Please note: Today, May 29, is the last day to sign up at the $15 price for N&O subscribers. Starting Wednesday, the class will be $20 and open to everyone.

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.

Harris Teeter launched a new version of its mobile shopping app this week.

Similar to the old version, you can shop the sales circular on your smartphone to create a personalized shopping list. But you can now access your e-VIC offers and save digital coupons to your loyalty card through your phone.

The new app also allows you to scan the barcode of an item in your kitchen pantry and add it to your shopping list, transfer or renew a prescription and create your own personal list of favorites that you buy on a regular basis.

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.

Interested in learning how to save money at the grocery store? Or do you feel like you need a refresher course in couponing?

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

Unlike my previous classes, which were held at The N&O's offices, I'll be teaching this class at the Halle Cultural Arts Center in downtown Apex, which happens to be my hometown for the last 19 years.

It's a much bigger venue, which means more folks can take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the class, which will cover basic and advanced coupon techniques, teaching you to save at least 50 percent, if not more, on your grocery bill.

The half-day session will include information on:

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.

In just the last few days, CVS has made changes to its official coupon policy.

But not to worry, coupon lovers.

All of the changes actually make it easier to shop with coupons at CVS to snag all those free and nearly free items.

As we get closer to Super Bowl time, the deals on snack foods are ramping up. This week, the drugstores have some nice deals on Doritos, Pepsi and Coke. After several months of high-priced soda, you can finally buy either brand for $2.50 a 12-pack (or less with a coupon!)
Also at the drugstores this week, you can also score some FREE or incredibly cheap items, including Blistex, Triaminic medicines, protein bars, UP2U gum and Finesse shampoo.
At Kroger, there's a new promotion giving you $5 off when you purchase 10 specially marked items. Among the deals there: Hunt's canned tomatoes for 19 cents, Easy Mac for 49 cents and Steamfresh veggies for 69 cents.

Read on for all the best deals I found at CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Kroger and Target this week. Please add the bargains you spot in the comments section below.

The News & Observer's  coupon database has been updated with all of today's new coupons.

This Sunday's home-delivered Final Edition of The News & Observer contains two inserts -- one Smart Source and one Red Plum -- for a total of 98 coupons with a face value of about $114.

That's before you double the first coupon, of course, which we have the opportunity to do every day of the week at Kroger, Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods.

In addition to the insert coupons, there are four additional coupons in Parade magazine.

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 Triangle in the Sunday N&O.
 

Documents:

UPDATE: Many folks are reporting that Harris Teeter is restricting this program to customers who have not previously filled prescriptions at a HT pharmacy. This requirement is not spelled out on the punch card, which I gave to members of my coupon class. However, Harris Teeter does specify the requirement in this press release on the program.

Through April 3, you can qualify for a $20 electronic coupon each time you fill a new or transferred prescription at a Harris Teeter pharmacy. It's possible to earn up to 10 $20 credits for a total of $200 in free groceries.

The $20 coupon is loaded on to your cusotmer loyalty card and is deducted from your next purchase. Just a heads up: You can't stop the credit from coming off your order so be prepared to spend at least $20 once you fill a presciption.

Click here to read a press release on the pharmacy program.