You can tell by the ads that summer is nearly here. There are deals on everything from allergy medicines to sunscreen and swim diapers.
Worth noting up front:
*CVS is bringing back its summer gas card promotion: Spend $30 in select products and get a free $10 gift card for gasoline. CVS also has great deals on Ocean Spray juice (how does FREE sound?), Pantene, Irish Spring, Pepsi, Suave and Purex.
*Rite Aid has a good deal on Xtra laundry detergent and Formula 409.
*Walgreens has free tampons and a great deal on mouthwash and the best deal on swim diapers among all the stores. It also has the best deal I've seen on milk this week at just $2.99 per gallon.
*And at Kroger, there are good deals on produce, Greek yogurt, Breyers ice cream, Kroger cheese slices and All laundry detergent. Kroger has also brought back its enhanced fuel rewards, rewarding you with cheaper gasoline when you buy gift cards.

How does free pie sound?

Kroger is giving away free single-serve Marie Callender pies right now.

It's a holiday weekend for moms so even though you might want to take a break from bargain shopping today, be sure to carve out some time later in the week to pick up some pretty terrific deals.

It's always worth shopping when the stores are willing to pay YOU to carry merchandise out of their stores. And that's what you can do at Walgreens this week with a little coupon magic involving a new Starbucks product. (Keep reading for the details.)

There are also excellent deals on Kraft barbecue sauce, Pantene and sunscreen at CVS. At Rite Aid, you'll find stellar buys on Pepsi 12-packs, Kellogg's cereals and M&M's and an even better deal on Pantene -- at just 75 cents a bottle. And at Walgreens, besides being paid to buy Starbucks, you'll find a good deal on Purex laundry detergent.

Over at Kroger, there are some excellent produce deals as well as a nice deal on Sargento and Kraft cheeses.

Once you hit the aisles, please post any great deals you spot so we can all save more.

A friendly reminder: This is today, folks.

Be sure to add this freebie to your calendar.

Snag yourself a free bag of Doritos or Ruffles at Kroger on Friday, May 11.

Free small bags will be available from 3 to 8 p.m.

One per person. While supplies last.

The drugstores are offering some especially good freebies this week, including free children's allergy medicine, free contact lens solution and free energy bars -- not to mention the free chocolate you can score at CVS.

There are also impressive deals on General Mills cereals, Kellogg's cereal bars, Banana Boat sunscreen, Neosporin, Huggies diapers and my favorite deal of the week, 8x10 photo collages for just 49 cents at Rite Aid.

At Kroger, chicken breasts are on sale for $1.79 per pound and milk is $1.49 per half gallon. Check out the produce deals as well: mangoes are just 59 cents each and organic Cameo apples are $1.29 per pound.

Once you hit the aisles, please post any great deals you spot so we can all save more.

You'll find lots of candy and chip deals at the drugstores this week plus the opportunity to try out a new Starbucks product free -- thanks to a new coupon in today's N&O. (Look for it in the Pepsi Moments to Save coupon insert!)

There are also good prices on Pantene hair products, a steal of a deal on St. Joseph's aspirin and a solid deal on Colgate power toothbrushes. If you need to stock up on milk and eggs, Walgreens has milk for $2.99 per gallon and eggs for $1.29 per dozen.

At Kroger, be on the look out for deals on Ball Park Franks, Sargento Cheese and a variety of items in the produce department.

Happy shopping, and, as always, please post any great deals you spot so we can all save more.

(If you haven't done your Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods or Food Lion shopping for the week yet, you can find those deals, good through Tuesday, HERE.)

Q&A with the Centsible Saver is an occasional feature on the blog. If you have a question for a future Q&A, leave it at the bottom of this post or email it to adunn@newsobserver.com. Ask me anything about coupons, rebates, saving money and living the frugal life.

This time around I've got questions about online coupon-printing sites, the liklihood of Super Double or Triple coupon promotions at Kroger and the best way to get multiple copies of coupons for items you regularly purchase.

Read on for the answers.....

The Earth Day festivities continue....

Kroger is celebrating Earth Day all month long by giving away free reusable shopping totes.

Submit a design for a tote and you'll receive a free bag for your efforts.

If the "design" requirement has you stumped, don't worry. Kroger's made it easy on you.

This week's Sunday circulars contain some stellar deals: milk for under $3 a gallon at Kroger and Walgreens, a steal of a deal on olive oil at CVS, good produce prices at Kroger and bargain prices on Kellogg's cereals at Rite Aid.
But my favorite deal of the week is at CVS, where the store will actually pay YOU to buy greeting cards.
Read on for all the very best deals at CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens and Kroger.  And, as always, please post any great deals you spot so we can all save more.

Dueling Super Double coupon events dominate the grocery deals this week. Both Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods are offering special one-week promotions that double the value of coupons up to $1.98 in face value.

Beyond Super Doubles, it's a light week for deals, though there are a few bargains worth an extra trip to the store.

Among the deals that caught my eye:

• Milk for $2.69 per gallon at Aldi!
• Store-brand bacon for $1.79 at Lowes Foods.
• Store-brand ice cream BOGO at Harris Teeter.
• 80% lean ground beef for $2.49 a pound at Harris Teeter.
• Split chicken breasts for 99 cents a pound at Lowes Foods.
• Deli turkey breast for $3.99 a pound at Food Lion.
• Sweet corn for 19 cents an ear at Kroger.

Read on for all the highlights. For easy comparison, I've also included Sunday's Kroger deals at the bottom of the post.

As always, feel free to add any great deals you spot while you're out and about shopping. That way, we can all save more.