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Interesting and a bit unusual marketing tactic by PTI as seen in its latest TV commercial. In a nutshell, PTI is conceding that it's cheaper to fly elsewhere.

But the tradeoff, according to the ad, is you have to drive a lot farther to get to another airport. Although not named, the ad is most likely referring to Raleigh and Charlotte.

And once you arrive at those airports, finding a place to park is a royal pain, so the ad says. Then you get to stand in long lines at security checkpoints. The passenger in the commercial, who chose not to use PTI, looks like he's about ready to check into a mental hospital when all is said and done.

But is the ad right on the money?

From my own experience, it's definitely more convenient to fly out of PTI compared with Raleigh and Charlotte regarding those key points: travel time, parking and security.

On Friday afternoon, the beginning of a holiday weekend no less, I had to pick up a friend who was flying in from Dallas. I was easily able to find a prime parking spot about 50 feet from one of the main entrances and close to his arrival gate.

His plane was late, but not PTI's fault. As I waited in the lobby, I glanced over at the security checkpoint. The lines never got long and passengers seemed to get through it with their sanity intact. My friend even remarked how easy it is to use PTI.

So having said that, do you still prefer to drive to Raleigh or Charlotte to save some bucks or, if time is money and you can't put a price tag on mental health, do you find that PTI is still a bargain in the long run?

Rite Aid will give you a $30 gift card and enroll you for a chance to win a year's worth of gas if you transfer your prescription. Details here. Link to coupon here.

Retailers are slashing prices, hoping you'll spend more of your hard-earned dollars. So is it working, or, as as the latest sales figures mostly indicate, essentials are the only things you're buying right now?

Check your mailbox for a $5 off coupon from McAlister's Deli, which has restaurants in Greensboro and High Point.

In the last item in this week's Savvy Shopper column, I shared a few fabulous freebies I enjoy and invited you to share yours.

And you did. I got this email from Susan who pointed to Walmart as a way to get samples and other goodies for free. "I sign up for about two or three items per day!" she said. "I've received free toilet paper, laundry detergent, headache medicine and more."

Here's how: Go to the Walmart home page at www.walmart.com and click on the "In stores now" button on the left-hand rail. Then choose "free samples" toward the middle of the page to search the store's offerings.

Thanks Susan for passing along that fab freebie. Any others?

Dealnews mentions you can get the Flip Video 60-minute digital camcorder (white) for $90 until 1 p.m. today if you order at Amazon.com. Shipping is also free.

The pocket-size camcorder features 1 GB of internal memory. The fold-out USB plug goes right into your computer, so you don't need a flash card or a FireWire. Uploading video is a piece of cake.

Takes pretty good video for the price. We sometimes use it at the News & Record for breaking news stuff that we need to get posted pronto, such as this footage John Newsom took regarding an overturned dump truck.

As we talk about in the latest GameBuzz Webcast, it always pays to sort through those video game bargain bins because sometimes you can snag a great game at a great price.

I recently bought a used copy of Project Gotham Racing 3 for $7.99 for the Xbox 360 at a GameStop store in Greensboro. Released in 2005, it's still considered one of top racing games for the Xbox 360. Sure beats plunking down $59.99, the going rate for a new Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 game.

I don't know about you, but I've never had much luck with those FM transmitters that are supposed to let you listen to your MP3 player via your car stereo.

I'd find the suggested frequency, but the sound would be so faint you could barely hear it. Or it would just be full of static.

Here's another idea: why not buy a new car stereo that's MP3 player-friendly? Sure, you'll spend more, but prices continue to fall. And for me, at least, it's worth the extra cost. Circuit City, for example, has a sale this week on a JVC car stereo that includes an iPod adapter cord for $129.99. (For do-it-yourselfers, you can get it even cheaper: Amazon.com has it for $99).

The Circuit City deal also included installation, so I went ahead and bought it this past weekend. (I also had to buy a car accessory for my Corolla.).

What's cool is they route the adapter cord through your glove box so you can just keep your player tucked away in there. You can then use the stereo controls for your iPod.

