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3 Simple Ways To Get Your Financial House In Order

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Getting your finances in order is obviously not something you can do overnight. This takes time, temperance, and sometimes requires adjustments on the fly as the result of unexpected circumstances rearing their ugly heads (i.e. car trouble, illness, family emergency, et al.)

But it starts with making a conscious decision to gain control of your bottom line by realigning your priorities in terms of what’s in your best interest financially both short and long term.

I was as guilty of having my priorities out of whack as any man out there. But when I made the decision to put a stop to frivolous and unnecessary spending, my fiscal outlook improved in a hurry. There are many things I do today to make ensure I’m always in the black but for this column I’ll talk about the 3 biggest hindrances keeping men from achieving financial solvency.

1. Your Car

Every man inherently understands that women will be much more attracted to a man driving a Bugatti than a man driving a dusty ass ’95 Buick pick-a-model. While those examples are extreme, the fact of the matter is that the better a vehicle you’re pushin’, the more pussy will be available to you.

That said, too many men out here are prioritizing pussy over peace of mind. We hit the car lot financing vehicles we can barely afford (not to mention the elevated insurance costs that come with them) and a few months down the line we’re looking out the window every 3 minutes to make sure it’s still there for fear of the dreaded repo man. I speak from personal experience.

Don’t get me wrong, picking up girls is great and driving a nice car certainly helps grease the skids to pussy plundering success. But if your payment leaves you broke every month it’s not worth it—not even close.

It’s all fun and games till that payment’s due

No, I’m not suggesting going to the extreme and spending $750 on an ’84 Honda Accord that’s sure to be in the shop every week. But by the same token financing a Benz with a $750 monthly payment is equally foolhardy.

Let’s be real fellas. Buying a car you can’t afford is a bad, and very expensive way to compensate for your lack of game. Six and seven figure vehicles notwithstanding, it doesn’t matter what you drive. If you don’t have solid game you ain’t gettin’ them draws, playa.

The most financially prudent solution is to save between $3,000 and $5,000 and buy a car outright. The next best thing if you don’t have that kind of money right now is to finance a vehicle with a payment that doesn’t starve your bank account every month.

If you save your money and learn game, you’ll quickly figure out that you don’t have to push a luxury vehicle to score top notch ass on the regular. The extra cash in your pocket doesn’t hurt either.

2. Your Pad

A killer crib can certainly increase your sexual prospects. Get her back to your place and she sees your posh surroundings it’s a wrap. And if your game is on point (read: you fucked her senseless and didn’t act like she was God’s gift to the male species) she’s already thinking about what it would be like to share your abode with you (Yes gents, this is exactly how females think).

But like an overpriced automobile, an apartment with unnecessary amenities will put a serious dent in your finances. That’s not counting your 70” flat screen, leather couch, X-box (the fuck you playing video games for anyway?) and every other over priced, non-essential piece of tech you see on television.

Living like this if you’re barely getting by is foolish

Again, there’s nothing wrong with having a nice place to live and a few cool doo dads to give it some appeal. But struggling to pay the rent because your complex has a pool you’ll never swim in, tennis courts you’ll never play on, and vaulted ceilings isn’t worth being broke every month just to say you live in some “exclusive community.”

Renting a home from a private owner has many advantages. Not the least of which is that it’s almost always less expensive. Most of the time a two-bedroom house rents for less than a one bedroom luxury apartment with a bunch of extras you’ll never take advantage of.

Like I said when talking about buying an expensive car, living in an opulent condo in an upscale neighborhood you can barely afford is overcompensating for lack of game. Do yourself a favor, jump on Craigslist and find a place you like that will keep your wallet full.

3. Your Clothes

$100 for a pair of  “designer” jeans? $50 for a dress shirt? $200 for a pair of sneakers? One area we as men have completely wrong is the monetary value we put in the clothes we wear.

Look, I understand looking good is important. By and large people treat one another based on the way they look. A man dressed like a bum gets treated like one and a man dressed in a suit gets treated with respect. And talking to a long-legged, pert-assed cutie on the subway will go a lot better if your threads are on point.

But when a man sits down and asks himself “Why aren’t I further along in life than I should be?” he’d do well to look in his closet and take inventory. If he’s the kind of dude that likes to keep up with the Joneses as far as his vestment game is concerned, he’ll likely be shocked if he breaks out his calculator and adds up how much he paid for these depreciating assets.

Why dudes are paying upwards of $2000 for these is beyond me

Again, looking your best is paramount when it comes to girls, game, your job, etc. But the sooner you quit shopping at the mall or “outlets” for clothes and stop paying triple figures for sneakers you’ll only wear once a quarter (because who’s gonna wear a $300 pair of sneakers every day?), the better off your financial outlook will be.

What about you, Donovan?

I’m glad you asked. Personally, I live in an 800 sq. foot studio downtown for less than $750/mo including utilities, I regularly shop at thrift stores for jeans and dress shirts, and rock a pair of $16 skateboard shoes I picked up from Walmart almost a year ago with just about everything I wear.

I don’t spend much on electronics either. I carry a smart phone I paid $30 for because I got 50% off for buying it refurbished, I don’t own a video game console which are expensive and sometimes requires a monthly subscription or payment for upgrades, and I have a 32″ flat screen I got off Craigslist for $50 because the guy selling it upgraded to a 60″ plasma.

