October 1968

DOES AN ANNUITY MAKE SENSE FOR YOUR FAMILY?

Before you can answer this question, you'll have to take stock of your financial plans for retirement. If your sources of lifetime retirement income-- often only a pension and social security-- appear modest compared to your present standard of living, then some additional lifetime income is essential.

WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR IN A BANK WHEN YOU MOVE?

Besides noting a bank's proximity to your home or work, check out other not-so-obvious convenience items-- such ... whether the bank has parking facilities, drive-in windows, ... is open when you can get there handily. Some banks, for example, are open evenings and Saturday mornings, and others welcome early-bird customers weekdays at 8 a.m.

HOW GOOD AN INVESTMENT ARE BONDS?

Bonds, long a favorite of commercial investors, now make relatively tempting choices for smaller investors. Many top-quality bonds are paying higher interest rates than banks and savings and loan associations-- and a higher return than the dividends on many stocks. Some bonds, selling at 75 to 80 percent of their face value, have a capital-gains potential of $200 to $250 per $1,000 bond if held to maturity date (or sooner if bond prices rise).

AN ADDITION WITH ITS FEET ON THE GROUND

INEXPENSIVE NEW-CAR OPTIONS THAT ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED

If you've been new-car shopping recently, you're aware of some of the extra cost options available and their effect on the price of a car. Options like automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, and air conditioning are encountered (and often purchased) during a new car shopping tour.

AUTOMOTIVE RUST-OUT IS ON ITS WAY OUT

Rust not only makes a car unsightly, it depreciates its ... value to the point that the car is apt to end up in the ... heap while it's still mechanically useful. Even more ... the damage that rust inflicts on brake lines, steering ... and structural parts of body and frame ... a serious safety hazard.

GETTING THE MOST VACATION FOR THE MONEY

Travel ought to be rewarding fun for the whole family. By budgeting for your family's travel and by carefully thinking out all of your travel plans, you can get a lot more enjoyment out of each travel dollar you spend.

SECRET SEWING CENTER

GOOD NEWS FOR MEN!

This home on wheels provides all of the comforts and conveniences of home on a trip or as a vacation house.

FABRIC MAGIC: CREATE ANY MOOD--NOSTALGIC OR NOW

If a room in your house doesn't have much going for it-- look to the fabrics. Today's fabrics are art-by-the-yard in every conceivable color, design, and texture.

THIS ATRIUM HOUSE SETS UP ITS OWN VIEWS

Togetherness has become a fact of life for suburban houses. Recognizing that, Architect Earl Flansburgh designed one for us that doesn't depend on wide-open spaces for its splendid outlooks.

HOW TO STRETCH THE DAFFODIL SEASON

Spring isn't officially here until it's announced by the trumpeted blossoms of the daffodil. Many varieties bloom before the last crocus fades and before the first tulips bloom, but don't limit yourself to this first flash of color. By selecting varieties carefully, you can have daffodils in bloom through the entire spring season. The blooms pictured are about two-thirds their normal size. They're even more spactacular when viewed full size in your garden or in arrangements.

45 CRAFT IDEAS

They're easy--and great for Christmas gifts, bazaars, or your own enjoyment.

COLORFUL CREWEL CUSHIONS

VEGETABLE BUYMANSHIP

Remember these tips when you're shopping for fresh vegetables. Buy in season when quality is high; buy only what you can store properly and use without waste; avoid rough handling. And check this handy buying guide. Then clip and save it for reference.

GOOD STORAGE GIVES MORE FOR YOUR MONEY

How? By adding to the day-to-day convenience and resale value of your home. Here and on the following pages are storage units that yield fat dividends, yet don't require big investments in money or space.

HOW TO TAKE THE STRAIN OUT OF GARDEN JOBS

Take most of the grunts and groans out of your garden chores by using your head instead of your back. You can conserve your energy and lessen the chance of injury by including these sensible, strain-preventive practices in your regular garden activities.

HOW TO ORDER MATERIAL FROM THE MAGAZINE

PLANNING TO BUY A PIANO OR AN ORGAN?

