Cost of living

Cost of living

Thanks to cold weather in agricultural regions and higher fuel prices, we’re paying a lot more for groceries. For example, the average cost of a loaf of bread in Snohomish County stores is about 18 percent higher than in 2007, The Herald’s grocery price survey found.

But consider this: A flat-screen TV that cost $1,200 in ’07 can be had for about $450 today, so overall we’re money ahead, right?

Some guys are gonna come: Student loans, once trumpeted as a slam-dunk investment in one’s future, actually carry more risks than many folks can handle, writes personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary. Lenders can go after defaulters with a vengeance that would make a Chicago Outfit loan shark blush, and the debt is virtually impossible to erase in a bankruptcy proceeding.

And no, they won’t be satisfied if you just give them back that MFA in Creative Writing and be done with it.

Hole in the water: Boats abandoned and left to rot on local waterways can be a headache to remove if they pose environmental or navigational hazards. Not only that, but they’re just sad to look at.

In fact, the only sadder sight is a boat payment notice stamped “PAST DUE, PAY NOW.”

— Mark Carlson, The Herald