Dear Heloise: As an avid reader of the Orange County Register, your recent column featured a letter on “help wanted” ads going unanswered, and it resonated with me. As a woman who has reached 86 years of age, I have found age discrimination to be rampant. Even with my years of experience as a cashier, I am unable to find a company that will hire me, and I have a 62-year-old friend who is encountering the same experience.

The managers with whom I have interviewed all seem to be in their 30s or 40s, sometimes younger, and they want to hire those within their own age range. I’ve come to understand that this is because no one wants to give direction to their grandparents, and most people are only comfortable with their contemporaries.

However, most mature people have a strong work ethic and need the extra income to supplement their social security checks. I strongly suggest that those who are in positions to hire people get better interviewing skills and look beyond the wrinkles, focusing instead on people’s personalities. — Carol Ann Dean, via email

FREEZING BACON

AND SAUSAGE

Dear Heloise: My husband and I cannot finish a package of bacon or sausage without it going bad. I now lay the raw bacon strips cut in half on parchment paper placed on a cookie sheet and freeze them. I freeze sausage links the same way. When they’re frozen, I then place the strips in a zip-close freezer bag. They don’t stick to each other, and it’s easy to remove a serving size.

I also buy chorizo in bulk. I divide them into 4-ounce zip-close bags and freeze them. If you flatten the bags and stack them in the freezer, it takes up less space. Don’t forget to label and date all freezer items.

I have been reading your column for many years in the Orange County Register. — Gloria, Mission Viejo, California

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.