Every holiday brings weekend sales, but some are better than others. If this coming Memorial Day weekend is anything like the last two, we might see some of the best discounts this year so far—particularly for clothing, but not so much for other categories.

Dealnews notes that half of the Memorial Day sales in 2010 and 2011 featured some of the best sales of the year, thanks to stackable coupons. Those "best of the year" offers for 30% to 50% off were mostly from clothing stores and home goods stores (e.g., Last Call Neiman Marcus and Pottery Barn).

On the other hand, it's best to wait for electronics and summer products like grills and patio furniture, the site predicts, because of better bargains coming later. (However, our Best Things to Buy in May guide suggests now might be a good time to shop garage sales or look in the clearance department for patio furniture). For a whole year's view of what to buy when, check out our full best time to buy article.

What to Expect from 2012 Memorial Day Sales | Dealnews

Photo remixed from an original by Lfoxy (Shutterstock)

Dining out might always be a treat, but there's one day that may be than all the others to head to the restaurant. Smart Money suggests making your reservations on Tuesdays and avoiding Sunday. Here's why.

The best day of the week to dine out may be Tuesday because most restaurants receive food deliveries on Tuesdays, which means the best chances of you getting a great meal, no matter what you pay:

Most restaurants do not receive food deliveries over the weekend. "Sunday is the garbage-can day of the week," says Kate Krader, senior editor at Food & Wine magazine. "No doubt, they're cleaning out their fridges. Tuesdays, they're starting fresh."

Sundays (and possibly Mondays), then, are the worst days to eat out. This is similar to the conventional wisdom of avoiding fish on Mondays because of lack of freshness and delivery timing—applied to all dining out.

I also avoid dining out on Saturdays because restaurants tend to be most overcrowded then. What about you?

The Cheapest Days to Buy Certain Items | Smart Money via One Smart Dollar

Photo by Glenn Loos-Austin

The government urges us to leave our Farmvilles in good hands, Mozilla takes a stand against CISPA, and Bing makes over its search results in the image of Google past rather than Google present.

• How and Why You Should Write a Social Media Will: The official blog of the U.S. government recommends that you appoint an "online executor" and arrange for them to have access to your accounts and passwords after you die. [USA.gov Blog]
• Mozilla Slams CISPA, Breaking Silicon Valley's Silence on Cybersecurity Bill: With many tech companies supporting CISPA and others standing back, Mozilla is the first Silicon Valley player to come out strongly against the bill, saying the language is vague and infringes privacy. [Forbes]
• Bing Strips Down Results Page To Make Google Look Like "Search Overload": Bing removed or minimized elements of its search results page like social media results, header tabs, and sidebars, taking the opposite approach of Google's increasing features (some would say clutter). [TechCrunch]
• Google Play Now Lets You Charge Movies, Music, and Books to Your Phone Bill on Some Carriers: T-Mobile customers can now charge entertainment as well as apps from the Google Play store to their phone bills, with Google talking to Sprint and other carriers to expand the service. [The Verge]
• Amazon Cloud Drive Desktop App for Windows and Mac: Amazon introduces desktop clients for accessing and uploading files in their cloud service. [Amazon]
• OS X Mountain Lion Update Adds Helpful ‘Do Not Disturb' Option for Notifications: The latest Mountain Lion preview refines the iOS-like notification system with an off button to let you work undisturbed. [9to5 Mac]
• NBC's "Free" Olympics Livestream Is Misleading and a Bummer: NBC has made a big deal about streaming all 2012 London Olympics events online for free, but they've been quieter about the fact that most of the content will only be available to authenticated cable, satellite or telco subscribers. [Gizmodo]

A full quarter of the year has already gone by, which means stores are slashing prices on winter-centric goods and other seasonal items. Here are the best things to buy this month.

Every month, we look back at the best times to buy anything during the year, and pull out items each month to remind you what's coming. Obviously, none of this is to say you should go on a shopping spree—but if you've been holding off for a lower price on something, these are the things that get the sale treatment in April.

All Spring

• Televisions and Other Electronics: The Japanese fiscal year ends in March, which means Japanese-made goods—like the electronics we all love so much—are going to be on sale as they try to get rid of old stock. If you didn't grab a TV during the pre-Super Bowl sales, now's the time to grab one.
• Houses: According to ABC News, spring is a great time to buy a house. Prices aren't quite as low as they can be in the winter, but you'll have a much larger selection to choose from, so you can take the time to find your perfect dream home. The spring weather makes the yards look great, and a lot of families start buying and selling at this time so their kids have time to make the transition during summer vacation.
• Boots and Winter Wear: 60 degrees in the fall may mean heavy coats and hats, but 60 degrees in the spring means t-shirts and shorts. Boots and heavy winter wear are going to be on sale now, since far fewer people are buying them. If you destroyed yours over the course of the winter, restock now for better prices.
• Cookware & Kitchen Accessories: As graduation season draws closer, you'll see a lot of sales for common graduation gifts. Kitchen tools and cookware are at the top of the list, so even if you aren't heading off to college next year, take advantage of the graduation-centric sales to stock up on any must-have kitchen tools now.
• Vacuum Cleaners: It's time for spring cleaning, and if your vacuum just doesn't seem to have the sucking power that it used to, it's the perfect time to buy a new one. New vacuums usually don't come out until June, so grab the old models now as they're clearing them out.

April

• Car Accessories & Parts: Most people wait until the summer to fix up their cars, but if you want to get a jump on them, you can grab slightly better prices now—especially if you buy those parts online. And if you were thinking about just having someone else do those repairs, think again—it's actually a lot easier to do some of those repairs than you may think.
• Cruises: April isn't a traditional vacation month, so things like cruises are going to be a bit cheaper. If you can get the time off from work, now's a great time to take a vacation. And, if cruises aren't your thing, you an always plan an awesome, last-minute vacation on the cheap, too.
• Laptops: DealNews tracked the price of laptops over the course of a year, and April was when prices were lowest. Why? Nobody knows. But if you're in the market for a new laptop, you might consider shopping now.
• Office Furniture: Most home businesses start up after tax day, so if you're in the market for office furniture, you should be able to find some pretty good deals after April 15. Even if your current stuff is still in working order, it's a great time to ergonomically optimize your workspace with a new chair or desk.
• Sneakers: If you fell off the workout wagon this winter, it's time to get back on that horse and start a new health and fitness routine. Since most of the less serious runners start exercising again in April, you're likely to find some pretty good sales at your local running store.
• Snowblowers: I think this one's pretty self explanatory. Apart from the great white north, not many people are looking to buy a snowblower in the spring, so you can probably find some on sale.