Knowing your spouse or partner’s credit history is as important as knowing your own. When in a relationship, your partner’s credit can become a source of stress and may affect your ability to secure a home or auto loan. One of the major credit reporting bureaus, Experian, reports that 61 percent of men and 39 […]

The University of Wisconsin-Extension “Check Your Free Credit Report” campaign’s website https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/creditreport/ lets you sign up for reminders to check your free credit reports and provides guidance on how to get and read your free reports. Since the reminder campaign started in 2013, many people have reached out to UW-Extension educators with questions about obtaining […]

Washington County Extension office is now offering a free program titled Rent Smart that is open to the public. Our upcoming two-day workshop runs from 1:30 – 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 5 and Thursday, November 7, at the Public Agency Center, 333 E. Washington St., West Bend, WI. Participants must attend both sessions to receive […]

A common question we receive in the Extension office: I have a bounty of garden tomatoes to can. How do I know whether to pressure can them or can them in a boiling water canner? This blog post from 2018 shared by Extension Food Preservation & Food Safety Specialist Barbara Ingham may answer that question. https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/safepreserving/2018/09/04/safe-preserving-lots-of-tomatoes-to-can/

Looking for proper canning methods and processing times? Using tested canning recipes from Extension’s Learning Store will help keep your family safe and healthy! Publications with recipes can be ordered online or printed for free as downloadable PDF documents. Learning Store Resources      

Is hand washing a habit in your family’s home? In time for Food Safety Education Month (September) and back-to-school, the USDA has issued back-to-school food safety tips focused on…hand washing. Why is Lesson #1 Hand Washing? According to Dr. Mindy Brashears, USDA under secretary for food safety, USDA research has found that consumers fail to […]

School is out (or almost) for the summer!  The Home Alone program will help parents and children determine if they are ready to stay home alone. Parents and children should watch the Home Alone videos together and use the short activities after each video to discuss plans to stay safe. Topics in the videos include: […]

The Partnership for Food Safety Education has introduced a Safe Recipe Style Guide intended to dramatically improve consumers’ safe food handling behaviors at home. The Style Guide provides specific, concise recipe text to address four major kitchen

Extension Food Preservation and Food Safety Specialist, Barb Ingham’s recent blog post has some important tips on how to find reliable information online. Finding reliable information online