Why We Don’t Have a Lawn Care Service–Hint: It Used to be Cheaper When Teens Did It…

What happened to the simple joy of cutting your own lawn…and what happened to letting a teen make a buck by cutting your lawn? Now, so many people in Fairfield feel the need to hire expensive “professional” mowing services once reserved for commercial properties. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lawn mowing services may be a convenience, but at what cost?

It’s lawn-care season, but this post was on my mind during leaf-raking season, too. I was pushed to write this post when I saw a lawn care service truck parked in front of an otherwise frugal friend’s home.

We mow our own lawn, but one of my frugal friends said it costs her $60 every two weeks to have the grass cut, which means it’s $120 a mont–of course that’s not all year round, but then there’s raking services… I’ve also seen services with deals for $25 a mow (not around here, however), and heard that other companies charge $45 a mow (around here). That cost is just for mowing, not for other services, such as fertilizing, etc. (see post from CostOwl.com below). My kids are more than willing to cut the grass once a week for neighbors at a lot lessthan that! There seem to be no more lawn-cutting or leaf-raking gigs for teens around here, unfortunately.

Needless to say, these lawn service guys (in teams of two to four people) spend all of 10 minutes at each house if they are there to mow a lawn and whack some weeds–they have the heavy-duty (and really loud) equipment to do it in record time. I’ve timed it! We are talking about small quarter-to-half-acre plots of land here. Plus, it’s a high-volume business which means they have to get in, get out, and get to the next customer’s lawn to make the hour worthwhile. And the lawns don’t look all that much better than ours (well, now we have a weed whacker so we look a lot better). But if you do have a service and want to know why it’s expensive, here’s an article that explains the price increases.

There are times when a service would be quite handy–if you are unable to physically take care of your property, if you work an ungodly amount of hours, or if you have acres of land. So, what should you pay for the service if you get one? One blog, Landscaping Ideas Online, gives you some good tips, which will hopefully talk you out of feeling the need to get a service.

Here’s an excerpt of the post from Landscaping Ideas Online:

If you are looking for the very barest of basic services, the average cost of lawn care services in Small Town, USA should run somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 per week, which puts you anywhere from between $120-150 per month. Not really bad when you consider that other services cost considerably more than this each and every week and most of us could easily axe a daily run to Starbuck’s in order to make up for this particular expense.

Of course, me being me, I like to look at everything from the point of view of personal value. Most basic services include moving, edging, equipment provided as well as fuel, trimming the lawn, and general removal of debris (limbs and such) though you should check with the provider you are considering before you hire them to be certain. I certainly would not pay more than $30 per week for less.

Why not use your own lawnmower and save the money (better yet if you have an electric mower), or even better yet, get a push mower (read Aimee’s post on the value of cutting your grass with a push mower here).

More Lawn Care Costs, courtesy of CostOwl.com.

• A reasonable price for lawn care is $25-$35 per week, or $100-$140 per month. By the hour, this works out to $20-$25 per hour, or $40-$50 for half acre lawns.
• Most landscapers will include basic lawn maintenance such as lawn mowing and edging.
• Larger lawns cost more.
• The local cost of gasoline will affect the price.
• Trimming, pruning, clearing planting beds, trimming the hedges and clearing debris generally all cost extra.
• Lawn care services such as applying Scott’s LawnService or Tru-Green run about $50-$60 per application, with about eight applications per year, or a total cost of $400-$500. Such a service handles fertilization and both kills and prevents future weeds and pests.
• Tipping and the use of an additional worker for some jobs costs extra.
• Most lawn care can be easily handled by a homeowner and doing it yourself will save money over hiring a professional lawn care business.
• This Old House offers lawn care tips on everything from cutting the grass to more complicated landscaping.
• Organic lawn care is actually cheaper in the long run than using synthetic fertilizer and pesticides. This Old House offers an excellent guide. Also, check out this list of frequently asked questions about organic lawn care.

Until we are unable to mow our own lawn, we’ll suffer with some less than perfect patches on our lawn.

~Marilyn, TFF

Quick and Cheap Way to Clean the Grill

Use a little elbow grease when cleaning with aluminum foil, but it works. Just don’t forget to rinse the grills after this cleaning process so you don’t get bits of foil in your food (which seems less scary than getting a brush bristle in your gut).

