Wednesday, April 30, 2014

12 Ways to Save Money at Home Depot

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12 Ways to Save Money at Home Depot

Home Depot is a popular place for people who enjoy DIY projects, or are in the middle of renovating or building a house. It’s easy to get lost in their stores, wandering up and down the aisles, and filling your cart with a bunch of different items. Sometimes this means you end up spending more money than you originally intended. A trip for a $20 purchase could easily turn into a $200 trip. If you’re someone who does tend to spend a lot of money at when shopping at Home Depot, here are a number ways to save money at their stores:

Savings Center

Before you head on over to your local shop, make sure to check out the savings center section of their website. This page shows all the best deals and sales happening each week and month at their stores. The savings center shows deals and sales for every applicable department, and many of the sales range from 5% off to 50% off. If there’s something specific you’re thinking of buying, it’s a great idea to check out the sales before making a purchase.

Rebates

Another great way to save money is by taking advantage of the rebate finder on their website. The website lists all the available rebates for products that the stores sell, some of which go as high as $1,000. Since they don’t normally offer coupons, utilizing rebates is a great way to save some money on your purchases.

Special Buy of the Day

Another feature that is offered on their website is a “special buy of the day.” They pick one item in their store and set a special sale price for 24 hours. Keeping an eye on this section in case something you’ve been meaning to buy pops up as a special sale is well worth your while.

Free DIY Classes

One of the great offers that you can take advantage of is the free do-it-yourself classes that Home Depot offers. While this won’t save you money on the purchase price of the materials you buy, it can save you hundreds, and even thousands, of dollars on hiring someone else to do the project. You may be surprised that with a bit of instruction, how much you really can do on your own to save money, and this confidence will help you tackle other home repairs around the house (although some aren’t cut out for DIY projects). They even offer free workshops aimed specifically toward women.

Sales Catalog

Checking out the sales catalog is another way to save money during your next trip. The sales catalog contains the weekly sales happening at your local store, and often includes items that aren’t shown on the Savings Center webpage. These catalogs are available both online and in-store and can be a great way to help you plan your trip and spending.

Home Depot offers a Garden Club newsletter and signing up will grant you with special member only perks and deals, such as discounts and coupons. Such coupons could be $5 off a $50 purchase or 10% off. The newsletter also provides great tips and tricks of gardening and outside home care and repair, so if this falls under your interests, you should consider signing up to take advantage of their expertise.

Price Match

If you find a product for a lower price at a competitor store, Home Depot will honor the lower price as long as you can prove it (such as bringing in the flyer or pulling up the competitor’s price on your smartphone). Not only do they promise to match the price, but they’ll to beat it by 10%. Checking the competitors advertised deals before you go on the things you plan to buy can end up being a great savings. Don’t only look at other home improvement stores when searching for the best price. Also look at discount stores like Walmart and Target that might also stock the items you’re looking for to claim the price match deal

Coupons

Home Depot doesn’t often offer coupons, but a quick search online for “Home Depot coupons” brings up a decent amount of results. Before you go on your next Home Depot trip, it’s a good idea to search for coupons online to see if there are any available. Even if you can’t find any, not all is lost because the stores also honors competitor coupons. That means if you have a Lowe’s coupon tucked away somewhere, you can claim that savings on your trip.

Military Discount

If you’re in the military or a veteran, you can show the cashier your military ID in order to obtain a 10% discount on your total purchase. Many places offer discounts to members of the military, so just remember that Home Depot is one of those places!

Gift Cards

There are a lot of places online that sell discounted gift cards or that will allow you to swap an unused gift card for a different gift card. If you have, for instance, a bunch of department store gift cards laying around that you’ll never use, head on over to a site like CardSwap and swap it in for a Home Depot gift card. You can also buy discounted gift cards on these sites, with discounts being as high as 40% off the original gift card amount. If you know that you’re going to be doing a big project and will be spending a lot at the store, loading up on gift cards that you can buy for less than retail value can save you hundreds of dollars.

“Special” Items

Home Depot often has a separate section of the store for items that have been returned or gently damaged (such as dents in cans or scratched items). These items are still up for sale, but at a greatly reduced price. If you’re looking to save money and don’t mind some dented paint cans or tools that have been scratched and don’t look shiny and new, shopping in the clearance/returned/special item section may be where you want to look. If you can’t find this section on your own, just ask an employee where it’s located, and they will happily show you where it is.

Free Entertainment for Kids

In addition to adult do-it-yourself workshops, the stores also offer DIY workshops for kids. Not only do the kids learn important hands-on creating skills, they get a half day of free entertainment while they do it. Even better, the skills that they learn can be utilized to help you on DIY home projects as they get older, saving you even more money.

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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Turn Your Home Green with These Eco-Friendly Remodeling Ideas

By Chris Keenan

There are more eco-friendly homes now than ever before. These properties use sustainable materials, minimize the use of resources and even save homeowners money. If you are preparing for a home remodel, consider getting on board with the eco-friendly movement, regardless of whether you consider yourself an environmentalist or not. The following tips make it easy to turn your home “green.”

Participate in an Energy Audit

Before you do anything else, have someone come out to your home to complete an energy audit. After an extensive examination of your property, the auditor identifies how much energy you are using each month and recommends simple ways to make your house more sustainable. Use their information during the remodeling process as a guide to ensure that you stay on track.

Select Eco-Friendly Materials

Once you start the planning state of the remodel, you must decide what materials to purchase for the project. Look for low VOC (volatile organic compound) paints, sealers and caulks. Avoid vinyl, since it is a particularly harmful plastic that is linked to health issues. Also, rather than using carpet or hardwoods, opt for cork, bamboo or reclaimed wood flooring. Most carpets release volatile organic compounds. In addition, cork and bamboo grow much quicker than trees. For all other materials, seek out products certified by green organizations, like the Forest Stewardship Council.

Reuse and Recycle

Remodeling gets messy. Once renovations begin, a lot of materials and products make their way out of your house. To avoid seeing it all wind up in the trash, research to determine if there are any local businesses that can use your “waste.” For example, Habitat for Humanity is always on the lookout for salvageable building materials. Also, take the time to figure out what can be recycled and get it to the proper location.

Room by Room Recommendations

Every house is different, but there are a few green remodeling ideas that work in most spaces. In the kitchen, replace your appliances with Energy Star models. If the cabinetry is getting an overhaul, opt for formaldehyde-free products. Also, instead of granite countertops, consider recycled glass instead.
When constructing a new room, think carefully about how much space you should add. You don’t want to be wasteful. Make sure the room is properly insulated so as not to waste energy, and think carefully about how many windows to put in the space. More light shining in means that the room stays warmer in the winter. Add shades to help keep things cool in the summer.

Finally, in the bathroom, purchase and install a low-flow toilet. Also, look into flow reducers, which can help you save water in the shower and even when running the faucet. Recycled tiles are another solid purchase when renovating this space.

Not only is an eco-friendly remodel good for the environment, it can help you save money over time. Plus, when the time comes to list your house with a real estate company, you’ll often find that it is more marketable because of the “green factor.”