This giveaway is now closed.

Harris Teeter's latest round of Super Double couponing begins today and we want to know your thoughts.

Were you at the registers at 7 a.m. when the promotion began? Or are you sitting this one out?

How much did you save? How much did you spend?

Did all your coupons ring up properly or do you have a couponing tale of woe to tell?

Pleave leave a comment about Super Doubles at Harris Teeter and you'll be entered to win a $25 Harris Teeter gift card.

I'll pick one reader at random Tuesday evening, Aug. 14, as the event ends.

I'll announce the winner on the blog Wednesday morning.

Please be sure your newsobserver.com registration is up to date with a current email so I can easily contact the winner.

Good luck everyone.

Here's my morning haul from Harris Teeter during the first day of its Super Doubles coupon event.

You know you're doing well in the savings department when you owe more in taxes than you owe for the actual goods.

Here's the breakdown:

I purchased $81.27 worth of groceries. My total before taxes was 83 cents. The tax was $1.61.

That figures out to be a 99.9 percent savings before taxes or 97 percent after taxes.

A great deal no matter how you figure it.

Even though I'm a seasoned couponer, it's still amazing to me to see how a few slips of paper can make such a difference in a family's grocery budget.

How did I get my total that low?

One of my secret weapons for saving money is to skip the convenience items in favor of making my own.

If you can buy it in a box or a bag or it's encased in plastic, you can probably make it yourself way cheaper. And it's bound to be healthier, fresher and involve less packaging.

My latest DIY remake is for instant oatmeal packets. After doing a little online research and whipping up a batch in the kitchen earlier this week, I'm a little embarrassed to admit I've ever purchased the instant packets.

Making your own is so easy. And cheap. And contains only two ingredients, both of which you can easily pronounce.

A new Goodwill store opened today, July 12, in Holly Springs, the 36th store for Goodwill Industries of Eastern North Carolina and the second store in Holly Springs.

Located at 925 Avent Ferry Road, the store opened with shoppers "lined up around the building," Goodwill spokeswoman Becky Lytle said.

Here's a glimpse at my morning haul at Harris Teeter during the first day of its Super Doubles coupon event.

The cart was full and so was my wallet. I got change back from my dollar bill.

Here's the breakdown:

I purchased $91.98 worth of groceries and paid 90 cents. All of it was tax.

That figures out to be a 99.9 percent savings.

Even though I've been couponing for years, I'm still in awe of how much those little slips of paper can save a family.

That kind of savings never gets old.

My order included 20 "super doubled" coupons, plus an additional one for free ground beef when you purchase Wholly Guacamole and King's Hawaiian rolls. Luckily, the ground beef was on sale and I had coupons for both the guacamole and the rolls.

How exactly did I get my total that low?

I used high-value paper coupons, along with Harris Teeter's digital coupons, and focused primarily on BOGO sales. I also used two Catalina coupons for $2 off my order that I earned on previous purchases.

I got a mixture of staples, healthy foods, health and beauty items, and junk foods. I'll go back later in the week to do a full shop for my week's worth of groceries but I knew that if I didn't get my freebies and super cheap items on the first day they might be gone.

I've got my fingers crossed that Harris Teeter will keep the shelves stocked.

How did you do at Super Doubles? Don't forget to leave a comment on my giveaway post over HERE and you'll be entered to win a $25 Harris Teeter gift card.

Food Lion launched an extraordinarily generous promotion today that will save you an automatic 20 percent on gift cards to select retailers.

Here's how:

In celebration of Earth Day, Target will be giving away free reusable shopping bags to customers on April 22.

But in the meantime, the big box store has issued a set of coupons on natural, organic and earth-friendly products. There are 38 coupons with a combined total of more than $50. The coupons are valid through May 5.

If you're an old pro at couponing but have steered clear of digital coupons, now is a great time to try them out on SavingStar.com.

The national e-coupon site just added several new offers that I've never seen on SavingStar before, including two coupons for Cheerios and one for Pillsbury rolls.

I like SavingStar for several reasons:

As a cheapskate, I'm tempted to tell you the best way to save money on the 2011 N.C. State Fair is to STAY HOME.

But I know I'd pretty much be run out of town, if not the state, for uttering such a thought. So I'm going to give you my best tips for holding on to as much of your hard-earned cash as possible while still enjoying/enduring your time at the fair.

Buying trick-or-treat candy can be, well, tricky.

If you're like me, you want to be generous to the kids who ring your bell. But you don't want your generosity to cost you a quarter of your weekly grocery budget either.