home fixing is expensive ... one of the few times I felt like I won was with the lawn

we cleared the backyard so we could grow fruit trees but that left us with bare clay and no ground cover

So was going to be $10k for materials and $22k installed

we put down $50 worth of clover seeds and about $400 worth of Bermuda plugs

Now two years in the bermuda covers 70% and we have it on the soccer and life area. It recovers and handles cleats and foot traffic

Then 30% is clover under the fruit trees and garden area. It brings pollinators and feeds the soil.

Didn't want to do full clover because soccer destroys it.

TLDR Bermuda plugs and mini clover seed bags can save you a lot of money if you're patient