Great Tips From My Great Readers!

BY MARY HUNT

With the cost of feeding a family so high, it’s no wonder that so many tips readers submit are geared to help us save money and time in the supermarket and kitchen -- with plenty more for all around the house and garage, too.

RETHINK CHEAP

My tip might seem like a contradiction to “cheapskate” but it has saved our family a fortune. Do not be too much of a cheapskate in the supermarket. Eating out, even at a fast-food restaurant, costs far more than food made at home. So paying an extra buck or two for your favorite bread, buying quality meat and cheese, and picking up a few treats in the supermarket will save you money if it means you won’t be tempted to eat out. The burgers I make at home cost less and are healthier than at the drive-thru. -- Margaret B., Australia

PERFECT MEATBALLS

When making many meatballs, a fast and simple way is to shape the meat mixture into a log and then cut off slices. The slices roll easily into balls. Another option is to pat the meat into a square and cut it into cubes, which again easily roll into meatballs of uniform size. -- Kevin

P., New Jersey BACON

RINSE

Rinse bacon under cold water before frying. This reduces the amount the bacon shrinks by almost 50%. Why? I don’t have a clue, but it’s a fact. -- Sarah M.,

New York

even to Cascade. And a lot cheaper, too.

-- Judy B-D., email WD-T

I use WD-40 to clean dry-erase markings off my whiteboard. When I started doing this, I wrote to the company to ask if long-term use would harm the board. They didn’t really answer my question, but they did send me a free t-shirt. -- Larry E.,

Indiana

standable than if they were completed. We have as much time as we want to explore until darkness begins to fall because we can just stroll back to the campsite.

When we sit down to dinner, Chef Mario presents me with the most amazing birthday cake I have ever had in my life – completely decorated. It took him three hours to prepare it with the camping equipment he cooks with. I share the cake with Peter who timed his bucket-list Machu Picchu ascent for his 35th birthday the next morning.

Lizandro then asks us what time we would like to wake up in order to get to the check point to Machu Picchu before the other 200 trekkers who will be on line: “3 am? No? Then 3:01,” he says, noting that he has a 98% success rate in being first in line for the checkpoint when it opens at 5:30 am. The check point is only about 10 minutes walk from the campsite. Why so important to be first? Well, to get to the Sun Gate by sunrise, and before it gets jammed crammed with people, in order to get the best views and photos.

Tomorrow is the day we will reach our goal: Machu Picchu.

The permits to do the Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu are limited to 500 a day for all the trekking companies (which includes 200 for trekkers and 300 for porters and staff) and get booked up months in advance.

More information: Alpaca Expeditions, USA Phone: (202)-550-8534, info@alpacaexpeditions.com, https:// www.alpacaexpeditions.com/

Check with the US State Department to get the latest information on travel to Peru (https://travel.state.gov/ content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-CountryInformation-Pages/Peru.html).

Next: Day 4 on the Inca TrailMachu Picchu!

© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear. com

Crossword Answers

RESTORE THE ZIP

To make a zipper slide up and down more smoothly, rub a candle over the teeth. --

Bea T., Wisconsin STORE BRAND

Recently, a popular women’s magazine recommended Walmart’s store brand of automatic dishwasher powder detergent as the best buy for the buck. I tried it and loved it. I was a big Cascade fan but find this particular store brand to be superior

NO GHOSTS

I treat my whiteboard with liquid car wax applied with a soft cloth. This keeps the markers from “ghosting.” -- Thomas

P., email CHEAP SHAMPOO

Purchase a large bottle of cheap shampoo and use as a pre-treatment for the laundry. It is especially good for the collar ring, as shampoo is formulated to remove body dirt and oil. --

Helen Bryant, Massachusetts

Continued on page 5

BY LOU THEODORE

Many of the younger set in my reading audience are now fast approaching crunch time regarding employment. In effect, it’s job time.

Over the years, my students have often asked for advice on employment and careers. My response to them centers on four questions:

1. What are you looking for?

2. What is the company looking for?

3. What about the interview?

4. What is needed to succeed?

Each of these questions are briefly addressed below, with more extensive information provided for (3).

Regarding (1), only you can answer this question. The applicant / student should know something about what he/ she wants for the job. Quite frankly, I find it difficult for anyone to really expect a youngster to know what they really want regarding a job or career.

Here are a few tips on what might help you land the job (2&3)… perhaps of your dreams.

1. It is important to prepare an impressive and up-to-date resume that truly reflects you. Put your best foot forward, and don’t lie. Exaggerate? Be careful. Shield the truth? Perhaps, but definitely don’t lie.

2. Prepare for the interview by researching the company. Check them out on their website or review an annual report. This will enable you to ask informed questions during the interview.

3. Attire is important, so dress appropriately.

4. The interview does not begin when you meet the interviewer; it begins earlier at the front door.

5. Turn your cellphone off and avoid texting and phone conversations earlier while in a waiting room.

6. If you are shown into a room to meet the interviewer, wait for the interviewer to tell you where to sit. Remain standing until the interviewer sits. Don’t plop your feet on the interviewer’s desk and start picking your nose or ear(s).

