As avid DIYers we love to save money on all our projects. Over time we have worked out strategies to save money at Lowe’s. Personally, I am not comfortable scamming anyone, even large companies, so every suggestion on how to save money is on the up and up! Also, we are not currently a Lowe’s affiliate so all of these links and suggestions are simply from our own personal experience. We love all hardware stores, but Lowe’s is so close by that we often use them as a matter of course.
10 Ways to Save Money at Lowe’s
- Email Sign Up $10 off $50 Purchase
This offer sometimes goes away so you may need to google around to find the current link. All you have to do is enter your email address and information in Lowe’s website and they should send you a coupon good for 7 days after receipt. Here is a recent link. - In Store Pickup/Online Sales
I can not say enough about Lowe’s in-store pickup! There is nothing better than to just walk in, get your order, sign a piece of paper, and walk out. Especially on busy days like Saturday and Sunday. However, you might wonder how this saves you money at Lowe’s… Not all Lowe’s stores have the same price. Oh YES, believe it or not this is sooooo true. If you have two or more Lowe’s in reasonable driving distance CHECK THEIR PRICES. I can not stress this enough. When we were trying to outfit our whole house with roman shades we discovered this little fact simply because no single store had enough inventory to cover the whole house. We then maximized our orders so that we got the cheapest inventory at each store. Spent one afternoon picking up all our orders, but it was totally worth the $50+ savings even when looking at gas and time. Sometimes the online price is cheaper than in-store shelf tag. Check, check, check! You can order it online, but they will match that price if it is their store you are viewing online. - Sales
Can you wait? Because Lowe’s has weekly sales and they are GOOD. We tend to stock up on seasonal items especially during their sales. For example, we just scored tons of suet cakes for the wild birds and chickens for .88 when they usually go for $1.50-$2.50. Whatever we do not use this winter we will store for next year. Besides just seasonal items Lowe’s tends to routinely put large appliances, paint, and gardening items on regular sales. If you are near a holiday, even something as small as President’s day, WAIT. They will always have a special sale for holidays. - Clearance Racks
ZOMG, I can not explain how important these clearance racks are. You will have to learn the locations in your particular store but usually there is a rack near the paint section, back of gardening, and somewhere near flooring. Why are these so important? Because when Lowe’s does clearance they are ready to move it on out. I calculated that I got close to over $1000 in annuals, perennials, and trees for over 80% off last year. Simply because they were no longer flowering, frost nipped, or at the end of the season. Can you shout FIVE DOLLAR FRUIT TREES?! In my blasted landscape it was a blessing to be able to fill it with some decent vegetation. Ditto for paint, brushes, light fixtures, etc. These all make their way to the clearance sections.
None of the plants cost more that $1. Like my coffee break? Gotta have coffee when digging through the Lowe’s clearance racks. - Price Match Policy
I haven’t used this often as Lowe’s and competitors are often so similarly priced that it doesn’t seem worth the effort for just a few pennies. However, when we were shopping for a new washer and dryer it paid to shop around! Make sure to have good documentation to bring with you as they will want to make sure it is the exact same model for price matching. Also if the price is a percentage off they will only match to the net price. So a 20% off deal somewhere else might not mean 20% off Lowe’s price, but the final price will be the same. You can read all the details here. - Haggle
This one is one of the hardest for me. Or at least it was, a recent trip to India taught me a ton about haggling! Anyway, haggling is accepted at Lowe’s and managers/certain salespeople are able to price adjust purchases. Lowe’s doesn’t have a published competitor’s coupon agreement but that is a great way to start the conversation. Additionally, never buy a large appliance without haggling a bit, especially, if you are willing to take a slightly used floor model. If you are like me and not a huge fan of haggling then you can always ask “Is this the best price I can get?” Be polite and nice and often they will take a little off the price of large purchases. - Lowe’s Credit Card
I hesitate to mention this one because the savings here is really all rolled into how disciplined you are with credit cards. Unless you can stick to paying them off in a specified time (for special financing) or in full each month (5% off) then you are really costing yourself money. That being said, I purchased my first new stove by taking advantage of free financing. Got a small discount by haggling and then had 12 months to pay it off. By paying it off in the specified time I got to keep my savings in my savings account earning interest the entire time I paid for the stove. Just remember these discounts are an either/or scenario. The 5% does not get stacked with the special financing, and sometimes the special financing will not be zero percent. Just be really careful when using this tactic. - Military/Veteran’s Discount
Found this one while researching other ways to save money at Lowe’s. You can read all about it here, but in general active duty and those on VA benefits always get 10%. All veterans can get 10% on Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Veterans Day. They extend these discounts to immediate family at times too. - Rebates
I honestly feel if you buy a can of paint without a sale or rebate you are paying too much. They often run $10-$15 rebates on paint and larger ones on appliances and tools. They have a searchable list of Lowe’s and manufacturer rebates, online submission, and tracking of rebates at Lowe’s Rebate Center. Sure it may take a bit to get the money back but it is certainly worth it and Lowe’s makes it much easier than many companies. - Garden Club Signup
If you are in the market for garden supplies Lowe’s offers a separate email signup for garden offers. They will often notify you of sales and occasionally have exclusive offers such as buy a certain number of plants and get one free.
Add-ons to Saving Money at Lowe’s
While they may not save you cash up front these additional services give you value all for free. You can read the entire list of Lowe’s Store Services here.
- Build and Grow: I can not rave about this enough. We have 4 boys, three at the age to do crafts. They let you do an entire craft for free. FREE. And it is a nice wooden object. Besides the fact you get to take home things like monster trucks and birdhouses, they also give you a kid sized Lowe’s work apron and a nice fabric, iron-on badge for each project complete. Adorable and (can I say it again?) Free. Just remember to sign up in advance because they actually fill up.
- Cutting Services: Sometimes there is a nominal (.05) a cut or threading charge BUT this is so much less expensive than buying things like pipe threading machines. They do all types of cutting services, pipe, wood, blinds, chain. We have saved a fortune by buying chain, rope, etc in the exact lengths we need. Additionally carefully placed cuts have allowed us to buy larger and less expensive boards that we can fit in the car.
- Design Services: This is the only item on the list I can not say I have personally used. Many people rave about Lowe’s in store design services. If I ever have to remodel I would love to see what a designer comes up with. If nothing else I could use the computer generated models as a starting ground for my own designs.
I love a good deal and Lowe’s makes it easy to save money and get great appliances, tools, gardening items, and DIY products. Just remember the big items; always check their sales, website, and clearance sections. Taking that short time can save you hundreds of dollars if you DIY or garden often.
