LTIL (short version) -: I now "officially" own my electric mower and whipper-snipper.
LTIL (back story) -:
There was a period where I was being lazy and paying for someone to come and do my lawns/edges, which obviously cost me $X each time and it was always a great job. Unfortunately, the guy doing the work sold his business and the bloke who took over was a slimy, dodgy $#!&@. The last straw was when he was locked in to do the lawns and edges on a few days before Christmas back in 2024. Naturally, he was a total no-show - not even a phone call or a text message saying he was unable to make it. Eventually contacted him and got a commitment for him to come on Christmas Eve to do the job, but once more, a total no-show and no communication. I decided there and then that I would never use his services again and I wouldn't even bother to tell him I was letting him go.
I went looking for a new electric mower and whipper-snipper. Ended up purchasing some higher-quality equipment for a decent price at the Boxing Day Sales (i.e. something that wouldn't run out of juice too quickly and was powerful enough to deal with thick buffalo) and have quietly maintained a spreadsheet ever since to track the "pay-off" (i.e. every time I do my own lawns/edges, $X comes off the purchase price of the equipment) until such time as the amount I would have spent on someone doing the work for me has covered off the purchase price of the equipment. Well, that day has finally arrived today and I'm now officially into "savings" territory.
Oh, and I've never ever heard another peep from the dodgy lawns guy since just before Christmas 2024. How on earth can you run a sustainable business like that??