In honor of Veteran's Day, three restaurant chains are offering free meals to members of the military and veterans.

McCormick & Schmick's is having its 11th Annual Veterans Appreciation Event on Sunday, Nov. 8. Veterans can receive a free lunch or dinner entree when they show the proper ID. Space is limited and reservations are required.

You can get a free individual pizza or entree at Uno Chicago Grill on Monday, Nov. 11. The offer is good with a purchase of equal or greater value. Just wear a uniform, bring a picture of you in uniform, or show a military or veteran's ID to qualify.

Golden Corral is offering a free "Thank You" dinner on Monday, Nov. 16, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at all restaurants. Anyone who has ever served in the U.S. military can receive a free meal, and no identification is required.

Has the passion waned? Lost that loving feeling? Instead of banishing your scorned clothing ("It's not you, it's me...") to the back of the closet, it may be time to 'ThredUP."

Transforming fashion flings into peer-to-peer style "swaportunities," ThredUP, a Cambridge, Mass. start-up plans to pioneer the $2 billion dollars-worth of potential they see in the used clothing market.

Touted as a fashionable blend of Netflix, StubHub and eBay, ThredUP is the brainchild of co-founders and "Chief Knitwits" James Reinhart, Oliver Lubin and Chris Homer. Reed Hastings, founder and chief executive of Netflix is an adviser to the company. Far from being fashionistas, the ivy league grads and former roomies are poised to capitalize on the convergence of trends in "green" recycling, economics and the public's ever increasing comfort with online transactions.

The new online clothing exchange, ThredUP.com has been live for five weeks and is currently in its beta stage with a small community of 6,500 beta members. In an interview with WalletPop, Reinhart says the beta members have been trading for two weeks and satisfaction ratings are posting high. He reports the amount of clothing posted for trade has also reached staggering proportions in only a few weeks.

WalletPop readers are invited to join the early adapters. When registering on the member screen, enter the code "WalletPop" and you can get started.

About 15 bridal salons around the U.S. are offering free wedding gowns to military brides next week through the Brides Across America event.

The gowns are being given away on a first come, first serve basis and are valued at between $500 to $3,000. Most are samples or overstocks between sizes 4 to 22, but selections vary from salon to salon.

To qualify for the giveaway you must be engaged, on active duty in the military, and have been deployed or will be deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq. You also qualify if your fiance is on active military duty in those countries. If you've already been married by a justice of the peace but are planning an upcoming wedding, you may still qualify for a free gown.

When you visit the bridal salon you'll need to show an ID, copy of deployment papers for you or your finance, orders or other qualifying proof.

Each salon has a limited number of dresses to give away, so get there early or you'll be put on a waiting list for future events.

The dates and times vary, so check the Brides Across America site to find a location near you.

• 20% off gift card purchases at Eastbay with coupon code.
• Free $5 gift card with $25 gift card purchase at Boston Market.
• 10% bonus on Marriott gift cards.
• $20 gift card on $100 gift card purchase at Outback and other OSI restaurants
• And many more deals including Ruth Chris, L.L. Bean and others.

Toys R Us is popping up all over, with Holiday Express Shops now open in 2,500 Babies R Us stores. To celebrate, the retailer is already hosting holiday sales. There will be coupons, gifts with purchases and daily specials through Nov. 25, while supplies last.

If you're kicking around buying new tires, you'd better make up your mind quickly. That's because if you wait too long -- until January -- it can wind up costing you quite a bit extra.

A new 35% tariff on Chinese-made car and light truck tires being imposed by the Obama administration is forcing wholesalers to raise prices on tires sold to retailers, who are sure to pass that "extra" onto consumers. How much extra?

Some say even the most affordable tire will cost about $50 more. Brand name ones are expected to jump as much as $80 per tire.

Black Friday seems to be coming early this year. Just in time for the 2009 holiday shopping season, Wal-Mart announced today that its lowering prices on more than 100 toys.

This week, Wal-Mart stores will roll back prices by as much as 20% to 30% on many kid favorites, including Star Wars light sabers and Bakugan starter packs. The price cuts are expected to last through Christmas and are also available online at Walmart.com.

This latest round of rollbacks is in addition to the retailer's previous promotion, advertising 100 toys for $10 and its direct shot at Amazon.com when it started offering 10 hot new books for $10.

Whether you cashed in on last summer's Cash for Clunkers program or not, you paid for a new car.

According to research from Edmunds.com, taxpayers paid an average $24,000 per clunker in buying a new car. And they did so on sales Edmunds.com says would have occurred even if the $3 billion clunker program never existed.

The program, which gave buyers up to $4,500 in incentives to trade in their gas guzzlers for less thirsty vehicles, was supposed to spur sales and boost the economy.

The next time a cashier asks you if you'd like to save 10% instantly just by applying for a shiny new piece of plastic with the store's name on it, think twice before saying yes. The real motive might just be to pad her own paycheck instead of saving you a little coin.

Everything might not be better

Their TV ads feature the late Bob Hope in a Santa hat saying "Everything's better at Macy's..." But "better" might not be "best" for your holiday budget.

When she worked as a manager at Macy's, Jennifer Krosche was offered some great employee incentives. " Macy's would pay employees $5 in Macy's money, which we could only use in the store, for every new Macy's charge card application we'd get," says Krosche, explaining that the store would run promotions by which employees could net bonuses. "Other times, it was $5 in "Macy's Bucks" for every three to five new accounts."

Giving their branded store card a facelift, Sears says it added more retail value to carrying a Sears card.

One of the most noteworthy features: access to your credit score.

Sears is the first major retailer to offer its cardholders a free credit score. Susan Ehrlich, president of Sears Financial Services, Sears Holdings, said "customers can review their credit score for free at any time."