BARGAIN HUNTER LETTING COUPON CAT OUT OF BAG.

Byline: JULIA SCOTT

ENTERTAINMENT BOOK: None of the ads tells you what coupons are actually in the 2008 San Fernando Valley coupon book, so I'm spilling the beans.

The Stand -- two-for-one Stand Dogs. Baja Fresh -- $5 off a tab of $15 or more. Cavaretta's Italian Deli -- buy one menu item, get the second one free.

Regal Theaters tickets -- $6 with limitations, $7.50 no limitations. Dodgers tickets -- buy one, get one free for infield or lower-level seats. Ace Hardware -- $5 off a $25 purchase.

Tons more deals in the book and online. The San Fernando Valley book is $15 with free shipping at Entertainment.com.

BABIES "R" SALE: Use printable coupon to get 15 percent off one baby item at Babies "R" Us through Sunday. (Some exclusions apply, so check the small print.) You can only print it once so be ready when you click through the link at www.insidesocal.com/bargain.

CHEAP CALENDARS: I suspect you are burning with desire for a cheap 2008 calendar. Overstock.com has a good selection of wall calendars, most in the $8-to-$10 range. Office Depot has a $10 monthly wall calendar. Vista Print has a wall calendar you can customize with your own photo for each month. For $13 plus shipping, it's great for grandparents. Calendars.com has some 2008 calendars half off, and you can get an extra 25 percent off and free shipping with a coupon code at www.insidesocal.com/bargain.

You could also try a 99-cent store. Hubby went by one recently and found the selection limited to those with black Labradors, girlie pictures and black-and-white photos of kids where one has a daisy and a yellow hat. He happily replaced last year's black Lab calendar with a new black Lab calendar. Poses include closeups, side profiles, running dogs and leaping dogs. All black. All Labs. That calendar goes in the study.

PRO'S CHEAP MAKEUP: A recent story in la.com had beauty tips from Barbara Dally, an image consultant who makes up actors for television. She offered advice for we DIY types, such as keeping foundation neutral, loading up on mascara or lip color but keeping makeup soft.

What caught my eye was her tip for buying makeup on a budget. Dally recommends L'Oreal lipsticks or facial products from Boots Botanics, a British line that can be purchased in drugstores. She also likes foundation or mineral powder from Chanel or Prescriptives.

EBATES vs. CASHBAQ: If you're familiar with ebates.com, which has automatic rebates of 1 percent to 25 percent at hundreds of stores, Cashbaq.com will be easy to digest. At Cashbaq, you register for free, click on one of the 500 stores with which it has rebate deals (such as 3 percent at Banana Republic), then four to five months later you get a check in the mail. A verrrry long wait compared with eBates' three months. Cashbaq gives you $5 for signing up, while eBates gives you a $10 gift card once you sign up and make a purchase through its site. Say [e-mail] referred you, and we both get a bonus!

So who has the better deals? A quick comparison of eBates and Cashbaq, respectively, shows:

Target -- four vs. five; Home Depot -- four vs. two; Best Buy -- one vs. one; Gap -- three vs. three. So in some cases it might make sense to shop at one rather than the other. But it would be nice to have all your checks coming from one place so they are easier to remember. See what works for you.

REST EASY: You can still sign up for the Bargain Hunter daily digest, an e-mail with all the day's new sales, by plugging in your e-mail at the top left-hand corner of www.insidesocal.com/bargain. Thanks!

FRAME SALE: Through Jan. 27, buy one frame at Aaron Brothers and get a second frame for just a penny. The second frame must be in stock but can be different from the first and can be on sale or full-priced. The sale is in stores only, not online, and it doesn't include digital or custom frames.

WALKING SALE: The Walking Co., seller of comfortable yet pricey shoes, is having its half-yearly sale through Wednesday. It has Ugg slippers for $54 (originally $80), but no Ugg boots.

A half-dozen styles of Keen's are marked down, as are brands such as Pikolinos. Free shipping on tabs of more than $100.