Use interesting hints to check on bank-account statement

Dear Readers: If your monthly checking account statement doesn't quite add up to your calculations, then maybe a little checkbook organization is in order. Here are several hints for eliminating those bank-statement surprises:
Your check register is a good record of deposits and spending - if you record all transactions. Include the date, check number, name and, if applicable, an invoice number.
Include payment information on the line at the bottom left corner of your check.
Save time by paper-clipping the check register on the page you are working.
Be sure your math is correct! It is helpful to keep a small, thin calculator with your register if you aren't good at adding and subtracting.
You can also round up check amounts to the nearest dollar to make the math easier and have a little extra in the account. Heloise
Dear Heloise: Here are some (what I think are) great uses for plastic ice-cream buckets:
Invert the lids and shred carrots, cheese, etc., onto them.
Drill small holes in the bottom of the pail; fill with pea gravel and dirt. Voil & aacute;! Instant patio garden.
Use to transport food donations to picnics, or wherever. No huge loss if they disappear.
The lids can be used as plates in a picnic emergency if I forget paper plates.
Use for food storage, "stuff" storage, cleaning or whatever.
Don't toss 'em! I found a stack (with lids) at a garage sale for free. I took 'em all. G.H., Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Dear Heloise: I have found that when mailing packages to out-of-town relatives for birthdays, etc., I can get more articles into a box if I soft-wrap the gifts when possible. I do not use individual gift boxes, if I can avoid it, and instead use tissue paper and then wrapping paper. I can make better use of space by doing this and also cut down on the final cost of the shipment. John Kauer, via e-mail
Dear Heloise: I work in a hospital, and patients always buy chocolate for the nursing staff as a thank-you. As much as we love chocolate, I have a suggestion: As medical personnel, we wash our hands constantly, so a gift of lotion would be practical, thoughtful and meaningful to us. It can also be less expensive than chocolate! Rough hands at the hospital, via e-mail
Sound off
Dear Heloise: My Sound Off is very loud music that surrounds you. This bothers me, or at the very least drowns out thought and conversation, but it is no longer possible to find a less-noisy area in a restaurant, etc. Instead, it is up to the patrons to request that the volume be lowered (which is occasionally honored) or leave the premises. Debbie Flint, via e-mail
What? Excuse me? Say again? I can't hear you! I (and millions of others) agree. There are many favorite restaurants that we no longer visit for this loud reason. Heloise
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate