August 6th, 2012
Manual Mower . Mr. Money Mustache . Reel Mower
Manual Mower Madness
Recently Mr. Thrifty was visiting one of his favorite websites – Mr. Money Mustache. It was this post, Muscle Over Motor, that got me thinking. Why am I spending $10 each summer to fill up my mower, when I could be muscling my way to Mustachianism. With a manual mower, I could mow as early or late as I wanted, I’d need less room to store my mower; heck, I could even hang it by peg hooks on the wall and free up valuable space in my small outdoor closet. It sounded awesome.
I patiently waited until I found a good deal on a manual mower. As far as deals go, this was a good one, the mower was free to a good home. I told the guy I’d take good care of her and you could see the relief in his eyes. (I later came to find out what he was relieved about)
The mower needed a bit of servicing. The great thing about these mowers is they are dead simple to work on. I took it apart, sharpened her up, lubed the gears, and began to mow..and mow…and mow..and oh dear Lord..my heart began to pound…my breath grew labored..my back ached…and that was only my front yard.
I’m not sure how old Mr. Money Mustache is, but I’m 42. I also live in North Carolina. So what I’m trying to say is, to hell with pushing a manual mower in 100 degree heat in this humidity.
Mowing my own grass saves me nearly $200 each month and it only takes $3 of gas each month. So listen to Jimmy McMillan, it’s hot as hell out there, and a manual mower could kill you. At the very least, it will make you wish you were dead. The MOWING IS TOO DAMN HARD!
I’m not going to say that manual mowers aren’t thrifty, but I will go so far as to say that manual mowers are not for Mr. Thrifty.
Comments
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August 7th, 2012
Silly Mr. Thrifty!
It’s not about the lawnmower gas. It’s about keeping your neighborhood quiet and less polluted. It’s also about getting stronger so you don’t use a ridiculously young age like 42 as an excuse not to do ANYTHING (I’m 38, since you asked).
Your reel mower was probably undersized for the job, since I find with my own manual mower, I can cut grass FASTER than a gas mower can do it.
If all else fails, and your lawn is too big, try an electric mower (corded or cordless, see Craigslist for details). Way less hazardous to your health than those crappy gas ones.
But keep up the good work. You’re on the right track, you just need to keep moving. Eventually you’ll go back and laugh at this the Old You who wrote this complainypants post on your blog
.
Mr. Money Mustache
August 7th, 2012
You won’t find me manually mowing my grass either!
The money saved isn’t worth nearly the amount of time it would take me to do it.
Holly@ClubThrifty
August 7th, 2012
Mr. Mustache, I tried to tell myself that mowing my lawn manually was exercise, but it mostly felt like work. My wife looks out the window at the neighbors when they mow their lawn and asks, “Why do they mow so slow Mr. Thrifty. You look like some kind of speed demon when you mow.”
“Honey, those guys enjoy messing around on their lawn – I don’t. I am out there to get it done in the fastest way possible.”
The only thing I hate worse than mowing is mowing slow and this manual mower is slow. It is a pretty though. I should post a picture. Seriously, I could hang this thing on the wall in some bar and drinkers would admire it.
Never fear, I am not going to complainy pants too long. After reading about your exploits in door replacement, I’ve decided to rip out my front and back doors and replace them with energy efficient doors.
Mrs. Thrifty is terrified.
For my part, I’ve agreed to wait until after mosquito season before attempting such a daunting task.
Cheers!
Mr. Thrifty
August 7th, 2012