Blogging Away Debt Our Journeys to a Debt-Free Life

by Hope

I made a leap into relieving some of the on-going stress yesterday! My new “Hope”-powered lawn mower, otherwise known as a Reel Lawn Mower arrived.

I assembled it and immediately cut the front yard. Rested a bit (it was over 100 outside) and then cut the side yard. No more lawn woes for this girl!

Why I Choose a Reel Lawn Mower

If you remember from my post in June, I was leaning towards an electric mower. I hadn’t even thought of going with a reel mower then.

But with encouragement from the BAD community of slew of internet searches and some Home Depot visits – reel seemed to be the best option for me.

The determining factors were:

• The upfront cost was significantly less.
• We have a pretty small, mostly level yard.
• Lawn mower maintenance has been the bane of my existence EVERY SINGLE WEEK since grass cutting season started.
• No gas, no carburetor, no oil changes.
• No plugging in, no cords.
• American Lawn Mower seems to have a great reputation.
• All I need is WD-40 for weekly maintenance!

I would like to add the “greener” advantage to that list, but it was not a factor I considered. I needed easy and reliable.

It’s really comical how excited I am about this new purchase. And how excited I am to finally be able to maintain my own yard as I have wanted to all year.

Finances of My New Lawn Mower

My grandmother called me right as I finished mowing yesterday, and when I told her I had just mowed her response was “with what?” I could hear the shock in her voice when I said “my brand new lawn mower!”

She graciously loaned me her lawn mower, one of the two FREE lawn mowers we have to use, that I cannot keep running.

The two gas powered lawn mowers have now been replaced by my handy, dandy American Lawn Mower Reel Mower

The new reel lawn mower cost $69 before tax. It is a 14″ wide version, with 5 blades and 10″ wheels. There was a slightly cheaper version with 4 blades and 8.5″ wheels. I decided the extra $5 was worth it.

While I would have preferred a wider option, the difference in cost was over $30+. I decided a few extra laps of the yard would pay off in healthy benefits more than spending more money right now.

Now I must acquire a bottle of WD-40, which I don’t think will cost me more than a few dollars and last a long time.

I am proud of myself. That is such a good feeling.

What decision have you made, that might be silly to others, but makes you feel good about yourself?

Hope

Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.