If you're looking for a deal on the State Fair, today is the last day to purchase advance tickets at a discouted rate online or at one of the many walk-up ticket venues.

Buying in advance will save $2 per adult over the gate price and $8 per sheet of ride coupons. Adult admission if you buy in advance is $5 for adults and $1 for children 6 to 12 years old.

You can buy advance price tickets online at www.ncstatefair.org until midnight tonight. Or there are several walk-up locations that will be selling tickets and ride sheets until 6 p.m. today. All accept cash, Visa and MasterCard. Click Read More to view the list.

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You can get $10 off orders of $50 or more on Walgreens.com through Thursday.

The ad says contact lenses are included, if you happen to be looking to order those.

$10 off $50 is like an instant 20 percent discount, so if you've been waiting to buy something, now might be a good chance.

Here's the link to the offer.

If you're a fan of Smithfield's Chicken N Bar-B-Q's banana pudding, here's a real easy way to get one for free.

Go to this page on Smithfield's Web site and print out one of the drawings you find there.

Have your kids color in the drawing and bring it to the restaurant to receive a $2 discount on a kids meal or a FREE banana pudding. That's it!

I had a reader e-mail me this week asking if I knew of any current deals for Ruby Tuesday's. I did not off the top of my head, but I found an interesting one if you are willing to do a little work.

Sign up for the Ruby Tuesday's (free) So Conncted e-mail club. Once you sign up, you are sent an e-mail asking you to click on a link to confirm your registration. Then, once you've done that, wait 24 hours and you will be e-mailed a BOGO entree offer as a thank you for signing up.

Seems pretty simple for a free entree. Here's the link to sign up.

Dick's Sporting Goods has an interesting offer out there right now.

Spend $100 or more on the company's Web site and get a code for 10 free music downloads. The company's promotion Web site says there are 300,000 tracks to choose from. The offer is good through Nov. 14.

Here's the link.

The Spa by Mitchell's in Raleigh's Triangle Town Center is holding a customer appreciation week from Oct. 4 through Oct. 10.

Customers will receive 25 percent off all services, including cut and style, color, massage, facials, manicures and pedicures.

But the offer is not valid for walk-ins. So make an appointment: 919-792-229.

A company called Coupon Shack has put out a list of 13 tips for saving on Halloween.

Some of them are a bit self-serving (ie, check Coupon Shack for coupons), but others are good. My favorite was buy costumes on clearance after Halloween this year for next year. Now there's a good idea.

Here's the link.

There are some great sales going on right now on cvs.com, if you like to shop through that retailer's Web site.

Through this evening, everything on the site is pretty much 20 percent off. And, there's free shipping on orders of $49 or more. That's like an instant 20 percent discount right off the top.

And, CVS brand items are 40 percent off through the 27th. That's a great way to stock up if you don't care about brand-name labels.

From now through the end of October, use the coupon code WINNER to get a free Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream when you spend $25 or more at burtsbees.com.

Here's a bit more about the product, and the offer is at the bottom of the page.

For those of you who like fancy soaps and body washes, there's a really good opportunity to score some deals on Thursday.

The Body Shop, which has its U.S. headquarters in Wake Forest, is hosting a big warehouse sale with discounts up to 90 percent off retail. (Can you say, "cheap holiday gifts?")

The sale begins at 8 a.m. and runs through Sunday, though I'd definitely go early if you want the best items. It will be at 9701 Capital Blvd. (on the left if you are headed north on Capital, before Burlington Mills Road). Cash and credit/debit only. No one under 16 years of age allowed. You can view the details here.