A "cash for caulkers" program being studied by the Obama administration should look at much more than caulking windows and other simple ways to give households money to pay for weatherization projects.

Filling in air gaps where heat escapes from homes is a good start to cutting heating bills and thus cut America's energy use, but any stimulus project aimed at homes should look at how most American homes are heated and how to do it more efficiently.

New York Times columnist David Leonhardt recently wrote about the home weatherization version of the wildly successful cash for clunkers program. It would help put contractors and construction workers back to work insulating homes and caulking air leaks, while saving homeowners money in the long term by weatherizing their homes.

The proof, they say, is in the pudding. Maybe it ought to be in the foreclosure rate?

Yes, I know we are being told on Sunday morning power-breakfast talk shows that the nation's economy is improving. But the latest survey on the delinquency rate for mortgage loans from the Mortgage Bankers Association would seem to indicate otherwise.

You can read the report itself for the hard numbers, but, the bottom line is, the delinquency rate has now broken the record set just this past quarter.

Heart disease, it seems, doesn't discriminate, striking not only both men and women. Now, scientists have learned not even Pharaohs were spared of hardened arteries.

And they developed heart disease despite the absence of super-size fries paired with a sugary soda and greasy burgers, one of today's popular heart disease scapegoats. No doubt music to Ronald McDonald's ears.

"We think of it as being caused by modern risk factors," such as fast food, smoking and a lack of exercise, but the findings show that these aren't the only reasons arteries clog, said Dr. Randall Thompson, a cardiologist at the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City who found signs of heart disease in 3,500 year-old mummies, told the Associated Press.

On Monday, the American Cancer Society was seeing red courtesy of a new set of government guidelines for breast cancer screenings that sent shock waves through the organization -- and the entire country.

Recently, the American Cancer Society backpedaled on screenings for some screenings. But they've remained consistent on their position on mammograms.

A government panel consisting of doctors and scientists has issued their guidelines for mammograms, stating most women should skip the screening until age 50 -- something that sharply conflicts the American Cancer Society's decades old recommendation for all women age 40 and over to be screened annually.

The holiday season is full of parties, travel and gift-giving. According to noted security expert Chris E. McGoey, AKA the Crime Doctor, these same joys can also make your home a more alluring target for burglars.

Fortunately, he has suggestions on how you can minimize the risk.

How is the risk of burglary increased during the holidays?

• Many of you will have carpet cleaners and other strangers in to help spruce up the house for the holidays.
• You or you children may be hosting parties attended by people you only casually know.
• Many of you will travel overnight, leaving your home vacant.
• You'll be piling new, alluring presents under the tree, and burglars like presents, too.
• Schools will be on holiday, leaving teens with lots of free time.
• December nights are the longest of the year.
• The UPS and FedEx people may be delivering boxes of goodies to your door.
• You may be hosting overnight guests unfamiliar with your security system.

It turns out that the bad economy is great for coin-op laundromats. Because, though houses with laundry rooms will be foreclosed upon, washing machines and dryers will break and be too expensive to fix, and sometimes, we lose our homes entirely, we still need clean clothes.

Long the refuge for college students, the young creative class, jobless, homeless and others not in possession of a few Whirlpools, laundromats are now flourishing. And the middle class is showing up, too, pride and laundry baskets in hand.

By all appearances, this would be a great time to get into the business of laundry; the Wall Street Journal recently profiled one such man, Brian McChristian, laid off in early 2008 and now running the Austin, Texas Community Coin Laundry; and he's one of the lucky ones. His business is doing well, thanks in part to his efforts to keep his parking lot and facility free of anyone not doing laundry.

The recession saw many losing their homes and wondering where -- or if -- they'd get their next meal. And we're not just talking about people.

Shelters and rescue organizations continue to see an increase, some as much as 10%, of homeless dogs file into their doors. Many have been surrendered by their human families who can no longer afford to care for them.

In the hopes of placing some of these furries in "forever homes," some clever groups are looking to Black Friday's example of deals and "deep discounts."

The honeymoon has been over for a long time and in spite of your best efforts, the marriage is too. As you and your spouse approach the legal, financial and emotional issues of getting divorced, you can save a lot of money by working together.

Yes, I know, "If we could work together we wouldn't be getting divorced." But sometimes when people aren't trying to make the marriage work anymore, they can approach problems and discussions under a new light. And it is critical.

Divorce is very expensive and can have a long term impact on a family's finances. Here are some strategies to try before your day in court.

