Consuming Interests: Cyber Monday deals and discounts - News and tips for consumers on shopping, saving money, deals and credit

Cyber Monday sales Happy Cyber Monday, readers!

Perhaps you're spending the morning giving thanks for the wonderful deals and discounts you picked up on Black Friday? According to Ms. Andrea, shoppers spent a lot on Black Friday but slowed over the rest of the long Turkey Day weekend.

Or, maybe you've fired up your computer to search the web for crazy deals online today instead. My Google Reader searches reveal (updated) coupon codes for Old Navy/Gap/Banana Republic, as well as JC Penny and Lands End (via MrDealFinder).

Searching for stuff for your home? Best Buy is shaving 10 percent off appliance prices today (also via MrDealFinder) and Target is offering discounts on furniture, mattresses and more.

If you're on the hunt for more deals,

Shop.com has set up CyberMonday.com to catalog deals in one easy-to-access location.

I've got to be honest and confess my inability to maintain my Buy Nothing Day pledge. I made it all the way until about 4 p.m. Friday before realizing I needed to buy supplies for some homemade gifts.

Then, I found myself in a warehouse store watching my parents, in one of their regularly scheduled fits of exuberant generosity, select a(nother) turkey that my mom baked and entombed in aluminum foil for me to take home to Baltimore.

You folks know I love turkey, and as Jason points out, at this time of year it's definitely cheap meat, but sometimes you can get too much of a good thing ... Even if fresh birds were going for only 50 cents a pound!

If you made it four days without swiping a credit card, more power to you, but whether you did or didn't, we'd love to hear about good --- or lackluster --- deals you found, or how you avoided the chaos of the weekend. Were crowds large and surly, like the ones in Long Island and California? Did online sites crash?

(photo: Patrick Smith/Baltimore Sun)