Beware lending scams

Today’s Sound Off is about lending companies:

DEAR HELOISE » I work in a major financial institution, and we have come up against scam lenders hoping to take advantage of people in these lean economic times. Many people are looking for help from financial lenders, but please advise your readers to do their homework first. There are some red flags that should alert people that the company they are dealing with is not on the level.

Should you happen to have problems with a lender, contact your local Better Business Bureau and state Attorney General’s office to file a complaint. Always do business with a bank, credit union or loan company you know to have a good reputation.

— Harold F., Detroit Heloise

Fast facts

Additional uses for plastic gripping shelf liners:

Learning to read

DEAR HELOISE » I’ve taught firstand second-graders for several years. I’ve found that if parents or grandparents teach their children to read simple words before kindergarten, they have a step up on the educational ladder. Learning to sound out words can be as easy as starting with the Sunday funny papers or children’s books. Simple math, such as addition and subtraction, can be taught at home, too, by having children use a piggy bank to count the money they have. Education really does start in the home.

— Martha O., Newport, R.I.

Tulips

DEAR HELOISE » My grandmother was from Holland, and she told me that if I want to keep tulips from bending over in a vase of water, to put two pennies in the bottom of the vase and the tulips will stay straight. The water should be changed once a day, and as soon as you get the tulips home, cut about ½ an inch off of the bottom before placing them in the vase.

— Cindy T., Eagan, Minn.

Phone list

DEAR HELOISE » When my father died my mother was so traumatized by his saddening passing that she forgot phone numbers to let people know she needed help. This taught my sisters and I a lesson. We now keep up-to-date phone numbers taped to the desk, by the phone in the den and one on the wall by the kitchen phones. Not just emergency numbers, but numbers of family members who would need to know immediately if there was a problem.

— Janet N., Bridgeport, W.Va. Janet, that’s a very good idea. Sometimes in a crisis people get confused or, as you say, are so traumatized that they have trouble remembering what to do.