The Walmart Black Friday ad leaked out to many deal collecting sites earlier this week, but until yesterday they kept it offline under threat of legal action by the mega retailer. After the OK was finally given, the entire Walmart Black Friday ad has been posted and it contains a lot of deals. Best of all, you won't have to wait outside for any of the savings since Walmart will be open all night over Thanksgiving -- although you will have to wait until 5 a.m. to make your purchases.

Walmart's biggest Black Friday deals:

If you are spending less on shopping this Black Friday you're not alone. A recent survey performed by Dealnews.com found that a quarter of shoppers are planning to spend less on Black Friday.

The survey further found that fewer people will be shopping on Black Friday as a whole and that women shop for other people on Black Friday, whereas men shop for themselves.

It's no shocker that men do more shopping on themselves on Black Friday, since I know few fellows who would brave a Black Friday crowded for anyone other than themselves.

With Black Friday almost here and Cyber Monday just around the corner, there's no denying that the holiday season is upon us; and for many people that means online shopping. For Identity Thieves and scammers, though, this is the time of year to roll out new ways of going after your identity, your money and your credit.

WalletPop has already warned you about the numerous ways that online scam artists are trying to dupe you with fakes, but we wanted to make sure that you are as educated as you can be when it comes to safeguarding your information and money. We went to three industry experts to find out how to stay safe on Cyber Monday and through the rest of your holiday shopping.

To get a better idea of just how much phishing and identity theft scams will increase in the next month, we spoke to Lyn Oakes, Chief Marketing Officer of Trusted ID.

"We do expect that there will be more traffic being generated by identity thieves because of the holiday season than has been in the last several months," Oakes said in a phone interview. "We think phishing emails are going to rise."

Forget the 5 a.m. start, Toys R Us stores will open at midnight on Thursday, Nov. 26. Just in time to finish digesting that Thanksgiving meal.

As Toys R Us points out in an announcement, that's 25% more time to grab Black Friday deals.

Toys R Us' Big Book is out and most Black Friday deals are leaked but the toy retailer will make a preview available of more than 100 previously unadvertised prices on Black Friday deals as of 12:01 Wednesday, Nov. 25, and start shopping in stores just 24 hours later.

But while stores will be open, some but not all, of the doorbusters won't begin until 5 a.m.

Zhu Zhu hunters be appraised, the first 100 people in line on Black Friday will each be given a ticket for the opportunity to purchase a Zhu Zhu Pet (with a limit of one per household). Toys R Us, said in a statement that 1000's of Zhu Zhu Pets will be arriving regularly throughout December.

Popular and boisterous tech blog Boy Genius Report this week ran what one of their contacts claimed to be Apple's Black Friday ad. The ad claimed that Apple would be going against tradition and offering huge cuts across the Apple lineup.

Just how big were the claimed discounts? The ad claims that Apple will offer up to 30% off of all iPods, up to 25% off of all Macs and up to 15% off of accessories, software and other Mac hardware. Needless to say, these would be big, and I mean BIG, discounts for Apple to pull out on Black Friday. If they were true, that is.

The Federal Reserve this week proposed rules that would protect gift-card users from exorbitant fees and other restrictions. A move aimed at protecting the 95% of Americans the Fed says use them.

"Concerns have been raised regarding the amount of fees associated with gift cards, the expiration dates of gift cards and the adequacy of disclosures," the Fed said. "Consumers who do not use the value of the card within a short period of time may be surprised to find that the card has expired or that dormancy or service fees have reduced the value of the card."

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, video games are the third most desired product this holiday season, and electronics retailers aren't the only ones angling to capture sales. Toys R Us is launching layaway, trade-ins and even more sales on video game hardware.

Toys R Us has been introducing new deals at a furious pace leading up to Black Friday, and beginning Friday, Nov. 18, the chain is expanding its layaway program to video game hardware (except in Maryland). Placing a product on layaway requires a deposit of 20% of the total, including taxes and a $10 service charge. Items must be paid for in full by Dec. 6.

