For the last few years, I’ve done my absolute best to avoid Black Friday sales. You’ve all heard the stories… grandmas getting trampled for that $39 DVD player, grown men wrestling over a toy in front of their kids, soccer moms becoming ninjas in the clothing section using hairpins in ways that make even Chuck Norris cringe.

The horror… the horror.

I’m happy just to sit home, ride out my tryptophan overdose and find potentially less dangerous ways to get those hot items online. Sounds lazy, sounds “new age”, but I’d rather avoid getting dropkicked by some geriatric soccer ninja dad with a peg leg for a Tickle Me Elmo.

Here’s a few websites that make my life easier:

Blackfriday.info
Dealnews
Dealighted
The Bargainist

Feel free to share your favorites.

However one word of caution; do not forget that Circuit City is currently in bankruptcy. So be aware if they have any mail-in rebates because you just might not get them. Also Continental Promotion Group, one of the largest rebate processors has gone out of business and even if you get a rebate check back, you might want to avoid cashing it to avoid fees, read more here.

With stories like the closing GM factory in Dayton, Ohio basically spelling doom for that city in a state that’s seen more than it’s share of lost jobs these last 8 years causes concern about the people involved; however stories like Mitt Romney telling the New York Times “Let Detroit go bankrupt…” might get a person angry at the CEO’s for letting the situation get that bad in Detroit. There’s always two sides to a story.

And GM wants to share the facts and myths about how things have gotten to this level and how America would truly suffer if the “Big Three” were to go down tomorrow.

One out of every 10 people in America is employed in a service that is related to the U.S. auto industry.
More than 239,000 Americans are directly employed by the Big Three.
If GM were to discontinue operations, the cost to local, state, and federal governments could reach $156.4 billion over three years in lost taxes, and unemployment and health care assistance.

Read more about the Myths and Facts about this looming auto crisis.

And always remember… Chrysler and Lee Iaccoca got federal assistance once; however he paid his loan back in record time. So this isn’t something that’s never happened before.

Where will you be on July 11th? If you’re a red-blooded gadget hound that’s gotta have the absolute newest thing that’s anything from the mind of Steve Jobs and company, it’s more than likely you’ll find your way into a AT&T store for the very first time for a long time. How much will this new wündergadget really cost you though?

AT&T raised the price of the unlimited data from $20 to $30.
The prices this time are $299 and $199, not $599 and $499 - that’s only if you qualify for an upgrade or bought your iPhone 1.0 before July 11th.
Additional lines in the AT&T Family plans are no longer $9.99 for iPhone lines… it’s now $39.99.

Among other things. The good folks over at Dealnews have put together this article called “iPhone 3G: Is $199 a deal?” and over at Engadget has one article called “AT&T announces iPhone 3G pricing plans“.

Both are good reads.

I can’t lie. I hate paying full-priced for anything. Gadgets, clothing, gasoline, food… dates.

And for years, I’ve tried to locate sites that give the best deals as well as pull in the best gadget deals and post them on the site. However the following is something that’s pretty darn cool in itself.

Love to find a good discount? The explosion of e-commerce Web sites in recent years has introduced an abundance of sites devoted to bargain hunting. CouponWinner.com stands out from the crowd by offering a cutting-edge cross merchant comparison tool that helps users expedite bargain hunting and achieve top-notch savings.

CouponWinner.com, a project of SurfMyAds.com, Inc., is an online shopping Web site based in Santa Barbara, CA that works with over 2,500 merchants and provides thousands of free coupons and promotional codes from top brand-names. Shoppers can find bargains in practically every category, from travel, beauty, health, home/garden, pet supplies, sports and fitness to computers, electronics, office supplies, finance, food, entertainment, automobile and more. And newly optimized category selections further ease the search for promotional codes and online coupons. For example, to better distinguish the various women’s apparel retailers, subcategories have been created for “designer” and “junior” fashions.

The Web site’s new comparison tool, CouponScout, makes it quick and easy for users to find a coupon or bargain. This new feature, which allows users to select multiple retailers and displays each of their deals in vertical, side-by-side columns, appears on most category pages of CouponWinner.com. Shoppers can align and compare the promotions or coupon codes, in a clear, easy-to-read manner. For example, CouponScout can compare discounted laptops from all of the top retailers to help users find the best value on a new computer.

“The team at SurfMyAds.com understands that every penny counts, and we want to help customers save money and streamline navigation,” says Lenka Keston, Product Manager SurfMyAds.com. “That way, they can really enjoy the items they spend their money on.”

Look for more information shortly…

Tax time. I hate it, usually each and every year I file for an extension. Not because I have a ton of money to figure out, it’s mainly because I’m a horrific procrastinator.

Seems like I’m not alone.

TurboTax Releases Its Seventh Annual List Of Top 10 Tax Procrastinating Cities; Chicago Takes The Top Spot For The First Time Ever

With the tax deadline of April 15 right around the corner, Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU), the maker of TurboTax products, again tallied last-minute online tax filings to find out which American cities are the biggest procrastinators when it comes to filing federal income tax returns.

The following list includes the TOP 10 TAX PROCRASTINATING CITIES IN AMERICA determined by the number of tax returns electronically filed online via the TurboTax Online service from April 14-April 17, 2007 (previous year ranking in parenthesis):

-Chicago, Ill. – (#2) - Chicago is the “Second City” no more as it takes the top spot for the first time in the seven years the list has been compiled.
-New York, N.Y. – (#5) – After procrastinating less last year, the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple takes its toll on taxpayers as NYC climbs back up the list to rank at Number 2. The Giants may be number one in pro football, but New York is second on our list of late filers.
-Houston, Texas – (#1) - Houstonians have topped our list more than any other city (three times) but must have tired of being the top procrastinators. Progress is progress and Houstonians drop two spots this year.
-Austin, Texas – (#4) Austin continues to procrastinate as they lock up the fourth spot for the second straight year. One of the fastest growing cities in America, Austin may be too busy to worry about taxes until the deadline forces them to.
-San Francisco, Calif. – (#5) –The City by the Bay held steady in the fifth slot for the second straight year. In a year that saw the home run record fall to Barry Bonds, taxpayers in San Francisco waited until they had a full count to take a swing at doing their taxes.
-San Diego, Calif. – (#6) – The home of the 2008 U.S. Open, and home to TurboTax, San Diego dropped to sixth last year and is there yet again. After topping the list two years ago, San Diegans are relaxed in the sixth place.
-Seattle, Wash. – (#8) Grunge may have gone the way of disco, but Seattle residents continue to live a laid back lifestyle and are still late with filing their tax returns. The Emerald City jumps one spot this year.
-Las Vegas, Nev. – (#11) – Making its return to the list after a two-year absence is the jewel of southern Nevada, Las Vegas.
-San Antonio, Texas – (#7) – Settled first in 1731, San Antonio ranks as one of America’s oldest cities. Despite its age, the home of the Alamo is steeped in today as its residents use the power of online tax prep to file at the last minute.
-Los Angeles, Calif. – (#12) – Apparently Los Angelinos were busy chasing Britney Spears all over town and waited until the deadline to file their taxes. At least they didn’t let the forlorn Britney file their taxes for them.

Dropped Out: San Jose, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.

Surprised that my city isn’t on the list; I thought my procrastination was at least state-wide affecting. Anyway, read more about tax procrastination here.