Monday, March 12, 2012

First Trip to Menards (A Case Study)

So I finally made my first real trip to Menards over the weekend, and boy was it fun! As I mentioned on our Facebook Fan Page I'm going to do a 2 - 3 month case study of shopping at Menards. I'm doing this over a longer time because with the rebates taking 4-6 weeks to come in the mail I wanted enough time for us to all really see if Menards is worth it. My goal by the end of that 2-3 months is to have enough rebates that I can begin shopping "free" with them, and just keep rolling them over. Like what you see other's doing at CVS, and Walgreens. For anyone who's not familiar with Menards go HERE to read about their coupon and shopping policies.

IMPRESSIONS

  • The very first impression I got walking in was...... this place is HUGE! If you can, I would suggest a quick walk through before you shop there, just to get the lay of land (so to speak;).
  • There were a lot of workers though, so when I needed a little direction to find something it wasn't that hard to find someone. Plus, they were all nice!
  • I took my mother in law with me to help watch my son, and boy am I glad I did! Between the size of the place, and the "wonderful" things for him to get into I would've lost my mind if I hadn't. So if you have kids, leave with a babysitter or take someone to help you watch them!
  • I also noticed that most of their items were good quality pieces. 
  • Their grocery section of the store was decent (considering it's a home improvement store) they even had a couple freezers with pizzas and such.
  • Last, but the one I'm most excited to share, they have UNADVERTISED deals!!! Including rebate deals, just like a grocery store! So if you don't do a walk through before you shop there leave some wiggle room in the budget. You just might need it :)

What I Got

  • Kids ball - $1.93 (no rebate)
  • HUGE bag of cheese popcorn - $1.99 (no rebate but on sale)
  • Purple de-ice windshield washing fluid - clearance $1.89
  • 16 oz Dasani water - $1.48
  • 100 ct. box Koolaid popsicles (2) - sale $2 each
  • Dessert mints - $2.99 (no rebate, no sale)
  • Gummi bears - $1.99 (no rebate, no sale)
  • 2 80 ct Bounce dryer sheets - sale $2.99 each 
  • 2 boxes Mr. Clean Magic Erasers - $1.74 each
  • 4 Hand clamps - $3.99 each ($3.49 rebate) 
  • 10 bottles Softsoap hand washes UNADVERTISED DEAL - $1.99 each ($1.49 rebate)
  • 3 boxes Cat Pan liners - $3.50 each ($3.50 rebate)
  • 4 boxes Comfort kids vapor patches - $5 each ($5 rebate)
  • 4 jars Marinara pasta sauce - $1.99 each (1.49 rebate)
  • 1 tube Small project adhesive - $3.49 ($3 rebate)
  • 2 Menards t-shirts - $6.99 each ($6.99 rebate)
  • 2 Paintbrushes - $5 each ($5 rebate)
  • 2 14 MP GM digital camaras - $59.99 each ($30 rebate each)
So, let's breakdown the numbers here. My receipt told me that I already saved $43.81 with sale prices. I spent out of pocket $269.36, and $20.41 of that was tax :( I should receive $151.43 back in store rebate checks. That means that after rebates I will have spend $117.93! If you add what I spent with what I saved ($269.36 + 43.81) it would equal $313.17. Divide that by what I'll get back in rebates + money I saved in sales ( $195.24) and divide that by my previous total ( $313.17) and that equal 62% savings! I am not a math whiz, so if you think I did that wrong let me know. 

Now, you're probably wondering about how the rebate thing works. First, let me tell you, SAVE YOUR RECEIPT!!! I stress this because at the bottom of your receipt a rebate receipt for EACH rebate item (by group) will print off. So I got one for all my softsoaps, one for all my t-shirts, etc, and you HAVE to have these to claim your rebate. I will do another post when I redeem my rebate slips to take a closer look at that process as well. It looks like you have two options: go online and redeem it, or do it in-store. I will do both, and let you know how each goes. Here's a picture of what the rebate slips look like.


I would've saved more if I hadn't bought a few items that were not rebate items, but hey, I'm not a perfect shopper :) In case you're wondering what I'm going to do with some of the items that I bought I'll tell you. 

  1. I have a handy-woman type mom, and some tools I will be saving for her for Mother's Day, birthday, and Christmas baskets. I will also be doing the same for my Dad.
  2. I have a special occasion coming up this year that requires a nice gift. Since Menards has many household items come up for rebate offers I'm going to save some items for an awesome gift basket for that. Sorry I can't give details because some of my fans are family and friends and I don't want them to know what they are getting. When it's over though I will do a post to show what I've done!!
  3. The food and household items are fairly obvious additions to my stockpile, and for donations.
  4. I like buying cheap older furniture and fixing it up (when I have the time ;) so some of these tools and items are for me!
Okay, so that's the end of our first look into shopping at Menards. I would love to hear any thoughts you have so far, and any experiences/trips you've had there as well!! Remember, they have 2 stores in Wichita, 1 store in Salina, and another one in Manhattan. Happy bargain hunting everyone!!