I pay $35 to have someone else mow my lawn. It’s not that I’m too lazy to do it myself. Well, maybe I am, but I like to think I’m just too busy.
I have an old-fashioned reel mower (that’s right, the kind without the motor), and what takes me over an hour takes the lawn guys on their big professional riding mower all of 10 minutes. Plus they clean up and bag the clippings, which is not my idea of fun on a Sunday afternoon. But I came thisclose to firing the lawn guys recently.
Here’s why I couldn’t bring myself to do it: I found out the boss had been giving me freebies for over a year!
I pay for every-other-week lawn mowing. It’s all my budget can stand. And when I was looking to economize, I figured I could spend the time rather than the money this summer. So I struck up a conversation with the guy, who stopped me dead in my tracks when he told me he’d actually been mowing my lawn every week but only charging me for every other week.
He mows my neighbor’s lawn, and he figured it was just as easy to do mine too. (Yes, you’d think I would have noticed, but he tends to leave the grass on the long side, and I’m not someone who’s obsessed with my lawn anyway. I actually think they call it yard WORK for a reason.) He knew I hadn’t asked for it and so he did it for free. So he’s still got the job.
This is the human face of the belt-tightening economy. When you look to cut something out of your budget, you’re probably impacting someone else’s. I’m going to find another way to economize, one that doesn’t involve someone who’s been taking care of me and taking it personally.
And if you’re inclined to cut your own grass and want to be green about it, our lawn experts at Consumer Reports don’t love the reel mowers. They’re bigger fans of electric. At ConsumerReports.org, you'll find lots of advice to consider when buying the right mower for your needs. Check out this video, too!
