Easier Is Often More Lucrative And Cheaper, And Not Only In Financial Topics

As autumn is upon us, and I observe my nice neighbors toil for hours on end, they are raking, blowing, vacuuming, etc., the millions of once beautiful leaves, alas, they are no longer attractive, just an enormous annoyance for the majority. I submit, as a former leaf raker, the following.

When investing, simpler is generally the correct option for millions of people not named “Buffett”, to wit, a 3 or even 2 fund portfolio would outperform a vast majority of more complicated accounts, a total world stock market fund, a short term treasury fund for liquidity, and so forth.

I am convinced, and the data appears to confirm , that simpler when maintaining the grounds is also the rock solid  path to victory, the low cost “index funds” of the landscaping world, if you will.

I offer the following, clearing the leaves should be no more labor intensive than simply mowing the lawn. All we need to do is run the leaves over with the mower, if a mulching blade is on the machine, one pass does it. A conventional blade may require a second pass, but, voila’, the leaves are now shredded , and will soon compost into rich loam.

Mowing the grass and bagging the clippings and dumping them is not the right way , either. Remove the bag, and let the clippings rot into loam. I think of the clippings as the dividends of the grass, let them compound , and over the years, they will add a lot of nutrients and growth.

Having stock dividends and bond interest reinvested contributes a great deal to growth, of course, and is far better than spending the income on blue hair, tattoos and 20 dollar beer at a pro game.

Not too long ago, it could be a bit of a headache to reinvest dividends, as tracking cost basis was not pleasant, perhaps similar to having a tooth pulled with no anesthesia while suffering a hangover, and listening to Yoko Ono ” singing” ,etc.( Yoko, I am sure you are a great person and have many favorable qualities, but, singing is not one of them, IMO) Fairly recent changes in regulations now require that investment companies track cost basis for you.

I am sure that many of you do not mow your lawns, rather you hire a landscaper, but, if you ask him or her to recycle the grass and leaves,I am sure it would save some money, and truly,it is much better for the yard.

There are a few major errors when so many invest, market timing, buying high and selling low, letting the tax tail wag the dog, chasing performance, buying active funds, and the like. The major errors in lawn care are, cutting the grass much too short. Unless you are working for a country club, the Boston Red Sox or similar, set the mower on the highest level and the lawn will be much more resistant to dry periods, have less weeds and look fine.

Always mowing in the same direction, watering at the wrong time, etc., are not good practices, either. If you insist on watering, do it just before the sun comes up, and not at high noon, when up to half can be subject to evaporation.

It is frustrating to see my great neighbors scalp the grass, then set up the sprinklers to try and force the grass to grow. If all of the grass is cut to the same height, 4 inches looks fine, certainly better than 1 inch tall, turning brown and sprouting weeds.

I am probably the  only person in the universe whom welcomes the leaves and I have often driven my lawn tractor with the cart, happily picking up the brown bags of leaves my neighbors put out on the curb. ( Next spring, they will eagerly buy yards of loam at 30 bucks a cubic yard, ….?)

Also, a bit of either pelletized or ground limestone will hasten the rotting of the grass and leaves, and pushing a spreader is fine exercise, for larger areas, a spreader towed behind a Deere works, also.

Why not let our dividends compound throughout the year, weekly,as well as the clippings, in the fall, reinvest the capital financial gains, and the capital gains of the leaves. Have you ever wondered why the woods are very difficult to walk , tangles of vines and trees, and so forth. It is because the leaves and dead trees are nurturing that soil, left undisturbed, trees grow so close together, and that soil is black gold, loaded with nutrients and earthworms.

Now, maybe we can compare active traders to the carpenter ants and termites , we certainly do not want active traders churning our investments, especially in non tax advantaged accounts, but, they are needed to keep the markets efficient, and we are free to use index funds.

As for the ants, no one wants them anywhere near the house, but they perform a valuable service, in the wild, as they do their business, helping return the brush to nature.

I respectfully ask that those whom are overwhelmed by the leaves, try my approach, just mow them, rather than employing those backpack leaf blowers, even on a paved driveway, set the mower at one inch, and the leaves will be shredded. The next breeze will blow them away.

If I am horribly wrong, please, and your lawn looks like a herd of elephants went on a rampage, let me know, and i will humbly never again write even a single word. But, why not try  to save time and money, get better results,  and institute the practices that are far superior in both investing and landscaping?

In many cases, easier does not pan out to superior results. But, in many cases, it does.