Home and consumer life

Features

'Ghosts' of storms past may haunt damaged homes

Homeowners who made repairs after last year’s floods and windstorms may now be finding ghostly shadows—dirty patches of mold and mildew — in parts of the home that got wet.

Turning food waste into energy

In the future, those table scraps could help power homes and businesses. Watch the video.

Safety measures lessen market impact of mad cow disease case

Mad cow disease is much less scary to beef consumers than it was when the first case in the U.S. was found almost a decade ago.

Record-keeping for income taxes

Do-it-yourself tax preparation, for complicated returns, means shuffling though statements, receipts and other records.

Paying for college

Many students have the desire to go to college, but not the funds to pay for it. Fortunately, there are options available to help students afford higher education.

Saving and investing go hand in hand

Every family has its own unique financial goals. Whatever your goals, you should seriously consider investing.

Local Food Linkages Project targets food marketing for rural farmers

MU Extension asks farmers in northern Ozarks, Old Trails regions for information about local food obstacles, successes in rural Missouri.

Compulsive buying disorder

The way products are packaged, displayed and placed in stores is intentional and meant to catch your eye.

Learning to live on less

Many of us are cutting our spending and looking at ways to save money on things we need. MU Extension's GH3600, Money Management: Living on Less offers suggestions for saving money.

Credit report basics

Credit reports are a compilation of financial data about you, and lenders use them determine your credit worthiness. Consumers are entitled to receive a free copy of their credit report each year to check for errors.

Energy savers

Learn how easy it is to save energy without investing a lot money.

News

• 'Ghosts' of storms past may haunt damaged homes
  Friday, April 20, 2012
  PERRYVILLE, Mo.—Homeowners who made repairs after last year’s floods and windstorms may now be finding ghostly shadows—dirty patches of mold and mildew—in parts of the home that got wet. This is a health hazard for people living in the home.
  
  Media available: 1 photo
• Preparing for disaster: Start today
  Monday, April 9, 2012
  PALYMRA, Mo. –If you have been meaning to put together disaster supplies and a household disaster plan but haven’t gotten around to it, there’s no reason to put off getting started any longer. You might be surprised by how much progress you can make in just a couple hours.
  
  Media available: 1 photo
• Switch your lighting for energy savings
  Wednesday, March 7, 2012
  BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. – Switching to more efficient lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your home energy costs, notes a University of Missouri Extension housing and environmental design specialist.
• Feb. 20-26 is Missouri Saves Week
  Monday, February 20, 2012
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – Money is so easy to spend; it slips through fingers like water. Even with the best intentions to put a little money aside every month, we often find there’s nothing left when the month comes to a close.
  
  Media available: 1 video
• Record-keeping for income taxes
  Monday, February 20, 2012
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – Do-it-yourself tax preparation, for complicated returns, means shuffling though statements, receipts and other records. Your record-keeping system for tax-related documents can be as simple or complex as you want.
• Paying for college
  Friday, February 17, 2012
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – Many students have the desire to go to college, but not the funds to pay for it. Fortunately, there are options available to help students afford higher education.
• Saving and investing go hand in hand
  Friday, February 10, 2012
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – Every family has its own unique financial goals. Those goals could be saving for retirement, putting money aside for a college education or buying a house. Whatever your goals, you should seriously consider investing, says a University of Missouri associate professor of personal financial planning.
• The tax man cometh
  Tuesday, January 31, 2012
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – W-2s should be arriving soon, and that means it’s time to file income tax forms for 2011. What are the treasures and pitfalls found in the 2011 tax rules? Surprisingly, there are very few changes.
• MU Extension teaches kids that cooking matters
  Monday, January 30, 2012
  MONTGOMERY CITY, Mo. – In a crowded kitchen in a church basement, nine elementary school kids are cooking lunch. You might think it’s a recipe for disaster—kids are using knives, handling raw meat, working at a big gas range, and there’s not much elbow room—but they know their jobs and the turkey tacos and fruit smoothies turn out fine, with no injuries and not too much of a mess in the kitchen.
  
