Now that I think about it, I used to mow lawns for as little as 50 cents.

[HopeHoops]

Townhouse yards, but still. I'd use hand trimmers around the edges and make it look sharp and haul away all the clippings (stacked on top of the mower). I paid for my first mower that way. Bitch of a way to make a living, but I had a killer tan.

[bayareaboy]

1. Hopefully you got of doing the old mow and go thing ... ...

I have done some sort of landscape thing for most of my life. It really isn't easy, on the other hand it beats sitting at a desk!

[Denninmi]

2. Gas wasn't $4.19 a gallon back then, either.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. And to think that I can't afford a kid to do it these days!

The kids in this neighborhood want as much as a professional lawn service gets. I don't mind doing it, but there are times that I feel like it is just too much for me. I don't understand the kids these days!

[tru]

4. I wouldn't mind

paying a kid as much as a lawn service, since I'd get the same result. But there are no kids in my neighborhood looking for work. In total contrast to when I was growing up, when kids, including myself, were always on the lookout for jobs cutting lawns, babysitting, helping with housework, etc.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. I agree that kids are not out looking for jobs anymore,

but I don't agree that you get the same results from the kids as you do from a professional lawn service. At least in my area, the kids are all about getting done and getting paid as quickly as possible. Yes, the grass is cut, and there may even be some trimming, but they do not do any clean-up. I know this because I have tried it---I wanted to help out kids who seemed to be motivated.

I suppose that my biggest issue is that kids don't have the same overhead as a lawn service, and since they are just starting out, I think it is arrogant to think that they are worth so much money. It takes me 45 minutes to mow, and it takes another hour to edge. This is less than 2 hours work, and a kid wants $40 to do this....and that is more than I make an hour. I have a problem with that. When I babysat, I was paid about half of what the minimum wage would have been at the time, and I was glad for the money. I bet the same was true for you.

[tru]

6. disagree

If someone doesn't do the job well, I explain what I want so it's right next time.

I don't really care what someone's overhead is. I care about the result of their work.

I did a good job cutting lawns, edging, and cleanup. My work was worth the $1.50