Bah. I don't believe in this "back to school" phenomenon. Summer is eternal, or it least it can't end until I've attended a summer festival and swum at my friend's neighborhood beach in Hyde Park.

However, my email box believes in back to school, and today it brought you a list of three free little computer programs (aka apps) for your students with their newfangled computers and such.

1)      HipCal.com (www.hipcal.com) - Recently acquired by Plaxo, this free personal scheduling program helps students plan their classes, study time, and social calendar. And yes, it'll send the kids texts when they're supposed to be doing something. Which is good, cause I hear these kids will take all kinds of orders via smartphone that they would just ignore face to face.

2)      CompareMyDocs.com (www.comparemydocs.com) - An advanced Track Changes, this service helps students collaborate on documents by giving them the freedom to send out the same document to everyone in the group at one time, upload each version they send back, and then compare everyone's contribution simultaneously in one view.

3)      EasyBib.com (www.easybib.com) - Automatic bibliography and citation maker enables students to plug in their term paper sources and out comes the Works Cited page in a Microsoft Word document. (Sigh! Why didn't we have this when I was a student?)

This list came from Nordic River, which is not in fact the maker of a combo Nordic Trak/rowing machine but the makers of the middle app there.

1. Do you guys know of more decent free apps for students? Or if you know of any free appies (as in appetizers), that would be even better.

Here are the offers from Chicago's daily deals sites for Thursday, July 29. Some are available for more than a day; check the individual sites for details and restrictions.

Groupon

63% off at Fireside Bowl. That's $10 for an hour on the lanes and shoe rental in Logan Square, normally $27.50. Suburban deal: 49% off car wash or detailing in Skokie. That's $23 for a wash and wax or $99 for complete detailing at Lucky's Car Wash, normally $45 and up to $200. Suburban deal: Half off at Timeless Spa and Salt Cave in Naperville. That's $10 for a choice of weird treatments, normally $20.

YouSwoop

73% off Bilingual Boot Camp. That's $40 for 7 hours of language training, normally $150. Side Swoop: 54% off spa manicure and pedicure at Image Nails. That's $24 for a $52 value.

OK, I remember being ony mildly impressed with the so-called thriftiest family in America, but it's always fun to see ways people find to save, and also what mainstream America considers "thrifty." So if you haven't seen this episode already, you might want to Tivo or tune in to Oprah today (Thursday, July 29).

The promo I saw just now also showed Lisa Ling reporting on freeganism, which I don't remember and really want to see. As I wrote on Wise Bread a long time ago, I love the idea of getting perfectly good food for free, but am understandably hesitant to feed my darling children stuff that's been thrown out. And despite hearing many Freegans say they've never seen a rat in a grocery's store's Dumpster, I don't want to be the first person to meet one there.

Here are the best grocery sales from this week's Dominick's ad, along with the dates of the SmartSource and RedPlum newspaper coupons and the printable coupons that go with them.

Lots of good Super Coupons this week: Monterey frozen burritos, string cheese, frozen pizza, snap peas, Huggies or Pampers diapers, and more. (See below.)

THURSDAY-SATURDAY ONLY 3 DAY SALE

Signature Cafe pizza $3.99

Safeway wild-caught salmon fillets $4.99/lb. (in 2-lb. pack, frozen)

deli potato salad $1.49/lb.

Rancher's Reserve New York Steak, boneless, value pack $5.99/lb. (load the $2/1 Rancher's Reserve e-coupon to your Dominick's card)

All Week Sales

peaches 99 cents/lb.

zucchini 77 cents/lb.

O Organics salad $3, O Organics grap tomatoes 1 pint $2.50 (use the $1/1 O Organics coupon if you still have any)

Lucerne cheese 6-8 oz. $1.50

Dairy Glen milk gallon $1.99 (Huh? What happened to Lucerne? I have no idea if this stuff is hormone-free but I will check when I stop in.)

