The Monday following Thanksgiving and Black Friday has been known for a while as "Cyber Monday." That's the day when people who are sick of the story crowds, or, like my friend Tom Barlow, never ventured into them, go shopping online. But now that so many of us have high-speed internet at home, will the trend materialize?

The term, coined in 2005 by shop.org, has always been somewhat dubious. It is really busy, but not the busiest day. Last year, according to comScore, online shoppers spent $700 million on Cyber Monday; that's about as much spent on Thanksgiving and Black Friday combined. So there is a definite bump.

The premise of Cyber Monday is that people go shopping online once they get back to their fancy work computer with high-speed internet access. But are we really the technologically behind that we need to go into an office to have a fast computer? The Pew Internet and American Life Project says more than half--55%--of Americans now have high speed internet at home.

Don't miss our Liveblog, all day November 28!

This year, retailers have opened up shopping earlier than ever, with several stores offering Pre-Black Friday deals online as early as Monday. The local mall is also opening at an unprecedented time, unbolting the doors at 4 AM to get customers in! With every retailer opening at a different time and offering online deals at all hours of the night you almost need an air traffic controller to keep it straight. Thankfully, WalletPop bunkered down and found out when you need to battle off your tryptophan-induced daze to score your Black Friday Deals!



Without further ado, your Black Friday store and online sale times! All times are EST.

In Store and Online:

• Sears - In Store: 5 AM; Online: 12:01 AM Thursday
• KB Toys - In Store: 12:01 AM at 270 locations; Online: 1 AM*
• Best Buy - In Store: 5 AM; Online: 2 AM
  
• WalMart - In Store: 5 AM; Online: 4:30 AM*
• Toys R Us - In Store: 5 AM; Online: 5 AM
• Circuit City - In Store: 5 AM; Online: 7 AM*
• Office Depot - In Store: 6 AM; Online: 7 AM*
• Kmart - In Store: 6 AM; Online: 8 AM*
• Kohls - In Store: 4 AM; Online: 1 AM
• Meijer - In Store: 5 AM; Online: None
  
• Target - In Store: 6 AM; Online: Not yet known
  
• Staples - In Store: 6 AM; Online: Not yet known
• Costco - In Store: 9 AM; Online Not Yet Known
• Sam's Club - In Store: 5 AM; Online Not Yet Known
• Old Navy - In Store: 5 AM; Online Not Yet Known

Online Only:

• Newegg.com - 11:30 PM Wednesday*
• Overstock.com - 9 PM Wednesday*
  
• TigerDirect.com - 2 AM Thursday*
  
• Amazon.com - Ongoing all week

Times designated with an * indicate the time that online sales started for Black Friday 2007, courtesy Dan de Grandpre of Dealnews.com, who suggests ordering online before you go to bed, or as soon as you wake up in the morning for the best chance of scoring a good deal.

This year we have seen retailers breaking many of the traditional Black Friday rules, so be sure to check back as retailers may move up their online offerings in an attempt to beat other stores offering Pre-Black Friday deals. Also stay tuned for updates later this week for Black Friday and Cyber Monday; the day retailers go all out for online sales!

The anonymity of online shopping must be what drives things like this to sell so well.

More than 300 men's bras were sold at an Internet store that opened two weeks ago, for 2,800 yen, or $30 each, Reuters is reporting.

The bras, available in black, pink and white, are helping cross-dressing men find their inner woman at the Wishroom shop, an online lingerie retailer that is part of Rakuten, a major Japanese web shopping mall.

"I think more and more men are becoming interested in bras," Wishroom Executive Director Akiko Okunomiya said. "Since we launched the men's bra, we've been getting feedback from customers saying, 'Wow, we'd been waiting for this for such a long time.'"

In Tokyo, Wishroom representative Masayuki Tsuchiya told Reuters, "I like this tight feeling. It feels good," as he modeled the bra, which can be work discreetly under men's clothing.

It reminds me of the great "Seinfeld" episode where George Costanza's dad and Kramer invent the "bro," a bra for men. They called it the "Manzeer," and try to sell the idea to a bra salesman. The idea sours when the salesman asks Frank Costanza if he can ask his wife out for a date. Too bad they didn't have the Internet to make sales on, it would have taken off. At least in Japan.

Aaron Crowe is an unemployed journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read about his job hunt at www.talesofanunemployeddad.blogspot.com

The turkey hasn't even been cooked, but retailers are already lowering prices for Black Friday online. BlackFriday.info tracked down 16 stores that are already offering deals of Black Friday proportion. The tracker will be constantly updated as we move through the rest of the week and should prove to be an excellent resource for those of us who loath waiting in lines.

