It's a shame that our founding father's command of consumerism is not more widely celebrated. At the time of his death, George Washington left behind a personal collection of over 30,000 well organized (and fully indexed by subject and geography) sale receipts, coupons, and promotional flyers he had amassed throughout his lifetime. Commanding the army from an array of tempoary headquarters, he was continually outfitting his interiors to fit his needs. Finding deals was a lifelong obsession for General Washington, as demonstrated by the earliest coupons in the collection which date from 1741, when ol' Georgie was just 9 years of age. A leading expert in the field of comparison shopping and a maverick in the negotiation of low intrest rate financing, his savvy consumerism inspired generations of early Americans towards smarter shopping. It is a shame that this legacy is largely lost on modern Americans. The mattress and furniture retail sector, too often shunned for their 'overblown' sales hyperbole, are one of the few who continue to pay homage to his true legacy.