?

Will TJ mysteriously provide funds?

Will someone win the lottery?

Stay tuned, kids!

Looks like a standard, cookie-cutter McMansion. There’s probably another half-dozen identical houses on that street. Keep saving your money and when you’re ready, one of them will likely be available.

Nice place, but in most cities in the USA, it would be unaffordable, even with two salaries.

Makes me wonder just how much money they wasted fixing up a room for the brat.

Hey. “Miracles” DO happen in this Strip. Bets is proof of THAT. BUT, when “Miracles” happen in the VAST Luanniverse, they always seem to come with a MAJOR “Catch.” Again Example Bets, and her rather unsettling and increasingly ANNOYING, suspiciousness/possessiveness. So, if B&T by some MIRACLE, get this house, WHAT will be the “Catch?” Old Smiley providing the money as many have suggested? That means HE comes With. Or maybe sorry arsed Jonah has FINALLY hit the big time and HE comes thru with the dough? That means B&T WILL be STUCK looking after Shannon until she’s 45. So. What will be the Miracle here, if any? And what will be the “Catch?” ;(

One takes it that “house we like” doesn’t translate to “house we can actually afford”? :D

I’m just glad Luann’s month-long camping trip is over!

Spent their nest egg? Didn’t they do all the work themselves? What am I missing???

Listening to some of y’all makes me even gladder to be in fly-over country. I wasn’t born in the South, but I got here as fast as I could. ;o)

Well now that we got that out of the way. Lets see what TJ is up too.. OH.. thats right..

I can see them in there, going room to room fighting a fire. A wall collapses and they find themselves trapped. As the flames creep closer they wonder who will inherit their crippling debt from a one bedroom they own 20 miles away. They can picture the outpouring of sympathetic social media posts that do nothing to make up for their lives cut short. Someone posts a snarky criticism of their safety precautions. They aren’t wrong.

They have 6 or 12 (depending on arc) comic days to give it the ole college try to “find” the money. Mickey Rooney: I know, let’s put on a barn dance.

That looks like a lotta’ house for just two people, both working full time. It will take over their lives.

They should just buy their current place from Brad’s parents.

Let’s hope they figure out that they should live below their means, not above them. And why do they need something that big now, anyway? By the time they do, they’ll have a lot more saved up. In the meantime, let’s enjoy the comic! Go, Brad ‘n’ Toni!

Shannon could have slept on the couch. Waste of money.

What ever happened with the non-permitted construction issue? Did I miss something?

Today on House Hunters … “My husband collects cans to recycle, and I weave eyebrows at the mall. Our budget is $2.5 million.”

Time for them to move out !

They’re living on one income and buying that house? Not.

or caviar eggs!

They’re both Fire Fighters, between the two of them they must make more than enough to buy that house.

One thing I think bears mentioning, is that even tho it’s not their house, Brad and Toni assumed responsibility for their actions with the renovation and paid for having it done properly, and did not just leave it up to the parents. That to me speaks of maturity. They owned up to the mistake.

Typical 4-BR, 3-bath colonial in mid-west. Looks about 15 years old and would sell for about $175k in my state … in SoCal maybe $1.5M. Something to do with supply & demand.

Buy it,kids.“A man’s reach must exceed his grasp -or what’s a Heaven for?” (and mortgage rates are very, verylow !)

I think Brad meant to say “That garage we like is for sale”.

Realtor in So Cal: “I think we have something in your price range – a German Shepherd by the name of Bruno is living in it right now…”

Maybe they can barge into the Fuze and tell TJ they’re working there now because they need money, just like Tiffany did, ….

How about a strip about Brad and Toni only!!!!

You know, I am really, really getting tired of the TJ bashers.

To me, financial independence is a bit like the pole vault. You’ll know when you’re good enough to raise the bar.

That’s a huge house; unless it is in disrepair (the roof looks like it may need replacing), I doubt they could afford it.

Looks like an open house – go in and check it out. You may not love what you see on the inside and then the desire will be lost.

To the uninitiated, this looks like a 30 something woman giving driver’s training lessons to her 16 year old student.

I miss Crystal and Knute.

When is the last time that Brad had an eyebrow at the side of the middle of his forehead?

Back off, Brad. You cannot afford that house (or any house, for now). Listen to Toni like a good husband….

If you don’t have the needed 20 percent down payment and you have other money issues (like no money), you are only asking for trouble. You don’t own the house , it owns you.

Hope Luann a pier in this arc now and then.

The garage is smiling at them!