How to Save Money at Home Depot: 21 Tips and Tricks to Saving Money on Do-It-Yourself Projects

With Covid-19 ravaging the world, many people have been turning to home improvement as a way to keep busy. There’s finally enough time to build that deck you’ve been talking about. No more excuses. Except maybe the soaring cost of everything. Especially lumber.

But don’t fret. Here are some tips and tricks to saving money at Home Depot.

1. Raid the Clearance Section

Last of model, damaged goods, ugly plants, you name it. If it’s weird, old, or broken, you can find it in the clearance section for super cheap. Home Depot will always attempt to discount things before throwing them out. They’ll lower the price every week until it’s gone. If the price hits zero, they toss it. So, don’t wait too long before you pull the trigger.

2. Kitchen and Bath Event

This special event runs for about three months. It usually starts mid-January. HD knows you’re low on cash from Christmas, but they still want revenue. So, if you’re planning on doing any major kitchen or bathroom renovations, then hold off until this event begins. You can save up to 40% on lots of stuff. When it comes to bathrooms and kitchens, 40% can be significant.

3. Get a Commercial Credit Card

If you’re a contractor, or plan on buying A TON of stuff frequently from Home Depot, then definitely grab yourself their contractor-specific credit card. It has amazing rewards. Cash back every few months, as well as special deals and incentives.

4. Grab a Project Loan Credit Card

Only doing a one and done project like a new deck? Don’t finance it with your regular credit card. You could be paying 20% or more in interest fees. Home Depot’s Project Loan card is only 8.99% with no annual fees. Perfect for the do-it-yourself-er.

5. Post-Seasonal Sale

Once a major season ends, everything that’s left over from that season has to be sold. Everything is marked down until people start fighting over it. 90% off is not uncommon here. Definitely check it out. Store whatever you buy in the basement until next year.

6. Mistake Paint

Most paint stores have a wall of paint cans they’ll call “mistake paint” or “oops paint.” These are paint mixes that either didn’t turn out right due to color/texture issues, double orders, or orders that were never picked up. If you aren’t picky about what color your wall is, then you can save 80-90%.

7. Save Money on Installations by Learning Yourself

Home Depot runs a lot of do-it-yourself workshops. You could save 50% on your total project cost by doing the handiwork yourself. Installing your own toilet is not as difficult as it sounds.

8. Don’t Like Attending Workshops?

There’s always a YouTube video for it. Even if your plan is to build a trebuchet so you can fling pumpkins at your buddy 300 meters away, there’s a video for that. Same goes with home projects. Don’t worry about making mistakes. Even pros make mistakes.

9. Save your Landscape Plant Receipts, You Can Get a Free Plant if You Accidently Murder Yours

It’s easy to kill a plant. Water it too much, water it too little, look at it the wrong way, etc. Plants die all the time. I have personally killed at least eight succulents. If they had been landscape plants, if I had purchased them at Home Depot, and if they were less than a year old, I could have brought their tattered remains into the store and got an exchange.

10. Ask for Free Cuts on Your Lumber

If you’re doing a large project, and you’re nice to the lumber associate, they might make your cuts for free. Especially if it’s early in the morning and they don’t have much to do. Don’t bug them for free cuts when the store is packed, though.

11. Volume Discounts

The more you buy, the more you save. But only if you ask for it. Like most stores, Home Depot isn’t going to give you a discount unless you ask. The larger the project, the more of the discount you’ll get on the individual pieces. Ask for a volume discount on any project over $1,000. The worst they can say is no.

12. Rent Your Tools

Yeah, it’s fun to buy a shiny new tool. But let’s be honest. When are you ever going to use that hydraulic rear tiller ever again? It’s $5,000 new but you can rent it for a day for a hundred bucks. That’s a savings of 98%. (Most tools are like that.)

13. Join the Military and Save 10%

Okay, this isn’t a great idea if all you need is a screwdriver, but if you were in the military before… Well, now you’re in business. Screwdriver business. Get yourself a veteran’s ID (USA only) and save 10% on all your purchases.

14. Special Values Section

The Home Depot Special Values section (web only) often has thousands of discounted items. You can save between 10% and 80%. Click the clearance button to find the best deals. Why pay $230 for a mirror when you can get one that’s just as nice for $45?

15. Time is Money

You’re a busy person. You don’t need to spend time, gas, and mileage on your car just to get a box of nails and a hammer. Order that junk online. If you buy a minimum of $45 (will probably go up at some point) then you’ll get free shipping. Sure, you can’t get it today, but that frees up today to drink beer and watch TV. It’s the new American Dream.

16. Sign Up for the Email List

Yeah, it’s annoying to get emails from businesses all the time, but think of it this way: You only need to stay on the mailing list while you’re in the middle of a project. Home Depot often sends out emails with promo codes and big discounts. You could save $300 off the price of your deck. That’s worth a few emails. Unsubscribe later.

17. Price Match plus 10%

Before you buy anything, do a quick scan of the competition. This is easy with a smart phone. Just google the product name. You can probably find it cheaper on Amazon. Home Depot will match that price and then knock off an additional 10% of the difference. It’s not much, but it’s honest work.

18. Ask the Manager

Don’t be that person who says, “Can I talk to your manager?” because that never ends well. Instead, flag one down before you pay. You can find them at the front of the store or walking around looking important. They have the power to knock a flat rate off any item. You could save fifty bucks just by smiling and being nice. What a world.

19. Home Depot Garden Club

Join this exclusive club (requires an email or phone number, wow) and immediately get a free gift card worth up to $50. (Depends on the store/promotions available.) You’ll also be emailed/texted various promos and coupons for saving even more money. Garden stuff has high margins so they don’t mind discounting it to get you in the store.

20. Scrap Lumber Section

If you only need a few pieces of misshapen wood, then check out the leftover/scrap section. It might be hidden, so ask an associate for direction. You can find lumber here that has been cut, broken, or just plain looks weird. You can easily save up to 90%. Once lumber lands in the scrap section it’s basically kindling. Make them an offer for the entire lot if you want to build the kids a tree fort.

21. Paint Goes on Sale Every Holiday Weekend

Save big on paint by holding out for a holiday weekend like Father’s Day or the 4th of July. Home Depot runs major paint promos as least five times a year. So, unless you need to paint something ASAP, it’s definitely worth waiting for.