So far the following stores are offering up online deals:

• Amazon.com
• BestBuy
• Buckle.com
• Dell Home
• Home Depot
• J&R
• KB Toys
• Kmart Thanksgiving
• Kohls
• Lowe's
• OfficeMax
• Pacific Sunwear
• Radio Shack
• Sears
• Staples
• Walmart

To see the deals each store has to offer and get direct links to the items, visit the BlackFriday.info online deal tracker.

Before widespread Internet use, charities relied heavily on direct mail campaigns for their fund raising. That meant paying for paper, printing, and postage, which can really add to a charity's operating costs. The Internet has been a blessing for charities by allowing them to turn to free email solicitations and online payment options, as well as making it easier for donors to find them.

Unfortunately, the Internet also opens the door for scams disguised as charities, and of course all the risks associated with paying by credit card online instead of the old fashioned way, with a check in the mail. It's great that you want to give to charity -- but it's important that you do it responsibly.

From the American Institute of Philanthropy, here are 5 tips for donating wisely online:

• Know your charity. You should never give money to a charity you know nothing about. Always be suspicious of online solicitations, and don't give until you've had a chance to review the charity's mission statement and annual report. Charities are legally required to tell donors how their money is spent. The AIP suggests that charities should spend no more than 40% of their income on administrative costs, meaning at least 60% of your donation should go directly to supporting the cause. Additionally, the charity's website should have clear information about where the operation is headquartered and how you can contact the organization, both online and offline.

This year Americans will spend $43 billion on their pets, including $10 billion on over the counter supplies and drugs and another $10 billion on vet care (which usually includes prescription drugs).

Every year we spend more and more on dogs and cats, but there's one area we can save some money: prescription drugs. Right now you probably just get your pet's drugs from your vet. You may be surprised to see how they are marking up the drug prices and how much you can save by going to a legitimate online pet pharmacy.

I found this out when my vet said my dog Jolly needed an iron supplement he would order. I waited days for him to get the $40 bottle in. Then I found it online for $10, no prescription needed.

Mint.com is a personal finance site which provides the ability for you to link together all of the parts of your financial life. In order for the service to work you need to provide all of your banking passwords and account numbers to Mint so that it can work all of its behind the scenes magic. With a treasure trove of financial information like this sitting in one place, you'll want to be sure that your information is secure. Ryan Taylor of Money Millionaire Habits did just that and has provided a simple rundown of the security features utilized by Mint.com to protect your money.

First off, it is important to note that you don't make any transactions from inside Mint, which affords solace to some wary users. The most impressive piece of information about Mint.com's security is that the back end that runs Mint, called Yodlee, is also used by many of the top banks in the industry. All of these precautions should combine to give most users the same sense of security when using Mint.com to manage their personal finances as they have with their own bank.

Even though I am part of the younger generation which seems at time to jump on new technology, I have been hesitant to start using any of these third party online budgeting systems mainly due to security. Thankfully, it appears that my fears were unfounded and Mint.com appears to be using good policies and software to safeguard users' information and money. Stay tuned, in the near future I'll be looking into the security behind a Mint.com competitor, Wesabe.

Late on rent? Loan shark breathing down your neck? Can't fill your car with gas to get to work on Monday? Assuming all available funds and traditional sources of credit are 9tapped out, here are 25 (legal) ways to raise cash in a few days. We list them in order from least to most desperate.

The Internet is a great place to make some extra cash, or at least that's what all the pop ups I got last night said! Thankfully Amazon offers a legit method of raising some extra coin online for completing mundane tasks. To start you just need to sign up with Amazon's Mechanical Turk program, , where companies post tasks that machines cannot easily do, but that are relatively simple for humans. You can choose an assignment, and, on completion, are credited with payment to your Amazon account. This money can be withdrawn once you accumulate $10.

However, these payout amounts are much lower than the many online ad programs or survey sites which greatly increases the chance that you'll eventually see the fruits of your labor. As I check out the current HITs which I qualify for I find over a hundred of them, ranging from free up to $7, but most seem to measure in cents.

If you have a lot of time or you feel comfortable "turking" on your employer's dime then this program could be a good way to make enough money to bankroll your entertainment needs or cover groceries for a week. While this is a relatively easy way to earn money, the time and effort needed to reach a reasonable amount holds this back from being an amazing opportunity. In my opinion this is a good deal if you aren't easily bored and you have the ability to quickly handle simple tasks. But for most people, you'll start off full of gusto and end up with 28 cents in your account just like me.

All 25 ways to raise quick cash.