I have a fear of grill brushes. It sounds odd–but this phobia came from seeing an older “Medical Mystery: You be the Doctor” television show on ABC where a bristle fell off a grill brush, stuck to the grill, then became cooked into a hamburger patty, and after the burger was eaten, it finally caused chaos in one person’s gut. So, I banned the tool from our house. Instead, I tried a number of items, a grill cleaning cream and a stone-type tool (neither worked), the Magic Eraser (my favorite product, but nope, didn’t work), and finally somewhere I saw a tip to use crumpled up foil to get the gunk off. It works! But, here’s the thing: you have to wipe down (with a damp cloth) or hose off the grills after using the foil technique or else you, too, will be featured on a “Medical Mystery” show.

For more grill cleaning tips, see this article on cleaning a gas grill.

~Marilyn, TFF

Frugal Foodie Kitchen Investments With Your Kohl’s 30%-Off Coupon

Attention Working Moms and Stay-at-Home Moms!  Busy People Everywhere!  While I say that cooking from scratch is the most frugal and sustainable way to go, I know – Life is Busy!  Your Kohl’s 30% off coupon can help make cooking from scratch easier.

Here are a few helpful kitchen appliances that I bought on sale using my coupon and, in some cases, Kohl’s Cash:

Zojurushi Breadmaker – see my previous post - Put the ingredients in the pan, press a couple of buttons.  Bread can bake over night.

Ninja Master Prep Professional Blender Set – see my previous post - guacamole, fresh salsa or smoothies in a jiffy.

Fagor Duo Combi 5 Piece Pressure Cooker Set –  I got a great two-pot set on sale for $94 (retails for $150 elsewhere) - dried beans (least expensive), rice, and other food cook in a fraction of the time, which saves energy.  (I will soon post the hummus recipe I make with dried chickpeas cooked in the pressure cooker.)

Black and pinto beans make up a regular meal of bean and cheese burritos at our house.

Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer – I got a great deal on this (in a fabulous cobalt blue color!) because it was on sale and eligible for a $30 rebate.  Total cost = $210.  (retails for $3.49 elsewhere).  I earned $40 in Kohl’s Cash for this purchase, which I used for a food grinder attachment.  It was on sale and I was able to use the same 30% off coupon.  Total cost = $14. (retails $55, elsewhere)

Besides using the stand mixer for dessert recipes, I now use it to make hamburger rolls.  Check out this great recipe from another frugal mom:  Homemade Buttermilk Buns (I use 3.5 cups of whole wheat bread flour and 1 cup all purpose flour)

The first time, I followed the recipe and made eight burger buns.  They came out perfect, but were a bit on the jumbo side (kale chips are on the left).

Second time, I made 16 burger rolls. These were just the right size. I freeze whatever rolls I don’t use.

With the food grinder attachment, any cut of beef can be made into ground meat for hamburgers, chili or lasagna.  Marilyn and I are part of a “Beef Share” through a local farm and get a wide variety of cuts for a great price.  (These days, especially with the revelation of pink slime, it pays to know where your beef comes from!)

My best Kohl’s Coupon deal yet!

No pink slime here-

Whatever eggs were left over from the “egg wash” for the tops of the hamburger rolls, I used in my hamburger recipe. Waste not, want not.

Kids’ dinner plates – homemade burgers, buns and oven fries with strawberries for dessert.

I got this huge slow cooker for opening up a checking account at a local bank. Sadly, those days are gone.

I also use a slow cooker.  I got this huge Proctor-Silex Slow Cooker years ago FREE for opening up a checking account at a local bank.  Anyone remember those days?  We use the slow cooker for chili, beef stew and this red lentil stew recipe, which my kids love over basmati rice.  Please feel free to share your favorite slow cooker recipes!

Learning to cook is lifelong.  It starts at any age.  Involving/teaching children to cook provides for frugal fun as well as a lifelong skill (future post!)   Start here - Cook for Good!  Stay tuned for more frugal foodie recipes!

~Aimee, TFF

Clean Fruits & Vegetables With Inexpensive Wash You Make Yourself

Who sneezes into YOUR fruits and veggies in the grocery store? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Years ago when I worked in New York City, I saw people constantly sneezing and coughing into salad bars at lunchtime (let’s not even mention the roaches I’d see in restaurants). I was thinner when I worked in the city because I lost my appetite on many days. Well, it isn’t much different in the suburbs when it comes to germs! I remember one time looking through tomatoes and an older woman standing next to me turned and said, “I feel awful, I think I have the flu.” She looked like she was going to faint, so I found her help, but days later I thought, eeek, don’t we all go shopping when we are sick!?

