Most of us are aware that the structure of American families is changing. With these changing family forms come new problems related to household spending and family interaction that families may not have had to deal with in the past.

AHEA's Economy and Family Financial Resources Issues Committee developed the following article to focus on some of these emerging problems. The article included four case studies of families, representing four different family structures, and analyses of these case studies by three of the authors.

Cynthia Needles analyzes each family in terms of its consumption of goods and services; Sarah Manning views each family from a money management perspective; and Sandra Helmick discusses the personal relations hips within each family.

Together, the analyses identify issues that families need to consider when planning their households and spending their money.