When I bought my Massey last fall, I paid cash instead of financing because it was 2000 dollars cheaper:thumbsup:. Wife complained all fall about we couldn't go on vacation because I spent all the money on that stupid tractor.
After all the snow we had this winter, she hasn't said a thing because without the tractor we would still be buried in snow.:laughing: So remember it will all work out in the end.
:laughing:
When I told my wife that a tractor would cost around $20,000, she about fell out of her chair. She said she would help me shovel the driveway at the new house once we got there. Well, the first week we were here, we got 5 inches. We were outside shoveling for an hour, and with about 15 feet of driveway left so I could get her to work, our neighbor came over with his Kubota with FEL and back blade and offered to take care of it for us. In 15 seconds, that last 15 feet was done.
My wife looked at me and said "You can buy any tractor you want".
A couple weeks later we found out that we had a slight water problem in the basement that we needed to fix before we could finish the basement. The plan is to run French drains along the three exterior walls of the house that are covered with earth, to waterproof the exterior of those walls, and then waterproof the interior of the walls. The estimate for that wasn't cheap, so we are going to do it ourselves after we get a tractor.
Also looking at ripping out the asphalt driveway, enlarging the parking area, putting in a circular driveway, and installing a rear patio all with pavers. Going to do that ourselves too.
Then, we need to run trenches for the downspouts and have them drain much further away from the house and we need to grade the backyard so that we don't have a marsh in the backyard right by our patio and under our deck. Going to do that ourselves.
Then, we are going to build a stone wall around the elevated driveway and put in a bunch of small plants along it.
The amount of stuff we have to do is huge, and I have gotten the green light on a 3720 now with a FEL and 485 backhoe, but that will not happen until after next tax season when we have a ton of cash to put toward it.
The immediate green light is for a Stihl 250-CBE chainsaw, Stihl 460 chainsaw, Stihl Kombi 30 motor and a couple attachments for the Kombi system.
Ultimately, you need to show your wife what all these things can save you money wise. Make good on that cement basketball court and show her the savings.
I just fixed my 1998 Ford Taurus with 224,000 miles on it. The A/C clutch froze and broke the serpentine belt. Just changed the original alternator in December, but the power steering pump, A/C clutch, and water pump were all original, so I replaced all of them. I have a subscription to AllDataDIY and was able to show my wife how much I saved in labor costs by changing everything myself. She never says a thing about any tools I want to buy, because she knows I will use the heck out of them.
Case in point. I just bought a JD Z445 zero turn mower to mow the grass. Originally, I was going to go with a JD 2520 compact tractor, but with the advice from the guys on here and after deciding that I would rather have a wood burning furnace by winter instead of a tractor right now, we went with the mower. My wife knows I will probably keep that mower running for 10+ years, and that we will easily make our money back on it by not having to pay somebody to mow our grass.
My philosophy is that with the money I save doing things myself, I buy more tools so I can save even more money down the road. Obviously, I don't spend all of the savings on new tools, but I buy the tools whenever I need them.
Ultimately, I am straight forward with my wife about cost. When she asked how much the mower was, I told her straight up. Same goes for anything else I buy, whether it is a gun, bike, hunting equipment, cycling equipment, fishing equipment, tools, etc. I always tell my wife exactly what big ticket items cost. We rarely argue about money. Then again, maybe it is because she knows I hate debt and just will not go out there and put us in debt for things we don't absolutely need.
Oh yeah, she also got the top of the line LG washer and dryer when we moved in here because the house is a foreclosure and there was no washer or dryer. Figure she is going to use them for years and years, and since she likes doing laundry about as much as I like mowing grass, having something nice to do it with was a good idea.
Kind of mixed up this reply with replying to this post and the OP, but it is late and I am tired. I apologize.
