Free candy, free first aid gel and ultra cheap toothpaste and shaving cream are among the bargains you can score this week at Triangle drugstores.
There are also some nice grocery deals at Kroger, including milk for $1.49 per half-gallon, $1 frozen veggies and Turkey Hill ice cream for just $1.99 after coupon.
My favorite savings opportunity of the week: Consider taking advantage of Kroger's enhanced fuel rewards when you purchase gift cards. I purchase them for gifts or for my everyday expenditures at places like Home Depot and Target, then reap the rewards in cheaper gasoline. (See further details below.)

Read on for the best of the Memorial Day weekend sales. And please leave a comment about any deals you spot.

If you've been wanting to sharpen your coupon skills, here's your chance to take a crash course.

Registration is now open for my next coupon workshop, a half-day class on Saturday, June 16.

You'll leave with all the information you need to start saving at least 50 percent on your weekly grocery bill, if not more. We'll also feed you breakfast and give you a nice goodie bag to take home with you.

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.

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.

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.

Candy and gum deals are plentiful this week as the drugstores start gearing up for Easter sales. Match them up with Hershey's, Nestle, Wonka and Mars coupons and score even better deals.
The drugstores are also offering plenty of freebies to choose from -- Walgreens alone offers eight free items. Also at Walgreens, you'll find a super deal on milk at just $2.79 per gallon, which beats the current deal at Lowes Foods. And don't forget to check out the deals at Kroger, which has excellent buys on frozen entrees, produce and split chicken breasts.

Keep reading for all the very best deals of the week at CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Kerr Drug and Kroger. And please list any deals you find in the comments section so we can all save even more.
(And remember, if you haven't done your Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods or Food Lion shopping for the week yet, you can find those deals here. Prices are good through Tuesday, Feb. 28)

SavingStar, the online digital coupon site, has added a dozen new offers to its site.

Among the new coupons:

• .70/1 Krave cereal from Kellogg's
• .50/3 Kleenex tissue
• $1.50/2 Wasa crackers
• .75/2 Red Gold tomatoes

Not familiar with SavingStar?

Be sure to make your holiday grocery list early and check it twice because come Christmas Eve, the supermarkets will be closing and they won't reopen until Dec. 26.

Only the drugstores, along with some gas stations, will be open Christmas Day for those forgotten ingredients or gifts.

Food Lion, Kroger and Lowes Foods all close at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Harris Teeter stores will be open one hour later until 7 p.m.

After that, you'll have to head to the drugstores.

Here are their Christmas hours:

CVS: Hours vary. Check your local store.

Rite Aid: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Select pharmacies: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Walgreens: Regular stores open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Twenty-four hour stores open as usual. Pharmacies open in select stores and all 24-hour stores.

With Christmas just a week away and Hanukkah even closer, the sales circulars are loaded with ads for toys, fragrances, candy and those as-seen-on-TV gadgets and gizmos.

Look a little closer, however, and you'll find plenty of real deals -- freebies and cheapies to fill stockings and help make your holidays more festive. I've highlighted many of them for you in this week's list of all the best deals at CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Target, Kroger and Kerr Drug.

Once the turkey is in the oven Thanksgiving morning, you might want to consider stealing away for a few moments to feast on the FREEBIES at the drugstores.

All three major drugstores -- CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens -- will be open and are enticing customers with lots of deals for free items after rewards. The stores are even paying YOU to carry some of the items out of the store!

Just to give you an idea of what you can scoop up for free: a Starbucks drink, Hershey's and Mars candy, hair accessories, lots of medicines, earbuds and even batteries.

In other words, fill your kids' stockings or a soldier's care package for free.

In most cases, you're limited to one freebie each, unless I've noted otherwise. The deals are good Thanksgiving Day through Saturday evening but if you're interested, I wouldn't delay. Most stores will be hit by die-hard coupon shoppers first thing Thanksgiving morning. Call your closest stores to check when they will be opening.

One final tip: Be sure to check for an email from CVS. Mine contained a coupon for $5 off a $25 order. Also be sure to check any coupon books you may have. The Attractions books l gave to folks at my coupon class have coupons for $5 off a $20 purchase at CVS; $5 off a $25 purchase at Walgreens; and $2 off a $10 Walgreens purchase.

Here's a store-by-store breakdown of the best freebies I have spotted, along with coupon matchups wherever possible.

By the way, I have not yet seen the ads myself. I'm relying on circulars released by the stores online and ad scans leaked by deals sites.