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Oooh Jase, if I were single, I so would hire out lawncare and leaf raking. The enormous shade tree in the yard is gorgeous most of the year, but come fall the leaves pile up about 2 ft deep. Luckily, we've got caterpillar grass (slow-growing and shade and drought tolerant) so it doesn't need watering or mowing more than once every couple of weeks - a month if we want to push it.

i so need that grass!

i just pay someone 25 bucks to come every two weeks and mow the lawn. At the beginning of the season i pay about 20 bucks more to do more cleanuop. I got hosed this year by the person I brought in to do it. It isn't always the best thing to take the lowest bidder

Oh, $25, I wish! Lawn-mowing goes for around $40 here, and I think I paid $90 for a "spring cleaning" that included getting rid of all the leaves and fallen branches and cutting back the vines that were overtaking the fence. Then again, it is a fenced 1/3 acre, and the job took a good 6-8 hours, so I guess I got a bargain. The following fall, we raked leaves ourselves, and put around 50 bags of yard waste on the curb over the course of a month.

It can be pretty expensive to get your lawn done around here as well..fortunately, I live in a condo, so we don't have to worry about that, although we do get hosed on the maintenance fees, so I guess it all evens out in the wash!

Our lawn mower man went up on his fees this year to thirty dollars. The reasons that he gave was that he had to buy a new mower this year plus the rising cost of gas for the mower.

We have a small yard that doesn't involve much mowing time, but lots of weed whacking and edging. My plant allergies make it impossible for me to take care of it, but even if that weren't the case, I feel that thirty bucks every two weeks is a bargain for not having to buy, store and maintain yard mowing equipment.

Hi ms - different countries and states are setting up 'co-ops' where we can trade our talents/skills - I am thinking of offering my English Tuition in return for piano lessons for the kids or diy home tasks etc - I'm joining tomorrow LOL - value doesn't always have to be represented in paper money I suppose, esp in these difficult financial times!

I agree Ms! Thanks to our Short Stories Editor for this great idea. Bartering is an excellent way to go. That way both people get what they need and no one is out any additional money!

I would love to have a cleaning person come in to do even a basic cleaning once a month but my boyfriend is untrusting of strangers. He figures anyone who comes in would be telling their friends about our computers so we could be robbed I'm like, I'm pretty sure everyone on our block has a computer ...

I have bartered with my neighbor for years and also done trades on Craigslist. My son used to break all our TV/VCR combos and I had a few on the backporch.

I gave one of them to a guy who responded to my ad after he fixed the other two and brought them back. He did forget about the porno tape he used to test them out and had to retrieve it before he drove away.

I give things to my neighbor to get stuff done. Like when he put something together I would give him a toaster I had or a george foreman grill. Things like that.