The Home Depot is a great one-stop for tools, appliances, furniture, and much more. I value its low costs and range of discounts to make home improvements more affordable when you have children running around!

The best part is that I’ve found some easy ways to stretch your spending to make surprisingly easy savings. 

Use Coupon Codes

Coupon codes are an easy win, and luckily, Home Depot makes it incredibly easy. They have a dedicated coupons page where I’ve found deals such as $5 off your next $50 in-store purchase. All you have to do is click the link and sign up to the Promo Text Program to receive the code. Simple!

I also recommend installing a coupon browser extension such as Honey when shopping online, which automatically scouts out coupon codes. This works across lots of online retailers, not just Home Depot. You can enjoy surprisingly big savings sometimes!

Check Out The “Special Buy Of The Day”

The Special Buy Of The Day tab is a great one to keep an eye on. This tab is where Home Depot offers a selection of discounted items each day for a limited time. The only trouble is that you never know what will be there, but it’s worthwhile checking out due to the incredible discounts.

Some items have a limited purchase number per order, but as the special buys are often appliances, you shouldn’t need too many!

Make Use Of Home Depot’s Price Match

One section of the Home Depot site to keep an eye on is the Price Match Guarantee. The retailer promises to match the price of the same product found on another website including the shipping cost. However, there are some exemptions such as sale items.

The only part to keep in mind is that the products from the competitor must be able to ship to your location. All you need to do is provide a photo of the retailer’s ad and product if you’re in-store. If you’re shopping online, you can either contact the team on the live chat or phone on their 1-800-430-3376 contact number. 

Have you ever found something in the sale online that wasn’t on sale in-store? There’s a fix for that too. Home Depot promises to price match with itself on identical products, just bring the printout or photo on your next shop in-store so that the staff can validate it.

Generally, I’d say for online retailers, price matching is easier for online purchases than in-store. This is because it is left to the discretion of the store’s manager on whether they’ll match online prices. 

Wait For Seasonal Sales

There’s never any harm in waiting for the sales to grab yourself a bargain. I think this is especially the case when you’re shopping for Christmas. Events like Black Friday are certainly not to be missed as Home Depot is known to have incredible deals for the festive season.

Seasonal sales can also be fantastic for an early year or winter birthday as you can make the most of the end-of-season sales as well as Black Friday deals.

Sign Up For The Newsletter

Even just signing up for Home Depot’s Style & Decor newsletter entitles you to a 10% off coupon, so that is an easy win. As it is focused on Stye & Decor, this is best used if you are seeking out new furniture and homeware.

Along the same lines and what I touched on earlier, Home Depot has a Promo Text Program where you sign up and receive deals straight to your phone. This is how you can get $5 off your next $50 purchase, just by signing up. I have found that Home Depot will send out a maximum of 10 text message deals per month.

How often does Home Depot send out coupons?

Home Depot sends out email offers every so often, particularly around the festive season but also on the off-chance. These are usually 10% off coupons of some kind including $10 off of $100 purchases. Therefore once the winter months approach, keep your eyes peeled!

However, Home Depot also regularly features coupons in their Weekly Ad, so it’s worthwhile checking in to see what new discounts they can offer.

Use The Free Shipping 

Free shipping is always worthwhile keeping an eye on, I know I’ve had it where I was a few dollars off of free shipping, so you might as well add another item to the cart when the paid shipping would total to more.

Home Depot offers free standard shipping on orders of $45 or more. For appliances, you can enjoy free shipping when the order is $396, with purchases on major appliances allowing you to select a delivery date for your convenience. 

Check The Rebate Centre

Home Depot has an online Rebate Center listing all eligible products where you can claim a partial refund if you qualify.

The 11% Rebate Portal occasionally offers an 11% rebate off of in-store purchases, so I’d say that this is not one to miss! The portal has a list of all participating stores, where you must make your submission within 30 days of the purchase for it to be valid. 

Browse The “Special Values Page”

The Special Values page displays all sorts of promotions and items that are currently on sale. Plus you can search by category, brand, and even Savings by Percentage Off, which I find particularly helpful. Here, you can filter the products by 10% off, 20% off, 30% off, and 40% off so you can easily find where you’ll make the best savings.

Sign Up For The Military Discount 

This is certainly not one to miss if you’ve ever served our country. The Military Discount can be used by those on active duty, retired military, and participating reservists. Here, you can enjoy 10% off on regularly priced products in-store with some exemptions in place such as with gift cards. 

Do note that there is a maximum spend of $500, so the most you can save is $50. However, it is incredibly straightforward to enjoy some savings as all you need is your military ID!

