Starting today, I'll be taking some time off for the holidays.
I'll be doing a little baking, some last-minute shopping, and experimenting with some eco-friendly (and free) gift-wrapping. But mostly, I'll just be relaxing and spending time with family and friends.
I'll be back in the office on Thursday, Jan. 3, ready to start a frugal 2013.
Best wishes to all of you for a wonderful holiday.

Roast a chicken for supper and then turn the leftovers into two additional meals.

That's what our food writer Andrea Weigl is writing about in today's Living section.

It's a time saver, Weigl points out.

And a money saver!

Talk about stretching your grocery budget.

Check out her story HERE, which also includes some clever recipes for those "leftover" meals.

Do you have any favorite chicken leftover recipes from your kitchen? Please share them in the comments section below.

When the battery in my car died recently, my husband took it in for a replacement. I was so relieved to have my car start that I didn't really give the $100 price tag a second thought.

Until later that same afternoon when a coupon for $20 off arrived in the mail from the very place we had purchased the battery.

For a frugal-minded person like me, it was hard to accept that I had spent $20 more than necessary.

You can probably guess where this story is headed.

Straight back to the auto parts store to ask if they might accept the coupon after the fact.

And guess what?  The store took it. In fact, the sales staff was especially gracious about it.

Cha-ching. $20 saved. And all it took was a question.

Which leads me to this.

When you want to live frugally, or circumstances require you to live frugally, it never hurts to ask.

Here are a few other ideas for saving money, one question at a time:

The deadline to enter is midnight tonight, June 4.

How does a free iced mocha sound right about now? Or how about a smoothie or an iced latte?

Pretty good, I'm guessing, given the steamy forecast. And summer hasn't even officially started yet.

Well, you're in luck. It's giveaway time.

Ten readers will win two coupons each for free McCafe beverages at McDonald's.

I'm a huge advocate of using coupons to save money. It's my job, of course, but I also go home and practice what I teach. I clip paper coupons, load digital coupons  onto my store loyalty cards and match coupons to sales to make our money stretch even farther.

But coupons are only one way to save money. If you really want to live the frugal life -- or circumstances are requiring a more frugal lifestyle -- take a good hard look at what you're putting in your grocery cart.

Would your purchases pass "the grandma test?"

In other words, would your grandmother or great-grandmother have spent her precious household money on some of the items in your cart -- or even recognize them?

The city of Raleigh has a new distinction as home to some of the most frugal-minded folks in America.

According to a study released this week by the website Coupons.com, the capital city ranks among the top five most frugal cities in the United States for 2011.

Atlanta was named the No. 1 most frugal city, followed by Tampa, St. Louis, Cincinnati and then Raleigh.

This year's No. 5 spot was a big move up in the frugal standings for Raleigh, which ranked as the 10th most frugal city in the 2010 survey,  said Patrick Crisp, a spokesman for Coupons.com, which is based in Mountain View, Calif.

If you're constantly trying to balance your teenager's expensive tastes with your tight budget, you might want to set aside some time this weekend for a consignment sale geared specifically for teens and tweens.

You'll save money buying used and you'll save 6.75 percent more because the sale coincides with the state's tax-free weekend.

Two Apex moms turned entrepreneurs are running the Teens Going Green consignment sale at the Cary Masonic Lodge at 1142 Southeast Maynard Road.

I'm back from a weeklong vacation to Boston and the coast of Maine and wanted to confess up front: It wasn't cheap.

Some of the big-ticket items: plane fare for three, a rental car, restaurant meals, and hotel stays in a big city and a resort area. And that just covers the basics.

Once you're in cool places like Boston and Bar Harbor, you want to see and do, which all costs money.

Enough to send a frugal columnist into a frenzy.

I'm joking, of course. With a lot of planning, we saved a bundle. And what we did spend, we had set aside in advance. (Well worth the coupon clipping.)

Here are some of the more thrifty highlights:

Just three days and counting until the Fourth of July, one of my favorite holidays. No gifts to buy, tons of good deals at the grocery stores, a casual atmosphere and guaranteed free entertainment at dusk. The perfect recipe for a frugal holiday.

Here are a few ideas to help save you money this Fourth of July: