Louie is the go-to guy in our local hardware store, Mazzone's. Most of the time, all we have to do is stand in the entryway of the small store and tell him what we need. My husband, who manages several apartments, is there constantly, consulting with Louie about the right size nuts and bolts or looking for some small bit of something that will compensate for the imperfections in the very old buildings that he manages.

The Lowe's in our neighborhood is actually closer by a few hundred feet, and the Home Depot is only a five minute drive away, but while we spend a lot of time and money in those big box stores, we still trundle down to the local hardware store when we need something because it's convenient, friendly and the staff is helpful. No, it's not where we bought our tile to renovate our bathroom, or where we bought our cabinets. But it is where we get our keys made (the Lowe's never has anyone staffing the key stand), and where we pick up paint brushes, herbs for the garden and things like weatherstripping and drill bits.

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When Lowe's moved down the street about five years ago, I feared for Mazzone's, thinking that people would just go a few more feet to bargain shop in a huge store that would seem to have everything a fixer-upper could need. But therein lies the problem: When you are looking for one specific thing, going into a big store is annoying. When you need, say, three feet of quarter-inch plastic tubing to affix to the bottom of your air conditioner so it doesn't drip on your head, you want to just run in and grab it. And have a nice guy, like Louie, remind you that you'll need some kind of funnel (which he'll hand to you), and some waterproof tape. You can be in and out of the store in five minutes, rather than roaming the aisles forever, trying to find assistance and then waiting at the check-out at the chain store.

How often have you found a great price on an item, only to realize that the price is good only if you get the rebate being offered? You're not getting an instantly good price. You have to pay a higher price, go through some hoops, wait a bit, and hope you get your rebate.

WalletPop reader Rick hates the process because he can't seem to get a rebate from Lowe's, and frankly, I feel the same way. Sure, I've gotten lots of rebates over the years. But there are also a few that I've never gotten even though I filled out all the paperwork, sent everything that was asked for, but later told that my documents weren't received and only an original code from the box will be accepted (not the photocopy of it, which is all I now have because I already sent them the original, which they say they didn't get).

Here's Rick's rebate story:

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Home improvement superstore Lowes is offering free subscriptions to its magazine Creative Ideas, along with memberships in Lowe's Woodworkers and Lowe's Garden Club.

Of course the magazines and newsletters have a catalog vibe to them, but it's worth checking out if you're the do it yourself type. Click here to sign up.

Tonight while my wife and I were at Lowe's looking for a grate for our 2 year old grill we decided to hit up the lumber section to try and find a small piece of wood to sturdy a hanging flower basket on our balcony. Our perfect piece of wood would have been a foot long piece of 4x4 but alas they don't sell sections that small at Lowe's and we have no need for the rest of a normal serving of 4x4 or 2x4 or really anything by anything they sold.

Thankfully on our way to find an associate we saw some 4-5 foot pieces of 2x4 sitting in or near a trash barrel in rather rough shape. Since I didn't figure I could simply walk out of the store with a piece of wood stowed in my pants I asked the nearest associate how much the scrap would cost. He deferred me to the "tall guy" two aisles over who let us know we could have the wood for just a quarter!

Much to my surprise the cashier knew what to do and with the help of a manager's badge was able to ring us up a piece of miscellaneous lumber. The deal is especially worthwhile when you figure in list price for miscellaneous lumber at Lowe's is $10,000 and I scored some for 25 cents! Yeah, they adjust the price to fit the need but a $9,999.75 discount is too good not to share. If you are doing a project your life depends on this won't help you but if you just need some window props or random wood the scrap bin may be just the place to go for your next project.