  Media available: 1 photo; 1 video
• Keep the heat in your house, but keep out the radon
  Wednesday, January 25, 2012
  MARSHFIELD, Mo. –If you have made your home more energy efficient, or plan to do so, you might want to test for radon, says a University of Missouri Extension natural resource engineering specialist.
• Feb. 20-26 is Missouri Saves Week
  Wednesday, January 25, 2012
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – Saving is a great tool that can help you control your money, rather than letting money control you.
• Money: It's a family affair
  Wednesday, January 18, 2012
  MARSHALL, Mo. – If money makes the world go around, then not having enough of it can bring your smoothly spinning world to a screeching halt.
• A different front may simplify food choices
  Friday, November 4, 2011
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – The battle over front-of-package real estate continues as an Institute of Medicine committee recommends a label system that’s simple and consistent.
  
  Media available: 1 photo
• New herbicide suspect as evergreen deaths pile up
  Friday, July 22, 2011
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – A new herbicide may be taking the green out of many evergreens.
  
  Media available: 2 photos; 1 videos
• Quick tips for cleaning your flooded home available from MU Extension
  Wednesday, July 20, 2011
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – Families returning to flooded homes need to be extra careful before and during the cleanup process. University of Missouri Extension specialists warn that floodwater may contain sewage, biological contaminants and other hazards that can linger after the initial cleanup.
• Protect yourself from contractor fraud
  Wednesday, July 20, 2011
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – When storms, floods and other disasters leave damaged homes in their path, local contractors often get more business than they can handle. In many cases, out-of-town contractors will arrive in force to pick up the slack.
• Reducing flood damage to home and property
  Wednesday, June 29, 2011
  TRENTON, Mo.– University of Missouri Extension has prepared a checklist of measures people can take to reduce the impact of floodwater on their homes.
• Before the flood: Prepare household items for long-term storage
  Wednesday, June 29, 2011
  TRENTON, Mo.—As people brace for floodwaters and the damage they might cause, it’s important to know how to properly prepare household items for long-term storage, said a University of Missouri Extension housing and environmental design specialist.
• Let flood-damaged homes dry thoroughly before installing new coverings
  Tuesday, June 28, 2011
  PERRYVILLE, Mo. – Before replacing drywall and floor coverings in your flooded home, make sure building materials have had enough time to dry out, cautions a University of Missouri Extension community emergency management specialist.
• Renters rights following a disaster
  Monday, June 27, 2011
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – Renters forced to leave homes damaged by floods or other natural disasters do not have to continue paying rent, notes a University of Missouri Extension family financial planning specialist.
• A safe room of one's own
  Thursday, June 16, 2011
  JOPLIN, Mo. – Harold Noirfalise used to curse the big steel box in the garage of his Joplin home. It was there when he and his wife, Brenda, bought the house a couple years ago. The box shared space with a pickup, a car and a workshop where he built radio-controlled model airplanes, making for a crowded garage.
  
  Media available: 4 photos; 1 videos
• Warm, wet weather can trigger mold growth
  Monday, June 6, 2011
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – Moisture and rising temperatures can turn parts of your home into ideal sites for mold growth, said a University of Missouri Extension housing and environmental design specialist.
  
  Media available: 1 photo
• How to replace lost documents after a disaster or loss
  Friday, May 27, 2011
  CARTHAGE, Mo. –Replacing important family documents after a tornado or flood can be a time consuming and costly exercise in frustration, according to Janet LaFon, family financial education specialist for University of Missouri Extension.
• Property loss from disasters may be tax deductible
  Monday, May 23, 2011
  COLUMBIA, Mo. – Disaster victims may recoup some of their uninsured losses because uncompensated property losses from natural disasters are tax deductible, said a University of Missouri Extension consumer and family economics specialist.
  
  Media available: 1 video
• Be prepared for spring floods
  Monday, April 25, 2011
  BLUE SPRINGS, Mo.–With the large snowfalls of the past winter, flooding is a potential threat in many parts of Missouri. And even if your house is not in a flood plain, you may drive through one on your way home, warns a University of Missouri Extension community development specialist.
• New labels illuminate light bulb choices
  Wednesday, December 15, 2010
  KANSAS CITY, Mo. – All light bulbs are not created equal, but with a little understanding homeowners can choose the right ones to improve the quality of light in their homes while saving money.
  
  Media available: 1 photo; 1 video

Websites

The following are general-interest home and consumer life Websites from the University of Missouri. Browse the menu on the left for sites on more specific home and consumer life topics.

• College of Human Environmental Sciences
• Human Environmental Sciences Extension
• MissouriFamilies

Publications

You may be interested in these related publications:

• MP205, Extension Publications Catalog