DEAR READERS: Who doesn’t love saving money with coupons? They can be a great way to help reduce your grocery bills, but sometimes it can cost more to use coupons. Here are some hints to help you make the most of them:
Clip coupons only for items you use or need. Just because there is a coupon for something doesn’t mean you have to use it. If it is an item you wouldn’t normally buy, then don’t. Why waste your money?
Check store-brand prices against the coupons. If a name-brand item is still more expensive with the coupon than the store brand, and you don’t mind the store brand, then don’t buy the name brand.
Watch for deals on products you have been considering trying. Sometimes manufacturers will give good deals to get consumers to try a new product.
Try to match up coupons with items already on sale. You can save a bundle this way.
Coupon-swap with friends and family. If there is a coupon for a product a friend uses that you don’t, give it away, and vice versa.
DEAR READERS: One of the hardest things to travel with is pressed powder, eye shadows, face powder or blushes. They usually end up cracked, and crumble after a while. This is especially true if you check your suitcase or carry the makeup in your purse. What I finally learned (after more than 2.5 million miles on one airline alone) is to cut a cotton pad or fold a tissue the size of the container and then put it inside. This holds the powder down and acts as an extra barrier if it does break.
DEAR HELOISE: I have a problem remembering where I parked when coming out of a mall or someplace I am not familiar with. I thought “I wonder if I run my windshield wipers and manipulate them so they will be halfway up on the windshield.” I know it looks a little goofy, but when I walk out to my car from shopping or whatever, I just look across the lot for the car with the wipers halfway up.
- Dale in Nebraska
DEAR READER: Well, this is one way. If you have a camera phone (which most of us do), snap a photo of a “landmark” or something to clue you as to where you have parked.
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email Heloise@Heloise.com
MovieStyle, Pages 36 on 04/04/2014