7. Stand up to greet anyone you subsequently meet and shake hands confidently.

8. During the interview, sit on the edge of the chair and lean forward slightly to let the interviewer know you are attentive.

9. Thank the interviewer for his/her time and shake hands before leaving.

10. During the interview meal, generally follow the interviewer’s lead. Place your napkin in your lap and begin eating when the interviewer does.

11. Start with the utensils on the outside and work your way in toward the plate.

12. Order something familiar that is neat as opposed to messy.

13. Taste the food before seasoning.

14. Keep on the same eating pace with your interviewer.

15. Do not mix food on your plate into a pile of hash.

16. Do not order alcohol if your interviewer does not.

17. Be extra courteous to the waiter and busboy.

As the old saying goes, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression,” so make the most of it. Prepare and rehearse for the interview. I also believe it is appropriate to either send the recruiter a thank you letter or follow with a call or e-mail the following day.

Well, what about (4). Over the years, I had the privilege of maintaining close social and professional ties with many of my successful graduates in our profession. In thinking about what character traits likely contributed to their success, I found the following to be the most common.

1. Communication abilities.

2. Appearance.

3. Self-awareness.

4. Self-regulation.

5. Self-motivation.

6. Empathy.

7. Social Skills.

8. Creative leaders have an ability to innovate and “think outside the box.”

9. Self-depreciation.

10. Action-oriented is most important; leaders are doers and have an ability to make things happen, even when the odds are stacked against them.

Interestingly, I have found that technical ability (or the equivalent) and GPA (Grade Point Average) correlate weakly with successful leaders.

I close with a tale that appeared in a number of my earlier publications, one authored by a former student, Anthony J. Buonicore. The moral of the tale may register with a few of the readers concerned with their future.

One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, the couple approached the front desk hoping to get shelter for the night.

“Could you possibly give us a room here?” the man asked. The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, explained that there were three conventions in town.

“All of our rooms are taken,” the clerk said. “But I can’t send a nice couple like you into the rain at one o’clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night.”

When the couple declined, the young man pressed on. “Don’t worry about me; I’ll make out just fine,” the clerk told them. So, the couple agreed.

As he paid the bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk; “You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the country.” The clerk looked at them and smiled. As they drove away, the elderly couple agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional.

Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the old man. It recalled the stormy night and enclosed a round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit.

The old man met him at a corner in New York City. He then pointed to a great new building, a palace of reddish stone, with turrets, and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky. “That,” said the old man, “is the hotel I have just built for you to manage.” “You must be joking,” the clerk said. “I can assure you I am not,” said the old man.

The old man’s name was William Waldorf-Astoria, and the magnificent structure he built was the WaldorfAstoria hotel. The young clerk who became its first manager was George C. Boldt. The clerk never foresaw the turn of events that would lead him to become the man¬ager of one of the world’s most glamorous hotels.

Visit the author at: www. theodorenewsletter.com and Basketball Coaching 101 on Facebook

BY TOM MARGENAU

Conventional wisdom has it that to get the most out of your Social Security, you should wait as long as possible to start your benefits. That’s good advice for some, but not for all. There are a variety of reasons why you might want to take your benefits at 62 (the earliest you can start your Social Security) or some other point before you reach your full retirement age. Today’s questions come from people like that.

Q: My wife and I are both approaching age 62. We are inundated with advice to wait until 70 to start our Social Security. But frankly, I don’t think I’ll live that long. I’ve already had some serious heart problems. And both my parents and other close family members died in their 60s, so I didn’t inherit the best of genes. Thankfully, my wife doesn’t have those problems. Also, she had a good job and will get a Social Security benefit that is slightly more than mine. Can you think of any downsides if I take my Social Security at 62? How about my wife?

A: As I always point out to my readers, I am not a financial planner, so you might want to consult one. But from my perspective, I can’t think of any downsides to starting your benefits at 62.

In fact, I did the same thing -- for some of the same reasons that you face. (My dad died at age 47, and none of my many uncles made it to age 65.) Fortunately, I beat the odds as I’m now 73. But I still don’t regret starting my benefits at age 62. I’ve been getting monthly Social Security checks for 11 years now. Had I waited until 70, I’d be getting a higher monthly benefit, but I’d only be in year three of getting Social Security. Had I waited until 70, it would have taken me a long time to make up for the benefits I would have received between 62 and 70. So again, I’m happy.

One normal downside to a guy getting reduced benefits before his full retirement age is that the reduction would carry over to any widow’s benefits his wife might be due after he dies. But in your case, that’s not an issue because you said your wife’s Social Security is already more than yours, meaning she wouldn’t be due any widow’s benefits no matter when you started your retirement checks.

Speaking of your wife, if she doesn’t have your health issues, she might want to consider waiting until her full retirement age to start her own benefits.

Q: I am about to turn 70 and plan to start my Social Security then. My wife is almost 62. She is going to get a much smaller Social Security benefit than I will because she was a homemaker for much of our marriage. We were thinking of having her file for her benefits at 62. But someone told us that if she takes reduced benefits