HELOISE: Picture this family trip |

Dear Readers: Many sidewalks and roads might be covered with salt or chemical deicers that could hurt or create cracks in a dog’s paws. Try to avoid slippery spots, and when you get home wipe off the dog’s paws to remove everything it might have walked through. And wet a microfiber cloth with warm water to wipe its fur clean too. — Heloise

Dear Readers: Often, we need to put a decal on our car windows for parking or school. But when the time comes to remove them, it can be tough. Here’s how to get them off.

Apply a couple coats of household vinegar or a petroleum prewash spray over the decal. Allow this to sit for several minutes. It should be loosened. Then use a scraper to get it all off. — Heloise

Dear Heloise: This is Atom, our cat, and his brother Ripley, our treeing walker coonhound. — Alan Almanzar

Readers, to see Atom and Ripley, go to www.Heloise.com and click on “Pet of the Week.” — Heloise

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 [email protected] I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.

Dear Readers: As we’re turning the corner on COVID and the economy recovers, you may find yourself interviewing for a new job or promotion. You need to talk during the interview, of course, to sell yourself, but what are some things you should NOT say? Let’s take a look:

— Never say: “I’m the greatest in my department.” Boastfulness can be off-putting. Instead, say, “I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.”

— Never say bad things about a past supervisor. If you’re talking bad about him or her, you’ll talk bad about your new boss. You can say what you’ve learned, but keep it professional.

— Don’t let on that you like to work alone. Whether it’s your thing or not, you’ll probably have group projects at some point. You must be a team player.

— Never state that you are desperate for a job. The employer wants to know what skills you can add to the position. Research the company and talk about that and what your contributions can be. Specific examples of how you grew your previous department would be helpful.

— Always ask questions about the position and what the expectations and goals are. The one question NOT to ask: What is the salary? The employer wants to know what you can bring to the company before they offer you a compensation package.

Good luck in your job search. Let your confidence and your verbal skills shine, but just be careful not to say the wrong things. — Heloise

TECH TALK TUESDAY

Dear Readers: We’ve probably all deposited a check remotely at this point by taking a picture of the check on the financial institution’s app. But did you know you can pay bills the same way?

It’s called Picture Pay, and it’s easy. First, take a picture of the billing statement. Then, in your bank’s app, confirm the amount to be paid and submit the payment. Your bank uses technology called optical character recognition (OCR). OCR reads the information from your bill and, with built-in analytics, the bill gets paid.

You don’t have to enter your account number or the name of the company either. The computer software does all of that. Check it out. — Heloise

DISTRACTED DRIVING

Dear Heloise: My friend lost her son tragically to distracted driving. He was shooting video with his phone while driving and took his eyes off the road for just five seconds. That was enough for him to lose control of the car, and he crashed.

My friend wants you to know: Distracted driving is, yes, fussing with your phone, but it is also putting on makeup, fiddling with the radio, eating while driving — anything that takes your focus and eyes off the road. — Marisol R. in Texas

Marisol, I’m so sorry about your friend’s son. Readers: you must concentrate on driving when you are behind the wheel. — Heloise

HAIR CARE

Dear Readers: Protecting your hair from chlorine in the pool is smart. Coat dry hair with a tiny glom of hair conditioner especially made for swimmers; it’s a good barrier from chlorine. — Heloise

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 [email protected] I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.