No shame in my game…or my bottom line

And because of my financial shrewdness, the 2012 vehicle I drive is free and clear. Plus, owning my car substantially lowers my insurance rate which saves me even more coin. I also ride my bike a lot which saves money on gas (and keeps me fit).

Women have no idea whether I got my jeans and shirt at the Goodwill or an expensive men’s clothing store and they don’t give half a shit that I’m not wearing expensive shoes, that I don’t carry a $900 iPhone, or that I don’t live in a loft atop some expensive casino.

Why? Because my game is tight. All they’re concerned with is how good a time they’re having with me and the way I make them feel. Game saves lives but it also saves money.

In the end…

…there are advantages to driving an expensive car, wearing designer clothes, and living in a kick ass pad loaded with extras. As I stated earlier these things give you more opportunities with women because they make you look more viable as a long term option for provisioning.

But if you’re not in the black end of the month and not able to sock away your hard earned cash none of that stuff does you any good. What good is fucking a 10 on your 8 zillion thread count sheets in your $3500/mo condo because she saw you driving a luxury SUV if you’re searching your couch cushions the next morning for enough change to buy ramen noodles (which are terrible for your health) so you don’t starve until pay day?

Pussy isn’t worth going broke over and thanks to feminism, it’s as cheap and plentiful as its ever been. When you learn and utilize game, you’ll realize you can get plenty of it without going bankrupt trying to impress females with depreciating status symbols.

So take a good hard look at your wheels, your pad, and your threads and cut down on what’s not necessary. It won’t be long before you see that living a kick ass life doesn’t require you to spend a shit load of coin on things that decrease in value over time.

Be sure to check out Donovan’s podcast The Sharpe Reality on thesharpereality.com or his YouTube channel

Read Next: Why Every Man Must Take Control Of His Finances

318 thoughts on “3 Simple Ways To Get Your Financial House In Order”

  1. Having a car is like having a full-time night woman. It’s expensive as hell, it’s fraught with liabilities, it can all break down on you at a moment’s notice, and it won’t give you what you require when it runs out of gas.

  2. Nice Article Donovan!! Just in time for the New Year! It has been long overdue since an article addresses the necessity of style and how it relates to expenses. It is definitely a tricky balance having a good wardrobe while still having a few red cents. I hear jacks is a good clothing option online to find clothes for your style for cheap. Having a great pair of dress shoes and fitted pants/shirts go a long way as well. If anything get colors that suit you.
    With regards to cars, I don’t own one, and living in a metropolis most of my life, I have never had a desire to really. It hasn’t affected my game any so that has been fine, so I have more to say about the pad and the utility of a long portrait.
    The two things that have gotten the most attention from my space is an eclectic library and my art portraits. I don’t have a big screen television but I do have access to a great kitchen. Space to work magic on the stove and a visual display of how your mind works or what catches your interest really help establish your character and if anything I would suggest men to invest in both. The books go beyond just getting you laid but show you invest your life and a good art piece that is the size of your body or close to it, definitely showcases what aesthetics appeal to you. Even if I were to start over again in a new country I would find my way back to those two quickly.
    Hopefully we can pick up on the clothes and style articles here soon, as clothes do say a lot about who you are as a man and how bold you are with your personality.

  3. If you get married, make sure your girl has decent spending habits. Saves a lot of headache in the long run.

    1. If you get married, make sure you kill yourself directly after the wedding. Saves a lot of headache in the long run.

      2. my favorite line is “married? no. I am just going to find a woman who totally fucking hates me and buy her a condo. I will save a fortune on the invitations alone”

    2. Good point. A good thing to watch for is how she spends her money in relation to her family. Red flags are if she doesn’t talk with her family or is a compulsive shopper, or worse yet, constantly mentions money. No one mentions money like those who have money problems.

      1. Women and money typically go together like gasoline and a match. A dangerous combo, that one.

        1. Never had to deal with a woman with poor spending habits. My wife is more of a tightwad than I am. I hear of some creating an account for their monthly blow money and such. I just don’t know if it would be wise to get in a relationship with someone you couldn’t trust financially. I was told it is the #2 cause of divorce, right after infidelity.

        2. You’re a lucky guy (as you know). Most women I encounter have no concept of finances. No wonder men stay away from marriage in droves these days – especially when you factor in that pesky infidelity statistic.

    3. my cousin is dealing with this with his new wife who he is only now realizing has been paying minimum amount on credit card for years without realizing how much money she spends on nothing.

      1. On this site, you see plenty of “slut tell” articles. I would like to see some money waster articles.

        1. That is a good one! Finances and slut tells can go hand in hand, but they take a man of high level game to discern. But when you are making the switch from smash bros. to boyfriend/husband this Intel is paramount to your success. Definitely worth a second look.

