My neighbor's lawn looks beautiful. I see the neighborhood kid who does it and he's fast, efficient, and good. A couple weeks ago my lawnmower crapped out so when he was done with the neighbor's lawn, I paid him to do mine.
When I saw him yesterday, we negotiated. He's going to do mine every 2 weeks, and I'll pay him $40/month. Mow, edge, clean up. I even set him up with online bill pay so that he gets his money even if I'm not in town.
Am I lazy? Am I contributing to the "local economy", paying someone to do a job superior to the one I'd do? Both?
No you are managing your time. How much does a lawn mower cost? (or repair) Gasoline? Then the time you spend. I computed how much my time is worth on the job. If I am doing certain maintainence, that is my time I could be spent doing something else. Especially if the person does it better and faster than me. My neighbors have a nice garden, but they have a crew to mow and rake and such. They explained to me "we want to spend our time doing something we enjoy when not working."
ReplyDeleteIt's all cost-benefit and evaluating what is worth your time. If an extra hour of relaxing at home is worth the 20 bucks then it sounds like a good deal to me, especially since it's only going to get more hot over the next few months.
ReplyDeleteI think if we find teenagers who are willing to work, hire them! My 13 year old grandson has customers lined up for the summer mowing and has let them know he can do other chores, too.
ReplyDeleteI hired some dudes a few years ago, best 25 dollar I spend.
ReplyDeleteYou are participating in civilization. You have a specialized skill, and so does the lad. You've come to an agreement on how to swap those skills, even if its not a direct swap.
ReplyDeleteYou could join a barter exchange if you wanted to keep your cash.
I wish more kids would take on jobs like this. It's sad how many of these jobs are carried out by adults, many of whom are not citizens. My kids struggle to find part time work. Babysitting and mowing lawns was a good tax free way to make money over the summer, but it seems kids look down their noses at these kind of jobs.
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