If You’re Looking For Tools, Consider Renting 

If you’re doing a quick renovation or a one-off job, you could consider renting the tools. Home Depot has a Tool Rental section where you can rent power tools, indoor gear, outdoor gear, and even large moving and lifting equipment. You can easily save yourself quite a lot of money by simply renting gear as opposed to purchasing it.

You can even rent vans and trucks which is a great option if you’re moving large objects or even moving home. Plus, the Load ‘N Go is only $19 for the first 75 minutes, but be sure to check the availability and calculate your journey’s cost.

What is even handier is that the Truck Rental page provides a calculator to help you determine what boxes and accessories to use.

I think this is a great option for saving your money if you know you won’t be using the tools anytime soon. After all, why waste your cash on something you’ll never use again?

Take Advantage Of The Store’s Free Lumber Cutting 

If you’re doing some serious renovations, you will be glad to know that Home Depot cuts your lumber for FREE! As you’d expect, this only applies to the wood you’ve bought in the store.

All you have to do is choose the sheets or boards you want and go to the lumber area where the team will cut the wood. The cuts will also be subjected to size limitations so don’t expect the wood to be cut into sizes less than 12 inches.

If You’re Buying Paint, Ask For The “Oops” Cans

The “Oops” paint does what it says on the tin. This paint was unsold for one reason or another, usually, if the paint was returned, if the color was off or if it had the incorrect consistency. These paints are sold at a huge discount, usually at $5.00 per gallon, but this can vary. 

You will normally have to ask a member of staff to take you to the “Oops” paint as it’s not in a specific area. I’d recommend that you check the paint finish and compare the color swatch with the paint inside if you decide to go down this route.

Join The Garden Club

If you are into your gardening, I would highly recommend joining the Garden Club which works similarly to the Promo Text Program but it’s specifically for Home Depot’s garden section.

Simply sign up and get the $5 discount sent straight to your inbox. Then you can enjoy up to 10 texts a month containing gardening-related coupons. It’s an easy win!

Shop In The Clearance Section 

This is a really easy one, simply head over to the clearance section the next time you visit Home Depot and you’ll be surprised at how low the prices are. It’s not uncommon to find items for under a dollar.

Products in the clearance section usually steadily go down in price over the course of several months. In fact, if an item isn’t sold when it’s at 75% off, the computer automatically prices it at $0.01. That’s a bargain you can’t refuse!

Just Ask For A Discount!

This is one way to step out of your comfort zone! All you have to do is ask a store colleague for a discount. According to Business Insider, Home Depot allows members of staff to discount certain items up to 50% and they don’t have to run it by their supervisors.

However, members of staff are trained to use discretion when giving out discounts, so try to use a different money-saving method unless you have a genuine reason. That being said, people have often reported being automatically given a discount on certain products and volumes, so maybe you’ll just get lucky!

FAQs

Is it better to shop online at Home Depot or in-store?

I think this will depend on what you’re shopping for. If you’re after lumber or paint, you need to go in-store to take advantage of the benefits, with the same going for the initial 11% Rebate Portal purchase, the clearance section, and other store-specific coupons.

However, it may be easier to browse through The Special Buy Of The Day, Special Value products, and other coupon codes online, as well as to take advantage of free delivery. 

I think the Price Match Guarantee can work online or in-store, it just depends on what you’re wanting to price match. If you’re wanting to price match a product you saw online from a separate retailer, I’d say do the price matching online as it’s down to the discretion of the store manager in-store.

When it comes down to which is better, I feel it completely depends on what you’re wanting to purchase and what promotions you want to enjoy.

Does Home Depot accept manufacturer coupons?

While you can’t use competitor coupons such as from Lowe’s home mailers, you can use manufacturer coupons at Home Depot. 

Will Home Depot price match with Amazon?

Although Home Depot will price match with the same product that is found on another retailer’s website, they do not price match with third-party sellers on marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. 

However, items that are sold directly by Amazon can be price matched so long as it’s not part of a membership discount like Amazon Prime.

The post How To Save Money At Home Depot appeared first on The New Dad.

Your new baby is ready to bond with you as soon as they are born. So, like any parent, you will likely be keen to spend as much quality time with them as possible. Research actually suggests that early, more intense engagement in parenting for men has positive long-term effects for both father and child (Brown, Mangelsdorf, and Neff, 2012).

So, making the most of any time off work to spend with your newborn is a great way to start life as a dad. But what with an increased financial demand to support your family, as well as the US being the only OECD country without a national statutory paid maternity, paternity or parental leave – many new dads face huge struggles and pressures in deciding how best to support their family financially.

