The recent rise in gasoline prices has prompted my husband, Gerry, and me to change a few of our habits to save money — cut back on unnecessary car trips, take care of some scheduled car maintenance we'd put off and switch to a gas station that offers consistently lower prices.

We expected to make those changes to our family's routine. What we didn't expect was that rising energy costs would renew our two-year turf battle.

This month, Gerry canceled our lawn-care service after we were notified that the cost of tending our lawn would rise by $10 a week — due, the notice said, to the economy and higher gas prices.

Gerry had always dutifully weeded, seeded and fertilized our lawn. One year, after a particularly scorching summer, the lawn recovered beautifully — in fact, a little too much for Gerry's liking. The grass grew so prodigiously that Gerry felt like he was forever cutting it. But the fact was, he wasn't: On most summer weekends, you could find Gerry helming his boat rather than manning the lawnmower. As a result, our lawn was often overgrown and unsightly — and inevitably I'd nag him about it.

I had urged Gerry to let me hire a service to handle the lawn care, particularly the periodic weeding and fertilizing necessary to keep the lawn green. Gerry enjoyed tending to the lawn throughout the seasons and didn't want to outsource the job — he just wanted to be free of the drudgery of keeping the grass groomed.

After yet another tiff over our uncut lawn, Gerry compromised and agreed to let me hire a lawn service to handle the cutting. The $35-a-week charged by the service, owned by my husband's longtime friend, was less than most services charged in our area, and Gerry felt it was worth the money to be rid of the chore.

Since then, the cost of lawn service has risen each year by $5 a week. But this year's $10 increase would raise our total bill by $300 for the year to $1,760. (That includes mowing and edging grass on slightly less than one acre in suburban New Jersey.)

Gerry started making noises about doing away with the lawn service soon after we received the notice of the price increase, but after looking over a store circular, he realized we'd be paying as much for one year of lawn service as it would cost for a high-end lawn tractor.

I reminded Gerry how much he hated mowing the lawn and how caring for the lawn would cut into his summer boating schedule. I also noted that we hadn't had an argument over the lawn in more than two years — which to me seemed worth the additional cost of lawn care. But Gerry was undeterred: "I'll cut the lawn during the week after work," he said.

Our eight-year-old son, Gerald, was eager to help Gerry make the case for a lawn tractor. "I'll help mow the lawn, I promise!" he exclaimed. So I was outnumbered and, soon after, Gerry began pricing lawn tractors.

After shopping around, Gerry finally decided upon a $2,400 model with a 54-inch-wide cut. Before buying it, I urged him to wait while I comparison-shopped online. After less than an hour, I found a similar model for $1,700 from a store that also participated in my credit card's college-savings rewards program.

To save $65 in delivery charges, we hauled the tractor home ourselves. Gerry assembled it while Gerald eagerly bounced around the garage waiting for him to finish. When the tractor was completed and gassed up ($11.50 for three gallons), the boys took their inaugural ride.

It's been a few weeks, and I have to admit that Gerry does a better job grooming our lawn than the service ever did. What's more, Gerry is spending time teaching Gerald about how to care for the lawn, as well as how to care for the tractor. Far from being drudgery, the time spent tending to our lawn is time the two look forward to spending each week.

I know it won't last — the novelty will wear off for Gerald soon enough, and Gerry will no doubt find other things he'd rather be doing than mowing the lawn. But the two are making memories this year that are sure to last a lifetime. And if Gerry and I ever get to arguing again over our overgrown field of green, I may just have to take matters into my own hands and man the mower myself.

___

Email: fiscallyfit@wsj.com