This is the most important division of the museum. Home economics has been of little interest to most academic economists, but is of considerable interest to the individual viewer is the economics of everyday life including the appreciation of the nature of the life cycle of expenditures (see the work of Modigliani and others).
This relatively large exhibit must include elementary explanations of private and public costs of education, child rearing, health costs, explicit and hidden costs in house owning or renting; the economic realities of consumer credit; the nature of optimal policies for the care and maintenance of capital stock such as automobiles, houses and appliances; the alternative costs (with tax implications) of do-it-yourself. Specific exposition of the nature and type of individual saving and insurance must be exposited. The economics of nutrition together with some glimmerings of the comparative costs of diets, cooking or eating out are also called for.
Specific displays, at the adult level will cover:
1.1. Display on private and public costs of education and child rearing.
1.2. Health costs
1.3. Explicit and hidden costs in house owning or renting;
1.4. The economic realities of consumer credit
1.5. The nature of optimal policies for the care and maintenance of capital stock such as automobiles, houses and appliances;
1.6. The alternative costs (with tax implications) of do-it-yourself.
1.7. Specific exposition of the nature and type of individual saving including saving for education and retirement.
1.8. Specific exposition of the nature and type of insurance for the individual must be given
1.9. The economics of nutrition together with some glimmerings of the comparative costs of diets, cooking or eating out are also called for
1.10. Flow diagram displays of how a check is cashed; the clearance of a credit card
1.11.(linked to accounting)---how to read an annual report and a stock market page.
1.12. Simple explanations of all common family used financial institutions
1.13. National debt versus individual debt.
1.14 Education, income and job choice.
1.15 Is bargain-hunting worth it? The economics and sport of shopping time.
1.16 How we spend our time: Habit, conscious and unconscious choice.
1.17 Auto rental and plane trip insurance and other unclear costs and benefits.
In all instances a stress is on exposition via games and simulations.