A few minutes ago there was a knock on the door. In this day and age, it’s very rare that someone you know just comes over and knocks on your door. Anyone I know would’ve called me on my cell phone.
It was a guy from TruGreen lawn care who had left something on the door earlier in the day. Apparently our next door neighbor is already a customer and we both have a couple dandelions. Not exactly a subject that’s going to keep up at night.
I told him that I wasn’t interested but he continued his spiel saying that he wasn’t going to let me off that easily. He obviously didn’t know who he was speaking to. I can’t really blame him though; I didn’t know who I was speaking to either.
He then asked me what I put down on the lawn to try and get rid of them. That was an easy one. Nothing. I mow the lawn with a mulching blade so I don’t have to bag any of the clippings. I edge the lawn and weedeat around everything else so it looks all nice and groomed. I’m not really concerned with a couple of weeds out there that are just going to come back again either later in the season or next year.
He wasn’t all too impressed with my answer, but I can’t say that I share his same passion for weed elimination. When I was younger, my older brother and I had a landscaping business. I love the look of a nice lawn, but it’s not something that I’m willing to pay for especially when it would be a recurring cost.
I will give him props though for not just giving up with the first “no”. It’s just not worth it to me right now. We’ve only lived in the house for about 8 months and I’m not exactly looking to sell it or rent it out anytime soon. The yard is also about as small as they come. It’s probably only about 10′ by 10′.
So why am I going on about this? This is just one example of the many daily things that compete for our money. Too many people lack the nerve to just say no. You don’t have to buy something just because a salesman is nice or you want to just get rid of him.
I also make it a point not to buy anything that I’m not looking for. I didn’t wake up today thinking that I need to do something about those 3 dandelions in the front yard. So why should I impulsively sign on with a lawn care company?
Remember it’s your money. And if you want to be rich, you have to take control of it.
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by Raspberry, on April 23 2007 @ 3:07 pm
Not being able to say no to sales people or even ourselve can be a huge obstacle in accumulating wealth. This is something I still have a hard time doing. It nearly breaks my heart to turn away a girl selling cookies or a teen trying to raise money for a band trip. A trick my husband has employed is instead of buying something from their catalog, just give them a donation. This way your house doesn’t fill up with junk, you don’t eat too many cookies, and you don’t have to turn them away empty handed. Also, you can get away with giving them less money than if you were to buy what they’re selling.