Retailers like Target and Walmart have events acting as thinly-veiled competition for Prime Day this year. That's obvious given their timing. And Home Depot is doing much of the same with its Fourth of July sale, offering excellent discounts of its own right now through July 9.

Booming fireworks, patriotic parades, and outdoor barbeques have become annual traditions, and many employees enjoy the day off of work for the federal holiday. July 4, also known as Independence Day,