What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[gtaus]

Check Your Store Receipts for Accuracy!

I went to our Fleet store this weekend and, on my way out of the store, I checked to see if they had any Oops! (broken) bags of feed. They had one bag that had ripped open, but it looked like almost nothing had spilled out. Anyways, I asked the young man working there if I could get a discount on the broken Oops! bag. Long story short, I ended up getting 25% off in addition to the feed was on sale for $2.00 off per bag. Regular price $11.49, on sale for $9.49 per bag.

I picked up the Oops! bag with the additional 25% off and a full bag at the $2.00 off sale price. At our store, you can't see how much you are paying for the items until you get a receipt. I hate that. Anyways, instead of typing in 25% off for that one Oops! bag, the clerk typed in .25%.

Something did not seem to add up when I checked out at the till, so I checked my receipt on the way out to the car. There was a mistake. The clerk typed in my discount as .25% on the Oops! bag, I only got $0.03 discount instead of my mental math estimate of ~$2.50 at 25%.

When I drove to the load out station, I showed the error to the load out guy that had written up the 25% discount for me and he verified there was a mistake. He got on his walkie-talkie and told a customer service rep about the mistake and that he was sending me to the desk for the correct refund.

Good enough. I went to the desk and the young guy there typed up the 25% discount and put the credit back on my gift card. With their new computer tellers, they don't show you anything until you get the receipt printout. You don't even get a gift card balance anymore unless you ask for it specifically and then they have to print out another receipt just with the gift card balance. I don't like that, either. The old system always showed the gift card balance remaining on the purchase receipt.

Anyways, I got my receipt and headed out back to the car. I checked out my new receipt and discovered that he gave me 25% discount off on both bags of feed! So, I saved almost $9.00 total on 2 bags of chicken feed. Sweet!

As always, I like to calculate how much I saved using multiple discounts. I purchased the gift cards at 10% off holiday sale, using my cash reward credit card getting 1.5% cash back. The chicken feed was on sale, plus I got another 25% off BOTH bags of feed. I qualified for tax-free (8.75%) status on chicken feed. So, how much did I save?

I managed to save almost 50% off on my 2 bags of chicken feed this weekend! Not too bad. Good thing I checked out that receipt before I left the store.

 

[gtaus]

Leaf Blower Options/Saving Money on Batteries

I just purchased a Ryobi 40v Backpack Leaf Blower kit with 2 40v 6Ah batteries and a 40v fast charger at my local Home Depot.

These kits are normally selling for $429.00. With a 10% military discount, that drops down to $386.10. That's a lot of money for me and I was taking a pass on the kit at that price.

Having said that, each 40v 6Ah battery sells for $199.00 each and the 40v Fast Charger costs $119.00 if purchased separately. If you needed batteries or a new charger, you can see how buying the full kit actually saves you a lot of money.

A few months ago, this kit dropped down to $299.00 on Clearance, if your local Home Depot had them in stock. I went to my store and they had a number of these kits marked down to $299.00. YouTube was a buzz with the deal and if you were in the Ryobi 40v outdoor tool line, it was becoming a no brainer bargain to consider.

I really don't use leaf blowers much. Most of the time I use my lawn mower with baggers to vacuum up the leaves, and then I dump the leaves into my chicken run to compost. But I do have a couple of Ryobi 40v chainsaws, and the only thing I would like is more battery run time. So, I had my eye on this kit mainly to add more batteries to my toolkit.

A couple of weeks ago, I had to cut down a dead birch tree and then cut up the ~24-inch trunk. Although my Ryboi 40v chainsaw cut the wood well, it ran through my 3 4Ah batteries real fast and I had not finished the project when I found myself with any power. For me, I just take the rest of the day off and do other projects while the batteries are charging.

It has been a number of years since I purchased anything with 40v batteries. I put labels on all my tools and batteries with the end of the warranty period. I noticed that my "newest" batteries ran through their 3-year warranties back in July of this year. And the third battery was over 5 years old. So, I was in that period where I like to buy a new kit with batteries to renew my 3-year warranty on batteries - just in case the old batteries start to fail.

This past week, my local Home Depot dropped the price on this 40v Backpack Leaf Blower kit to $231.00. If you have a local Home Depot, you may have a different Clearance price, if they even have these blower kits available in store.

I was able to get the complete kit for $231.00, less -$23.10 for 10% military discount, and I had a coupon for -$15.00 off on a Home Depot credit card purchase over $100.00. I ended up paying $192.90, plus tax, going out the door. That's less than the price of a single 40v 6Ah battery!

The backpack blower is rather heavy coming in at about 38 pounds with batteries inserted. Not too bad for me, but if you have a weak back or legs, it's probably not a good option for you. It's the most powerful blower I have ever had, but the pros complain that it's too heavy and not enough power compared to their $1500 gas backpack blowers. If you make your living with your tools, then maybe this blower kit is not for you.

For me, it's just fine and I gave it a 4 out of 5-star review on the website. I did everything I wanted to do today and after about 30 minutes of blowing dry leaves at normal speed, I still had 3 of 4 bars on each battery remaining. It has a Turbo mode which I only used a few times for wet leaves under trees and bushes. That mode is maybe 2X more powerful, but it really burns through the batteries from what I read. The blower has a brushless motor and is whisper quiet. I still wear my workphones to protect my hearing while at the same time I can listen to a radio program or audiobook. But this blower is very quiet compared to any of my older gas blowers.

If you are in the Ryobi 40v outdoor tool line, this kit at Clearance price is a good way to get new genuine Ryobi batteries with 3-year warranties much less than buying them separately.

I know some people will find Ryobi compatible batteries on Amazon for much less...

I tried that option once and found that the non-genuine Ryobi batteries had about half the run time compared to the real Ryobi battery. Although the sellers give you up to a 1-year warranty, their game is to not honor the warranty and go out of business before they have to replace your battery. Just look at many of the reviews of people getting burned. In my case, the non-genuine Ryobi battery (and replacement) failed within the 30-day Amazon return window and I just returned it for a full refund. I think they all use recycled battery cells in these Ryobi compatible batteries to keep their price down. Based on my limited experience with these after-market batteries, I cannot recommend them.

The blower has a 5-year warranty, and the batteries and charger come with a 3-year warranty. I always register my tools and batteries with Ryobi in case anything goes bad. Keep your receipts as well for proof of purchase. I have been in the Ryboi line of tools for ~20 years. I have only had a few Ryobi tools fail before their warranty expired, and Ryobi did replace them. If you buy Ryobi tools at Home Depot and use a Home Depot credit card, you get an extended 1-year return period whereas otherwise you get a 90-day return window.

Home Depot no longer takes any tools of any brands in for warranty repair service anymore. That used to one of the main points I considered when I was buying my tools. So, that 1-year no questions return period for tools purchased with your Home Depot credit card has some value.

Sorry for the long post, but this kit on Clearance is a great deal especially if you are already in the Ryobi 40v outdoor line.

 

[gtaus]

I created an AI chart that shows how I look at the value of my tool battery purchases. Instead of looking at only the initial cost of the battery, I look at the long-term value of battery warranty and coverage per Ah. I used the estimated kit price of the Ryobi batteries and the actual run time I experienced on the after-market Amazon Ryboi compatible batteries. You could use any brand of battery for comparison if you don't have Ryobi. If you consider there is value in having a dependable battery under warranty, this chart is quiet revealing...

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Here’s a comparison table with a third column that reflects the realistic return scenario for aftermarket batteries: assuming the Amazon 30-day return window is the only dependable coverage, since many sellers disappear or refuse warranty claims.

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Battery Comparison: Genuine Ryobi vs Aftermarket (Realistic Return Scenario)​

Feature	Genuine Ryobi 40V 6Ah	Aftermarket (claimed 1-year warranty)	Aftermarket (30-day return only)
Price per battery	$100.00 in kit	$40.00	$40.00
Actual runtime (usable Ah)	6Ah	~3Ah	~3Ah
Warranty length	3 years (Ryobi-backed)	1 year (seller-backed, often unreliable)	30 days (Amazon only)
Reliable return window	Full 3 years	Often unreliable after 30 days	30 days only
Cost per usable Ah	$100 ÷ 6Ah = $16.67/Ah	$40 ÷ 3Ah = $13.33/Ah	$40 ÷ 3Ah = $13.33/Ah
Cost per Ah per year of warranty	$16.67 ÷ 3 = $5.56/Ah/yr	$13.33 ÷ 1 = $13.33/Ah/yr	$13.33 ÷ (30/365) = $162.22/Ah/yr

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What This Shows​

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• Genuine Ryobi offers the best long-term value and reliability.
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• Aftermarket batteries may look cheaper, but their true cost per Ah per year skyrockets when you factor in the limited return window.
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• A 30-day return period means you're essentially gambling on the battery lasting — and if it fails on day 31, you're out of luck.

