Buying Advice Advice for my first tractor purchase

[WhisperingWinds]

my wife uses a chain harrow to drag her indoor and outdoor arena's, also in the pasture to break up the manure.

I had seen a few posts on here about using chain harrows for arenas & pastures. I've been considering the rake figuring I could also use it for smoothing out the gravel path too. If only I could figure out this weekend's Powerball numbers - then I could just get one of everything...

 

[WhisperingWinds]

Figure out what size tractor you need then buy at least one size larger.
Save the money on the mower and buy a used zero for a dedicated mower.

Both would have saved me a lot of money in the long run.

I'm planning on keeping the 42" lawn tractor for certain areas a bigger tractor wouldn't fit. Hadn't thought of maybe trading it for a larger used zero to use as a dedicated mower as you suggest. Good thing I don't have to worry about mowing for a while yet so I have plenty of time to make some choices!