You may want to start out with an inexpensive spinet piano or console organ and eventually trade up to a baby grand or even a three-keyboard theater-type organ complete with all the special effects. Trade-in values for these instruments are usually high.

FOUR FINE STORAGE WALLS

TEACH YOUR DAUGHTER TO SEW

When do you start teaching your daughter to sew? If your youngster shows interest, nine years of age-- or even earlier-- is not too young. The age depends upon your child and the example you set. The more you sew, the sooner she's likely to want to learn.

DO CLOSETS MAKE THE MAN?

Probably not... but a well-organized wardrobe can lop minutes off your dressing time and smooth out your morning moods. "Well-organized" means that there's a particular place for everything you wear-- shirts, slacks, ties, shoes-- because good storage should fit like a tailor-made suit.

OUR MOST POPULAR CHRISTMAS KITS

Here's a collection of bright-hued embroidery kits which ... readers have liked best over the past several years, They're unique as gifts-- or to keep for your own home.

HOW TO REFORM A SPACE-WASTEFUL KITCHEN

Once this room could hardly qualify as a kitchen. It was more like a wide passageway, long on space and short on convenience. Meal-making was a constant trek from stove and refrigerator in one room to sink and storage in the pantry.

GOOD NEWS FOR THE GALS

WHEN ARE THE CROWDED PLACES UNCROWDED?

This month Belter Homes and Gardens begins a series of articles about the most exciting family travel ideas for 1969. From now through next June, we'll be telling you about scores of family travel adventures: houseboat vacations; special delights for the kids in our major cities; Summertime activities at ski resorts; backpacking wilderness trips; vacations with the Indians; trips all over the U.S.A. and to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and Japan.

LIVELY LONDON AND THE BRITISH ISLES

For the swingingest life, the latest fashions, the raciest nightclubs, the most indiscreet miniskirts, the wildest music, the most uninhibited young people, don't go to Paris, Monte Carlo, or Berlin. Fly to London.

TROPICAL TRADE-WINDS ISLANDS

Aruba and Curacao, in the Netherlands Antilles, and Margarita, a Venezuelan archipelago, are tropical trade-winds ... full of charm and fun for family vacationers. And they're just a quick jet ... from New York or Miami.

DISCOVERING HISTORY IN PENDLETON, S. C.

If you like the idea of discovering local history along with the natives, you'll enjoy a visit to the little town of Pendleton in South Carolina's up-country region.

NOW IS THE TIME FOR FALL COLOR

Fall foliage time is psychedelic-- a season that touches all your senses. The dazzling rainbow of foliage and the cool nights and warm days make a weekend trip a special delight. There is no better time to browse for antiques in an old barn, spend a night in the open, or enjoy a hearty meal in a rustic lodge.

WAYS TO DISPLAY THOSE FAMILY PORTRAITS

Stop hiding your family portraits in scrap-books and dresser drawers. Bring them out into the open for display on your walls where everyone can enjoy them every day. Formal-pose portraits, casual snapshots, color and black-and-white pictures they all add a personal stamp to your rooms. Hang them alone or in a group arrangement; mix with drawings, paintings, or favorite art objects. Family portraits are the most meaningful pieces of art you can own.

DISTINCTIVE ENTERTAINMENT CENTERS

CAULKING--SIX SURE WAYS TO SEAL CRACKS

Quick-loading cartridges and six different sealants to choose from make caulking almost as easy as squeezing toothpaste on a brush. Here's a complete roundup that tells how to use these compounds.

THESE BEDROOMS ARE USED FULL TIME

MORE WAYS TO PLAY THE PATTERN GAME

SHOPPING EDITOR'S CHOICE

... the fun and convenience of shopping ... mail! You can order with complete confidence ... of the items shown: each company will ... your money if you're not delighted.

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

For some reason my children don't blame me for my lamentable taste in neckties, music, and TV programs. They assume the guilt and merely ask themselves (within my hearing): "Where did we fail him?"