Landscapers

Ramit Sethi who made his fortune guiding people to handle their money in the most sensible way has some reservations about owning your own home.  When he runs the numbers on the true value of home ownership, he includes real costs, down payments, mortgage, taxes, upkeep, insurance.  It does not always give the best financial return.  Sometimes lifestyle prevails.  I like having a space that is mine.  Mortgage paid off long ago.  Only one other borrowing episode to replace asbestos siding with vinyl.  Other than purchase costs, and selling costs which have not yet happened, we still have those expenses that never disappear.  Insurance on autopay.  Taxes just boosted significantly following countywide reassessment.  Upkeep never ends.  Some outlay to the plumbers periodically.  And the pest inspectors who seem to do well at keeping us free of six and eight legged vermin, frustratingly incomplete with sending the mice on a one way ticket.  We have an electrical contract, about $30 a month.  They inspect our systems for us twice a year, tell us what is wrong, which is usually more than what really needs repair, then gives us an estimate for them to fix what they say we ought to fix.  We get a second electrical, plumbing, or heating estimate from reputable contractors that always undercut them, sometimes even advising us not to undertake the project yet.  And then there is tree removal.  Infrequent but costly enough to have a place on my spare credit card that gives 2% credit for my next airfare.

And then we have the landscapers.  Some things are simply beyond my capacity, others within my capacity that I really prefer paying somebody else do.  I still have several lawnmowers, including one that probably runs.  My lawn gets mowed weekly by a different, more limited landscaper. It gets fed a few times a year by Lawn Doctor so it will grow faster and need more mowing.  But twice a year, the forest primeval that has become my yard needs control.  Trimming hedges which brush my head with dew or the previous night's rain when I walk out my front door.  A perimeter of plantings along the back yard.  I rarely go to the back yard, but look out the window frequently. My garden disabled a few times with herbicide.  Gutters that have sprouted their own vines in the growing mixture that settles there.  No shortage of things to do.  Impressive bill each time, but our grounds appear well tended whenever they finish multiple tasks.  Just something the hangs at the interface of needs doing and want done.  Either way, beyond my level of skill.  In my senior years, my physical capacity to do these things has long passed.