Finding The Best Deals At Lowe's

When considering big-box stores to fulfill the needs of your next home improvement project (one that can hopefully guarantee a big ROI, too), you might automatically gravitate toward the orange hue of your local Home Depot. However, the fact is that Home Depot has a formidable competitor in Lowe's, which some consumers consider to be more consumer-friendly and less geared toward construction professionals. As well, Lowe's has a reputation for carrying more higher-end products than its competitor. And with over 2,200 Lowe's stores nationwide, there's never one far away.

Of course, savvy shoppers are always looking to stretch their home improvement dollars, and so Money Digest has compiled some helpful advice for scoring the best deals at the North Carolina-based retailer, in business in its current form since 1946. Our first tip would be to attend one of Lowe's free DIY (do it yourself) workshops.

Not all Lowe's locations offer these on-site workshops, but the odds are you can locate one at least one participating store nearby. Aside from getting a free-of-charge education on home improvement topics, like patching drywall, replacing electrical outlets/switches, and installing a new faucet, you'll also walk away with a coupon book full of in-store promotions. Inside the coupon book, you'll find discounts for up to 50% off certain products that are relevant to what's taught in the classes. It's a win-win.

After making your Lowe's purchases, perhaps it suddenly occurred to you that your new barbecue grill or bathroom vanity cabinet isn't going to fit in the trunk of your compact Mazda Miata. That's not a problem because Lowe's also rents pickup trucks for $19 for 90-minutes of usage. To be clear, Home Depot also rents out trucks for $19, but you only have 75 minutes to get your errands done before returning it. Advantage Lowe's. If you need the truck for longer, four-hour rentals are also available for $69.

If online shopping is more your style, you'll want to join Lowe's rewards program, appropriately called MyLowe's Rewards. The program is free to join, and as a member, you can expect to receive the occasional lucrative coupon or promotion, like $5 off. As well, the purchase threshold for free shipping of online orders is only $35 for members, as opposed to $45 for non-members.

Another deals opportunity for online Lowe's shoppers exists in Lowe's "Deals of the Day." As the name implies, new sale items are released every day at approximately midnight Eastern time. Savvy shoppers then have 24 hours to lock down their deal before it disappears. Discounts of ~20% to 60% are available on hundreds of items each day, ranging from tools to appliances to a kitchen full of new cabinets.

As for in-store Lowe's deals, in-store shoppers can keep their eyes peeled for the yellow clearance tags on certain merchandise. In fact, the home improvement chain recently rolled out an entire new section of clearance deals for bargain hunters called "The Back Aisle." If you're shopping for large appliances, in particular, you might be able to save money on "scratch and dent" units, which have minor cosmetic flaws. If these Lowe's appliances aren't already marked down to reflect a blemish, ask an employee or manager if a discount is available.

Finally, true Lowe's superfans can also apply for the store's co-branded credit card, the MyLowe's Rewards Credit Card, which entitles the cardholder to a 5% discount on many purchases. However, you can't combine the credit card's 5% discount with any other discounts or coupons, which indeed makes it less attractive. An added perk of the credit card, however, are the special financing terms, like 0% interest for six months on purchases of $299 or more or a 9.99% interest rate for 84 months on purchases of $2,000 or more. Just make sure you're loyal enough to Lowe's to justify opening a store-branded credit card. (Speaking of which, here's our take on the one type of credit card you should avoid.)

With this said, if in the end you still decide you can't tear yourself away from Lowe's competitor down the street, fret not. There are plenty of money-saving tips for the Home Depot, too.