Lowe's paid me to paint my room

[LeftyMom]

I bought two cans of paint that were just the colors I wanted off the table with the paint that was incorrectly mixed. They cost me $2 and $2.50 for the nice American Tradition satin paint. There was a $5 rebate on the gallons that weekend, and just for the hell of it I sent it in. Lowes sent me a check, so my total cost for paint was -$0.50. Even with the stamp on the rebate I'm still ahead a few cents. I'm brilliant at stretching money, but that was a coup even for me. :)

[WolverineDG]

1. That's one of my favorite places

to scour for paint. The downside is that lately the only colors I've seen are beige or bubble-gum pink. :puke:

dg

[LeftyMom]

4. Oddly enough, we were there to get some Barbie pink paint for my sister's

room. It looks pretty good though, she did three white walls and one very very pink one. A whole pink room would have been waaaaay too much.

[WolverineDG]

7. From one who had a pink room as a kid

I agree. Four pink walls = :crazy:

I'm heading to Lowe's tomorrow, so wish me luck on scoring some paint! :bounce:

dg

[ThomCat]

2. Will you teach us how to improve our shopping skills

oh wise guru! (inserve worshipful smiley here)

I love to shop, but I'm not quite so good at finding bargains. :)

[LeftyMom]

5. Well, if there's one rule it's never to get into a hurry to buy anything.

I always have a mental list not only of what I need ASAP, but things I'll need later, so if I see a deal I can snatch them up. It also helps to have a mental list of where the best deals on individual things I need regularly are and to get them as I rotate through the stores where I shop. So I'll go to the discount store one week, Target the next, and get what I need at each. I do the same with groceries. I also know where the markdowns and clearance stuff get hidden in all the stores where I shop, and I check those areas before I look at the full price items (I do this at the grocery too, I get great deals on shampoos and such that way,) and make special checks at big markdown times like right after Christmas and other big holidays and at the end of a season.

It also helps to keep one's eye open for less obvious deals. A lot of people grab thier gift wrap at the after christmas sale, but I'll be over in the food storage aisle getting the colored plastic bags and cling wrap for less than the generic basic stuff. Sure, I'll have leftovers in a bag with holly leaves on it in the summertime, but when the box cost $0.50 cents who cares.

I also stock up like mad, if I find a good deal on something that I know I'll use that won't take up a ton of space like underwear or detergent. I won't buy ahead on stuff that isn't a large or regular expenditure and takes up a lot of room like wrapping paper, but for stuff I'll need soon it's a good strategy.

[Gormy Cuss]

6. Cheapskate.

My mate marvels at the way I store such bargain trivia as the cycle for markdowns on Mezzetta olives at CostPlus, the interval at which Target discounts certain products, and what a "good price" is for soap, shampoo, etc. I know where all the clearance racks are at Target's and Long's Drugs.

I know where the paint rejects are at every hardware store too, but I have never scored a negative price!

[BrotherBuzz]

3. Hey, it was a good deal for Lowe's, too!

It costs them $130 a barrel (55 gal) "disposal" fee to lose paint in California.

Nevertheless, I like thrifty! ;)

[wain]

8. My two favorite times and places to shop are

Staples on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I map out exactly what I want and arrive at the store at 5:30am. Not much of a line at the New Hope store. I usually save 60-70% off regular price. And I charge it on my Mastercard and get another 1% rebate. And I use my Staples "Reward" card to get another $30 rebate (max allowed)!! Some items are free after rebate; how does that work? The trick is to submit the rebates - I do online. I read somewhere that 65% of eligible rebates are never submitted. Guess that's the trick, lazy customers. Anyway it's an annual event with me. Only two more months; I can hardly wait!

CVS a week after the end of Christmas holidays. I wait out the 50% off, and score on the 75% off and the 90% off!! Last year I got a 6 foot lighted artificial Christmas tree, regularly $90, for only $23! Can't wait to use that!

Using coupons and grocery store discount cards is another big winner in my budget.

:-)

[pitohui]

9. nice work, congratulations EOM

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