Having said that, you might want to check on whether your iPod is compatible, which apparently was an issue for at least one buyer.

Pleasantly surprised, given the news about Ike impacting gas prices and causing shortages, when I filled up my tank this morning.

Gas at a Gate station off New Garden Road in Greensboro was $3.58 a gallon, which is 6 cents below the average in the region as of Thursday. And I could fill up my tank (stations elsewhere are limiting you to 10 gallons).

But who knows what the price will be later today or in the next few days.

Tomorrow's yard sales in the Triad area as advertised in today's the News & Record:

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Never used one of these things, but the price seems right: It's some sort of solar-powered fan that's supposed to help cool the interior of your car on hot days as mentioned at the Bargain Jack blog. It's $6.50.

Anyone ever tried one of these things? I'd be curious to see if it worked as advertised.

As mentioned in today's Short Orders column, 52 Domino's Pizza eateries in Greensboro will give you a coupon for a free bread item or free two-liter soft drink with the next order if you donate a nonperishable food item for Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina.

Offer is good through Sept. 30.

Buy three Kellogg’s products at Harris Teeter and get a free one night DVD rental from Redbox.

Offer expires Oct. 14.

Rentals, by the way, are still only a buck a night.

Food Lion has split chicken breasts on sale for 88 cents a pound (regular $1.79) through Tuesday.

Great on the grill.

TigerDirect has a flash card reader for $9.98 (save $10).

The scoop regarding tomorrow's Short Orders column: Cold Stone Creamery stores will offer free ice cream from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday to encourage donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Customers can get a 3-ounce serving of either Emily's Creation or Jack's Creation, concoctions named after the Make-A-Wish children who created them.

There's something about fresh pineapple. Just tastes really good. Canned? Not so much.

Oh, and try it on pizza if you haven't already. Trust me, you'll like it.

Great deal on fresh pineapple at Lowes Foods this week. Buy one whole or cored pineapple and get one free. Regular $4.99 for two, so you pay $2.49.

Boneless chicken tenders and breast fillets are half off at Food Lion this week (regular $4.99 a pound).

Tomorrow's Triad yard sales as advertised in Friday's News & Record.

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I won't be fooled again.

I had been hearing whisperings Apple was going to unveil a new and improved iPod nano. But I went ahead and bought one less than a month ago, figuring the one that was advertised on sale for $141.99 at the time was a pretty good deal. No way the next gen was going to be nearly as cheap.

OK. Go ahead and slap a bumper sticker with the word "sucker" on my forehead.

That's because the new iPod is $149.99, only $8 more.

Not only that, it offers some new bells and whistles including a screen that flips when the player is rotated. It also sports twice as much memory - 8 GB - compared to the one I bought Sept. 2.

Fortunately I was able to exchange my old one for the new one since I bought it less than 30 days ago. Had I bought it 31 days ago? Fool me once...

Some fun things to do outdoors in the Triad to help try to take your mind off of things that and won't put you deeper into a financial hole.

Boating For $10 for two, you can rent a Jon boat at any of Greensboro's three watershed parks. Kayak rentals are $10 for one, $15 for a two-seater. You can even rent sailboats at Lake Townsend, starting at $10 for three hours.

Biking That's free. You just need the bike. Can't afford one? Check out this program. One of my favorite area places to bike ride is the Bicentennial Greenway.

Golf Gillespie, a 9-hole course in Greensboro, has the cheapest green fees I've seen around here. Pay $8 after 3 if you walk. It's a fun, challenging course. Trust me. You'll like it.

Tennis Plenty of places in Greensboro to play, free of charge. I haven't picked up my racket in a while, but will resume soon. Let me just apologize in advance if you get hit by a flying yellow ball.

Fishing A rod and reel and bait are all you need to fish at a public park such as the ones in Greensboro (you'll need a fishing license for other places). Once you've caught that first big catfish or bass, you'll be hooked for life.

Borders bookstore is showing its appreciate to teachers with its Educator Appreciation Weekend Oct 3-5. Current or retired teachers just need to bring proof of their educator status to receive 25 percent off their purchases for personal or classroom use.