        2. Since women are essentially a disposable commodity for me I never really pay attention to their spending habits. Like I have mentioned many times, when I go on a first date with a woman there is an 8 week limit. Most don’t last that long, but no one, no matter what, goes more than 8 weeks. In the time we spend together I will be paying for every drink, every taxi, every meal, every show. To me it is like going to the movies. I pay for the ticket and I expect to be entertained. I won’t do something stupid like lend money, pay a bill, blah blah blah anything like that….but if she keeps dressing well, being good company, sexy, polite and fucking my brains out she can fairly expect me to pick up the tab on drinks etc. Since it never goes further than that simple exchange I have no idea how to look for women who are sensible with money. I assume all women are stupid with money but some have strong and intelligent men making their decisions for them.

        3. Agreed, if you are just in it for the short term, it doesn’t matter. There have been girls in my past that I broke off with because they kept asking to go to the fancy restaurants or needing the name brand everything. Not cool if you are throwing lumber in a sawmill to get through college.

        6. We could make a list:
          smoking
          bottled water
          brand new car
          constant stream of new clothes
          huge house
          still in college at 30

        7. Money wasting habits:
          1) Shops at the mall weekly, buying clothes, handbags, jewelry and other stupid shit that loses value the moment she steps out of the store.
          2) Puts everything on credit. Not to be confused with a girl who uses her debit card (i.e. money in her bank). She might claim that she pays it off every month, but if you watch what she buys and at least have an idea about her income level, then you’ll be able to put 2 and 2 together.
          3) Eats out often. This is bad for a few reasons: it’s not healthy, it shows she either can’t or doesn’t want to cook, and it costs a lot of money.
          4) Drives a newer car. You know she’s footing a massive monthly payment.
          5) Has name brand everything (perfume, handbags, clothing, etc). Unless she has the bank roll to back it up, she’s either putting it all on credit or fucking other guys who will buy it for her. Neither one is good.
          6) Drinks a lot. Alcohol is expensive and it leads to expensive bad habits. This is also a slut tell. Many parallels here.
          7) Lives in an upscale apartment with multiple flat screen TVs, and nice furniture…while on a teacher’s salary.
          That’s all I’ve got for now. Maybe I’ll think about it more and submit an article.

        8. Good list, it appears that sluttiness and wasting money are remarkably similar. Compulsive behavior, ignoring the future, selfishness, worrying more about image over substance, etc.

        10. practically all sin runs from the same root cause….selfishness. If people put others needs above their own, we truly could have peas on earth.

        11. I’d say pride it the root sin – placing ones self above others. But the funny thing about the so-called ‘deadly sins’ is that they all feed off one another.

        12. The “New Really Nice Car On A Meager Salary” thing is a big freaking tell. And likely about more than financial mismanagement. I’ve seen lots of single moms bragging about their nice late model vehicle that’s all shiny and new and pretty, and I can’t help but think that she either extracted it directly from the hide of her ex-husband, or is got it being basically a prostitute.

        13. This is a good list. It is harder to tell with women who make more money. I have dated girls who make 300+ a year but still spend foolishly. You have to do a little math in your head and figure out the ratios just saying “designer clothes” or “lives in upscale apartment” doesn’t work for someone making that much money but they can be, never the less, living above their means.

        14. Yep. Knowing their occupation and having an idea of the salary is important. There are also little things you pick up, like their inability to tell themselves no when they see some stupid overpriced trinket for sale. Most women’s spending habits are pretty transparent to the watchful eye, but there are some that are really fucking good at hiding their irresponsible expenditures and outstanding debts.
          One of my exes made close to 100k, and it took me a while, but I started to notice certain cracks in her facade. Although I never had any hard proof, it became clear that she was drowning in debt. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve been around it before, but people with massive debts display certain quirks and erratic behavior due to the stress. And they get really fucking ornery about every cent they lent you. There was a time I forgot my wallet at the store so she paid for my stuff. Two days later she hit me up for her $20 and gave me all sorts of shit. It was weird…as in, I got the sense she desperately needed that $20 weird. She also spent money on Louie Vaton handbags–had seven of the fucking things–and had a tendency to pay for her friends’ drinks when we were out, like she was a big baller. I’m going to stop typing now because it’s bringing back bad memories. I’m so happy I woke the fuck up and dropped that bitch.

        15. One of my girl’s coworkers who makes around $45,000 a year just bought a late model BMW SUV. She’s a single mother, just bought a house, and also posts on social media about all the other frivolous shit she buys. Something tells me she either has a sugar daddy, made good on the divorce, is in massive debt, or any combination of the three.

        16. always so easy to see in hindsight. Plus, as men we are socialized to help out (something we all need to get past). Like I told Jim below, I am good because this stuff never effects me. I am short term and flip. I never hold longer than 8 weeks. Because of this I can tolerate if they are tanking themselves because I am not about to give them a dime other than the food and booze I pay for. Fucking rough when involved with these. I have seen guys totally drained by these cunts.

        17. Although I’ve been in multiple long relationships, I’ve been able to spot a sinking ship and abandon it before I drowned with it. I go back and forth where I’ll date a girl for a year, then drop her and spend about two years fucking around, then I’ll get bored and tired, or just find a girl I like and keep her around. Even though I’ve had plenty hand on the stove moments, I haven’t experienced anything like other guys who got tossed into the meat grinder. Gotta stay sharp and vigilant in these shark-infested waters.

      2. Thats a great point- you never think about it beforehand, but you are marrying her debt too. Depending on the state, if you get divorced, you’ll get half of her debt too.

