Dear Heloise: Save “green” food scraps (potato skins, carrot peels, celery ends/leaves, etc.) in a container in the freezer. When full, remove the frozen green waste scraps and boil them to make vegetable broth. Strain, then use the broth for cooking. You can place the boiled scraps in the correct trash or recycling container or in a compost pile. — Kay K., via email

PICK A PAYMENT DATE

Dear Heloise: I have been the victim of credit card fraud every once in a while, about one to two years apart. Each time, I had to get a new card with new numbers. So, I have since stopped authorizing auto-pay from my credit cards. Now, I tell them I will automatically send a payment to them on a specified date. If they don’t like that, then I don’t need their product or service.

No more hassles now with having to tell a long list of people about a new credit card number. Have a good day.– Louie Schirm, Emery, South Dakota

SOUND OFF

Dear Heloise: Your voice is so respected, and I would love for you to forward this hint to networks that show highlights, graphics, etc., and insist on playing music while the commentators are “analyzing” the highlight or graphic. This forces the analyzers to talk over the music. (Specifically, the Golf Channel does this.) As an aging senior with aging hearing who loves to watch these networks, I implore them to eliminate the alleged “background” music and just let us listen to the announcers. I have reached out to some networks without any response at all. — A Lifelong Reader, Maui

GRADUATION GIFT

Dear Heloise: Just read your hint in the Omaha World Herald about grad gifts. The best one any of my kids ever received was a small toolkit with the basics. I told the guy who gave it to him that it’s the greatest thing ever. My kid got it for his high school graduation, and we just moved him to Madison, Washington, for his first job. He still has it intact. — Pete Balerd, Columbus, Nebraska

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.

SMELLY SNEAKERS

Dear Heloise: When sneakers get smelly, and you don’t have time to do a full load of laundry, here is my hint for instant good results. Take a can of bathroom air freshener, spray it in the shoes on the insoles from heel to toe, and then let dry. Your shoes will instantly smell fresh. Love reading your column in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. — Thomas Lawson, Long Beach, California

OBSERVATION

Dear Heloise: A standard “can” of ground coffee weighs in a bit short of two pounds, depending upon the grind. Most “cans” of this size will yield from 100 to 200 cups of brewed coffee, with the cup in question running from 12 ounces all the way down to 6 ounces.

I just bought a couple of such “cans” on sale from a major brand for $7.99 each. That figures out at about $0.04 per cup for a 6-ounce pour — or about $0.007 per ounce.

Meanwhile, a 12 package of K-cups for coffee machines can be anything from $0.25 to $1.00 per cup, or more depending on brand. — Jeff Tolliver, Columbus, Ohio