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It's not just comparing prices — it's modeling risk-adjusted value, and that’s exactly how I like to consider my battery purchases. I would be interested in how other people make their purchase decisions and why. These tool batteries cost a lot of money, and I try to get the most value out of every purchase.

 

[TooCheep]

General rule with battery-power tools- Pick the "best" brand for you and try to stick with it. Use any/all of the tools that you know to judge "best": lower price, heavy duty, variety of tools for your needs, good reviews, long-term reputation, etc.

The main advantage to sticking with a single brand is battery compatibility. For example, I use Black & Decker. It isn't a pro-brand, but I don't use them heavily and they work well for my needs, so price was a heavier factor. I now have a string trimmer, drill, hedge trimmer and I'm looking at a pole saw for my trees that will all share the same batteries.

This technique allows me to add trusted batteries to my collection without buying "compatible" ones that can be highly questionable. It also allows you to have only a single brand of charger and to be able to quickly swap batteries to keep working, which I've found most valuable with my string trimmer.

I even found a 3rd-party light/fan/USB charger that uses these batteries to take advantage of the fact that they have far higher capacity than regular batteries as part of my emergency kit.

You can find a number of major brands out there: Ryobi, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Skil, Black & Decker, Craftsman, etc

 

[fuzzi]

My cordless were all Milwaukee, until earlier this summer. I needed to trim, have been using my cordless hedge clippers, but using them for a long stretch of fence...isn't practical.

Enter a recommendation from another retired friend, a Greenworks walk behind trimmer. I bit the bullet, invested, and am thrilled with what I can do with it. Batteries are $200, will watch for a sale to get a spare.

 

[TooCheep]

My cordless were all Milwaukee, until earlier this summer. I needed to trim, have been using my cordless hedge clippers, but using them for a long stretch of fence...isn't practical.

Yup. That's what I had originally with my string trimmer. Once I hit 3 batteries, then I was able to do full trimming around the property in one session.

 

[gtaus]

This technique allows me to add trusted batteries to my collection without buying "compatible" ones that can be highly questionable.

I had a very negative experience with "compatible" batteries I bought on Amazon. I know others might have a different experience. Still, I think if you look at actual Ah run time, many of these after-market batteries come in at about half the advertised Ah. You might think you are getting a great dealing and saving money on the batteries from Amazon, but if you consider more than just the immediate price, you can see in my chart how the original brand name battery can be a much better, and lower cost, option over the life of the battery.

Like you, I also think it's better to stay in your battery platform once you jumped over the fence. I know my Ryobi tools are not always the "best" out there, but they get the job done for me and if I continue to use one battery platform, it adds greater flexibility and run time to me while reducing the need for costly multiple chargers.

 

[gtaus]

Enter a recommendation from another retired friend, a Greenworks walk behind trimmer. I bit the bullet, invested, and am thrilled with what I can do with it. Batteries are $200, will watch for a sale to get a spare.

Yes, I like that walk behind trimmer design. I hope Ryobi comes up with a walk behind trimmer like that. I'm getting to the age where carrying around a handheld trimmer is starting to get heavy on my old back.

I think a dedicated walk behind trimmer would be a better option for a tool that you use a lot, but there are other options that might work for occasional use...

At least you could still use your existing trimmer. None of them have great reviews at 3.5 stars out of 5. But maybe good enough for occasional use.

 

[gtaus]

Yup. That's what I had originally with my string trimmer. Once I hit 3 batteries, then I was able to do full trimming around the property in one session.

That's the real advantage to staying inside your battery tool line. Swapping out batteries to keep going until the job gets done.

I have been in the Ryobi 18v One+ battery line for ~20 years. I currently have over 40 18v batteries that I have purchased over the years in various tools and kits. At my age, the batteries outlast my abilities to keep going. The Li-Ion batteries last many years, and I don't get rid on any battery that still works. My oldest batteries might get used more for flashlights and fans as opposed to drills and saws which take much more power. But, as long as they work, I find a good use for them.

You might be thinking, who needs that many batteries? And you would be right. I don't need that many batteries either. But I have never purchased a Ryobi battery at full retail price. Over the years, I have just collected the batteries that come in kits or sometimes you get a free battery if you buy a tool that you want. I look for those special and clearance deals. Ryobi knows how to keep you in their line of tools.