      3. I wish him luck trying to get her to understand compound intetest and APR. Again, I have never met a woman who had her personal finances in order. If you meet one who doesn’t have debt, then she either is being supported by some one else or is one paycheck from being broke.

        2. ha. Yeah, he is an accountant and pretty much took over the financial situation. Everything is pooled and he is the life guard. He has her on a tight leash. She gets an allowance for personal expenses and anything more has to go through him.

        3. My current gf has her personal finances in order, but she is literally the director of financial analysis for the American branch of a large international corporation. I’ve known several other female MBAs like her. Maybe stop surrounding yourself with stupid women?

        4. Congrats. You have met an acception or two to the rule. I know a female CFO who had her car repossed.
          “Maybe stop surrounding yourself with stupid women?”
          I’ll try to avoid your mom.

        5. I’m just calling a spade a spade. Yes, there are many financially stupid women, but if that’s the ONLY type of woman you’re meeting, well, the problem might be you.

        6. “..but if that’s the ONLY type of woman you’re meeting, well, the problem might be you.”
          I’m fine mate, but thanks for your concern.
          Past experiences and observations regarding my contact with women regarding their perosnal finances were limited- I was simply fucking them at the time– and your experience may vary. Most women who I met who had any wealth usually inherited it, they did not create it, and were usually managed by other parites. I still have yet to meet an unkept or unmarried woman who I would identify as finacially ept (75% of disposable income is spent by women– as most marketers know) regarding keeping personal costs down let alone at generating any additional monetary income with the disposable income at hand.
          You want to defend those acceptional unicorns you know, have it, but my generalization stands on a case-by-case basis. Unless you are inferring most women have their financial shit in order?

        7. Years ago, my divorced father was bloviating that “if you’re looking for a woman just tape a $100 bill to your forehead” or some such twaddle. My normally quiet and reserved wife clapped him on the back and said “see? and look at the women you’ve wound up with…”
          (background: my mother and all subsequent girlfriends of my father were crap.)

    4. I’ve had an article in work about this for a long time. I need to get back on the ball and finish it (along with several others).

  4. Use Zip Car to pick up your date. Nothing gets a girl hotter than a car you share that has a corporate logo emblazoned on the car door

    1. I understand the appeal of a nice car to women. But seriously, if she demands you drive a 30k+ car, serious red flags.

      1. This should be a decree on the wall of men looking for a woman everywhere. The only people who should have a car or vehicle are those looking for the experience, hate crowds, or don’t have a transit system they can rely on.

      2. If she demands it it is crazy. But I have to tell you when I had my little BMW it wasn’t about women. I think I got a hard on whenever I was within 10 feet of that car. I can think of few other places in the world that I have been happier than in the driver seat of that thing. I got rid of it because it was an absurd expense while living in manhattan, but man…I absolutely loved it and it had nothing to do with what women thought. 414 HP V8 on a two door coupe–it was heaven on wheels.

      3. If she didn’t dig my in-progress 62 Impala it was NO DICE (except the fuzzy ones around the mirror)

        2. nah. Didn’t go the low-rider route. Didn’t really go much anywhere due to budget concerns….Did rebuild the motor and put in a 4-speed though. That was a fun car.

      1. I’ve read that the vibrations from a V8 engine can arouse women; not sure if its true or not. If it is, a hybrid wont get you laid, but not for the reasons you’d think

        1. I was once at a stop light next to a McLaren P1 GTR which houses 1000 HP. Just the car sitting at the light idling was enough to shake my entire car. Arousal isn’t even close to what I felt.

        2. LOL- I hope it wasnt in pothole-infested Manhattan. But, if you can afford that, I guess you wouldnt care, just buy another

        3. In my own narrow experience with hot rods/muscle cars I found they do dig the vibrations and the sound to an extent, but the fumes make them nauseous and brain-damaged.

        4. Yeah, I could never understand why anyone in manhattan would be driving a car like that. I left my car garaged and only used it in manhattan when I was leaving manhattan. Can’t say with this guy. Maybe he was going out of town. Who knows. I do know that being within 20 feet of that car let you know you were alive.

        5. Maybe the rise of the 4 cylinder engine has had a lot to do with plummeting marriage and child birth rates in the USA?

        6. That is a spectacular idea. Add to that the catalytic converter. How you going to get a decent sperm count going with one of those fucking things!

  5. OT: just saw this and needed to share. Here is every single woman. How some of you guys stay married without killing is beyond me

    2. Shit. I am in Europe right now, going back to the USSA in one week and your video recalled Americunts already to me… Shame on you lolknee…

      1. awww, americunts are great. The guy in the video is getting the short end of the stick. The guy who she is fucking behind his back is probably having a great time. Be the guy who she is fucking and you will be fine.

