If it is time to purchase your first set of lawn equipment tools or you need to replace an aging mower, edger or what have you, you might be cringing at the money that you are about to spend. Luckily, there are a lot of ways that you can save money on this major expense, possibly even hundreds of dollars. Take a look.
Shop Clearance
Like a lot of things, lawn care is a seasonal business. This means that the worst possible time to buy anything for your lawn is the Spring. Instead, you want to shop when the rest of the world is no longer buying equipment for their lawn.
That means that you need to be shopping in the late fall. This is when the home improvement stores will be trying to get rid of their excess inventory to make room for all of the Christmas items like trees and decorations.
When looking for clearance lawn care items, you will need to do your leg work. You will find that some retailers would rather go to the expense of storing their goods for a season rather than discounting them. Shop the major home improvement chains but do not forget about the other retailers. Walmart, for example, is a retailer that you might not think about but they tend to heavily discount their end of season gear.
Use A Coupon
Obviously coupons are a great way to save, but how do you find one for lawn equipment?
Well, if you are moving to a new address, you fill out a change of address with the postal service. When you do so online, you can opt in to their moving coupons. In a few days, that will typically result in you getting a nice 10 percent off coupon for the big home improvement box store. That could easily net you a $100 to $200 savings on lawn equipment or even more if you are shopping for a new zero turn mower.
It costs a dollar to register your change of address online and it is well worth all 100 pennies.
Buy Equipment Used
Who says that you need to buy everything new. You can often buy perfectly good equipment online at places like Craigslist or on apps like LetGo.
Score used equipment for about half the price of the new stuff, maybe even less.
Do use caution when buying your lawn gear used. Make sure that you test it out to see that everything runs properly. Make sure that powered equipment has proper oil levels and that it is not leaking in any way.
Also, check the little things to see if equipment has been maintained. For example, check to see if the underside of the mower is caked with years of old cuttings or if the blades need sharpening. Look at the little details to see if it was taken care of or if the equipment is on its last legs.
Go Green
Think about going green to save. While not suitable for large lawns, electric lawn equipment can be a good investment for an average sized lot.
The initial outlay may not be a tremendous savings but you will save big during the life of the equipment. No fuel to buy and less overall maintenance. Just charge up the battery between uses and you are good to go.
As a side benefit, you also get equipment that is much quieter to use. This means, no more ear plugs needed to simply cut your lawn.
Research The Correct Size You Need
People, especially men, tend to buy way more than they need to get the job done. This can cost you a lot of money unnecessarily. If you have a 20 by 20 backyard, you have no need to finance a riding mower. With anything less than a quarter acre, they are a waste. Save money by buying the right sized equipment for the job.
Keep in mind that this goes the other way too. If you buy equipment that is too small or under-powered, you may find that you need to replace it sooner. You will want to upgrade quickly or the equipment itself will die from being over used.
Have Someone Cut Your Lawn
There are times when it might be cheaper to simply have someone cut your lawn for you. If you are only going to be in your home for a few months, why spend 1000 dollars or more on new equipment when you can have a pro cut it for $25 a week.
Also, if it is the end of the season and there are only one or two cuts left in the growing season, it might make sense to pay someone to do it. You can then buy your equipment next year and move the expense to another date.
Last but not least, think about the time involved in cutting your lawn. It might take you two hours to cut an edge your lawn when a professional service can do the job for $25 and get it done in about 30 minutes. How much is your time worth. That is $12.50 an hour you are making. Could you maybe make more money working and let a pro cut the lawn? Very likely yes.