But is the traditional role of a father changing? This article explores the different perspectives of fathers in regard to paternity leave and their role in fatherhood. Our research is based on the Boston College Study in 2014; in which more than 1,000 fathers from almost 300 different organizations were interviewed; as well as 30 different corporations.

The Changing Roles of New Fathers in the Workplace

After growing discussions of a father’s importance in their child’s early life; research was completed and found some extremely interesting results around the changing desires of fathers. In addition to how the role of fathers is currently being negatively affected by the workplace.

As part of this study, a survey of American fathers found that a total of 89% of father’s say that it is very important for employers to provide paid paternity or paid parental leave; 60% of the respondents indicated it was extremely important or very important, and 29% felt it was somewhat important.

The most interesting point to take from this is that fathers from the Millennial generation felt most strongly about this; with a huge 93% of the respondents that indicated the importance of it being from this generation alone. This highlights the vast changing views of new fathers and the changing roles of men in the workplace.

Should Dads Get Extended Paternity Leave?

Paternity leave is time off work for fathers, usually to be taken soon after the birth of a child, and intended to enable the father to spend time with his partner, new child, and older children.

The survey found that the average amount of time off taken by fathers was approximately 2 weeks; with 6% of men taking no time at all, 12% taking less than 1 week, 24% taking 1 week, 39% taking 2 weeks, 6% taking 3 weeks, 4% taking 4 weeks, 1% taking 5 weeks and 8% taking 6 weeks or more.

The amount of leave taken was a combination of paternity leave (54%), parental leave (13%), vacation/PTO (51%), holiday time (6%), and sick time or personal absence days (combined 4%).

It was also found that 76% of fathers would prefer to resume working immediately following the birth of their children, if it meant that they could have some flexibility in when and how they used their paid paternity leave time as they felt that time off could be more beneficial to their family when the child is slightly older.

Nearly all fathers (95%) rated workplace flexibility as important to their ongoing ability to balance work and family needs. Flexible working could therefore be instrumental for new fathers in the workplace, allowing them to be an ongoing active caregiver, rather than just a prolonged stint of paternity leave when their child is first born.

Should Dads Be Able to Split Paternity with the Mum?

Earlier 2011 research conducted, again, by Boston College, interviewed fathers with at least one child at home (age 18 or under) and who worked for one of the four Fortune 500 companies that agreed to administer the study within their organization.

This research told us that two-out-of-three fathers said that felt they should be equal partners in caregiving, but less than one-out-of-three actually did so. Many fathers are therefore falling short of their own expectations in being the fully active co-parents that they aspire to be.

This can sometimes mean that the mother builds a much closer bond to the child, and that the child is much more dependent on them than the father. With split paternity leave between mum and dad, then mums wouldn’t have to cope with this complete dependency on them – and dads would be able to become an equal partner in caregiving, as so many of them wish to be.

The issue that fathers have been facing has been accentuated by the society that we live in, as well as by organizations and policies. Although there are no policies on paid maternity leave currently, it is certainly much more widely offered and accepted in America than a father’s paternity leave is.

The Financial Pressures on New Fathers

Lack of Paid Paternity & Maternity Leave

With no national family-friendly policies in America and a lack of paid paternity and maternity leave – this can leave some families under immense financial pressure.

Out of the 30 corporations that were interviewed as part of the parental leave study, it was found that only 60% of the organizations offered paid paternity leave, whilst 40% did not offer this benefit at all.

But in the 2014 survey, of the fathers who did not have access to paid paternity leave, 91% indicated they would have taken more time with their families if paid leave were available.

This emphasises the importance of companies offering paid parental and paternity leave – so that dads are able to take much-needed time off with their new family, without having to compromise on income and put increased pressure on their family’s finances.

Financial Demand of Supporting the Family

Due to the lack of paid paternity and maternity leave currently on offer, fathers are under huge financial demand to support the family.

Even now, society largely deems fathers to be the ‘breadwinners’ of the family. This pressure has seen many fathers suffer from mental health issues – trying to find ways to support their family without over-working and leading to burnout.

A man’s paternity spending habits are a good way to explore ways in which you may be able to save a few extra dimes as a new father and to reduce this burden.

Instead of over-working – many modern dads are now looking for ways in which they can reduce the amount their family spends. This can be simple things such as saving on household bills or shopping around for discounts on baby items, which we will look at it in more detail in our money-saving tips below.

Pressures on Job & Work Volumes

The pressures on job and work volumes also creates a huge worry for many fathers. Having spent some time off, many new dads feel like they must return to work earlier than they would wish to or that they are entitled to – so that the pressures of work on their return do not become too overwhelming.