        1. Ah…so it isn’t about the nail. It is about her being nailed. No wonder she doesn’t want to fix it.

    3. It all depends on how you have things set up and what kind of understandings and agreements you come to over time.

  6. I got rid of my car altogether. I had a really sweet ride, but I didn’t need it here in the city. I have been a bit of a gear head all my life and this is my first time without having a car so it is tricky, but it simply wasn’t worth the monthly bills for the car, the insurance and the parking. I also down graded my apartment from a 2 bedroom with a home office on central park in a full service building to a small one bedroom in an elevator building with no service. I did this because I want to buy a condo and the difference in rent over three years will be 1/4 of the money I need to make my down payment. I will say, however, that in buying a place I plan to get something very nice. AS for clothes, that is tricky. It really depends on the lifestyle you want to live and the job you have. If you buy inexpensive clothes and get them well tailored it is better than buying expensive clothes and not getting them tailored. However, I work in a business where my success is often about appearances and I have chosen a lifestyle where I move amongst affluent people. The thing is, if you surround yourself with success you often have it rub off on you. So I do spend, relatively, a lot on suits and shits and ties and shoes and all that shit. However, I see it as cost of doing business. It is part and parcel of my life. Does it lead to a higher class of pussy? Sure. But is that the purpose? No way…just an unintended (though pleasant) consequence.

  7. Expensive shoes ……. that’s all you need, women spot expensive shoes in a second. No need to let them see your home or your car before you shag them, use a hotel room near the night club.
    My shoes cost more than her entire outfit, and she knows it!

    1. Agreed. I am not a clothes horse by any stretch, but I have fairly expensive, shoes. I like Merrell shoes, because I wear hiking shoes or good-looking tennis shoes a lot, and they last a long time. I have noticed women looking at my feet, and it’s not because they are huge. Women pick up visual clues regarding a man’s overall financial situation, like hookers pick up STDs.

      1. This wisdom escaped me when I was a young buck. Took way to long to figure out how much my shitty clothes repelled them.

    2. @ghostofjefferson laughs at me for it, but I have a “sock guy” who I go to once a year, have a few scotches with a buy hand made custom socks for. I get 24 pair a year. You would be amazed at how many women notice and comment on my socks.

  8. Creating multiple income streams is a good way to always have access to a ready supply of cash. With the Internet being what it is, it’s pretty easy to do. Hell, a moderately frequented blog or website can generate $20 per month in ad revenue (using that as a benchmark; it obviously varies). Multiply that times 50 and it adds up quickly. If you work at different ways of creating income, eventually you’ll put several winners together. Then your spending habits, and any job that you might have, won’t be so critical. Of course, then you might have to fight off women who are “only looking for a guy with a sense of humor who is a good listener” (wink), but some may think of that as being a good problem for a guy to have. Not me personally, but some may think of it that way.

    1. Add to this creating passive income if possible. If you have any amount of money which is coming in while you sit on the can and read the paper then you are ahead of the game.

        1. Even if it is just dividend paying stocks. I once thought about buying a 1/4 acre upstate new York and charging people to have their mail sent there as an address so they could get around NYC taxes and the absurd amount of money residents pay on auto insurance but I am not one for illegal.

        2. I hear you on the illegality thing. But it’s the thought process behind it that I admire. Thinking like that will hit a guy a long home run eventually. It’s amazing how many ideas we have, or skills we possess, that we don’t give much thought to, which can make us extra money. Wish I had nine lives.

        3. Agreed. I have been thinking of the next hustle since I was a kid. For instance, I have never been much of a gambler but in college I set up poker games. I never played. Never gambled. Just supplied booze, charged a door fee and took a vig from the pot. All I had to do was hang out and collect money. I have a larceny streak in me 10 miles deep, I just refuse to run afoul of the law. I know what that costs in terms of time and money and I do not intend to spend it again.

        4. We all pay for our education one way or another, don’t we now. I have done so many different things to earn money. I used to own a proofreading business. I made a lot of money with it. So I decided to teach others how to do it, by mail order. I charged $20 for a little packet that taught them how to do the job and go out and get the business. It was a really nice sideline income, and I actually trained some people who went on to use my cheap kit and get a full-blown career. There are so many ways to make money. You can sell virtually anything you know how to do, online. Whatever it might be. There’s a sea of money out there. I have that larceny streak, too, and admire your poker party angle. Heh. Brilliant shit, dude.

        5. That ties in with a consultation business I thought about setting up as I have helped set up foreign mailboxes for past employers. You would be amazed how many “paper companies” exist for tax planning goals.

        6. The poker party dough was good, but the real money came from my 3 years as a strip club bathroom valet. The sheer amount of scams I pulled in there including, but not limited to, “telling guy with a wedding ring he has lipstick on neck, he wipes, you tell him it is gone, he gives you money” or “giving girl 50 dollars to tell guys she like a particular cologne and when they come in have it in my backpack and then watch them give me 20 bucks a hit for free cologne” or “have bouncer confiscate blow at door, give to me so I can repackage and sell it back to customers with strip club premiums and split with bouncer…and of course tell the guy it will be an hour before my guy gets here to keep him in the club drinking” god I made a fortune.

        7. A website that advertised that service would be a home run, depending on how it was configured, and how much traffic it attracted. Saving people money is a stone-cold winner.