Signature Cafe 8-piece fried chicken $5.49

Johnsonville Bratwurst or Smoked Sausage 13.5-16 oz. $2.99 (use expired $.55/1 from the 1/17 SmartSource)

Dominick's Italian sausage $2.99/lb.

Super Coupons (Must spend $10, can stack with manufacturer's coupons.)

 El Monterey Burritos Family Pack 8-ct. $1.99, limit 4 (use expired $.55/1 from the 4/18 SmartSource, says 1 per transaction)

Eating Right Sugar Snap Peas 32 oz. $3.99, limit 2

Caribou Coffee 12 oz. $5.99 (use $1/1 from Coupons.com, all the General Mills sites like EatBetterAmerica.com and Pillsbury.com, or the expired $1/1 from the 3/28 SmartSource)

Trix or Lucky Charms cereal $1.49/box, limit 3 (Load the $.60/1 Lucky Charms e-coupon from ShortCuts, then see the list of sources below for paper coupons)

Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Honey Nut Cheerios cereal $1.88/box, limit 3 (Look for coupons in all the above places, plus the $1.50/2 GM kids cereal printable, or the $1/2 cereals from the 7/11 SmartSource, and the 5/30 GM insert. Also load the $.55/1 Cellfire e-coupon for Cinnamon Toast Crunch to your card.)

6-pack 24 oz. bottles Pepsi products $1.99, limit 3

Huggies or Pampers jumbo pack $7.99. (Use the $3/1 Huggies printable coupon, or $2/1 Pampers from any recent RedPlum or P&G insert. The Dominick's $3/1 Huggies e-coupon is for 60-count or larger, but why not load it anyway, just for future use?)

Lucerne string cheese 16 oz. or sticks 12 oz. $2.49, limit 3

Safeway SELECT frozen pizza $2.99, limit 3

Palmolive dish detergent 20 oz., limit 2 $1.99 (use expired $.70/1 from the 4/25 SmartSource or the $.75/1 from the April All You magazine)

Buy one get one free: Ken's salad dressing 16 oz. @ $2.99, Ruffles potato chips @$3.99

Buy 5, Save $5: Shows Marie Callender's, Ore-Ida, Red Baron pizza. Remember the Ore-Ida coupons in this past week's Jewel-Osco ad.

Coupon matchups from Money Saving Mom's database.

The best deal at Jewel-Osco this week is free Athenos Hummus. A 7 oz. container is BOGO at $3.99, and if you print the BOGO coupon here (use the back button to print twice) you should get two packages for free!

There is also a Very Nice Manufacturer's Coupon: $1.50/1 Neutrogena item, excludes sun care, cosmetics and trial sizes, good through 9/30/10. Despite the exclusions, this is a good coupon if you're a freak for Neutrogena lotion like I am, with plenty of time for a good CVS or Wag's deal to come up.

Thurs-Sat Only

StarKist chunk light tuna 5 oz. 39 cents

California seedless red grapes 88 cents/lb.

Stone Ridge ice cream 1.5 qt. $2.50

Ice Mountain 24-pack .5 liter or 12-pack 700 ml. water $2.99

Buy one, get one free mix and match with in-store coupon: Jewel boneless, skinless chicken breast; Jewel split chicken breast; Stockman & Dakota round roast; S&D sirloin tip roast or boneless chuck steak; pork back ribs or St. Louis style ribs.

Regular BOGO: Athenos hummus 7 oz. @ $3.99, use BOGO printable to get two free!!; Ball Park meat franks 16 oz. @ $3.49; Hebrew National beef franks 12 oz. @ $5.99; Entenmann's Little Bites @ $3.99; Dean's Ice Cream 1.5 qt. @ ?; Thomas' Bagels @ $4.79; Ruffles potato chips @ $3.99

All-Week Sales

cucumbers 49 cents each

Birds Eye steamfresh rice or vegetables 10-16 oz. $1

California peaches or nectarines 99 cents/lb.

wild salmon $8.99/lb. (use the $1/1 store coupon from that booklet found by the fish case)

snow crab clusters $7.99/lb. (previously frozen)

Jewel English Muffins 6-ct. $1.29 (the refrigerated kind are $1.50 -- what the heck is the difference?)

