Herding Cats: Our Favorite Savings Stories for the Week of November 8th

This week, in our continuing quest to bring you the week's best in money-saving articles, we present six missives ranging from the truly informative to the head-scratchingly absurd. Submitted for your reading pleasure, there's a signpost up ahead.

Your next stop, the Cat Herding Zone.

• WalletPop: Regifting: The Gift You Keep Giving - Okay, show of hands: How many of you out there have gotten a lame gift from a friend or relative and immediately thought, "Who can I pawn this velvet painting of "Dogs Playing Cards" off on?" It's the same story every year. Unwrap lame gift. Smile and pretend it's the best yellow, purple, orange, and pink sweater you have ever seen, then re-wrap and hand it off to someone else way down on your holiday list. In these tough economic times, that time-honored tradition might just prove to be more than a way to get rid of unwanted presents--it can also be an ideal way to save money.

• Consumer Reports: Black Friday Comes Early At Big Chains - If we can be serious for a moment...Black Friday approaches and we all stand to save a lot more a lot sooner this year. Many stores are rolling out the deals earlier than usual in an effort to entice many lost consumers back to their stores. With online carts feeling the pangs of that early winter chill of loneliness, retailers are jumping the gun to do their part to bring us all back to the checkout line.

• Five Cent Nickel: How Much Does Your Debt Cost? - Does it ever! Ahem. Is it me or does the word "interest" just seem like a fancier term for the "vig" loan sharks charge?

• Get Rich Slowly: Dumb Money: J.D. The Junk Food King - Apparently all those snack breaks I take when writing are costing me a small fortune. They're not helping my waistline, either...

• Mainstreet: Gifts You Shouldn't Buy Your Boss - The message here is clear as day: Choose your boss' gift wisely and keep your job. You know, sometimes a good gag gift is the key to endless hours of hilarity and giggles. Sometimes it can be the talk of your farewell party at the local happy hour bar.

• Dollarish: Auto Wraps Get Paid To Drive - Outrageous car designs aren't just for holdout hippies and overly dedicated NASCAR enthusiasts anymore. Now you too can have a car that looks like a moving billboard and make some money while tooling around town. Ah, corporate ingenuity--how we admire your gaudy dedication to good PR!

Got any re-gifting horror stories? Or boss-gifting horror stories for that matter...Let us know about them in the comments.