Good afternoon. My wife and I are looking to remove 12 mature holly bushes (about 7 ft. tall with deep roots) from our back yard. We tried listing the bushes on Craigslist but every person that came out said that it would be too much work for them to transplant them. While we hate to see such beautiful bushes get cut down, we're going to have to take the plunge. My question is:

Digging up all the roots is not an option for us for financial reasons. We were thinking of just cutting as low as we can go (to the soil) and plant grass where the bushes used to be. Does anyone have an opinion on whether this wouldn't work? Are there better, relatively inexpensive options to accomplish what I have laid out?

Thanks!

-Phill