Wild Harvest Organic peanut butter 18 oz. $3.49

Prego pasta sauce 26 oz. 99 cents

General Mills cereals, bars and fruit snacks $1.88, plus if you buy four you get 2 free RedBox codes. Print coupons: $1.50/2 kids cereals, $1/2 cereal in the 7/11 SmartSource, various on Coupons.com, EatBetterAmerica.com, BettyCrocker.com. However I rarely buy GM products at Jewel anymore because with the Cellfire and Shortcuts coupons it's almost always a better deal at Dominick's.)

Natural Harvest bread $2

Coupon Matchups from Money Saving Mom's database.

Here are the offers from Chicago's daily deals sites for Wednesday, July 28. Some are available for more than a day; check the individual sites for details and restrictions.

Note that Groupon today has a suburban Chicago deal for Deerfield and Arlington Heights.

Groupon

I'm super excited about today's Groupon because this is my husband's and my favorite date spot here in Oak Park! I purchased the limit of 2: Half off at Marion Street Cheese Market. That's $20 for a $40 voucher. Side deal: 50% off Custom House. That's $30 for a four-course chef's tasting menu worth $60. Suburban deal: Half off sushi at Wildfish in Deerfield and Arlington Heights. That's $20 for a $40 voucher.

YouSwoop

62% off spa manicure and pedicure at Image Nails. That's $20 for a $52 value. 76% off 3-hour cooking lesson with Brian Merel. That's $60 for this chef to come to your home, normally $250.

Living Social

50% off at My Pie Pizza. That's $15 for a $30 voucher to the Damen St. or Northbrook locations of this pizzeria.

Tippr 

50% or more off lessons at Latin Street Dancing. That's $35 for an $80 voucher toward lessons. Still available: 50% or more off at Promom Couture's online store. That's $25 for a $50 or $55 voucher, depending on how many people sign up. Still available: 50% off golf Player's Pass. That's $33 for a year of discounts at 2,000 golf courses nationwide, normally $67.

We Give to Get

No Deals Today

Two Buck Duck

75% off Lynfred Winery tour with wine and cheese tasting for two. That's $2 for the right to pay $20 for the Roselle experience, normally $80.

You've Gotta Get It!

60% off classes at Bootcamp Express. That's $40 for five hourlong classes, normally $100, at the new Andersonville gym. Side deal: 60% off at Ciao Amore Ristorante in Pilsen. That's $10 for a $25 voucher. Monthly deal: 50% off at Keep the Beat Wellness. That's 48 for 12 workouts in Northbrook.

KGB Deals

58% off classes at Posture Perfect Pilates. That's $5 for one class at the downtown studio, a $12 value. 60% off at Rockin' Taco. That's $1.25 for two tacos, normally $3.50, at the California-style taqueria. Still available: 68% or better discount on AMC movie of your choice. That's $4 for one movie ticket by mail, worth up to $12.50. (I realized when I ordered this recently that they MAIL IT TO YOU. So don't count on using it the same day.) Side deal: 60% off a month of KGB Text Answers. That's $4.99 for a month of answers to unlimited questions of all kinds.

The Big Deal Chicago (from Angie's List)

61% off personal training and massage. That's $150 for members, $180 nonmembers, for service worth $387.

DailyDeals

85% off personal training in Ravenswood. That's $39 for two sessions and a one-month membership to Human Performance Institute of Chicago, worth $250.

CrowdClick

50% off at iO Improv Comedy Shows. That's $14 for a $28 voucher to the improv theater, or $5 for a $10 voucher to kids' improv show Storytown.

This week's Deals and Steals newsletter collects a few free and cheap deals in the Chicago area for the next couple of weeks. Some of these will be new to you, others old news. You can subscribe to the weekly email newsletter here.

