Dear Tami: A cell phone is a possibility, but not a very cheap one. She could rent one from www.cellhire.com for about $1 a day for a basic phone. Call rates will start at about 89 cents a minute plus roaming charges.

My recommendation is that you purchase a prepaid long-distance calling card from OneSuite (www.OneSuite.com) before she leaves. You load the card with at least $10. Then print out the list of access codes for the countries she will be visiting. Using those codes, she can call you from any country anytime. And there are no monthly fees or connection charges. And no surprise monthly bills, either.

The rate per minute will be different from one country to the next. For example, at this writing, she will be charged 13 cents per minute to call you from France and 9 cents per minute from Germany on a OneSuite prepaid calling card.

If she uses a pay phone, a surcharge of 55 cents per call will be deducted from the total amount remaining on her card. And you can recharge that card from any computer anytime, in the event she gets particularly chatty.

Dear Mary: We are moving into a new home. The two previous tenants had animals, and it stinks horribly. Other than replacing the carpet at my own expense, is there anything I can do to get rid of, or at least diminish, the smells? -- Ellie, Washington

Dear Ellie: There is, and it is called Nok-Out. This is a spray product available online at www.NokOut.com. The stuff is amazing and the only thing I know of to totally and completely eliminate those horrible pet odors, even if they have been there for a long time. Nok-Out is odorless, nonstaining and nontoxic to kids, pets and plants. You can use it on carpet, hard flooring, in sick rooms and automobiles. It knocks out the smell of cigarettes, too. Amazing stuff.

Dear Mary: What are some ways we can track down cheap deals on airfares this summer? -- Name Withheld, e-mail

Dear N.W.: Here's my favorite trick: Go to Travelocity.com. In the search box, check "Flexible Dates." Now put in your desired place of departure and destination with the time frame range filled in. Click on "Search." You will get a list of the rates for many airlines that fly between those two points -- arranged with the cheapest fares at the top. If you see one you like, click on it, and you will see the next date that particular fare to that destination will be available. Now you have something to compare. Or you can sign up to have Travelocity's FareWatcher notify you when a fare drops below an amount you select.

Do you have a question for Mary? E-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Mary Hunt is the founder of DebtProofLiving.com and author of 17 books, including "Debt-Proof Living." To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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