SPRINGFIELD — Citing the rising cost of breakfast, local father of three Dale Hutchins confirmed Monday that his family had taken out a second mortgage on their home to purchase a dozen large eggs.
"We talked it over as a family and decided we could either keep the house or have scrambled eggs on Sunday," Hutchins said. "The kids voted for eggs. Honestly, it wasn't close."
The 30-year loan, which carries a variable rate, will be paid off around the time Hutchins' youngest child turns 41. The family says the eggs are being kept in a fireproof safe in the basement.
"We're not going to just eat them all at once," said Hutchins' wife, Brenda. "We'll have one a year on special occasions. Christmas, birthdays. Maybe one when we finally pay off the first mortgage."
Officials at the bank described the loan as perfectly normal. "We're seeing a lot of these," said one loan officer. "Last week we did a home equity line of credit for a gallon of milk. Before that, a couple refinanced their boat to cover a pound of ground beef."
Economists insisted that prices are cooling. "If you look at the data, eggs are only up a little this month compared to the enormous amount they were up the month before," said one expert, who then excused himself to sell his car for a bag of groceries.