Lowe's and Home Depot usually have a special corner where they place paint that was mixed incorrectly.  It varies from store to store, so you may need to ask, but if you ask the paint counter what they do with their oops paint, they will know exactly what you are talking about.  It is paint that ended up the wrong color, so they discount it.  Usually you can get a gallon of oops paint for $5-7 and a 5 gallon bucket of oops paint for $15-20.  

Smaller  stores have oops paint too, but sometimes it's more complicated.  For example, MAB in Pennsylvania sends all their oops paint to one location, in Upper Darby, PA.  That means that this one location has a very large selection from which to choose.   Sometimes smaller stores are even willing to donate oops paint to non-profits if they receive a receipt that makes it tax deductable, or for advertising. 

The down side with oops paint is that they usually only have a few to choose from, but if you keep an eye on the section every time you go, you can usually find something that, especially with the help of a set of tints, will be useful to you.  At the very least, they are useful for base coating.

So, if you are on a budget, don't let this very cheap resource pass you by.

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