The good news...I went online and bought my color laser printer from Staples this morning. If anyone recalls from an earlier posting, I couldn't figure out if the $99 after rebate price was only in-store during early bird hours, so I went ahead with the purchase to see what happened, and it all worked.

The even better news....is my "stacking" rewards strategy. I signed onto Staples via Ebates, which had a 2% cash back reward instead of the usual 1%. My printer was $199, plus I bought a cord for $25 and an extra black toner cartridge for $57 (and then got $30 off because I combined it with the printer purchase), so the grand total with tax was $263. My 2% back will be $5.26. Ebates also has a $10 bonus, which this should qualify for. So, I should get $15.26 total back there. The $100 Staples Easy Rebate will come in the form of a Visa gift card. Then, because I have a Staples rewards card, there should be some rewards money due to me at the end of the quarter. And, on top of all that, I used a credit card that pays me cash back. It's a small percent, but the small bits and pieces add up!

I can't wait until it gets here!!

The bad news....I really could have used it today, since I have to mail in the registration over the weekend for one of our horses born earlier in the year. Along with the registration, I have to send pictures. I have no way to print the pictures, since my old printer quit working, so instead I have to upload to Walgreens and go pick them up. This all has to be done quickly, so I can get the registration in the mail by Saturday at the latest. If not, I lose out on an $8 credit I have at the horse association, since it expires on 12/1. The rush is, of course, my own fault because I could have easily printed my own picture back during the summer and mailed it all in well in advance of the credit certificate expiring. Will I ever learn?