Thank you for saving us!

DEAR HELOISE »

First, let me thank you for all the scam alerts you have posted. You’ve saved me and who knows how many others from making some mistakes that could have cost us our life savings, and much more.

I’ve also had someone call and say they were from the IRS and threaten to charge my credit card with over $700. All of it was a scam. So once again, thanks for looking out for us.

DEAR HELOISE » I have five boys, and they’re messy. They used to leave things all over the house, until I got fed up with trying to hunt down a pair of skates, a favorite jacket and bikes laying all over the front lawn. So I made a list of items, including where they belonged and who was responsible for them. If there is a bike laying on the front lawn instead of placed in the garage, they have to pay a fine. I always ask them,

“Was dropping your socks (bike, clothes, school books, etc.) on the floor worth the 25 cents fine?” And that is only for the first offense. It goes up by a quarter every time they repeat the same action. When we get to one dollar, and that’s not very often, it costs them other things, such as handing over their cellphone for 24 hours. Or it might be no television for two nights. Thankfully, my husband backs me up.

One day I imagine they’ll get married, and I don’t want them to look upon their wives as servants who go behind them cleaning up their messes.

DEAR HELOISE » I write all birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc, in my annual date book, usually by Jan. 2. My problem is that with my hectic schedule, I often remember to send a card late or a day or two before the occasion.

To solve that problem,

I buy several greeting cards every year (including the happy belated birthday cards) and send them out when needed. The envelopes are stamped ahead of time so that all I have to do is write a couple of sentences, sign the card and address the envelope.

DEAR KATHLEEN » This has always been one of my favorite hints, because it tells people that you care enough about them and their life to connect with them.

DEAR HELOISE » I taped a sheet of paper to the door of my freezer, listing what’s in there, the date it went in and a guess of how much there is. This tells me when I’m low on items or completely out, and makes me use food before it’s been in the freezer too long.

Write to Heloise at P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; Fax 210-HELOISE; or email Heloise@heloise.com.

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