My Accountant Thought I Was Crazy—Until He Saw the Savings

Introduction

When I told my friends I was buying a “mini excavator” for our property, the reactions ranged from amused to concerned. “What do you need that for?” “Isn’t that overkill?” “Just hire someone when you need work done.” My father-in-law, a retired accountant, was the most skeptical. He sat me down and said, “Show me the math. How does this make financial sense?” So I did. Two years later, I showed him again—the actual numbers, receipts, and time logs. He didn’t apologize, but he did ask to borrow the machine for a project at his place. Here’s the math that converted a lifelong skeptic.

For most homeowners, the single biggest expense in property maintenance is labor. Hiring contractors for small projects typically costs $500-$2,000 per job, with the added frustration of scheduling delays and minimum charges. A RIPPA excavator, with its versatility and ease of use, allows you to eliminate these labor costs on the majority of your projects. In two years of typical property ownership, the savings can easily exceed the machine’s purchase price.

Let me walk you through my actual numbers—job by job, dollar by dollar.

1 Project One: Driveway Regrading (Saved: $600)

Our gravel driveway develops ruts every spring. The first year, I got three quotes to regrade it. Lowest bid: $600. They’d come “sometime in the next two weeks.” With the RIPPA and a grading blade, I did it myself in a Saturday morning. No waiting. No $600.

• Year 1 Savings: $600

• Time Investment: 4 hours

2 Project Two: Drainage Trench (Saved: $790)

We had water pooling in the backyard after heavy rains. A landscaper quoted $800 to dig a 100-foot trench and install drainage pipe. “We can fit you in next month.” With the RIPPA and a bucket, I had the trench open in three hours. The pipe cost $150 from the hardware store. Total project cost: $160. Total wait time: zero.

• Year 1 Savings: $640 (after pipe cost)

• Time Saved: 1 month of waiting

3 Project Three: Stump Removal (Saved: $1,230)

We had five ugly stumps from trees removed years ago. Quotes to grind them ranged from $200 to $300 per stump—over $1,200 total. With the RIPPA and a hydraulic thumb, I dug around each stump, rocked it loose, and dragged them to a burn pile in one day. Cost: maybe $20 in fuel and a sore arm from celebrating.

• Year 1 Savings: $1,230

• Added Benefit: No ugly stumps, no chemical treatments, no waiting for tree services.

4 Project Four: Snow Removal (Saved: $900/year)

Before the RIPPA, I paid a local plow guy $75 per visit. We get about 12 snow events a year in our area. That’s $900 annually—and that’s if he showed up on time, which he often didn’t. With the snow pusher attachment, I clear the driveway myself in 20 minutes. No waiting. No missed mornings. No $900.

• Annual Savings: $900

• Quality of Life Improvement: Priceless (no more 6 AM calls to the plow guy)

5 The Two-Year Total: Over $15,000

Add up two years of projects, plus the ones I didn’t list (fence posts, landscaping, moving materials), and the total contractor costs I avoided exceeded $15,000. That’s more than the purchase price of the machine. And unlike hired work, which disappears the moment the contractor leaves, my machine is still in the garage, ready for next year’s projects.

• Net Result: The machine paid for itself in 18 months. Everything after that is pure savings—money in my pocket instead of a contractor’s.

Slutsats

My father-in-law now understands. A RIPPA isn’t an expense; it’s an investment in your own labor savings. Every project you do yourself is money you keep. Every weekend you’re not waiting for a contractor is time you get back. The math is simple: if you have property, you have projects. If you have projects, you have labor costs. If you have a RIPPA, you keep that money.

Want to see what you could save? Use our online Savings Calculator. Enter your property size, typical projects, and local labor rates. See how quickly a RIPPA pays for itself in your world. Calculate your savings now.