Reading this felt like looking in a mirror, except my mirror moment was a little giant pole pruner I called "the lazy stick" for about three years. I finally grabbed one when a sweetgum had a branch hanging right over a customer's gutter, and I could've either climbed 40 feet or stood on the ground and been done before my rope even hit the tree. Now it lives behind the seat and gets used on almost every job. Pride is expensive and my knees already sent me the bill for those dumb climbs. Ray sounds like the kind of guy who should charge tuition.

That "loses 2 hours a week" thing only holds if the parts you drive back for are actually there.

That coffee line item vanishing while your grocery bill barely moved is the whole story right there, it's wild how a $5 thing sneaks past you every day. Mine was bottled water, I was buying a case every week without even thinking about it. Then I got a $20 filter pitcher and now I just fill it from the tap. Saved me like $40 a month and I never once felt like I was giving anything up.