by Hope
In keeping with the spirit of this morning’s post and really wanting to be debt free, the lawncare line item from our budget bit the dust this past Friday. We are now on our own as far as lawn care goes…and my grass is completely overgrown!
The plan was to borrow a neighbor’s lawnmower for the first few weeks to give me time to put the money away for the equipment we need. They were totally open to it since they don’t use it, they use the same lawn service I just quit. However, after a year of un-use, it won’t start.
So now to plan B, as soon as I can figure out what plan B will be…but as soon as I purchase the equipment, that extra $100+ is going right to expediting my debt payoff. (I will be paying the kids to mow the lawn, but it will come out of the already budgeted line item.)
I am SO EXCITED about the little progress that we are making that I know is going to pay off big time!
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
Have you tried your local www.freecycle.org chapter?? Perhaps you can place a “wanted” ad for a free working lawnmower. You aren’t obligated to pick up anything that isn’t in proper working condition, and if you aren’t familiar with freecycle it’s a Recycling organization, not a Charity organization so you don’t have to feel like you are asking for handouts. Oftentimes in my local chapter they advertise free “push” (non-electric) mowers; that may not be ideal forever but could tide you over until you can pay for a new lawnmower if that’s what you choose to do.
My spouse actually purposely purchased a “classic style” (non powered) mower this time so he didn’t have to deal with the hassle of maintaining the engine.
If you have a decently maintained lawn, which I’m hoping you would since you paid to have it maintained, then they actually work quite well – at least the Scotts classic does.
Worth a shot if it is free!
If it used to work, then it’s probably not *too* hard to get it to start. It will take some work to figure out the issue and fix it.
Probably needs annual maintenance – eg. replacement of the oil, filter, cleaning out the starter, or adding gas. Google and Youtube are your friends in this instance, search for your symptoms and you may find a few leads or even the answer! If nothing obvious right away, then you may need to post on a home-and-garden message community and hone in on a path forward.
If your twins are internet savvy, and mechanically inclined, they could do the research and run options by you.
+1 to this. Start simple…is there gas, and has the gas gone stale? Does it need oil? Does the clutch need to be held when starting?
I agree, I’m sure it could be fixed.
Granted, that doesn’t mean it will be easy to get running, or keep running. We bought a $50 mower off craigslist and it worked, but the husband had to tinker with it a lot each time so that it would run. Not impossible, but if you aren’t mechanically inclined or don’t have the time to waste on it, might be an issue.
When ours wouldn’t start, it needed new sparkplugs and the old gas needed to be dumped out, cleaned out, and a new filter put in. Cheap things to replace.
And remember most every lawnmower I’ve ever heard of requires a gas and oil mixture to run.
It would be quite neighborly to pay to have the lawn mower serviced, and probably cheaper in the long run as you figure out what you really need.
Good Job Miss Hope ! Carry on with your work. All the best.
While some people need to do the work themselves to save money especially during these hard hitting economic times but for me its the great sense of accomplishment I get knowing I did all the work myself when I look out my window and see my great looking lawn.