Ahhh Spring!!

Between sitting wrapped up in a wooly blanket attending the kid’s baseball games and sitting wrapped up in a wooly blanket attending the kid’s football games; if you reside where there are four seasons, there is a small window of opportunity to “get things done”.

Then the “to do” list comes out. You know, the “to do” list from last year when you ran out of time?  Hmmm, paint the outside trim on the house, replace the cracked downspout, wash and stain the back deck…that darn “to do” list.  Damn, does the roof really need to be replaced?!

We love Menards because of the good prices and great merchandise selections. But best of all, on special weeks throughout the year, Menards offers an 11% rebate on all merchandise.  The advantageous part is when you use the rebate; taxes are already paid on the new purchases.  I look at it as saving 17.25%!  When we built our garage, we purchased all our materials at Menards during the 11% rebate offer.  I call it double dipping; because we used our $1100.00 rebate check during the next 11% rebate offer…see where I’m going with this?  It’s genius! Menards builds up a customer base.  Sure, some may say “but you do not get the rebate in cash”.  Aha, but we love Menards, so it’s fine with us to use our rebate in their store.

We cannot play Menards on the stock market, but these fine Home Improvement stores are in the running:

BLDR Builder’s First Source, Inc.  Based in Dallas, TX, BLDR supplies building materials to professional contractors, sub-contractors, and consumers in the United States.  Revenues jumped in the last quarter of 2015 and they have an YTD return of 8.30%.

HD The Home Depot, Inc.  They are a home improvement retailer with 1,977 stores in the United States, 183 stores in Canada, and 115 stores in Mexico.  They also sell products on line.  HD ( I always think Harley Davidson when I see this symbol.) has a nice steady uphill climb in the daily chart. The seasonality is great!  The YTD return is 2.62% with a 0.13 debt/equity and a 2.05 % DIV yield.

LOW Lowes Companies, Inc. As of January 29, 2016, it operated 1,857 home improvement and hardware stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company also sells its products on line.  Lowes has a steady uphill climb in the daily chart.  They have been up 17 out of 30 years with an average return of 2.96% in May. The YTD return is 1.91% with a 1.46% DIV yield.

P.S. I’ll swap you “to do” lists.