LITTLE ROCK — DEAR HELOISE: I recently went online to check phone and Internet specials being offered by my phone company. And sure enough, it had a new-customer special that was much lower than I was paying. After a bunch of phone calls and threatening to leave, I cut my bill from $90 a month to $60. I had to mark my calendar, because in two years when the agreement expires, the company can reset my rates automatically. - Paul, Aberdeen, N.J.
DEAR READER: This is a money-saving hint for any service you pay for. The hint is to check prices and call. You usually have to be persistent, but it’s worth a try.
DEAR HELOISE: I save the plastic mesh bags that tomatoes, lemons and limes are sometimes packaged in:
Use them to store onions.
Use to scrub bugs and bird droppings off a car’s windshield.
Putting paper towels inside a bag makes it a disposable scrubbing tool. The towel can hold some cleaning solution.
Even use to clean the outside of house windows.
- Linda in San Angelo, Texas
DEAR HELOISE: When making my first log-cabin quilt, I took a picture with my digital camera of one completed square. Using my photo program, I copied that square and “pasted” it many times. Then I could manipulate the picture to see how I wanted to lay out my quilt. - Linda in Ohio
DEAR HELOISE: To easily find the start of masking, shipping, duct or any tape that is on a roll, save and use a tab from a soda-pop can at the edge. No fold-overs or searching for the start of the tape.
- Barb, via e-mail Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or e-mail
ActiveStyle, Pages 30 on 09/27/2010