Though I diligently wash my fruits and vegetables, I just never thought it was enough to use just water. But there’s no way I would pay $3.99 for a 16-ounce bottle of wash in the supermarket. So, I scrubbed. I was thrilled to find this post on Budget101.com, that offers two recipes for an inexpensive wash that makes 16 ounces for pennies (the price of ingredients for homemade wash is negligible). The first recipe is basically the same mixture I already use as an all-purpose cleaner in my kitchen. I tried the first one and there’s no vinegar smell or aftertaste–at least from the apples and pineapple I cleaned and cut with the solution.

Recipe #1:

In a clean spray bottle combine the following:

1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
2 TBS baking soda
2 TBS lemon juice

Mix well. Spray fresh fruits and vegetables generously, allow the mixture to remain on them for about 5 minutes, rinse off with cold, clean water. Store unused spray in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe #2 (more of a soak than spray)

1/2 cup vinegar
3 TBS salt
1 Very Large bowl, half full of cold water

Combine the vinegar and salt, mixing well until the salt dissolves. Add to a large bowl of water. Soak fruit and veggies (uncut) in the mix for 10 minutes, remove and pat dry. (Soak leafy greens for 2 minutes.)

A couple of notes from Budget101.com and myself:

1. Wash the stem areas of produce well where dirt and pesticides accumulate.
2. When you get home from the store, wash produce, then DRY WELL. The last thing you want is rotting produce because it’s wet.
3. After leafy greens and stalks (celery, carrots) are washed, then dried, it’s then ok to put them in a huge bowl of plain, clean iced water, then put the whole bowl (water and veggies) your fridge. The veggies will keep longer that way, but of course, change the water every day or so.
   

   Bell peppers are one of the worst offenders when it comes to being laden with pesticides. Probably no amount of wash will get the peppers healthy, best to stick with organic. But, if you do have conventional peppers, at least use a wash. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Thank you, Budget101.com for your recipes!

~Marilyn, TFF

Is Having a Cleaning Service a Luxury or a Necessity?

When the economy imploded in 2008, a casual friend told me that her husband informed her that the cleaning lady could come only one time a week instead of twice. I told her that she was lucky to have a cleaning lady at all! But what I was thinking was this: hmmmm, she doesn’t work, she only has two kids, why can’t she clean her own house? So many people I know–with and without kids, stay-at-home moms, work-at-home moms, work-out-of-the-home moms–they love to drop in conversation the fact that they have a cleaning lady. Strangely enough, people love to quote how much  their cleaning service costs–anywhere between $60 to $80 every two weeks–or, $120 to $160 a month to have a house cleaned. I usually respond by saying something stupid like “Yeah, if I worked outside the home I’d have a cleaning lady, too.” That would be a lie, actually. I’ve worked outside the home most of my life and still never wanted a cleaning service. In addition to all that money, I’m still unsure of what the allure is about having a cleaning lady poking around into the most personal corners of your life.

I see many maid and cleaning service cars parked outside of homes in Fairfield County, like this one. Many are unmarked cars, but it's a giveaway when we see mops and pails being pulled out of the trunk. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m just not comfortable having someone cleaning my own toilet, then having to look at them in the face afterward! I’ve written many articles over the years about cleaning the house, and I’ve interviewed numerous cleaning professionals, and whoa, they all know a-l-o-t about each client. They’ve told me stories about how dirty people’s sheets are, literally and figuratively. Ick. I’d like to keep my dust mites to myself, thank you very much.

Once in my 20s, my roommate and I hired a cleaning lady for our New York City duplex (which sounds more luxurious than it really was).  The cleaning lady lasted one day because my roommate cleaned up before she came, and I’m just too territorial to let a stranger into my stuff.

But more than being territorial, I’m frugal, and there’s no room in my budget for someone else to clean my home at $60 or $80 a pop. If I have dust bunnies and smudges on my walls, so be it. I look at it this way: cleaning my own home helps me bond with it, know it, feel it, and really get to know what we have, what we need, what can go out, who’s sneaking snacks at night, who accidently threw out a bracelet that only needed to be glued, even who had a bout of diarrhea! I didn’t decide to have a family just to keep my hands clean! I had a family so I could enjoy all the crazy dirt and mess that goes along with it. After all, I doubt anyone has ever gone to their deathbed thinking, “I should have hired a maid.”