Nearly three quarters of the fathers surveyed believed that the most appropriate amount of time for fathers to have off for paternity leave is between two and four weeks. As this would give them a reasonable balance between the needs of their home and their workplace.

With concrete national policies in place – societies and organizations would surely view the expected workload of a new father differently. And so the pressure of work volumes would reduce dramatically.

Our Money-Saving Tips for New Fathers

Even irrelevant of the lack of paternity and maternity pay in America – having a new baby will certainly be a new, big expense for you and your family! Your little bundle of joy will bring you so much happiness. And will also undoubtedly put a rather significant dent into your wallet.

It’s therefore essential that families are able to counteract this new expense and their reduce in income by changing their spending habits. We explore some of our top money-saving tips for new dads below:

Increase Your Rainy-Day Fund

Prior to your baby arriving, try to increase your rainy-day fund as much as possible. This could help cover anything unexpected – such as any additional healthcare costs you may incur or any last-minute home improvements.

When you’re closing in on your due date, the last thing you want to be doing is stressing about money. You could even work out how much extra you expect to be paying once your baby arrives, and start transferring that to your rainy-day fund now to help you get used to it.

Review Household Bills

Once you’ve agreed with your employers the amount of paternity and maternity leave that you’re going to be taking as a family – you should work out how much your income is going to be reducing by and calculate a new monthly budget based on that.

Once you know your monthly budget, now it’s time to look for cost-savings. Household bills and monthly direct debits are a huge outgoing for so many families. But by being ruthless with deciding what you really need and doing your research, there are plenty of cost-savings that can be easily made.

You could look to cut down your electricity and water bills by switching appliances and lights off when they’re not in use and being mindful of using excessive amounts of water for bathing. With a lot less spare time on your hands, you could also look to review your TV package. Let’s be honest, you’re only really going to need the kids’ channels now anyway!

Many new dads are also utilising technology to find the best discounts. Coupon codes could save you money on dozens of household bills. Such as your energy package, TV, household items, and more.

Cut Your Grocery Bill

Dads are being more active than ever in the traditional household chores including washing, cleaning the house, and grocery shopping!

The survey shows that fathers were highly involved in hands-on caregiving and household tasks during their paternity leaves. More than 90% reported that they spent time caring for their new child and changing diapers. And more than 80% went food shopping, cleaned the house and prepared meals.

Any savvy new father should also change their spending habits when grocery shopping, which could cut your bill in half. You could try buying cheaper alternatives, meal prep in advance, or shop around for the best deals using online sites for all the latest discounts at grocery stores and markets

In Summary: Our Recommendations for New Fathers

To summarise our findings, the most important takeaways from these studies are the huge importance of paternity to leave to fathers (89% of all those who were surveyed shared their views on its importance).

Paternity leave being paid is also a hugely significant factor – with 5 out of 6 fathers saying they would only take the time off if they were paid at least 70% of their salary. And another important finding is that 95% of fathers rated flexibility as extremely important.

Our top recommendations to new fathers based on this research are as follows:

Take Your Leave(!): this one is absolutely crucial. Speak to your operations and HR team to find out exactly what you’re entitled to at work, and make sure you take it! Try not to allow your workload to be a factor against having time off work. Instead, discuss options with management and co-workers on a plan for someone to cover your workload.

Be a Proud Father (and show it): break down the stigma surrounding men in the workplace and being solely the ‘breadwinner’ for the family. Be vocal about your wants and needs for spending time with your family, and be proud of it which will in-turn influence other co-workers.

Establish a Parenting Partnership: set traditional parenting norms behind, and come up with ways of parenting that work for you and your partner. Be aware of the responsibilities that come with being a fully active co-parent and be there for the critical early days of your child’s life.

Be a Supportive Leader: start a father’s group at work to help creative an inclusive and supportive community at work of like-minded individuals. Suggest that a representative from HR attends the group to inform new dads on the policies you have in place. Be a leader, invite others to the group, and demonstrate your support to other employees’ lives.

Advocate for Change: even if other fathers at your workplace haven’t taken all their leave before, be the first to do it and others in future will follow suit. Speak actively about your desire for flexibility at work and help to begin breaking down the social barriers.

Save, Save, Save: whether you’re a first time dad or you have multiple children, when a new little one comes along you will need to save money where you can. Children are prone to unexpected costs, and by making minor changes to your spending habits you will help relieve unnecessary stresses, so that you can concentrate on spending time with your family.

The post New Fathers in the Workplace & Paternity Spending Habits appeared first on The New Dad.