Kiplinger's Personal Finance's Sean O'Neill offered some notes recently on saving money on lawn care. Thanks to The Week for pointing this out on their Making Money page.

Consider these tips:

• Make sure your lawn is properly irrigated and mowed. This will fortify it against pests and diseases so you don't need costly chemical treatments.
• "Soak" the lawn less frequently rather than "misting" it more frequently for more benefit.
• Check the risk of disease from the division of the US Department of Agriculture in your area. Contact information can be found here.
• Lush lawns don't need expensive aeration treatments.

Most importantly, if you must hire a lawn service, do so now. "The best time to comparison-shop is between January and April when companies compete aggressively on price."mortgage calculator