HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR HELOISE: I’ve had a credit card with an annual fee since 2005. After doing the math, I realized I had paid several hundred dollars in fees over the years. Shocked and determined to fight back, I called the company. They were unable to remove the fee from this point forward, so I closed the account. Enough is enough!

It is important to be aware of the interest and fees on some credit cards. If you’re not happy, call the company. If they value your business and you meet the criteria, they may be able to waive, remove or reduce the annual fee and possibly lower your interest rate. We have a voice, and it is time to use it.

— Fed Up in Ohio

DEAR HELOISE: I have collected logins and passwords for many companies, financial groups, health groups and others that I need to access on my computer. To make it much easier and more organized for myself, I purchased a spiral notebook, made my own alphabet tabs and entered all the logins and passwords from the notes I have accumulated. I wrote the passwords in pencil so I could change them easily whenever I need to.

It is so much easier now to find the logins and passwords when I need them. They are all very organized.

— Baynes H., Texas DEAR READER: Don’t we all have scads of passwords? An address book also works great, and writing in pencil is very smart. Just be sure to keep the passwords in a secure location.

DEAR READERS: A screenshot is a picture taken of whatever is displayed at the moment on your smartphone’s screen. Here’s how to take a screenshot:

On Apple’s system, press and hold the POWER and HOME buttons simultaneously. On an Android system, hold the POWER and VOLUME DOWN buttons at the same time. The Android system may also have a drop-down short cut in the settings menu. The screenshot will be saved with your photos.

DEAR HELOISE: I’m in awe of and so grateful for service workers who work both early in the morning and late at night. It’s such a convenience to call a company at 6 a.m. and experience no hold time and speak to a friendly person or to contact the cable company and have someone help me at midnight. Kudos to these helpful people!

— Theresa in California Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email