Dear Heloise: My granddaughter, Bobbi, recently received a dwarf hamster for her 9th birthday. He is a zippy little escape artist! To keep him safe when she wants to play or cuddle with him, she sits in a dry bathtub. Smart girl! — Debbie Brewer, in St. Paul, Texas

POWER OUTAGE HINT

Dear Heloise: With the increase in power outages, we have started filling plastic containers with water and keeping them in our freezers. This way, when the power goes out, ice is already in place to help keep things cold even if we aren’t home.

If we are home, we can quickly grab one for the refrigerator to help things in there stay cold as well. — Valerie Hess, in Lolo, Montana

DIRTY MICROWAVE CLEANING

Dear Heloise: Have you ever looked at the inside top of your microwave? You might be surprised at how dirty it is! Mine had several burned-on marks that were hard to get off. Remember to also clean the inside top when you are cleaning the rest of it. — Granny, via email

CORK IT

Dear Heloise: If a piece of cork winds up in my guest’s glass of wine, I don’t use my finger to fish it out — that’s a no-no. I use a straw instead. I put the straw over the floating cork and cover the end with my finger. The piece lifts out cleanly. — Gary T., in New York

WORD FOR WORD

Dear Heloise: When I hear or read a word I don’t know, I grab my phone and look it up. This has helped me learn many words and forms of words: For example, “strew” means to scatter. I’ve heard of trash strewn over the lawn, but I hadn’t heard the word as an action verb. — Collin R., in Orlando, Florida

THIS DOES NOT COMPUTE …

Dear Heloise: I have a complaint about sales that require a person to buy two items to get 50% off the second item. It’s often used by drugstores with creams, lotions and personal/beauty supplies. Some things on sale are quite expensive for one.

Yes, it’s a bargain if one has both the money and space to store extras. However, someone on a fixed income or in a small residence cannot take advantage of this offer. Why not simply offer 25% off each? Then all the potential customers can participate in the sale. — Alexandria, via email

Alexandria, yes, you’re right. Think about it: You’re not saving half on anything — you’re saving 25% on each, but you have to buy two! I agree; it’s misleading and confusing. People get excited when they see “save 50%.” But this isn’t what’s happening. — Heloise

COUPON COLLECTOR

Dear Heloise: Please let your readers know that there are often coupons on the back of a receipt. I was at a grocery store yesterday and discovered coupons on the back of my receipt for a discount on a car wash, dry cleaners, and $3 off my next basket of groceries! — Ida L., in Madison, Indiana

Ida, what a great way to stretch your budget! — Heloise

PET PAL

Dear Heloise: Our 9-year-old Bailey Sue loves to chase after squirrels. — Sue Samer, via email

Readers, to see Bailey Sue and our other Pet Pals, go to Heloise.com and click on “Pet of the Week.”

Do you have a furry friend to share with our readers? Send a photo and a brief description to Heloise@Heloise.com. — Heloise

Send a money-saving or time-saving hint to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.