Is nothing sacred? Walmart's Black Friday deals are posted all over the Internet more than a week before Thanksgiving. Apparently several parties privy to the information in the Walmart ad circular blabbed until there was just no point in keeping it a secret anymore.

If I were one of Walmart's lawyers I might not be too happy, but as a consumer I think it's great, especially because the Target Black Friday ad and Toys R Us ad are all public now too. Of course, these ads are always leaked a little before Black Friday, but this is quite early. While some have posited that this could spell the end of Black Friday, I don't think that's likely.

I am always looking to save money, but I value my sanity, so I have mixed feelings about Black Friday. Last year I did venture out, and I did OK, but I just don't have those killer Black Friday competitive instincts. I prefer to shop online or at off-hours during the Christmas season and keep the holiday stress at a minimum. So I usually stake out the online Black Friday deals or better yet wait for Cyber Monday.

Do you hit the Black Friday sales? If you plan to shop on Black Friday, shop prepared. Check out these sites first.

BFads.net
iBlackFriday.com
BlackFriday.info

More on Thrifty Thursday:

• Thrifty Thursday Blog Archive
• Try a Car Boot Sale
• 8 Coupons to Make Thanksgiving Cheaper
• Free Pregnancy Advice
• Up to 70% off Designer Baby Clothes at Totsy.com
• Will You Buy Your Spouse a Holiday Gift?
• Inexpensive Stocking Stuffers for Tweens
• Access Wal-Mart's 32-Page Black Friday Ad

When I've mentioned that my husband and I work at home together, more than a few people have unequivocally stated: "That would never work for us."

I never say much of anything to that comment. Who am I to looking inside the workings of their marriage?

But I do sometimes think that people underestimate themselves and their partners. Working at home is not for everyone. It definitely takes a certain personality to work at home. And the same is likely true of couples working together. But if you really want to work at home, you will find a way to get over all those annoying things your spouse does. I know my husband has managed to!

This article from the Salt Lake City Tribune gives some good advice for couples working at home. Though, I would definitely take exception with the idea that laundry should wait until after 5 p.m. In fact, I recommend integrating little home tasks throughout your daily movements. But the couple featured in the article emphasized the need to avoid all those things you wouldn't do in an office, so as to "maintain the integrity of the workday." Um, I'm thinking these people don't have kids.

So what about you? Could you work at home with your spouse? Why or why not? Post comments below.

Thanksgiving is sneaking up on us. I realized this weekend, as I finally nailed down the Turkey Day guest list at our house, that I probably should have ordered the Thanksgiving turkey already. Oh well. But since we only have two guests for Thanksgiving this year, it will all work out I'm sure.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving because I really enjoy cooking...most of the time. Yes, there are days when I feel like saying "Dinner again! Didn't I just feed everyone yesterday? They want dinner again!"

But not too often. I have always been one of those folks who likes to curl up with a good cookbook. I cook from scratch whenever possible and create my own recipes (sometimes to the kids' chagrin). To the kids' delight, I have started teaching the kids to cook every week with our tradition of "Kids Make Dinner Night".

But as much as I like cooking, not every day is as much fun to plan dinner as Thanksgiving. And given the number of meals to prepare at my house, every meal is not gourmet, or anything close to it. Like every parent else, work at home moms' cooking sometimes involves a few shortcuts. For me, those shortcuts range from dumping a jar of sauce on spaghetti and pronouncing it dinner to piling stuff in the slow cooker at breakfast and dishing up something delicious at 6 o'clock. I also use my bread machine on a regular basis since I am home during the day to think of it.

Convenience has to go hand in hand with creativity for me or cooking just becomes another boring chore. And we moms need to nurture those things we enjoy because we really don't need any more chores.

Anyway, all this hasn't really got me too far along in planning my Thanksgiving dinner. I'm just going to head over to About.com's Thanksgiving Recipe Round Up for a little inspiration.

Moms with full- or part-time jobs outside the home often start working from home to make extra cash when times are tight. On the flip side, those of us who are full-time work-at-home moms may look outside the home to supplement our income, especially now as the most expensive, er, wonderful time of the year looms.

I am more or less a full-time, work-at-home mom (I'm not good at tracking hours hence the hedging on full-time), but I do sometimes work outside the home as a substitute teacher. It's not something I set out to do. I began volunteering at school, and somehow it evolved into subbing.

But I can't think of a better part-time job for me. I truly enjoy the kids, and like any WAHM, I appreciate the chance to get out of the house. Plus, subbing gives me a close-up view of what goes on behind the school doors--very educational for a parent. But I am never so happy to work at home as I am after I get home from a substitute teaching job. With the swine flu pandemic, I've been busy this year. I've been putting my substitute pay away into a Christmas fund, so the kids will get a little pay-back for putting up with having their mom embarrass them at school.

