Interested in going to the Southern Ideal Home Show next weekend?

My colleague Andrea Weigl has got 10 tickets she's giving away over on her food blog, Mouthful. Five winners will get two tickets each.

Tickets are normally $9 for the event, which runs Sept. 23-25 at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

Click here to enter. But hurry. The giveaway ends at 5 p.m. tomorrow (Friday). Andrea will choose the winners at random and mail the tickets out Monday.

Wake County businesses are saying thanks to local first responders on Friday with all sorts of freebies and discounts.

Among the freebies: bowling, coffee, breakfast sandwiches, frozen yogurt and a bucket of golf balls at the driving range.

Discounts on restaurant meals, massages and go-kart racing are also being offered.

All law enforcement, fire, EMS, and emergency communications personnel - in uniform or with proper identification - are eligible.

Click here for a complete list of freebies and discounts during Raleigh/Wake County First Responders Appreciation Day.

Note: This is the first in an occasional series of posts focusing on ways to celebrate the holidays without spending a lot of money.

I'll be stopping in at Kroger this week to do a little Christmas shopping.

It's not as crazy as it sounds.

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway for an envelope full of coupons and a rebate on your next purchase of meat.

I was inspired by all your coupon stories. You folks are doing some serious couponing.

Check in on the Centsible Saver Facebook page to see if you won.

I saw a lot of coupon shoppers out this morning on the first day of Triples at Harris Teeter. I felt right at home with my binder and list! I'd love to hear how you did.

I didn't end up with the shopping trip I had planned on, but I can't complain. My total was 41 cents.

Here's what I bought:

NOTE: This is the latest and greatest list of Triples deals, updated to include sales in today's circular! The sale begins at 7 this morning and runs through Tuesday, Sept. 20.

There are at least 13 FREEBIES and 15 more grocery bargains to be had for 25 cents or less during Harris Teeter's Triple Coupon Promotion this week. The freebies include everything from dish liquid to tofu. And for a quarter or less, you can stock your pantry with rice, candy, cake mixes, frosting, even lunch meat!

My list is specifically tailored to Triangle shoppers, using Triangle store prices and coupons readily available here, either through newspaper inserts, magazines or Internet printing.

One last thing: Please remember to follow Harris Teeter's coupon policy: You may triple up to 20 coupons per day. No more than three identical coupons. No more than two identical Internet coupons. Coupons with a face value of up to 99 cents will triple, which means a 75-cent coupon is worth $2.25. A $1.25 coupon is still worth $1.25.

Here's the list and happy shopping:

The big news in the grocery world this week is definitely the Triples event at Harris Teeter. But there are still some notable deals at the other stores, including cheap TP at Lowes Foods, a 3-day sale at Food Lion and some fantastic produce deals at Aldi.

Read on for a store-by-store breakdown. Or, if you want to focus all your efforts on Triples at Harris Teeter, click here to see all those deals.

How would you like to get $20 in groceries from Whole Foods Market for $10?

That's the deal being offered today on the Living Social daily deal site.

Your Whole Foods Market code does not expire and can be used over multiple shopping trips.

Did you know September is National Coupon Month?

That probably explains the multitude of coupon booklets and tear pads I've spotted in stores this month. (Be on the look out because they seem to be everywhere!)

And that's a good thing for coupon clippers because more coupons in circulation translates into more (and better) deals.

So in honor of National Coupon month, let's celebrate with a giveaway.

The deals site Saveology is offering another discounted gift card deal.

This time it's a $25 gift card to Boston Market for $15.

I love these sorts of deals because not only are you getting what essentially amounts to free money for dining out, but you can save even more by using coupons with your discounted gift card.

And I'm sure I don't need to remind you that this would make a terrific holiday or birthday gift for someone on your list.