What should my son charge to mow lawns?

[MM27]

My house is on a little over an acre and two of the neighborhood boys mow for us. When they first started we actually asked them what they expected and they talked to their dad and came back and said that he thought $10 would be fair.

I don't know if they were just trying to be neighborly or if the father was serious, but I give them $30 each time they do it. I would never expect anyone to do it for $10, especially since they use their own gas mower and with the price of gas nowadays, they'd probably lose money.

 

[auralia]

the kids come to my door and want 20-25 to mow the lawn i always turn them down if they said 10 i'd take it. There is never trimming involved, but i can mow my front lawn in 10 minutes tops heck if i'm paying more than 10$ for that... 1$ a minute i don't think so. The professional company i use when dh is deployed charges 80$ per month this includes trimming and mowing as needed so i think the teenagers charging 20$ are crazy! but i live in a low cost of living area.

 

[seashoreCM]

I suggest not entering into a season contract. This way if he miscalculated then his whole summer is not miserable.

There is a difference between having a kid come over and use your lawn mower and gas and bags versus bringing his own.

Also being under 16 doe s not exempt him from taxes which start at about 15%, although many kids don't bother to report it and nobody is the wiser.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

 

[arthur06]

My DS10 got his first mowing job this summer (I help him out with trimming). He gets $15 for every time that he mows. It takes about 25 minutes to mow the lawn.

 

[starry_solo]

I pay $55 per month for once a week gardening service, including mowing (but that's twice per month), trimming, edging, weeding, etc.

 

[undertheradar]

Seriously, this thread started in 2007.

 

[MinnieForMe]

My 13 year old mows a small front yard and weed wacks for $15.00. Although he asked $15.00, he is so polite and does a decent job so they give him $20.

 

[LovesTimone]

We just moved to GA.
We pay a neighborhood boy $35 he mows, weeds, blows and bags. Not really much grass in the back only around the pool, but our front yard is a hill. He did a really great job. As long as the work is good I don't mind paying him that price. Everybody has to start somewhere, I'm glad to give him a chance.

 

[Celidh]

I don't know what the going rate is around here but I only pay my son $5.00 and I still do first round or two around the outside and around some of the shrubs. It takes me about an hour when I do it on my own. Of course part of that is because he is part of a family and really, it's all I can afford. This is the first year I have felt comfortable letting him use the lawnmower, he is 13. It's a payoff, he gets a bit of money (I don't make enough to give the kids an allowance so it's his only $) and I get a break finally on some of the household work.

That said, he just mowed his uncle's lawn twice while they were on vacation. I don't think he did the whole thing on his own, I think his grandparents helped. His uncle (my ex's brother) paid him $60.00 for doing it twice. I thought that was a bit much, but was told by the uncle it was worth it. Who am I to say, it is Disney $ for his trip!

As far as the pp who commented about this thread being started in 2007, obviously it is still worth reading and commenting on for some. It is interesting to see the different rates people are willing to pay.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I would love for someones teenage son to knock on my door and cut my grass. DH usually does it, but the Army has had him away for almost 3 weeks now and he couldn't get it done before he left because it was raining everyday.

Normally, I would have tried to do it, but I have been in a walker boot for torn ligaments in my ankle, I am out of it now, but warned not to do anything like that.

All the teenage boys around here are too good to cut grass. Dh asked a friend of his, but he can't be bothered either and his 13 year old son is too good to do something like cut grass. I started cutting grass at 11, only our own yard, but I did it and didn't complain. I can't remember what my mom paid me, probably $20, but we do have a larger yard than most of our neighbors and that was 27 years ago. There was no man in our household, except when my uncle came to visit, he would cut it for me.

The lawn service people want a fortune and I think most want you to sign a contract. Luckily DH will be home later this week and can get it done, just hope no one reports us to the city in the meantime.


You might want to check some of your state laws, I am on facebook with a local Army wives group and this discussion came up about liability and what age a child can cut grass for someone other than their own family.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Guess it shows my age, but this was the way I made money when I was a kid. I cut grass and washed cars for a few neighbors, one of whom got me a job cutting the grass at their church. I also raked leaves in the fall. It was a great way for someone who was too young to get a "paycheck job" to get paid.

I never see any kids doing that anymore, and I know there's got to be a market for it. Makes me wonder how they get money.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Guess it shows my age, but this was the way I made money when I was a kid. I cut grass and washed cars for a few neighbors, one of whom got me a job cutting the grass at their church. I also raked leaves in the fall. It was a great way for someone who was too young to get a "paycheck job" to get paid.

I never see any kids doing that anymore, and I know there's got to be a market for it. Makes me wonder how they get money.

Most everyone in our neighborhood mows their own lawn, some few have a professional lawn service. I was not allowed to cut grass for the neighbors, but most of them had teenage boys to do that. I wasn't allowed to use the hedge trimmer, mom did that and we didn't have a weedeater, mom said those were too dangerous. I hated doing it, but I had no choice. My grandmother and I did most of the raking, but most of what we raked went into my grandmother's flower beds.

Last time I tried to get out and use the lawnmower, I got stung by a yellow jacket. I also have allergies and spend hours sneezing after DH mows the grass, it drives him crazy.

Mommie and daddy hand them money now a days. I don't know of anyone with a teenager that makes them earn any money they get.

My grandmother wouldn't allow me to work when I was in high school, but I did regular chores around the house, cut our grass and babysat regularly for a friend of my moms, but that was 20+ years ago.

 

[ajk912]

Minimum wage is what, about $8 an hour now? Mowing lawns (like babysitting) is unskilled labor so add in gas and maybe a bit because you are trying to support the cause so maybe $12-$15 an hour. If it takes more than an hour to mow the lawn, then you count to the next hour. Most lawns I would think get done in under an hour so the kid is making out QUITE well for $12-$15 for one lawn.

That's why I don't understand why teenage babysitters charge so much. Their training is what, a YMCA babysitting course that cost $75? Watching their nieces and nephews? My oldest kids are 10 & almost 12 and maybe I am an oddball but I don't want them to turn into a snowflake with an overinflated sense of their market worth. Paying signficantly more than minimum wage per hour, which SO many people are forced to live on, is not teaching these youth the value of a dollar and how you need to WORK (and not just for a week) to save for your cause. They need to learn to work for their money, not have it handed to them because they made $30 to mow a lawn that took 30 minutes.