Some cheapskates aren't impressed by Menards 15 percent off everything sale in progress at the Golden Valley location. I've heard complaints that the discount isn't large enough and that all the good stuff is gone already.

I don't agree that 15 percent off is a paltry discount. Not at a hardware store that already has the lowest prices. Fifteen percent off items at Kohl's that are frequently discounted 50 percent would be a good example of a poor discount.

But a lot of the items at Menards discounted 15 percent rarely go on sale. Allow me to put on my pop psychologist hat, and I'll bet that if Menards slapped a big "sale" sign on the item and featured it in the Sunday flier at 10 percent off, some of the same people complaining about a 15 percent discount would snap it up.

But for those of you who just can't get exited about anything unless it's at least 20 percent off, Saturday, Jan. 22 should be the first day of the new discount according to an employee at the store. In fact, the discount will probably increase by 5 percent or so each Saturday until the closing in mid-February.

I went to the store Wednesday and still saw a lot of merchandise. Power tools and snow blowers were gone, but one friend predicted that Menards shipped all the power tools to other stores before the sale. I didn't verify that, but five days into the sale, there is still a lot remaining.

By the way, the 20 percent off sack that was in Wednesday's paper is for food items only (snacks and drinks). You can still use it at the Golden Valley location, but you cannot stack discounts.