5 Things to Know: Increase in Stamp Prices, Healthcare.gov Deadline Extension

From the twice-extended healthcare coverage deadline to where to snag the best after Christmas bargains, here are five things you need to know for the coming week:

1. Experts are calling it a second Black Friday. Major retailers including Macy's, Target, Best Buy and Walmart are offering discounts of up to 70 percent off on Dec. 26. Check out this list of the top 30 best after-Christmas deals. 

2. Missed the Dec. 23rd enrollment deadline on Healthcare.gov? The government has extended the deadline (again) to sign up for insurance coverage that starts on Jan. 1—sort of. According to a statement, if you ran into “delays caused by heavy traffic to HealthCare.gov, maintenance periods, or other issues with our systems that prevented you from finishing the process on time,” you can still enroll by calling the 1-800-318-2596.

3. Santa’s late. Some delayed Christmas gifts may be arriving today from UPS and FedEx. UPS apologized yesterday for bad weather and a surge in online shopping after Black Friday that created a backlog. Amazon.com cited UPS’s "failure" in an email to customers on Christmas morning. The online retailer said it processed all orders on time and said it is compensating some customers with $20 gift cards and refunds on shipping charges.

4. Baby, it’s icy outside. Ice storms left about a half million customers without electricity, most of them in Michigan, New York and New England. Thousands of people in the hardest hit areas won't get power back until Friday.   

5.  A panel overseeing the U.S. Postal Service has approved a three-cent increase in the cost of a first-class stamp, bringing the price to 49 cents. The change will take effect on Jan. 26 and boost revenues by $1.8 billion a year. Order Forever stamps at the current 46-cent rate here.