April 1964

IS IT ALWAYS WISE TO PAY OFF YOUR MORTGAGE?

SHOULD YOU KEEP TRACK OF EVERY PENNY YOU SPEND?

Of course not. Accounting for every penny not only makes budgeting a drudgery but more important, buries you under so much detail that you may lose sight of what your money is really worth and what you can accomplish with it.

SHOULD CHILDREN HAVE LIFE INSURANCE?

This makes sense only if you-- as the breadwinner-- already carry enough insurance on your own life to protect your family adequately. Even then, buying insurance on your child merely to provide future funds for his education is usually not the wisest choice. For example, a typical 15-year $8,000 endowment policy on you issued at age 30 costs $497 a year, including waiver of premium compared to $520 for a similar policy on your 3-year-old.

WHAT DOES IT COST TO INSURE YOUR INCOME?

IS THERE A "BEST TIME" TO BUY STOCKS?

Yes-- when they are cheap in relation to what they will be worth in the future. However, you can't ever be absolutely sure about this until the "best time" has passed. Even experts disagree on when to buy, and this disagreement makes the market: most stock transaction takes place because somebody thinks this is the best time to buy while somebody else feels it's the best time to sell. The fact that a stock sells for much less than it did a while ago means little-- it's a bargain only if it goes up after you buy it.

WHAT CHECKING ACCOUNT IS BEST FOR YOU?

That depends on how many checks you write each month and the average amount you keep in your account. If you write about 10 checks a month and your balance is small, a "convenience" or "special" checking account is probably best.

ADDITIONS DON'T COME ANY BETTER

WANTED: THE OTHER MILLION DIABETICS

The old converted bus now lumbering through the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, carries none of the usual trappings of medical innovation-- no doctors, no test tubes hopefully bubbling, no intricate lifesaving gadgets. It is nevertheless an important advance: one of the world's first mobile laboratories for the detection of diabetes.

PUT A LIBRARY IN YOUR LIVING ROOM

THE VERY BEST IN PATIO PRIVACY

HOW TO SAVE WITH SELF-SERVICE DRY CLEANING

Almost any garment that can be dry cleaned professionally can be cleaned at the self-service stores. You'll save up to 75% of the regular dry cleaning costs. Save time, too; clothing, curtains, and slip covers can be cleaned and back in use in little more than an hour. Dry clean clothes often, dirt and stains will be easier to remove.

HOW TO PLANT JUST ABOUT ANYTHING

How to patch up your lawn. To replant bare or thin spots in an established lawn, or to start a new one from scratch successfully, spend a little extra time on soil preparation.

HOW TO BEAT THE HIGH COST OF AUTO DEPRECIATION

Depreciation on a new automobile can be one of your greatest expenses per dollar invested. You can't avoid depreciation altogether, but you can cut it to a reasonable minimum by exercising utmost care in the choice of model and accessories, by carefully timing and financing your purchase, and by keeping your car in top condition.

GOOD NEWS FOR MEN!

A report to the family man on products for the home, auto, shop, and garden.

A VACATION HOUSE GOOD FOR ALL SEASONS!

This is more than just a May-to-September vacation place. It's a house where you can get away for a weekend any time of the year --without leaving comfort and privacy behind.

SMART HOUSEKEEPING FOR VERY BUSY GALS

Do you feel when day is done, nothing else is? You're not alone! There's always more to do than there is time to do it. But don't despair. Time to enjoy yourself is just around the corner-- if you work smarter, not harder.

RADISH ROSES

PLACE-MAT PARTIES!

Whether you make your own place mats, or buy them at the store they'll prove the focal point for any child's birthday.

THESE FOODS ARE NEWS

Vienna dream bars. These rich cookies, starting from a mix, taste like a pastry-shop specialty! Carameled almonds and coconut bake atop a tender crust. Cut and serve as cookies or, topped with ice cream, as a dessert. In a 12.5-ounce box.

WHAT MAKES A RANGE GOOD THESE DAYS

If you are in the market for a new range, take a few extra minutes to make sure you get the one that will serve you best. When buying a new house, check equipment carefully if it is already installed. In case the range doesn't have the features you desire, the builder probably can get another model for you.

HOW TO ORDER PLANS FOR HOUSES AND PROJECTS

PARQUET--BEAUTIFUL AND EASY!

Parquet or block flooring may be purchased finished or unfinished in many sizes and thicknesses. Oak is the material most used in parquet, but other woods are available. The blocks are usually composed of strips of wood glued together into a unit, but one type is laminated of layers of wood much the same as plywood.

SOME ANSWERS ABOUT COLLEGE ADMISSION

Young people-- and parents-- often find college application rather awesome. Because they frequently don't know what to do first, they may tend to put it off-- which is the very worst thing to do. Here's a step-by-step guide that will take the puzzlement out of the problem.

ROOM AT THE TOP

THREE WAYS TO START YOUR LAWN

SEEDING-- the least expensive way. If you plan to seed, use a seed mixture well adapted to your particular area. In the North, mixtures should consist of 75-100 per cent permanent kinds-- blue-grass, colonial bent-grass, or red fescue.

SAWDUST CATCHERS!

TAKE THESE INDOOR PLANTS OUTDOORS!

NEW YORK FOR THE FAIR

In our travel article for April, Better Homes & Gardens' New York editors George Bush and Margaret Vennum guide you on a visit to their city and its 1964 World's Fair. To cover all the attractions they recommend will take you about 10 days: allow at least 3 or 4 for the fabulous Fair, the rest for sight-seeing.

TAKE A NEW LOOK AT OLD FAVORITES

These fine perennials were grown and loved by our grandparents and by generations of gardeners before them. Today, they are being rediscovered by new gardeners who appreciate what their hardy dependability and consistent charm do for a garden.

SHOPPING BY MAIL WITH BETTER HOMES & GARDENS

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

One of my best-kept secrets is that I am an outstanding leader in the community-- but somehow all the door-to-door salesmen seem to have ferreted it out. They are eager to offer me sensational prices on aluminum siding or a set of encyclopedias on the theory that I will start an irresistible new trend.