9 Secret Ways To Save Money at Home Depot

You don’t have to be a house flipper or home repair pro to appreciate The Home Depot. The chain bills itself as the world’s largest home improvement retailer, with 2,300 stores in North America, and it stocks what you need for every do-it-yourself project.

Whether you’re buying paint or going for a full bathroom remodel, chances are you can save money at The Home Depot. Use these savvy tips to save on your next purchase.

If you really want to rack up home improvement savings, make sure you’re taking advantage of all available coupons and discounts.

Sign up for Home Depot’s email list and receive a coupon for $5 off a $50 purchase. That’s a 10% savings before exploring any other discount options. The store’s website also has a Specials & Offers page that lists active deals.

The Home Depot expanded its military discount benefit last December to include U.S. military veterans, active service members and spouses. By pre-registering through The Home Depot app, they receive a 10% discount both online and in-store.

Before shopping, check third-party sites for coupons or other discounts. Capital One Shopping, for example, recently had coupons for deals that included $100 off a wood-burning fire pit, 5% off selected laminate flooring and free shipping on a number of items.

You can find home improvement deals throughout the store — if you know how to spot them. You often can find clearance items and price markdowns on end caps in the store, so it’s good to actively look as you walk the aisles. “You might get lucky and find just what you are looking for,” said Lori Felix of money-saving blog, MoreWithLessToday.com.

If you’re shopping for paint, you also don’t want to miss the aisle with the “oops” paint rack. You can find big discounts on paints that are either the wrong tint or were not the color the customer requested.

With hundreds of tools and pieces of equipment available to rent at Home Depot, you don’t need to buy tools you’ll only ever use once. Whether you’re moving, in the midst of a DIY home renovation project, or you’re just sprucing up the garden, see if the item you need can be rented.

Check Home Depot’s site for tools like trimmers and edgers, chainsaws, drain cleaners and moving equipment. You can rent supplies by the hour, day, week or month.

For example, say you want a cement mixer to build a fire pit in your yard. You can purchase a Kushlan motor cement mixer for $457 or rent a very comparable one for $47 a day. You’ll save more than $400 for equipment you’ll probably only use once, which is much easier on your wallet and you won’t have to store it in your garage.

If you want a discount on a product at The Home Depot, ask for it. Consumer and money-saving expert, Andrea Woroch, said it can work.

Sales associates usually don’t have the power to give you a better deal. But if you ask to speak with one of the managers, they might be more willing to negotiate with you to seal the deal, Woroch said.

“Use tactics like reviewing recent sales that you missed or upcoming ones that you may qualify for now,” she added.

Home Depot’s Special Buy of the Day offers online exclusive deals to save on home improvement projects. They are one-day, online-only deals while supplies last.

One recent daily deal featured a Milwaukee lithium-ion drill and driver combo kit, regularly priced at $519, for $299. That’s a savings of 42%.

If you never want to miss a deal, you can sign up to be on the Special Buy of the Day email list. So, if you’re waiting for a hot deal on a new refrigerator or another item, the newsletter is a good place to start.

The Home Depot’s website has an overstock page that features a variety of deals, and there could be something you were looking for there. Recently, the site included a double hammock with a stand, marked down from $149 to just shy of $100 – a savings of 33%.

Places such as Best Buy and Target are known for their price-match guarantees. But don’t overlook The Home Depot.

If you find a lower price on an identical in-stock item at a local competitor’s store, The Home Depot will match the price. You’ll need to take a competitor’s ad or a photo of the item and price to the store to get the match.

The retailer won’t give you a price match on special orders, volume discounts, labor and installation, sales tax, rebates or free offers. Also, the price match doesn’t apply to third-party or discount sites.

The price match doesn’t apply to seasonal, clearance or discontinued merchandise, either.

If you open a credit card with The Home Depot, the store will provide a discount on your first purchase, within 30 days of account opening. The current deal: $25 off your purchase of $25 to $299; $50 off when you spend $300 to $999; and $100 off $1,000 or more.

If you had the money saved for your purchase, anyway, use it to pay the credit card bill instead of spending it at the store and save up to $100.

Before you make a big purchase, such as a major appliance, visit The Home Depot’s online rebate center to see what saving opportunities are available.

The rebates can be significant. Recently, a $700 rebate was available on a smart water heater, with up to $3,100 off a heat pump. Many of these rebates are tied to local government offers, so they will vary depending on your location.

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Jami Farkas contributed to the reporting for this article.