        8. Wow. That is some outside-the-box, enterprising shit right there. Haha. Were you in your early 20s, or what…

        9. I was. I got that job my sophomore year in college…so 19 and I had it until I graduated. I had a buddy who always was flush with cash and I knew him and was like “i know you. you are poor. I know you family. they are poor. why do you constantly have a grand in cash on you” mind you this was 1991 when that was a lot of money. Anyway, he told me he worked in titty bars as a bathroom guy. Even without the scams he was making 3-500 a night easy. Eventually he got me a job. It was amazing. 1500-2000 dollars a week in cash as a college student, surrounded by strippers, friends with bouncers, making friends with stock brokers and other people who went to strip clubs on corp cards. it was terrific. One of the three clubs I worked at was on Murray Street downtown near Wall Street and this was before the banking collapse or even before the internet bubble burst. guys would come in and buy 20k in funny money and just toss it around like it was Hershey’s kisses.

        10. Wouldn’t be amazed at all. I started a side business a few years ago doing Lien Removal, Settlement Negotiation and Construction Consulting. We made so much money that we wound up bumping heads with the big guys and decided to cut our with a profit rather than try to make a life out of it. In and out in one year 5 partners each cleared over 50k a piece for what amounted to a couple of hours of paperwork a week and using a bully pulpit to negotiate.

        11. Wow, man. I love war stories like that. So here’s one for you. I hitchhiked to L.A. when I was 19. Backpack and some cash. Got a job in clothing store a week later. Three months later I was managing my own store. That didn’t cut it so I met this guy who was a ticket broker (i.e., scalper). He was richer than god. So I finagled my way into his good graces. Started going out and buying tickets to major sporting events and concerts for him. I’d stand in line with a bunch of other guys who worked for him, and we’d all be carrying at least a couple grand (his money). We’d go back through the line, again and again, changing outfits, caps, etc. we’d make $1000 a pop on an average run. Of course, it was dangerous, as we’d have to camp out overnight sometimes, to get the choicest tickets, but man, what a blast. I think when you do things like you and I are discussing, the mind gravitates in that direction – outside the box. And of course that is where the real money is made.

        12. If its in a good school district you’d clean up! People looking for bogus residency and all.

        13. I know…it would make a fortune. I was thinking like 1/4 acre in ulster county with a bunch of mail boxes though. No NYC resident tax. No NYC car insurance. I assume that at some point I would get caught and royally fucked though. I wish I could pull the james moriarty bit and be a consulting criminal. Criminals could pay me a fee or a percentage for my criminal thinking.

        14. “He was richer than god. So I finagled my way into his good graces. ”
          Like all men who had sub par relationships with their fathers, I spent my formative years seeking out male role models and father figures to some degree of success or failure depending on the time. But one thing I learned early was to pay attention to how someone lives. When I was a teenager I knew an older (in his 30’s) who worked at Rock Center as a security guard. I knew him through the act of procuring him certain mind altering substances but I liked him and thought he was a really cool guy. But when I would deliver said substances to his place I was looking at a rats nest. When I did see him with a chick she was never hot. I knew then and there that I didn’t need him in my life and I didn’t want to be a security guard.
          I tell young guys this all the time. Take a look around. If you see someone living a life you would like to live…make friends and learn how. I see 19 year old kids complaining about all the assholes they work with. Well fuck….those assholes are just looking glasses into the future. When my new interns show up every year I always let them know that this job, if you are good at it, leads to where I am. If that is something you like stick around. If not, go elsewhere.

        15. There’s a nondescript office building in Maryland or Delaware that is famous for that- over 500 corporations in one lil building

        16. Sound wisdom. Hanging out with hipsters at college, and then hanging out with that same crowd after you graduate and start working in a cubicle is not a fitting life for any man. Pick the brains of guys who have made it. Ask them for advice. That’s the fastest and cheapest way to get a real education. Maybe we should collaborate on an e-book at some point. Teach these kids how to roll and split the profits.

        17. We have wisdom. Young people need wisdom. No sense in not sharing….for a price. If you are good at something never do it for free.

        18. Agreed. “From Zero to 60 Grand a Year in a Heartbeat”. So many titles, so little time.

        19. Yes. The Clintons have a few registires in that building. A Delaware incorporation is the most common. In Europe you will have Ireland, Holland or perhaps one in Cyprus. Google is being hit hard by dodging billions in EU taxes over the years through their Irish Holding these days. Big govt. smells money and wants their cut.

        20. There’s wisdom here. Similarly as a yute I cultivated friendships in various groups, all different lifestyles, interests, backgrounds, vocations, just to sniff out where I wanted to go in life.
          Two attributes mandatory to all the different groups I sampled:
          ALL older than me
          NONE from my own neighborhood/background.

        21. Everyone incorporates in Delaware. The small business I had here in new York was incorporated there. tax benefits galore.

        23. There’s always time. So long as you have a pulse. But I hear ya. I’ve done tons of shit and still wish I’d done more. I think that’s a totally common, very human trait…

        24. Yer right – aint dead yet!Regret is bitch-emotion, but it creeps in sometimes, especially the “regret NOT doing variety”

        25. It’s a natural emotion. Any guy who says he never thinks “what if”, or “I wish I would have”, is either a liar or a mute.

        26. I went to a bachelor party for an accountant once and was impressed what he and his friends set up. They rented a hall and set up poker games, roulette and a black jack tables and the beer was free. I played Texas hold-em all night with 6 guys to a table at $10 buy in. If you won, you got $50.
          I think he paid for half his wedding with the vig he made that night.

