After hearing the news that a Wal-Mart employee was brutally trampled to death by discount-hungry shoppers on Black Friday, you might think eager shoppers everywhere turned out for after-Thanksgiving sales. While other retailers avoided such tragedy on the biggest shopping day of the year, they didn't draw in the same crowds and are now apprehensively facing the bad news that 2008 could end in the red.

The prospect of getting something for less might have caused some aggressive crowds, but the number of shoppers out this Black Friday didn't compare to those in recent years. Most of the people who did make it to the stores were seeking basic items over luxuries, making it clear this holiday season is more subdued in the material sense than retailers had hoped.

The Financial Times caught up with one shopper who admitted, "This year I’m cutting back. I’ll probably end up bargain-hunting on the internet." Good thing she and the rest of us cutting back have Cyber Monday sales to check out. Have you found any good online deals so far today?

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Usually it's tough to bounce back after a long weekend, but today is not your average Monday — it's Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year. For those of you that steered clear of Black Friday, now is your chance to scoop up some gifts at a discount, without leaving your desk. The brains behind Cyber Monday are no dummies and know that you'll be sitting in front of your computer all day, but you need to make sure shopping doesn't get in the way of completing your work. Here's a plan for balancing your Monday priorities.

1. Make a list of your work obligations.
2. Divide those obligations into time slots, giving yourself deadlines so that you work more efficiently and are able to create extra time in your day for browsing online.
3. Get out of the office for five minutes of fresh air, but eat at your desk while perusing online sales. If you have a laptop, consider taking it to a nearby cafe that has WiFi.
4. Put items in your online cart, but don't purchase until you've scoped all of the sites you want to. You don't want to buy under time crunch pressure because you may end up buying things that aren't the best deals.
5. Stay a little late. Once you've finished working, send an email to your personal email with links to all of the items you are unsure about so you can take more time to think about them.
6. When you get home, finish your Cyber Monday business.

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Black Friday has come and gone faster than your turkey hangover went away. I wasn't able to make it out to any of the sales myself (good thing there's still Cyber Monday), but being a bargain hunter at heart, I'm dying to hear about the on-sale loot you scored.

What deals did you get your hands on this Black Friday?

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