I know the argument goes like this: “My time is worth more to me than money so that’s why I hire a cleaning lady so I can be more productive.” I’d rather figure out how to productively clean my own home while saving money which gives me peace of mind to be more productive in my work. Plus, it would be too much work to clean up before the cleaning lady arrives, and it would be too exhausting to follow her around once she’s there! That wouldn’t be very productive to me.

But…do maids clean kitty litter? Well…maybe that would be worth the money!

~Marilyn, TFF

Read a Favorite Post: “19 Things Your Suburban Millionaire Neighbor Won’t Tell You” by Len Penzo

I’m re-reading one of my favorite books, The Millionaire Next Door (1996) to grab a few favorite passages for the radio show Aimee and I are doing sometime in May. In doing some extra research into the book, I came across a new favorite personal finance blog, Len Penzo Dot Com. The post Len wrote, “19 Things Your Suburban Millionaire Neighbor Won’t Tell You” is right on the money (no pun intended) and so worth the read.

Here’s an excerpt where Len describes how the millionaire neighbor next door lives — I’m hoping Len meant this to be non-gender specific :–)

(Read his entire post here):

1. He always spends less than he earns.  In fact his mantra is, over the long run, you’re better off if you strive to be anonymously rich rather than deceptively poor.

2. He knows that patience is a virtue. The odds are you won’t become a millionaire overnight.  If you’re like him, your wealth will be accumulated gradually by diligently saving your money over multiple decades.

3.  When you go to his modest three-bed two-bath house, you’re going to be drinking Folgers instead of Starbucks.  And if you need a lift, well, you’re going to get a ride in his ten-year-old economy sedan.  And if you think that makes him cheap, ask him if he cares.  (He doesn’t.)

4. He pays off his credit cards in full every month.  He’s smart enough to understand that if he can’t afford to pay cash for something, then he can’t afford it.

5. He realized early on that money does not buy happiness.  If you’re looking for nirvana, you need to focus on attaining financial freedom.

6. He never forgets that financial freedom is a state of mind that comes from being debt free.  Best of all, it can be attained regardless of your income level.

7. He knows that getting a second job not only increases the size of your bank account quicker but it also keeps you busy – and being busy makes it difficult to spend what you already have.

8. He understands that money is like a toddler; it is incapable of managing itself.  After all, you can’t expect your money to grow and mature as it should without some form of credible money management.

9. He’s a big believer in paying yourself first. Paying yourself first is an essential tenet of personal finance and a great way to build your savings and instill financial discipline.

10. Although it’s possible to get rich if you spend your life making a living doing something you don’t enjoy, he wonders why you do.  Life is too short.

11.  He knows that failing to plan is the same as planning to fail.  He also knows that the few millionaires that reached that milestone without a plan got there only because of dumb luck.   It’s not enough to simply declare that you want to be financially free.

12. When it came time to set his savings goals, he wasn’t afraid to think big.  Financial success demands that you have a vision that is significantly larger than you can currently deliver upon.

13. Over time, he found out that hard work can often help make up for a lot of financial mistakes – and you will make financial mistakes.

14. He realizes that stuff happens, that’s why you’re a fool if you don’t insure yourself against risk. Remember that the potential for bankruptcy is always just around the corner and can be triggered from multiple sources: the death of the family’s key bread winner, divorce, or disability that leads to a loss of work.

15. He understands that time is an ally of the young.  He was fortunate enough to begin saving in his twenties so he could take maximum advantage of the power of compounding interest on his nest egg.

16. He knows that you can’t spend what you don’t see.  You should use automatic paycheck deductions to build up your retirement and other savings accounts.  As your salary increases you can painlessly increase the size of those deductions.

17. Even though he has a job that he loves, he doesn’t have to work anymore because everything he owns is paid for – and has been for years.

18. He’s not impressed that you drive an over-priced luxury car and live in a McMansion that’s two sizes too big for your family of four.

19. After six months of asking, he finally quit waiting for you to return his pruning shears.  He broke down and bought himself a new pair last month.  There’s no hard feelings though; he can afford it.

So that’s it.  Now you know what your millionaire neighbor won’t tell you. That’s the end of Len’s post…

As a Frugal Fairfielder, I believe that The Millionaire Next Door should be required reading for Middle Schoolers! Thanks for your insights, Len!

~Marilyn, TFF