PE 3/9 Should We Buy or Rent?

Have you got a minute, honey? I've just fired up the computer to take a look at the real estate listings. Is there anything here that floats your boat?

* fire up: to activate or turn on a machine or device

ex> The cat always hides under the bed when we fire up the vacuum cleaner.

* float one’s boat: to make one happy or interested

= tickles your fancy; works for you; bakes your cake

ex> Buffet restaurants are great because everyone can find something that floats their boat.

ex> Would it float your boat if I made a red velvet cake with amaretto icing for your birthday?

Let’s see. Oh… are these listed in order of price? Even the cheapest ones would be a stretch for us financially, and they aren't anything special. Look at this place. Blech! And it’s expensive, too.

* be a stretch: to stress resources in order to achieve something

ex> Buying a second car this year would be a real stretch for us.

Like what? Getting a place out in the boonies? We don’t want to spend half our lives commuting just so we can buy a home.

* the boonies: a distant, remote, undeveloped place

ex> My aunt and uncle lived out in the boonies, so we hardly ever visited them.

Note> This comes from the word, “boondocks,” which has the same meaning.

Okay, let’s crunch some numbers. Here’s the monthly mortgage payment for a small place in the city, like the one that just made you say “blech.”

* crunch numbers: to perform calculations, usually for financial forecasting

ex> We’ll need to gather more reports before we can begin crunching the numbers.