HELOISE: Getting stores to match prices

Dear Heloise: How do I get a store to match another’s price for the same item?

I want to give my business to my favorite store, but another has a better price on something I need.

A Reader, via fax

Lots of stores today match prices to keep customers coming back. We spoke to a few big-box stores and mega-retailers, and they told us that they are happy to match prices, with certain stipulations. The items must be exactly the same, and the lower-priced item must be featured in a current advertisement.

They most likely cannot match prices on items from wholesale clubs. One store said to go to the customer-service desk with the price-match advertisements, and another said the cashiers will honor the requests. Even if a store is not able to price-match, it’s always a smart move to ask.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: I take several meds in the morning, which I keep in a pill organizer. The organizer is opaque, so I can’t see through it. On some mornings, I found that I had forgotten to take my meds. Now I leave the little tab open after I take the meds. That way, I can tell at a glance if I have taken them.

John, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: Instead of purchasing gift bags for presents I give, I am now buying reusable cloth bags at grocery stores and drugstores to wrap presents. The reusable cloth bags cost about the same as gift bags, the store usually donates the proceeds of the sale of the bags to charity, and the recipient has a useful bag, in addition to the gift. We all are looking for ways to reuse, reduce and recycle, so it’s a win-win situation.

Marion Buxton, Moorpark, Calif.

Dear Heloise: I’m always pinching my skin when I tweeze my eyebrows, and it is so frustrating and painful. I decided to try a new approach. I sprayed two fingers with hair spray, and starting on the outside, I rubbed the sprayed fingers toward my nose. It made all the hairs stand up, and I could pluck without pinching myself. It’s such a relief and so easy.

Patty, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: When company comes to your home and goes into the bathroom to wash their hands, they probably question whether they should dry their hands on a family towel or use the clean guest towel kept for show.

I have installed a paper-towel hanger in each of my bathrooms, and find that they are always used by my guests. I know I would be grateful to be able to use a paper towel when visiting others. It seems more sanitary, also.

Virginia in Arizona

Dear Heloise: I have some minor health problems, and shopping sometimes is a difficult chore for me. I discovered that if I call ahead, most stores are happy to provide an employee to help me.

A Reader, via fax

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate