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.

PowerSecure International, the Wake Forest utility services company that has doubled in size in recent years, reported record sales for the fourth quarter and the full year.

The company reported strong gains in all three business line, which are represented by offices in North Raleigh, Morrisville as well as Wake Forest.

PowerSecure had a "transformational" year, CEO Sidney Hinton said in a release. The 536-employee company said earlier this year it plans to add 100 jobs this year.

"Our business reached a new level of maturity and scale," Hinton said in the release.
 

If you're got growing kids and a shrinking budget, consignment sales are a great way to outfit your kids at a fraction of retail prices.

And right now is prime shopping season for spring consignment sales in the Triangle.

Most sales offer early shopping days for volunteers and sellers, and many offer discounts in the final days of the sale. I highly recommend clicking on the links to individual sales to get sale hours, directions and discount information.

Here are a few upcoming sales and their public sale dates:

Starting this week, you can say goodbye to coupons and promotional blitzes at J.C.Penney.

As of Wednesday, Feb. 1, the department store chain has announced it's doing away with its endless barrage of sales and gimmicks in favor of lower prices across the board.

Interestingly, the chain is using social media and text messaging to promote the revamped strategy, even going so far as to poke fun at its former self:

"ON 2.1.12 THE MADNESS ENDS," its Facebook page declares.

The new strategy, which the company is calling "Fair and Square" pricing, comes after an apparently lackluster holiday season.

What does all this mean for you, the consumer, the next time you wander into a J.C. Penney during a shopping trip to the mall?

Starting Wednesday, shoppers will see:

A big heads up to all of you:  I'm going to be away from work this week. However,  I won't be leaving you completely high and dry.

I've got posts scheduled to appear daily throughout the week so please stop by for your daily Censible Saver fix.

Later today, for instance, I'll be posting a giveway that you definitely won't want to miss.

There will be no Wednesday deals this week and next Sunday's deals will post on Monday when I get back to work.

Toyota announced today that the Prius hybrid has passed more than a million in sales in the United States. Read more about it here.

You have to love this deal, especially if you've been itching to buy a new Michael Stars top or dress for fall.

Befriend Michael Stars on Facebook and get 10 percent off when you buy online. But you have to befriend them by Monday because that's when they send out the discount code to all friends. The promotional code expires Aug. 31.