Travelers give credit card tips for protection

Dear Heloise: Just read a letter on pickpocket protection from a reader. When we travel, my husband and I always carry different credit cards. That way, if one is stolen, we have another card that we can use. Hopefully, we will not get “picked” at the same time. Plus, there could be a problem with a card, so we never travel with only one card.

I leave all other cards in a safe place and give a trusted person copies of my cards. I can get the info from them if my cards are compromised. J., Harrodsburg, Ky.

A valuable travel hint indeed! But, it’s good advice to also keep copies elsewhere in case something unfortunate happens while at home. It pays to be very diligent these days. Heloise

Dear Heloise: After reading your column where a reader requested uses for newspaper bags, I just had to write. The best thing to do with those bags is return them to the paper carrier.

Not only do we have to get up at 2 a.m. or earlier every day in rain, sleet, snow and ice to deliver your paper on time, but we have to pay for those bags! And when we double-bag the paper due to bad weather — and in New England, that’s a lot — it costs us double! In the winter, we have colored bags so they can be seen in the snow, and they cost more than the regular bags!

Out of my 350 customers, only one returns the bags. She saves them up and returns them once a week, and it really helps. So, please return the bags! A New England Paper Carrier, via e-mail

Happy to help spread the word. Recycle, reuse and save money! I hope my readers will check with their carriers to see if they want the bags and rubber bands back (sometimes the bags have holes and cannot be reused). My compliments and a big hug to all carriers for a job well done! We sure appreciate receiving our paper daily, and Cabbie (a miniature schnauzer) says thanks, too! She brings the paper in every morning as her family job. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I use secretarial correction fluid to mark illegible, molded-in electronics controls. One white dot means “on” or “go,” while two means “stop.” On the TV remote, there’s a dot beside the channel return and two beside mute; on battery compartments, I put a dot near the place where the positive pole goes; on USB plugs, I put a dot on the side with the plastic tab inside. David K. Jordan, La Jolla, Calif.

Dear Heloise: During flu season, I leave the empty tissue pop-up box by the new box so everyone can stuff his or her used tissues in the old box, then throw it away when filled. Patsy Mayes Jackson, via e-mail

SBlt 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