This is the last of a five-part series about how the writer and her husband, Charlie, tackled a major overhaul of their home and the pitfalls they faced along the way. To read the first installment click here.

The workers are gone, the dumpster was picked up, and we are touching up the stain and paint. Now that things are finished, we are so glad that we put in the quality finishes and the extra touches we wanted. The total cost was around $55,000 -- twice as much as we had originally planned.

The investment is definitely worth it. Now we have new plumbing throughout the house, updated electrical, refinished floors, and a state-of-the-art kitchen -- all upgrades that are bound to boost the value of our home if we ever decide to sell.

This is the fourth part of a five-part series about how the writer and her husband, Charlie, tackled a major overhaul of their home and the pitfalls they faced along the way. To read the first installment click here.

We continue to eat dust and stumble through piles of stuff. In spite of the inconveniences, I was starting to feel positive about the progress -- that is, until a large semi-truck pulled up to deliver the dome that goes over the tub.

Rick, our contractor, and my husband soon discovered the dome weighed close to 400 pounds. With daggers in their eyes, they asked, "And just how are we suppose to get this thing out?" Fortunately. I remembered reading on the website that the dome was actually quite light -- it was the packing that was so heavy. Grumbling and swearing under their breath, they emerged about 15 minutes later with a fiberglass dome to be temporarily stored in the living room.

Tom's Take: It always makes sense to add the cost of a few visits with your chiropractor to every home improvement budget.

This is the third part of a five-part series about how the writer and her husband, Charlie, tackled a major overhaul of their home and the pitfalls they faced along the way. To read the first installment click here.

The situation is deteriorating fast. A large part of the problem is our fault, we're falling victim to an all-too-common disorder in the industry called project creep.

It works like this: If we are going to put in a new hallway floor, why not rip up the carpet upstairs and do all the floors there, too? And if we are going to do the upstairs, then it only make sense to do the downstairs as well. Since we got such a good deal on the granite, why don't we put new counter tops in the kitchen? For that matter, why not get new appliances? After all, the plumber and electrician are already here. They can get things hooked up. Don't you think the whole thing will look lousy if we don't re-tile the kitchen back splash? Why not, it already has a hole in it from the plumber. And so on...

This is the second part of a five-part series about how the writer and her husband, Charlie, tackled a major overhaul of their home and the pitfalls they faced along the way. To read the first installment click here.

Now it was onto the next step: Demolition. The destruction was scheduled to begin right after the holidays.

Tom's take: Good idea to hold off on demolition until after the holidays. I can't tell you how many panicked calls I've received on my radio show from folks that absolutely had to get a major project done before an event (a holiday, wedding, anniversary party, sweet-sixteen, whatever). It never makes sense to put that kind of pressure on yourself -- or your contractor. Build a fudge factor into the schedule and the stress factor goes way down.

While the forecast for winter 2009-10 stands to be easier on homeowners' wallets than usual, you can save even more money by making energy-smart improvements and easy adjustments to your household routine.

Here are eight ways to reduce home heating costs to stay warm for less this winter:

• Seal out drafts: Eliminate air leaks and drafts around the house, and you'll trim seasonal heating costs by up to 20 percent. Sealant, caulking and weatherstripping are all easy to use, and they'll also help you earn tax credits on your 2009 return.

Parents are no strangers to squabbles with kids. For some, it's cleaning their room. While others fight over their kid's homework.

While those can be logical battlegrounds to enter, experts say arguing over food -- specifically if it's over your child being a vegetarian -- aren't worth the fight.

According to Jennifer Nelson, director of clinical dietetics at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, food battles can be stressful for kids. Especially if they involve peers.

Our house is a beautiful, 3,000-square foot home built in 1918 that sits across the street from South Shore Park and Lake Michigan in Milwaukee. But after living in our home for 25 years, we were faced with a difficult decision: Do we spend a chunk of money to fix up the place or move? We had done some remodeling in the past, but it was looking tired and the bathroom upstairs still had all of the original (read: very old) plumbing.

As much as we loved the place, the thought of undertaking another remodeling project was too overwhelming. I embarked on a house-hunting mission in nearby Madison and Middleton, WI, but soon discovered that to recreate anything close to what we have -- easy access to downtown, shops within walking distance, lake view, bike path and a quick commute to the airport -- was going to cost $1 million or more. So we reversed course and decided to remodel -- again. Our initial budget was $25,000 and our sights were on that horribly outdated bathroom upstairs.