In case you missed it, I wrote a story for the Retailing column in today's Business section about a new resale clothing store opening in the Triangle
Resale shops are a terrific avenue for both making money and saving money so I wanted to make sure you heard the news.
Keep reading for all the details on the newest Uptown Cheapskate location, and the interesting back story of its owners in the Triangle and Triad.

Uptown Cheapskate, a resale clothing store aimed at teens and young adults, will open next month in the Beaver Creek Commons in Apex.

It’s the fourth Uptown Cheapskate location in the Triangle and Triad for Steve and Christine Weaver, a Greensboro couple who just a few years ago never imagined owning a used clothing store or even shopping in one.

That all changed in 2008 when Steve Weaver, who worked in finance, found himself out of work after a corporate downsizing.

View Triangle Expressway in a larger map

For better (a much-needed road!) or worse (you pay for every trip!), drivers started using a new stretch of the 540 Outer Loop in western Wake County on Wednesday.

And they started paying tolls today (see 8/1/12 story with reader comments).

So what do you think? Is it getting you to work faster in the morning, or to the mall? Is it getting you home faster in the afternoon? Email me with your contact info, so I can call you. Or share your experiences below.

The Triangle Expressway (TriEx) is a toll road that combines  parts of N.C. 147 and N.C. 540. The busiest part of TriEx also is part of Raleigh's 540 Outer Loop.  So TriEx has too many names already, but many drivers will think of it as an NC 55 Bypass around Apex and Cary.

Here are TriEx toll rates.

Wow! Another 4 or more star review from Greg Cox. (He's having a good dining year, and so are Triangle diners with such great new options.) This time, Greg visits Little Hen, a farm-to-table restaurant in Apex, which earned 4-1/2 stars. Go HERE to read his review.

(Earlier this year, Greg gave a 4-1/2 star review to Mandolin and 4-star reviews to Batistella's and Hayashi-Ya, all in Raleigh. Those are rare and so worth noting. Click on those restaurant names to read those reviews if you missed them.)

View Triangle Expressway in a larger map

The 540 Outer Loop will grow 12.6 miles longer in western Wake County when the N.C. Turnpike Authority opens two more sections – next week, reaching from Research Triangle Park to Apex, and in January, continuing south to Holly Springs. You’ll find more about this in stories Sunday (see 7/29 story) in The N&O, and later in the coming week.

And here are the new TriEx toll rates.

Readers submitted questions about TriEx.  Here are answers.

Q: How long is the Triangle Expressway?
A: TriEx will cover 18.8 miles from Holly Springs to RTP, N.C. 54 and Interstate 40.

View Triangle Expressway in a larger map

The first 3.4-mile leg of Triangle Expressway that opened in January (red on the map) is a little thing that doesn't matter much by itself. But the Triangle's first toll road will become relevant to a great many shoppers, delivery truck drivers, commuters and other motorists when the next two sections of TriEx open this year -- extending the 540 Outer Loop south to U.S. 64 at Apex starting Aug. 1 (blue) and farther south to N.C. 55 at Holly Springs (purple) in December -- for a total 18.8 miles.

I'll be reporting on this over the next couple of weeks as the second leg opens. Local drivers have asked questions:
  * What will the tolls be?
  * When can we start using E-ZPass transponders here?
  * Why must drivers start paying tolls Aug. 2 on a section of 540 (green on the map) that has been toll-free since it opened in 2007?

What else do you want to know?  Please email me your TriEx questions.  Don't forget to include your name and your daytime phone number.

The American Legion Baseball playoffs begin Thursday across Eastern North Carolina with eight Triangle-area teams in action. The first-round best-of-three series continue through Saturday. All games start at 7 p.m. unless noted.

The Area I West Division first-round match-ups are:

(1) Raleigh Post 1 (12-5) vs. (4) Pittsboro (3-9)
(2) Apex Post 124 (9-5) vs. (3) Durham Post 7 (8-10)
(1) Johnston County Post 71 (16-4) vs. (4) Creedmoor (3-10) - Thursday at Smithfield-Selma High (7:30); Friday at South Granville; Saturday at Smithfield-Selma High
(3) Garner Post 232 (19-8) vs. (2) Cary Post 67 (8-9) - Friday at Cary High; Saturday at Garner; Sunday (if necessary) at Garner

View Triangle Expressway in a larger map

The second leg of the Triangle Expressway will open Aug. 2, extending the state's first modern toll road south from Research Triangle Park to U.S. 64 in western Wake County.

At the same time, an existing leg of the 540 Outer Loop will lose its toll-free status. (7/10/12 update: See today's Road Worrier column with reader comments and TriEx toll rates.)

I'll be reporting on this Monday.  Do you expect to drive on this new leg of TriEx?  If so, I would like to hear from you.  Please email me with your name and workday contact info, so I can catch up with you on Monday.

The first leg of TriEx opened in January (red on the attached map), extending NC 147 south from Interstate 40 through Research Triangle Park to the 540 Outer Loop.

The second new leg (blue on the map) will extend the 540 Outer Loop south from N.C. 55 to U.S. 64 in Apex.  The third leg (purple on the map), now under construction, opens in December.  It will reach farther south to N.C. 55 at Holly Springs.  Off ramps are marked on this map with yellow icons.

Also in August, the N.C. Turnpike Authority will start collecting tolls on an established section of NC 540 (green on the map) between N.C. 54 and N.C. 55.  This road was built separately, but state and federal officials agreed to make it part of the toll road as a means of connecting what otherwise would be two separate tollroads:  Triangle Parkway through RTP (red) and the road once known as the Western Wake Expressway (blue and purple).

Many RTP commuters who squeeze through Apex on NC 55 every morning will welcome TriEx as an Apex bypass.

I just wanted to alert you guys to a few opportunities to drink beer from breweries in the works in the Triangle:

• Fortnight Brewing Co. of Raleigh will be serving up samples at The Beer Dispensary in Apex from 6-8:30 p.m. Friday, June 22.
• North Carolina Girls' Pint Out is hosting a tasting from noon-5 p.m. Saturday, June 30 at Bottle Revolution in Raleigh. The event will include samples from Haw River Farmhouse Ales in Saxapahaw and Deep River Brewing Co. in Clayton as well as barbecue from Redneck Scientific and a watermelon carving contest.

Thanks to everyone who spent their Saturday morning with me learning about coupons, rebates and frugal living. If this is your first time reading the blog: Welcome!

I really enjoyed meeting all of you and hope you will make the Centsible Saver blog a regular part of your day as you look for grocery deals, freebies and other tips on saving money and living a frugal lifestyle.

Look for new posts about savings opportunities seven days a week. And be sure to check in on Wednesday and Sunday mornings when I post the best sales and coupon matchups at the supermarkets and drugstsores -- all of them tailored to Triangle shoppers.

My coupon class scheduled for Saturday in downtown Apex is sold out.

Can't wait to talk coupons with all of you.

And I hope many of you will be able to join me at Bruegger's afterward for more coupon conversation and an old-fashioned coupon swap.

See you in the morning.