MY GRANDMA TOLD ME SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING

GRANDMA TOLD ME ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, and how right she was. Every time I made a mistake trusting someone, it was because I listened instead of watching. If only I'd listened to Grandma! My kids are saying pretty much the same thing when they say about someone, "What you see is what you get."

SPEND LESS THAN YOU EARN were Grandma's simple words to me when I asked her how I could save money. It took me a long time to catch on, but eventually I did begin to save. How I did it was to open a savings account and every month I'd put whatever I had left in it. Sometimes it would only be twenty dollars, but that was better than nothing, and the more I saved, the better I felt. Pretty soon saving became more important than going on a shopping spree, and my savings account grew even faster.

OF COURSE there were times I had to use my savings for emergencies or something very special, but I knew I'd just keep saving and didn't let it bother me. And no, I didn't become a miser. I just stopped wasting money on things I didn't need and didn't even really want.

SOMETIMES people spend every penny in their pocket because they just don't know what else to do with it!

BUT IF YOU LEARN TO SAVE, you'll find out it feels really good to know you have that savings account to fall back on. And you'll save more.

IF YOU'RE ON A BUDGET AND WANT TO REDUCE YOUR ELECTRIC BILL, and you live alone, or you're a couple with similar schedules, consider turning off your hot water heater at times. If you prefer to shower at night, turn the water heater on when you get home from work, and run your dish washer, clothes washer, and take your showers. After your shower, turn the water heater off for the rest of the night. There will be enough hot water left in the tank for morning. You'll be using electricity for the hot water heater for about 6 hours a day instead of twenty-four.

If you prefer to shower in the morning, you can turn the water heater off during the day while you're at work. With work time and travel time, you'll probably have it off for 10 or more hours.

There really is a good saving in doing this, and you can also consider it a good way to conserve energy - going green. You will definately see a reduction in your bill.

The best way to turn off your hot water heater is at the fuse box. Just move the little lever from on to off.

ANOTHER HOUSEHOLD HINT: to pick up slivers of broken glass, a good way is to use a piece of bread, using it as you would use a sponge. There's less chance of getting cut with this method than when using a paper towel. That's my Grandma's old trick and I haven't found anything actually better.

GRANDMA ALSO TAUGHT ME, if you drop and break an egg, a good way to clean it up is to pour some salt on it first. The salt will soak up the runny egg and make the job easier.

WHEN the dog needs a bath, doesn't smell good, but there isn't time or you just don't want the whole rigamarole, give the dog a dry bath by sprinkling it with some baking soda and rubbing it in, then brushing it out. Of course the dog will love the attention and the baking soda takes away the doggie odor.

ROLLING your clothes is a good way to put them away. You'll have fewer creases and it's a particularly good way to store sweaters. Also, if you have a lot of clothes, so they sit in a drawer for a long time, the creases can get really pressed in.

WHEN TRAVELLING, rolling your clothes is also the best way to pack, again, keeping wrinkles at a minimum.

WHEN YOU'RE FLYING, pack a carry-on bag with some underwear, pajamas, and a change of clothing, as well as your essential grooming products. Why? Because your chances of having your luggage misplaced by the airline are pretty good - it happens to hundreds of people every day. So, if the airline loses your bags, at least you'll have something clean to wear to bed and the next day, and hopefully they'll find your bags by then and deliver them to you.

BEFORE doing yardwork or any chores where you'll get dirt under your fingernails, run your nails over a bar of soap, filling the space with the soap, which is much easier to clean out when you're done with your chores.

I used to think Grandma's ways were silly, but it turns out she was right with every one of these hints she taught me.