It’s a special feeling when you get to tick something off your bucket list.
Recently I bought a new toy, well not actually a toy since it means I now have no excuse not to get a LOT of work done.
I bought a ride-on mower.
One of the consequences of house-sitting was that we spent a lot of time looking after places with significant acreage.
In order to keep the grass under control I needed a ride-on mower.
Having spent many hours driving around in circles I found it was a lot of fun.
I guess it’s a lot like being a race-car driver: they spend much of their lives driving around in circles, except they do it much faster than I do.
It is also very rewarding seeing the before and after results.
Starting with grass so long that Sancho disappeared when he went for a walk to something which, from a distance, has the appearance of a lawn is very satisfying.
I say “appearance” because when you get up close there are a lot of weeds; dandelions, thistles and more.
At least now, I can see them before they get a chance to flower and spread.
It’s also very satisfying being in control of the state of our yard.
Our lease says we have to have the grass cut every three weeks.
We had booked someone to come to do it and had to wait for him to find the time to fit us in.
As it worked out, by the time he could get around to it we’d bought our own mower and I’d started to do it myself.
I was also quite pleased with my negotiation skills.
It was a virtually new mower which retails for around $1900.
“Virtually new” because it had only been used a couple of times.
The owner had been to the local Stihl store, which is where he’d bought it and was told by them that he should be selling it for around $1500.
I offered $1300 which he accepted and was willing to deliver it at no cost, which was wonderful as I’d expected to pay about $100 by the time I hired a suitable vehicle for moving it.
I had also contemplated driving it home.
However, as it was purchased from someone who lived quite a distance from us (although still in Devonport) there was a prospect of getting fined – I’m not sure what the road rules are about driving an unregistered motorised vehicle on public roads and am in no hurry to find out.
I even considered driving along the verge so it would appear that I was mowing the grass.
Fortunately, sanity (and Danita’s exclamation about how absurd I was being) prevailed and I arranged for delivery.
Included in the paperwork he provided was the original invoice.
I then realised why he was happy to accept my offer – he’d paid $1200 for it.
While he’d been able to make a profit on the sale, I was still happy with the result given the above reasons AND from the invoice I’d discovered that the trade price of equipment from the Stihl shop was significantly reduced from the retail price.
The next significant item on my shopping list is a battery powered chain saw.
There’s a fallen tree on our property just crying out to be turned into firewood.
Given the cost of a load of firewood, having my own chainsaw is a sensible investment (at least that’s what I’ve told Danita) and if I can get what I need WITH a marked discount that will be a real bonus.
So now I’m saving up for my next big purchase – Xmas is close so perhaps I can use that as an excuse.