What did you see today?

The Monopoly game I bought just a couple of days ago with one of those fabulous coupons printed at home--broke out of the clear packaging today and found it's way to the kitchen table after lunch. It saw some face time from four kids and dad.

I sat down to look at the Sunday paper and hollered for some liquid refreshment and help on ebay. I didn't get much response, so I had to leave the office to see what was the hold-up. I saw my husband attempting to teach four of our kids how to play Monopoly. For some reason--he wanted to introduce the kids to an old favorite. And as I write--they are progressing into game hour number 2. And if I remember correctly from my own playings as a kid--I have a good couple hours of peace left ;)

Jeff was trying to teach the boys how to strategize and accumulate properties. There's a lot of conversations about good choices and using financial smarts going on out there.

I think that it's cool that the kids partnered up in teams against their dad--the impartial player and bank.

Ashley's doing quite well. She is partnered with Jessica and they are definitely broadening their portfolio.

I had one that wasn't too interested in fierce competition. So he planted himself on the couch with some tunes and one of those Diary of the Wimpy Kid books.

So--what was I hollering about? There was an AmAzInG coupon in today's paper that I needed to order off of http://www.ebay.com/ ASAP--if you know what I mean. We only have one paypal account--and it's not mine--so I needed some fast purchasing power to secure my blessed little savers!

The coupons are for the items seen below here. I've been accumulating these items, and others like them, all year now. This coupon doesn't expire till 12/31/11--which means that if I don't use all the ones I ordered from ebay--I've learned from lots of experience--that the sale that I'm angling for this week will be repeating at least two times before they expire. So I have time to be frugal and patient, if the stores can't buy the quantities that I would like to purchase. And I also have the chance to let the store know what I'd like ahead of time--so that they can order extras for the great sale weeks.

Recently, so many of the recent coupons have been for 50 cents, 75 cents and $1 off of one item. I haven't seen a coupon this valuable ever! And I know just where to use these money savers this week! Walgreens'!!!

I know. I've been Walgreens' biggest cheerleader in recent weeks. And this week will be no different--especially after I thumbed through the new coupons and saw this one! It reads-- $2 OFF when you buy 1 or more of the following: Crest Complete Toothpaste, Scope Dual Blast Rinse, Oral-B Complete Floss, Oral-B Complete Toothbrush. There is a limit of 4 like coupons to be used in one transaction. And with the register rewards program at Walgreens'--that won't be a problem, since the transactions generally are smaller and have to be very specific to generate the new register reward.

And with the Walgreens' ad having Crest Complete toothpaste, Complete toothbrushes, or Oral B Glide dental floss on sale 2/$5, with a $3 Register Reward--I flipped out a little. It was such a "mini-high", that I lost the ability to focus on what else is on sale this week...bummer. Looks like we'll be eating toothpaste for the next week. [Just kidding.]

Those same high dollar coupons can be used on items that are featured in another register reward sale. When you buy $30 worth of P&G products as shown in the ad: you get a $10 register reward. The same products in the singular and double register reward scenarios are included--but are in twin-packs. Because of the packaging and marketing--you can only use one coupon per package...but the bonus is that you get two in the package. [Tip. Crunch the numbers and see which way saves the most money though. Sometimes buying in high dollar amounts pays off with a combined payment of coupons and register rewards. But sometimes, it doesn't if you have pay more money out of pocket. The higher register reward amount is great for larger ticket item purchases, but if you are keeping transactions under that amount, you won't be able to use it on items to generate more register rewards. That's what I look for to determine if it's a great savings or not.]

Last post I mentioned all the coupons that can be printed at home for free. One of them was for General Mills products: Chex Mix and Bugles. They are featured with an in-store coupon at 99 cents. With the coupons, they are 49 cents a piece. Not too shabby for quick snacks. **Don't forget to cut the Box Tops off of the packaging for your local K-8 schools, as well.

And the real deal comes here...all of those prices are great, but if you have Register Rewards from last week's deals--you can add those to the bottom line for an even greater savings or just start accumulating them for future purchases and savings. I love it! The savings just roll on, and on, and on.

**Ashley would like it noted that she smoked everyone in the Monopoly game, including her father. She won with $4000 in the bank and owning most of the properties, while the rest of them went bankrupt. She's such a capitalist (wink, wink). A lesson for real life? It's always nice to see that we can teach them mad skills that they can use against us later ;)