Last week the name Foxconn and Apple were in all the headlines. It was not about great profits, or some new electronic gadget. It was about the inhumane treatment of the workers in China. What is interesting to note is that Foxconn does not just manufacture electronics for Apple. Foxconn manufacture over 50% of the electronics sold in the United States.

Mistreatment of works or labors misbehavior is nothing new. We have heard of US companies out sourcing to companies that have shameful labor practices. If we look back in history the use of cheep child labor dates back to before the 1800′s.

We here in the United States has one of the highest standards for the way we treat our work force. With the advent of unions the treatment of workers as well as their wages have improved. This made it harder to keep the cost of goods down.

Large manufacturer’s started to out source much of their work to other countries where goods could be made at a lower price. What made these overseas companies product the same item at the same quality for a less price was by paying their workers less money.

Midday on any Saturday or Sunday, at Wal Mart, finds families and couples getting their weekly shopping done. We are at the end of January. People are starting to recover from the Christmas shopping madness.

Walking we were greeted by a your 60 oriental lady. I think it is great that Wal Mart seek to find jobs for elderly on fixed incomes.

After a quick stop by the cosmetic section for some more disposable razor, we headed over to the pet section. Passing a pallet of 25 pound bags, I had to do a rubber neck head turn. I thought  saw a picture of a chicken on the bag. I walked back to that pallet. My eyes did not deceive me. It was a picture of a chicken. There was a pallet of chicken feed in the center of one of the main aisles! Well, I guess you can get just about anything a Wal Mart.

By the way the 25 bag of chicken feed was $12.95. I had chickens to feed I could get cheaper at a feed store. Wal Mart is known for having just about everything in their super stores.

When I am trying to decide to buy online, or at a local big box store, I am influenced by two factors. First is how quickly can I get it delivered. Two is what the total cost will be after shipping and taxes. Most of all I look for free shipping because the cost the shipping usually makes the difference.

This is especially true during the weeks before Christmas. A lot of online retailers offer deep discounts along with free shipping. The deceptive part is when looking at the products webpage. The free shipping could mean it will take 5 to 7 days to get to your door. Any faster shipping requires payment of mor money.

Five to seven day delivery is okay if I am getting something for dear aunt June, for Christmas. If I am ordering something that I need now or within a couple of days, then we have a problem. Fortunately, we have available some solutions for getting an online purchased within a couple of days, and still not have to pay something like $12.95 or more for it.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday is over. All the reports show a 14% to 26% plus increase in sales over last year. This is great news for retailers. They are optimistic about having a profitable Christmas season, this year.

All the retailers are running their inventories low so they will not get caught with a large surplus in after Christmas. This will keep us from seeing to big of sales between now and Christmas day. It will also mean some of the more popular items will not be available during that last week before Christmas.

Another thing to keep in mind is we are going into an election year. So the currently officials that are wanting to get re-elected want the economy to look as good as possible. Those opposing them will want the economy to look as bad as possible.

Black Friday is billed as the biggest shopping day of the years. We are told if you want to get the best deal of the 2011 Christmas shopping season, it will be on either Black Friday or Cyber Monday. In reality this is not always true.

This year I went to Wal Mart as an observer. I want to see what it was going to be like at midnight. This is when Wal Mart and a few others started Black Friday sales. What I observed and experience will remain with me the rest of my life.

It was the witching hour. It was midnight, when both hands of the clock strike the twelve. This is the moment that separates both November 24^th and 25^th of 2011. The moment that separates Thanksgiving Day from Black Friday. Suddenly the crowded store turned from a bunch of lookers to a school of hungry Paraná feeding. They weren’t just swimming around. It was as if the Parana were feeding on an injured water buffalo.

If you are like me, you are so don’t want to see any more food. You have stuffed yourself, on Thanksgiving Day. Most of you will be reading this post after hitting all those early morning Black Friday sales. Some of you will be waiting for the Cyber Monday sales.

Yes there are some great deals out there. However, there are some published deals that are not really deals. On Thanksgiving Day, I got an email from Amazon.com. It was telling me about some great deals on selected items.

Since I am currently looking for a 15″ Acer laptop for a family member. So I did some price comparisons. Amazon.com was showing me a of price was $349. The same laptop from Wal Mart the week prior to Thanksgiving was selling for $318.

Just a few days ago, I was talking to this lady, who with some friends and family members head out to different stores on Black Friday. They text each other as to which stores have what price on which items. The individual that is at that store, where it is cheapest makes the purchase for those who are not.

Grouponicus and Gobblepalooza are some of the fancy names we are seeing to describe the after Thanksgiving Black Friday Day sales. For about a week now I have been getting emails from Amazon.com and others announcing Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. Some stores have jumped the gun and have already started their sales.

At one time Black Friday was the starter pistol firing, to signal the start of the Christmas shopping season. Last year we saw some stores, like Sears, who normally don’t open extra as early on Black Friday, open earlier. This year we are seeing a lot of stores having pre-Black Friday sales. Only a small number of store are not waiting for November 25th to launch their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales.

I have read that Kmart and Wal Mart will be open of Thanksgiving Day. This is almost enough to make me stop shopping with them. Thanksgiving has always been set aside for family gathering and watching TV. In our fast pace disjointed world, Thanksgiving has become one of the few times families can come together and reconnect. Now those who have to work on Thanksgiving Day will have a harder time to connect with family members.

Did you know that used cars out sell new car 3 to 1? Are you aware the average price of a used car is less than half than that of a new car? So why buy a new car?

Why not let some rich folks buy all the new cars then when they trade them in a couple years later, buy them. Sounds good or does it?

What makes the decision for buying a new car over a used car boils down to money in the bank. If you don’t have the money in the bank to buy it out right (few of people do) then we have to take out a loan. Then what if our credit and income does not match up to what is needed to buy a new car, then we have to settle for something less; a used car.

Yes, there is a several advantages to buying a new car. The warranty, the extra service you can get from a new car dealer, and the feel of a new car make a good argument toward buying new. Some people feel it is below their station in life to buy anything less than brand new just of the assembly line.