        29. yute….like when you was a kid….you know, back when I was a yute

        31. I’ve made decent cash editing/writing university papers for rich Asians who can barely speak English.
          I’ve even had someone offer me to write their MBA thesis, but fuck that.

        32. kneeman your life experiences always give me a good laugh. Never change. hahahah. Damn those are some good ideas though, I think I said this before but you should seriously write an article on here about hustling.

  9. When it comes to clothes: get yourself into good physical shape and buy things for how they fit as opposed to brand or price.
    A $20.00 polo shirt that hugs the guns and has a slightly snug look across a well-built chest will draw a lot more attention than a $120.00 polo on some noodle arms and a pair of bitch tits.
    Go for build, then align an inexpensive wardrobe around that build. Bodybuilding, strength training, and martial arts are the best sports in the world — they’re the only sports that allow you to take your hard work with you wherever you go. A good body is always there for you; the ability to defend yourself is always there for you; being strong is always there for you — take advantage and get in the gym.

    1. excellent advice. One year in college I went to a Halloween party wearing nothing but low top chucks, a pair of tighty whitey underware and a box around my crotch held in place by suspenders, wrapped like a Christmas gift with a label that said “TO: WOMEN FROM: GOD” I think I could have got away with wearing that outfit every single day.
      Really though, fitness is numero uno every.single.time

      1. It truly is number one. Nobody appreciates things that are easy. Buying an expensive outfit is easy: if you have the money, you buy it — simple.
        Having a pair 17+ inch arms isn’t easy — being a carb consuming fat ass is.
        It takes hard work, constant soreness, and both passion and discipline. Passion to get you motivated, and discipline to compensate for when the passion isn’t there — it’s what gets asses off of couches even when asses want to stay glued to couches.
        That’s why women find men in good shape irresistible: there’s hard work involved. It’s also why men don’t respect sluts — no one respects something that’s easy. Being a bum is easy, being a loser is easy. Take the hard route and reap the rewards. Simple, really.

        1. 100% true. I am a bit of a fashion guy and I buy good clothes, but physique comes first. It is funny you mention 17″ arms as that is what my most recent measurement is. There is no greater feeling in the world then when a girl first removes your shirt and she takes a step back just to enjoy what she is seeing.
          Anyone can look good in great clothes….looking good naked is tricky.

        2. Man, this is such a simple comment but powerful at the same time. Definitely resonates too. Did the shirt thing a few months back. They all fit like second skin. Even when I think they won’t work for me on some given night, I still walk home with someone. And all it cost me was a few squats, horse stances, push-ups, and dead lifts. All in all, worth it.

        3. On point.
          When you’re out with a chick and she grabs hold of your upper arm as you’re walking along together instead of holding your hand, as long as you don’t shit your pants or mention a Valtrex prescription needing to be refilled, you have the bang in the bag.

        4. Yup. Or when women touch you while talking to you, and make a point of feeling your arms. Same deal.

        5. The arm grab is so great. Girl I am seeing now, with both hands wraps around my bicep when we walk. She never mentions anything. Never says “oooh so strong blah blah blah” but I know what she is thinking and she knows I know. She does the same in bed to my quad. Her eyes go all jello.
          While I would never advocate getting tats, when I was younger I got a quarter sleeve on each arm. People very rarely see me out of a suit and tie. I am just a dressed up kind of guy. The first time a girl takes off my jacket and shirt and finds jacked arms sporting tats they always have the same reaction especially since I am such a clean cut guy. Priceless.

        7. A bit of a fashion guy? Isn’t that like King Kong being considered “a bit of a primate”?

        9. If there is something i like is to do, is to dress good. It gives me extra confidence. Right now, i am renovating my wardrobe and the moment i went to work with some new classy and sophisticated clothing, compliments started raining not to mention those “fuck” me eyes…It truly is a pussy magnet.

        10. Yup. I always feel great when I am dressed sharp. I am wearing a terrific suit today. A gorgeous woman went way out of her way to hold the elevator for me. Just feels great. And yes, all girls crazy about a sharp dressed man.

        11. Right now i am in to cardigans. Its a cheap, classy and multi functional peace of clothing. With a nice shirt and well adjusted pants it provides a killer look.

        12. My transformation started with my current job. I was expected to wear a suit. I never dressed casual, but I started noticing the attention I got in a suit. Evetually, and over the years, I got to where I am now. I have 4 suits for M-F and a pair of slacks, a shirt, knit tie, jacket and loafers for “casual Friday” and a couple more pairs of trousers and sports jackets for the weekend. After that it is all gym clothes. I own one pair of jeans, but don’t really remember when I wore them last.

        13. A suit is a must have piece in every mans wardrobe. Sadly my suit is a bit dated and also in need of some update…Any advice?

        14. Really depends on body type. Tall skinny guys where much different than short stocky guys etc etc. also depends on what else you have in wardrobe. For instance, i am wearing a plaid suit today but if you are looking for a corner stone that’s not it. Charlcoal gray; imo, is the one must have

        18. When a man stays in shape – especially in the case of marriage – it motivates his woman to do the same.

      2. I always found that the best costumes in terms of female response were those that were either very arrogant or things I deliberately put no effort into. I once took an old bucket that had held bubble gum, cut eye holes and wore it on my head and had women commenting on it all night. These days, I don’t even wear a costume. When people ask why, I say “because it’s fucking stupid.”

