Welcome back, Money Saving Lords and Ladies. We have endured the wilds of changing your mind toward money, we have deeply considered the differences between wants and needs, we have stopped the comparison game, and we have linked arms with our spouses. On the practical side of things, we have discussed using coupons, creating extra income, packing lunches, and even household tips to shave money off your spending. AND there are many more tips in this series to help you save money and reduce debt.
Today’s tip might surprise you. I, the QUEEN of Free, am encouraging you to spend $ to get out of debt. It seems like an unequal equation, right? Or maybe like a scam? But before, you run out and spend on whatever you want, please read my tips and ideas. You might be a little disappointed but it does make sense.
Day 20: Pay Someone to Mow Your Yard (maybe)
Here in the Queendom, we have a realllllly big yard. We’re talking 1.5 acres that takes 3 hours to mow (that’s the bottom number).
Luckily last summer there was a bit of drought in these parts but some summers, we’ve found ourselves mowing at least twice a week. That’s a lot of man hours. And it’s hard work.
Normally, we’re fairly happy to mow. I like the job because it’s one of the few jobs as a mom that I see completely finished and can take pride in the finished product. Laundry’s never done, dishes always keep coming, but the yard can be mowed and stay that way (for at least 24 hours).
That being said, there are actually times that it’s more fruitful for us to pay a young teenager a decent wage to help or to completely mow our yard.
The King of Free bills an hourly rate for his job. He can work as many hours as he wants.
During the summers when the Princesses were itty bitty, mowing and taking care of them at the same time was not an option for me.
And so, it was actually much more profitable for us to hire a high school student to mow our yard and work while he mowed our yard.
Sounds counterintuitive, right? But since the King of Free is able to make quite a bit more money than we spend on the help, the equation definitely works in our favor.
Obviously, if you would lose money by working when someone mows your yard, it’s not a good idea. But if you have control over the amount of money you make, it might be a good idea to re-think your household activities in regard to when it’s wise to do something yourself and when it might be a good idea to pay someone else to do it.
I will be honest that it’s still not easy for us to relinquish control of our money to pay for someone to do something that we could do ourselves.
From changing the oil to painting the house, there are number of household maintenance activities that fall into this category. When has it actually saved you money to pay someone else to do something?
This post is written with thanks to Verizon Wireless who is sponsoring me at Blissdom this year. I’m growing, learning, and developing more to help my blog be the best that I can be plus I am Ruling the Air with speedy Verizon Service and awesome Social Media friendly devices. Thank you to Verizon and Lady Michelle for the opportunity to experience Verizon Bliss!