The retailer began taking trade-ins of video game software in October, and will now accept hardware, as well. Bring gaming devices to a Toys R Us store and have the hardware scanned at the service desk to determine value. Accept the offer and you'll be issued a gift card for the value that can be redeemed immediately in store or online.

For the longest time leaked Black Friday ads have been a part of the bargain hunting game.

Sure you can wait until Thanksgiving to look at the ads, but who wants to fight off tryptophan to look for the best deal?

The practice of posting ads online has long been a thorn in retailers' sides, and some of them even continue to fight the leaks, but others are embracing the Internet and releasing their ads for all to see.

Just like Staples did last week, Meijer officially released its Black Friday ad for all to see.

The Midwest retailer has several deals that might actually be worth standing in line for, especially since the limited quantities are high compared to what we normally see.

Looking to boost your Black Friday budget? SmartyPig is upping its current ante -- offering customers the chance to cash in on a hefty cash bonus this holiday shopping season.

The new bonus offers customers using the on-line piggy bank some extra coin - up to 12% - when they meet their savings goal and shop at one of SmartyPig's retail partners like Macy's, Barnes and Noble and GameStop.

"The holidays can put a financial strain on anybody, and using credit cards for purchases can add to a person's debt 'holiday hangover'," SmartyPig CEO Bob Weinschenk told WalletPop.

The goal-oriented online savings program currently offers a competitive 2.01% (APY). And until Monday, November 17, had also offered the option to add 6% to your savings when shopping at one of SmartyPig's retail partners.

"Now, when customers meet their savings goal, they may be able to earn double the bonus -- 12%," says Weinschenk.

The 12% bonus is applicable to funds withdrawn from accounts that are transferred to retail partner gift cards. "The cards never expire, so they don't have to be spent just on Black Friday or during the holiday season," says Tiffany Spencer, spokeswoman for SmartyPig.

SmartyPig is also rolling out a new added incentive for consumers looking to stash cash for a vacation. Customers can now earn up to a 10% cash bonus when they meet their savings goal and opt to book through one of SmartyPig's retail partners Travelocity or American Airlines.

When you have shopping on the brain, it helps to have a song in your heart. Presented with the challenge of crafting a ditty about that crucial day after Thanksgiving--the busiest shopping day of the year--WalletPop columnist and award-winning songwriter Lou Carlozo set to work.

The result is "Black Friday," his ode to the kickoff of the 2009 shopping season: "It was tough because everyone knows Steely Dan wrote the definitive Black Friday song," Lou says. "But let's see them work zhu zhu pets and eBay into their lyrics."



More Black Friday coverage

More good news leaked out today for anyone looking for a Black Friday laptop deal. Both the Office Depot Black Friday ad and the Dell Black Friday ad have appeared online and show a selection of cheap laptops, digital cameras, monitors and other electronics.

If you are looking to stay warm and toasty on Black Friday you can hit up Dell where there are deals to be found on netbooks, notebooks and desktops as well as a few decently priced accessories.

The Best Buy Black Friday ad has leaked out and offers price cuts on many items including appliances (sorry no $3 toasters) and other electronics like video games, HDTVs and laptops.

Most often, when searching for Black Friday deals, you don't think to look at major appliances. But this year Best Buy has 20-50% off many appliances, including a new Samsung washer and dryer set at half price. Other appliance discounts include refrigerators, Dyson vacuums and more.

Another Black Friday bargain at Best Buy is video games, specifically just released games and console bundles.

Even though the most recent consumer credit reports show credit card debt is declining, consumer's debit cards are getting quite a workout. Debit card transactions recently surpassed credit card transactions for the first time ever.

Target's Black Friday ad has leaked, and there's definitely a reason that its ad is one of the most anticipated each year. This year there are several great door-buster deals, including $3 kitchen appliances and some of the closest prices to our Black Friday predictions we've seen so far.

Even though HDTV's, toys and computers are some of the biggest Black Friday draws, Target is making a bid to take over the kitchens of frugal shoppers with a selection of $3 kitchen appliances from Chefmate. The rumored $3 appliances include a 12-cup coffeemaker, sandwich maker, toaster and slow cooker.