Today is the LAST DAY to enter my latest Triangle Pricebook Contest.

All you have to do is enter 25 items in the pricebook before midnight tonight to be entered to win a copy of the new Clue: Secrets & Spies board game. We will have a random drawing to determine the winner.

In addition, the person who enters the most items in the pricebook during the contest period will win coffee with me!

Thanks so much to everyone for participating! I hope you are finding the pricebook to be a useful tool! www.newsobserver.com/business/pricebook 

If you live for Sunday football, here's a promotion from Marriott you might want to bookmark.

Through Dec. 13, every weekend stay at a Marriott hotel will get you a $25 gift card to use at nflshop.com or ticketsnow.com. AND you will be entered in a drawing for a bunch of football-related prizes. The grand prize is a trip to New York to meet football commentator James Brown.

Here's the link to the offer.

I know, it seems like Christmas is still far away. But if you are planning to do some of your purchasing online, you need to start thinking about getting your items ordered.

The folks over at CouponSherpa.com have compiled a really handy list of retailers and their deadlines for regular shipping and express shipping. Most of them fall in mid-December, but some of them are as early as Dec. 3!

Start clicking!

A couple of years ago, I did a story about Cary Towne Center's Random Acts of Kindness program, in which mall representatives would go hang out in shops and randomly pay for people's holiday purchases.

It was a really cool program, but I have also been lucky enough to witness some spontaneous random acts of kindness in my years as a retail reporter. People paying for other people's groceries, people picking up checks in restaurants for others, etc.

Have you ever witnessed a random act of kindness? Please share your story!

Just a friendly reminder that the registration for my upcoming coupon class ends this Wednesday!

There will be NO late registration allowed, and NO tickets will be sold at the door.

So if you want to come, please register now.

During the half-day seminar, I will be joined by Faye Prosser, author of "The Smart Spending Guide." We will discuss using coupons, maximizing your coupon savings, using rebates and meal planning.

Don't miss it! This will be the last coupon class this year!

CLICK HERE FOR THE REGISTRATION PAGE

The folks at RealPeopleRatings.com are back with their quarterly listing of companies with the best customer service.

There are a lot of names that are not surprises and some that perhaps are.

Feel free to disagree or agree (nicely) or share your own story of good customer service.

Click read more to see the list.

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Oh, yum. I was surfing around the Internet this week looking up the pages for companies that I like and found an unexpected contest on the Eli's Cheesecake site.

Eli's is giving away one cheesecake a month.

They are really tasty and retail for like $40.

The contest is good for residents of the United States and you can enter to win here.

Starting today, there are new winter hours for the North Raleigh Farmer's Market will be held Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon and Wednesdays 2 to 6 p.m.

The market features products from local farmers offering the finest in regionally grown produce, meats and other products.

The market is in the Falls River Town Center off Durant Road. Here's its Facebook page... 

It's Friday, so let's do some freebies...

*Through Sunday, you can get a free 7x9 soft-cover photo book from Shutterfly. I am guessing you still have to pay shipping, and the offer says it's good for "select customers," though it seemed to work fine for me. Here's the link.

*Kohl's is now offering a $5 off your next purchase coupon just for signing up for its e-mail newsletter.

*You can request a free Land O Lakes holiday baking guide or download the PDF here.

*And there's another Kotex sample here. 

OK, I'm not a "Top Chef" fan.

But that's probably just because I don't get Bravo.

But if you are a fan, check out this essay contest from our Happiness is a Warm TV blog.

Use a little creativity, write a little essay and you could win a very big prize: the complete Season 5 of "Top Chef" on DVD.

Here's the link for the contest...

Just a reminder that the big Wake County Library booksale starts tomorrow, with more than 300,000 books for sale.

Note that the sale is in a new location this year, 1514 Garner Station Blvd. in Garner in the "North" portion of North South Station where Winn-Dixie used to be.

Cash and check only.

Click Read More for the schedule and pricing.

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The Yankee Candle stores in Triangle Town Center, Crabtree Valley Mall and The Streets at Southpoint will all be hosting open house events Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

Refreshments will be served and there will be special free gift hours during those three hours.

And, for those of you heading there, be sure to sign up for the company's e-mail coupons. You get one immediately upon signing up for $10 off a $25 purchase.

And just when you thought the veteran freebies were over...

Karl Murphy, owner of the two Carolina Auto Spa and Express Car Wash stores, is extending an offer he made for veterans through Saturday because of our recent rainy weather.

The offer: a complimentary car wash to all active duty, veterans and National Guard members during normal business hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. That's an inside and outside wash valued at $28. All you need to do is identify yourself as a military member or veteran.

Carolina Auto Spa has two locations: 1370 NW Maynard Road, Cary and 900 E. Williams St., Apex.

Also, remember the Golden Corral free dinner buffet for veterans is coming up on Monday.

If you're planning to shop at Rite Aid in the next week or so, print out this coupon for $4 off your $20 purchase. That's like a 20 percent discount right off the top!

There's also a coupon for $2 off a Rite Aid brand over-the-counter medication on the same PDF. 

Glad is pushing its new Force Flex trash bags, and there's a $1 coupon on the Web site HERE...