• Free workshops on creating eco-friendly play spaces and kids projects at Colori Eco Paint Boutique on Saturday, July 31.
• Free entrance: Fiesta del Sol street fair in Pilsen, July 29 - August 1. Family-friendly event features carnival rides, giveaways and Mexican food.
• Cheap classroom supplies (up to 80% off) at Learning Resources tent sale in Vernon Hills. August 5-7 and August 12-14. (Thanks, Mashup Mom!)
• Free at CVS this week: free photo book and free or (if you have coupons) moneymaking Kotex product. (Also, in an update, moneymaking BioTrue contact solution.)
• Free garage sale finder: See every advertised rummage sale in the Chicago area this weekend on the map at ChicagoNow blog Garage Sale Warrior.

Here are the offers from Chicago's daily deals sites for Tuesday, July 27. Some are available for more than a day; check the individual sites for details and restrictions.

Thanks to all you readers who have suggested more daily deal sites to add -- I'm adding them as I get time. Today's new addition is CrowdClick!

Groupon

55% or Bon Jovi and Kid Rock concert. That's $30 for one ticket to the July 31 Soldier Field show, worth $66.50. (Sold out. But reader Joe points out that you can register to win a ticket on YouSwoop.) Side deal: 53% off Jefferson Tap and Grille. That's $7 for a $15 voucher to the Near West Side pub.

YouSwoop

76% off 3-hour cooking lesson with Brian Merel. That's $60 for this chef to come to your home, normally $250. 50% off Carol's Cookies. That's $20 for half a pound of cookies, normally $40, shipping included in Illinois and some other states. Side deal: 37% off Cookie of the Month Club. That's three months of cookies for $85, worth $135. 

Living Social

50% off facial package at Magdalena's Facial Studio. That's $70 for a facial and other treatments at the downtown Hyatt Regency salon.

Tippr 

50% or more off at Promom Couture's online store. That's $25 for a $50 or $55 voucher, depending on how many people sign up. Still available: 50% off golf Player's Pass. That's $33 for a year of discounts at 2,000 golf courses nationwide, normally $67. Still available: 55% off permanent makeup at Amazing Faces Chicago. That's $199 for up to $510 value at the Gold Coast salon.

We Give to Get

50% off bikini wax at Image nails. That's $20 for one service at the salon below the State Street Macy's, normally $40. 38% off Bacon Hot Sauce. That's $14.99 for a three-pack, normally $23.99. Side Deal: 64% off exercise classes at Interchange Medical Wellness Center. That's $45 for a $125 value near the Roosevelt CTA stop.

Two Buck Duck

66% off at Paul Saini Photography. That's $2 for the right to pay $50 for a one-hour photo session, instead of $150.

You've Gotta Get It!

60% off classes at Bootcamp Express. That's $40 for five hourlong classes, normally $100, at the new Andersonville gym. Side deal: 60% off at Ciao Amore Ristorante in Pilsen. That's $10 for a $25 voucher. Monthly deal: 50% off at Keep the Beat Wellness. That's 48 for 12 workouts in Northbrook.

KGB Deals

60% off at Rockin' Taco. That's $1.25 for two tacos, normally $3.50, at the California-style taqueria. Still available: 68% or better discount on AMC movie of your choice. That's $4 for one movie ticket by mail, worth up to $12.50. (I realized when I ordered this recently that they MAIL IT TO YOU. So don't count on using it the same day.) Side deal: 60% off a month of KGB Text Answers. That's $4.99 for a month of answers to unlimited questions of all kinds.

The Big Deal Chicago (from Angie's List)

61% off personal training and massage. That's $150 for members, $180 nonmembers, for service worth $387.

DailyDeals

51% off at Reza's Rug Gallery. That's $49 for a $100 discount on any rug at the Lincoln Park store.

CrowdClick

50% off at iO Improv Comedy Shows. That's $14 for a $28 voucher to the improv theater, or $5 for a $10 voucher to kids' improv show Storytown.