Fighting the Black Friday and Cyber Monday Monsters

As we all know, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, meaning that we get to eat absurd amounts of food while watching football or talking to relatives. Or at least, that's what it will be for me.

However, it's the weekend after Thanksgiving that many savings-savvy-shoppers look forward to. Black Friday is the day when all of the stores are dropping prices, and Cyber Monday is when the online retailers follow suit.

Both of these days are looming in the not-so-distant future, and they are ready for you to enter them with impulse and reckless abandon. To combat that, you could always eat an absurd amount of food, which apparently increases the production of an amino acid that makes you less impulsive. See? Eat more and save money. Science proves it, and you can't argue with science.

However, the best strategy for tackling the big shopping days is to go in prepared. If you're looking for the best deals for each one, there are some online resources that can help you out. For the shop-a-holics that prefer Black Friday, Black-Friday.net is an excellent catalog of all the deals you can find and where. And for those that wish to avoid the rabid swarming masses and do your shopping online, CyberMonday.net is a similar grouping of all the online deals and where you can save the most money.

So, which of these two days do you use to get most of your shopping done? Have you ever found any great deals? Tell us in the comments!

Get Smart and Go Green Sweepstakes

For those of you who have to deal with a long commute to work, you know the awful pain of going to the gas pump and re-filling every week. If you don't have a fuel efficient vehicle, constantly stopping and paying for gas can be both tedious and expensive. Well, if you've been looking to get smart and go green with your vehicle, now might be the perfect time for you.

Green Mountain Energy Company and smart center Dallas and Fort Worth are teaming up to give Texas residents a chance to win a smart fortwo Passion coupe, valued at $16,235 before tax, title and license.The smart fortwo is one of the greenest and most fuel efficient cars that money can buy, pulling in around 41 miles per gallon on the highway. It also emits up to 50 percent less polluting emissions than average 2009 model vehicles. This is certainly a fitting give away for Green Mountain Energy Company, Texas' only electricity provider dedicated to cleaner energy.

Registering to win the smart fortwo is a piece of cake. Simply enter online or visit any number of Green Mountain Energy Company events. You need to get in fast though, because the give away ends on December 14, 2009. To enter the 2009 Sweepstakes, visit Green Mountain Energy Company. If you want to know more about the guidelines, check out the contest's official rules.

AT&T Launches New Entertainment Site

Last week, AT&T announced the launch of AT&T Entertainment, a new site that offers streaming TV shows and movies to watch on your PC. The online content is provided by numerous providers including ABC and NBC Universal (via an agreement with Hulu), CBS Interactive and others. The site is open to any user, not just AT&T high speed Internet customers.

Content will include movies and TV shows (available after their initial network airing) from a variety of networks and studios, including ABC, Bravo, CBS Entertainment, CBS News, CNBC, NBC, Oxygen, Syfy, The CW, and USA Network. The site allows users to brows TV shows and movies alphabetically, by genre, or by network or studio.

AT&T U-verse TV and Internet customers who visit AT&T Entertainment can sign in to access U-verse Web Remote Access, a popular application that allows customers to schedule and manage DVR recordings directly from their PC.

To start watching, visit www.entertainment.att.net.

25 Great Restaurant Deals

The current state of the economy has people trying to save money left and right. Cutting costs during a recession is always a smart move, and businesses aren't immune from the effects, either. In fact, many businesses are offering extra incentives for consumers looking to save a buck.

It seems that restaurants in particular are trying to lure the hungry masses into their doors through great savings and specials. I came across a cool list over on WalletPop that showcases 25 of the Best Restaurant Deals that you can get for your money right now. Some of the specials are an absolute steal, including a few courses at Chili's for two for under $20.

If you're looking for some ways to eat out without having to search the couch cushions for spare change, I'd highly recommend visiting WalletPop to read more.

Converter Box Coupon Program comes to an End

The government funded convert box coupon program designed to help consumers with the analog-to-digital switch is coming to an end on Friday, July 31, 2009. If you're still one of the 1.5 million households without TV reception, you still have a couple days to sign up for a converter box coupon.

To read more about how to get your coupon visit dtv.gov.

Summer Freebies

Free stuff for summer! I just want to shout that from the rooftops today.

So a friend of mine sends me a link this morning to a site that tells you where you can get all kinds of free items. This is great news. You can get free chocolate from Mars, free business cards, free lunch and so much more.

In this economy when saving money is key to survival summer freebies are a welcome budget saver. Check out the article 11 Fantastic Freebies.

See Gas Prices in Your Area

Paying too much at the pump? As is so often the case around this time of year, gas prices are starting to rise as we get ready to take vacations or extra trips out of town on the weekend. While gas prices aren't nearly hitting the levels that we saw a year or two ago, they are beginning to move upward as the heat kicks in.

Well, if you've ever wondered how bad you've got it at the pump, GasBuddy has released a national gas temperature map which charts gas prices by area, all around the country. It's actually pretty interesting to scan it and see where gas is the cheapest in your state, as well as where it's the most expensive. Unless you live in California, where the entire map is a deep red that stands for "high prices".

To see the map and find out more about gas pump prices, check out GasBuddy. How do your prices compare?

Comcast Offers Free VOD Hours

Attention all you movie lovers, Comcast is offering 24 hours of free video-on-demand to its’ subscribers. This applies to select new releases such as Gran Torino, The Cell 2, Friday the 13th and Inkheart all coming out this month.

Other VOD titles that are eligible include My Bloody Valentine, Razortooth, New in Town, Octane, Kaidan, 12 Rounds and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. All titles are available in high-definition for a clearer, more enjoyable viewing experience.

For those of you looking for ways to save money, this is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of free VOD this month. Relax, kick back and enjoy the show! For more information, visit the Home Media Magazine.

Green Mountain Energy Offers a Hot Summer Special

Now that summer is almost officially here, those electricity prices are probably starting to climb. Especially in a hotter state like Texas, we're starting to rely on that precious air conditioning to get us through the heat. Well, Green Mountain Energy is now offering a new low rate electricity special that's bound to keep you cool for less.

This low priced and exclusive 6 month plan from Green Mountain is a special limited time offer. At as low as 10.8 cents per kWh, it's one of the lowest offers available for electricity shoppers in Texas. In addition, Green Mountain customers have the assurance that they are purchasing 100% renewable energy to power their home. On top of that, Green Mountain Energy will plant up to 5,000 trees for every person that pledges an earth-friendly action after ordering their electricity.

So if you're looking to turn the lights on without breaking a sweat over your monthly electricity bills this summer, shop with Green Mountain Energy for your home power needs.

Where to Feed Kids for Free

No matter how you slice it, people are generally looking to save money. There are so many options available out there everyday for people to add to their savings, it's best to take advantage of them whenever we can.

One cost that can add up relatively quickly in the typical household is feeding those little hungry mouths we call children. Just like regular-sized people, they need to eat. However, unlike regular sized people, there are a myriad of restaurants where kids can eat free. If you're looking for a fun family dinner on any night of the week, and want to save a little money while you do it, Frugal Living has posted an excellent resource in the form of a list of places where kids eat free.

Not only does the list have dozens of restaurants, it breaks them down by night for your convenience. Definitely worth referencing the next time you're taking the young ones out for dinner, though you might want to contact the restaurant to be sure that the deal is being offered. To browse the list, be sure to visit Frugal Living.