A big heads up, savvy shoppers: North Carolina's tax-free weekend starts Friday.
Get a jump on prepping for the three-day shopping extravaganza by reading my Work & Money story HERE.
See what qualifies for tax-free status and get tips on how to stretch your budget, save time and avoid those massive crowds.
The News & Observer's coupon database has been updated.
This Sunday's home-delivered Final Edition of The News & Observer contains just one insert -- a P&G with 60 coupons valued at $74.
Kind of slim pickings, I know. But most holiday weekends, we receive no coupons at all, so no complaints here.
Not familiar with the coupon database? You can access it on the right-hand side of the blog. There's a button at the bottom right to view it as a full-size page.
Or, you can download it as an Excel spreadsheet by clicking on the attachment at the bottom of this post.
It's a handy tool, listing every coupon we receive in the Sunday N&O and providing the most timely and detailed list of coupons in the Triangle.
For a detailed how-to post on the database, read my Coupons 101 post HERE.
Because of the Memorial Day weekend, you won't find any coupon inserts in this Sunday's News and Observer.
Take a break from coupon clipping and enjoy the time off with your family and friends.
With Easter this weekend, there won't be any coupon inserts in this Sunday's News & Observer.
Enjoy the clip-free weekend.
Or, if you're like me, use the time to catch up on clipping and filing.
Sad to say, but I have yet to clear my binder of all those coupons that expired March 31.
"Gone to Seed"The City of Raleigh collected 797 gallons of cooking oil and grease in its third annual holiday collection program.
Is your house about to burst at the seams with all the stuff you've gained from the holidays? Do you feel compelled to just toss everything in the trash just to get it out of the way? Here are some tips to help bring sanity to your household and declutter for the new year.
If you can stand the thought of shopping for next year's holidays, now is the time to score deep discounts on Christmas and Hanukkah items.
Between now and mid-January, prices on everything from artificial Christmas trees to Hanukkah gelt will be marked down drastically. Right now, most items are 50 percent to 60 percent off. But as the days go by, the discounts will get deeper -- as high as 90 percent, in some cases.
I know some shoppers who haunt the aisles of Target and the drug stores just waiting for those 90 percent off signs to go up.
Here are a couple of hints to get the most bang for your clearance buck:
Don't toss that holiday waste — recycle it with Wake County's Holiday Wrap-Up recycling program.
Residents can drop off Christmas trees (without lights, ornamentation, etc.), wrapping paper (excluding foil and bows), holiday greeting cards, corrugated cardboard, chipboard (i.e. cereal boxes, paper roll tubes, etc.), SBS Board (i.e. shirt and gift boxes), magazines and catalogs at the following convenience centers:
