Free sample of Ball Real Fruit canning pectin.

If you're an aspiring pioneer, you won't want to miss this canning freebie. Sign up for a free sample of Ball RealFruit Classic Pectin. And check out the rest of the site while you're at it; they have a lot of good canning info and recipes, like this ginger-pear freezer jam or mango chili freezer jam. I want to try them all!

Borders closing sale: everything now 20-40% off.

If you've been waiting for Round 2 of the Borders closing sale markdowns, like me, then check this out: the entire store is now 20-40% off. Highlights:

• 20% off cookbooks, e-readers, travel, and fitness books
• 30% off bestsellers, romance, business, calendars, and music
• 40% off Blu-Ray, video games, greeting cards, and newsstand magazines

Remember, as the discounts get better, the selection gets worse, so if there's something in particular you have your eye on, don't wait too long. And if you have Borders Bucks or gift cards to spend, for goodness' sake GET IN THERE AND USE THEM NOW! They're only valid through July 31 and that's coming up soon.

Check out Frugal Living NW for your couponing pleasure.

I just read about a fellow freebie blog based in the Pacific Northwest, called Frugal Living NW. It's more coupon-based than straight-up freebies, which I personally am too lazy for, but if you like the thrill of matching discounts to coupons to make items free, this is a good resource for that.

They also list highlights of local grocery stores' weekly sales, which is a helpful feature if you as as lazy as I am.

Pier 1: $10 off any purchase of $10 or more.

Pier 1 has a pretty good online coupon: $10 off a purchase of $10 or more. Looks like there's no minimum purchase, so you could theoretically get $10.01 worth of stuff and get out of there for a penny. It's up to you whether you want to be charitable and throw them a bone by buying a few extra bucks' worth of stuff.

Restaurant.com certificates 80% off.

Restaurant.com is having one of their 80% off sales, meaning you can buy a $25-off certificate for about $2, and a $10-off certificate for less than $1.

Use coupon code SAVE to get the discount, and as long as you follow the fine print and tip based on your pre-discount total, they should be as excited about your deal as you are!

Update: Details on the Borders closing sale.

I just went and checked out the Borders closing sale, and while I wasn't blown away, there are some deals to be had. Here are the discounts as far as I could tell - it's 10% off storewide and then some categories have additional markdowns.

• 20% off humor
• 20% off travel books
• 20% off DVDs
• 40% off Blu-Rays
• 40% off single-copy magazines
• 50% off in the clearance area - check for red tags!

Borders farewell sale.

Here's the big news we've known was coming... Borders is officially closing its doors and there will be liquidation sales for all, starting tomorrow, July 22. 

If you have Borders Bucks store credit or gift cards, use 'em while you can! You have until July 31 to use your Borders Bucks, and I wouldn't wait around if you still have gift cards to use. We should be seeing some pretty good deals, right down to the fixtures and furnishings, so get ready to pick over the corpse of one of the biggest national bookstore chains.  :P