I feel very lucky to have this nice little gig because holiday jobs may be scare this year, according to Alison Doyle, About.com's Guide to Job Search. However, she says in her blog not to give up hope because things may still be better than last Christmas season. But if you're hoping to land a holiday job this year, now is the time to be putting in applications.

Though the retailers would have you believe that when you take down the Halloween decorations it's time to start holiday decorating, I'm really not ready to think about it. Or Christmas shopping either! Though I know that one way to reduce holiday stress is to plan ahead and start early.

But I have enough Mid-November stress as it is. In fact, I'm working on my pre-Thanksgiving paper purge because I know I need to go into December as organized as possible.  Are you starting your holiday preparations?

• Easy, Elegant Christmas Decorating for Kids
• 21 Things to Do Over Christmas Break
• Save for the Holidays

Going back to work after pregnancy is a major transition, even when you work at home. Yes, you're not be leaving your baby everyday as those who go back to work in an office. And yet, everything changes.

A baby is a game changer in every way, as is working at home. Try not to begin both new ventures simultaneously. If you don't work at home already, but plan to start working at home after the baby is born, try to begin before the birth in order to get a better idea of what issues and obstacles you'll face. At the very least, lay the foundations for your new venture during pregnancy and maternity leave. Read 6 Tips for a Smooth Transition Back to Work

A website with name like "Google Easy Street" that promotes work at home opportunities immediately makes me wonder if this is truly legit. As a company, Google just doesn't offer many work at home jobs. And building an online business with Google Adsense, well, there's nothing easy about growing a successful home business. In fact, Google work at home opportunities are one of the common types of work-at-home scams.

But I'm not the only one who wondered about this so-called Easy Street. The Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona issued a consumer alert for the online company, technically called Creative Synergy Training (CST), which purports to sell the secrets of making money at Google. (See the BBB consumer alert, which has a link to CST.) The BBB says that in a little over a month it received 10 complaints claiming the company charged consumers credit cards after they had requested their account be canceled within the three-day window that the company allows consumers to cancel their account and receive a refund.

When looking for legitimate work-at-home jobs, keep in mind the telltale signs of a work at home scam, which include:

• Promising big money for little work,
• High pressure tactics,
• Advertising endorsements by well-known companies without providing links or other proof of such endorsements,
• And confusing monthly billing policies in small print.

My husband and I both work at home, but we don't share a home office. It just wouldn't work because we have very different styles. He's neat and I am, well, not. He needs to be away with the door closed, and I like to be right in the thick of things. Can you guess whose office is whose?

Though there are some things to keep in mind for a productive home office space, making the space your own will serve you best. It has to be a space where you want to be.

What do you do to make your home office a great space for you? But don't just tell me; show me! Submit a photo of your home office and tell me why the space works for you. I will then publish a gallery of the collected photos for all of us to browse for home office ideas.

Working from home is a constant learning experience. As a work-at-home mom, I find each new job, project or client I take on gives me a little more insight about how to meld work and home while keeping my sanity.

Things are always changing. Not just the jobs, which is par for the course when you're an independent contractor, but the kids keep changing and growing. And so what worked to keep them busy when they were in preschool doesn't cut it in middle school.

Over the years I've collected a few tips for WAHMs --everything from ways to find free child care to keeping the house clean. But because working from home is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, I'd like to hear from the rest of you. What works for you? I've set up a folder in About.com's WAHMs Forum for your ideas. Post them, and I may add them to my list of tips.

My husband and I are so proud of ourselves. We fixed the garbage disposal...again.

This time it was an earring clogging up the works. A few months ago, we changed the wax seal on a leaky toilet--probably our most impressive home maintenance feat!

Neither of us are naturally handy, but over the years, we've managed to avoid calling a plumber on a number of occasions, thanks to our Reader's Digest New Fix-It-Yourself Manual (Compare Prices). The book's subtitle How to repair clean, and maintain anything and everything in and around your home pretty much says it all.

My parents gave us this book, which lists for about $35, when we bought our first house more than a decade ago. I would venture to say it has saved us thousands of dollars.

After my husband began working at home too, we've used it more as we look for ways to save money. When something broke, we didn't automatically reach for the phone book to find someone to fix it. With our trusty manual, we started taking a stab at it ourselves first.

Sometimes it takes a few attempts. But a nice thing about being at home is we can step back, maybe do a little (paid) work, and then come back with a fresh perspective. We're not always been successful; sometimes we need a professional. But we haven't done any damage yet either. And we're just so proud of ourselves when we do manage to fix something, it's almost comical.

More Thrifty Thursday Ideas:

• Thrifty Thursday Blog Archive
• Make a Free Candy Bag for Halloween
• Always Ask for a Discount
• Free Breastfeeding Resources
• Save Money By Combining Holiday Gifts
• Visit Your Library Online
• Recession Payback Game from ConAgra Foods
• Special Offers and Coupons from Fisher-Price and Playskool
• Decorate with Neighbors!
• Use a Binder and Free Printable Worksheets to Organize Foster Care Documentation
• Save Money on Baby Clothes