High Quality Lawn Mowers For Every Budget

Happy Hump Day, Friends! 💪

I (Misti) might have been the only kid in the country who begged her parents to let her mow the lawn growing up.

It just seemed SO fun to me, but perhaps most of the appeal was only because I was very explicitly banned from ever touching the lawn mower—the handful of times I was granted permission, I broke the mower within minutes.

I swear I didn’t do it on purpose, but in hindsight, it may or may not have been because my driving skills looked a lot like this:

As an adult, I no longer find the idea of lawn care to be quite so fun (if you’ve ever had to push mow a lawn in the Missouri heat, ya feel me!).

But I still want to make sure I’m prepared to approach this task in the most efficient way.

That means knowing how to pick a lawn mower that is high-quality but still budget-friendly.

You know my silly little researcher brain did a deep dive on all the pros and cons of different models.

To spare you that effort, here’s my lowdown on lawn mowers! And for an extra bonus, we found two you can order through Amazon! **

The Lowdown: Lawn Mowers for Every Budget 🚜

First step: Set your budget.
April and September are the best months to buy a new mower, so now might be the perfect time to fit it in your budget. And you could totally use your sinking funds for this purchase!

Second step: Decide on the mower characteristics that best meet your needs. 
I like to start any product comparison with a good categorization activity. It seems to me most lawn mowers can be sorted according to two basic classifications: by power and by design.

⚡ In terms of power, we have gas-fueled mowers and battery-powered mowers.

• ⛽ Gas-fueled mowers tend to handle larger lawns in one go compared to battery-powered mowers. They also usually cost less initially; though, with the price of gas these days it’s worth considering if longer term fuel costs offset any initial savings. There’s also special upkeep considerations with gas-fueled mowers: tune-ups, oil changes, and blade sharpening.

• 🔋 Battery-powered mowers (which can be either cordless or corded) work just as well as gas-fueled and have the additional benefits of being quieter and emission-free! They do cost more to purchase, but there’s not really any additional cost considerations in terms of fuel. And the only regular upkeep is blade sharpening!

  You just have to remember to keep the battery charged (for cordless versions) or have a lawn small enough to cover with the corded version. I had a corded walk-behind version myself, and while I initially thought lugging the extension cord around would be annoying, the mower was so lightweight compared to gas-fueled models it was still much easier for me to use.

⚙️ In terms of design, we have walk-behind mowers and riding mowers.

• 🫸🏻 Walk-behind mowers (aka push mowers) can be great for small lawns, or intricate lawns requiring more maneuverability. For those of you interested in a little extra physical activity, a manual push mower may be a good fit. Fortunately there’s an automatic option that powers itself forward for those of us less interested in all of that. Here’s our favorite push mowers!**

• 🚜 Riding mowers (aka lawn tractors) make great options for those of us who want to chill out and drive around cutting our lawns. These mowers usually carry a higher price tag than other options. But with more power than walk-behind mowers, they’re especially useful for large lawns or commercial uses. 

• 🔗 Other considerations: the bells and whistles. My aforementioned corded push mower also came with a grass cutting bag… and mannnn what a game changer! I was no longer covered in cut grass so suffered less allergies and wasn’t left with those dreaded piles of grass to clean up. Beyond a bag, other features to consider include electric start vs. pull cord, height adjustments, safety switches, cup holders, and so on.

Until next time,
Misti

⭐️⭐️ P.S. Want to share all this goodness with your friends AND earn cool Frugal Friends merch?

**Means this is a sponsored or affiliate section. We may earn a small fee or commission when you choose to try one of our sponsor or affiliate partners. But opinions are still 1000% our own.