        1. Ha, exactly. I use the same costume every year. My tuxedo. So I am a vampire. Or James bond. or Dean Martin. Or whatever. At the end of the night when everyone is sweating and has make up dripping from their elaborate costumes I am just a guy in a tuxedo

        2. A costume I once wore, and I’m particularly proud of this one, was a faux Christmas wreath around my neck, with a Hundred dollar bill in a clear plastic holder (the kind collectors use that you can buy for $0.20 at a coin shop) tied to the bottom so that everybody could see it.
          People asked what I was and I’d answer “A Wreath. A Franklin”
          *bow*

    2. Absolutely. I wear a lot of UnderArmour-type shirts. Good-looking cargo shorts (I’m in the desert), and fairly expensive hiking shoes/tennis shoes. Women go nuts over good bodies in clothing that highlights the chiseled male form. Other than some cash, you don’t need much else to draw mega-attention.

      1. And I’mma add this: A man in a suit instantly puts a woman in golddigger mode. A chiselled, or somewhat chiselled body, puts a woman in horny mode.

      2. I like the desert (not the point but I don’t care). Ship Rock NM, Yuma AZ, Page AZ, Vegas, Grand Canyon, and might as well throw Colorado in there. You’re in CA right?

      3. I’m afraid “Good-looking” and “cargo shorts” can’t be said in the same breath.

    3. To amplify what you have said – most of these women cannot tell the difference between the $20.00 and $120.00 polos anyway, particularly if they are not overtly branded.
      In my experience, women know a lot about women’s fashion. They know jack fucking shit about men’s fashion, and so default to the other assessments that you mention.
      Plus, you can neglect fitness, be a fat fuck with a beer gut, and be dressed like a homeless dickhead, but if you pull out that wallet and she catches a glace of a fat stack of cash with a couple of particularly large bills, it won’t matter if you’re covered in shit. She’ll happily lick it off. Of course, you can get the same results without even the money if your game is tight.

    4. Awesome point. Inspirational. Until I was 30 or so I couldn’t afford expensive clothes for myself, so lived and breathed this mantra. And still do now

    6. Absolutely! Fantastic advice! Strong physical presence, good posture and a confident walk can make the most inexpensive wardrobe look great. I always like to use cars as an analogy, but you can paint a Ferrari or a Porsche almost any color and it always looks great. Same goes for clothing… there’s no denying the shape of a strong physique, regardless of the brand of clothing you’re wearing.
      Unless your career demands a certain wardrobe, clothing can be one of the most wasteful expenditures anyone can make. Most clothing is made like such shit these days also. If you need to spend money on a wardrobe, put the money towards higher quality items like better shoes, belts, watches, good suits if needed, etc. – stick to basic colors and timeless styles, most of the other shit is all throw away crap. Stop wasting money on skinny jeans and trendy shit – your bank statements will thank you!

    8. For me fitness came behind studying, researching and working corporate game (and getting an MBA for me). I will be F.I. by 40 and will be able to retire before 50 with an upper middle class lifestyle ($200k+/yr) and never have to work again – and that’s with being married (if I was single those would have happened 5 years earlier). F.I. is far more important, IMO, than being in shape. Invest in your intellectual self as much – if not more – than your physical self.
      Part of getting to FI for *most* people is living inexpensively so your point and the article’s point is spot on but I see far too many 20s spending all their free time on body building and game and very little on achieving financially independence.

  10. I hate Wal-Mart and want to buy American. But Wrangler is as good as Levis or designer jeans and are like 10-15 bucks a pair. I would not recommend Wal-Mart for running shoes as you can damage your knees and back. But I do not run, just walk 50 miles a week. For 15 bucks, Wal-Mart. I drive a 1996 Lincoln I that runs well, except for broken heater, cooler, driver side door, and a trunk that does not completely close. I am cheap, dude. And don’t forget Good Will.
    But as a result, my home is paid off and so is my son’s college. I have some extra cash for land and guns. And gold and silver secret stash !
    Now, having not gone into debt young, I buy what the heck I want within reason. So does my wife. She resented early on I was such a NAZI with money. But now, she can see I was right.
    Do not spend money on stuff that does not accumullate value.Do land, gold, silver, guns. And if your wife does not want a glock, don’t buy something stupid. By her some silver spoons, knives, etc for her pattern. Not all girlie things you buy have to be stupid. (but stay away from the Gucci bags ! That is giving your wealth away.)
    It is sometimes difficult, but some women can be trained to prefer long term things like silver dining pattern over stupid overpriced perfume etc. Especially traditional southern girls.
    I do recommend some stock and bonds even if it is a Ponzi scheme. I have long expected a crash, but it is still easier to convert stock and bonds and bank cash into quick use than it is to sell off gold and silver.
    I put stuff I do not think I will need in my lifetime into land, gold, silver. But getting a proper deal on that takes time and connections which you may not have if you need quick cash.
    So there is no way to divest entirely of the NWO system. My plan for future involves it all
    1)Social security
    2)pension
    3)401k.
    4)bank accountsw
    Yes, 1-3 are Ponzi but that is the world we live in. Apocalyse is not here yet.
    4)land for horticulture and fireamrs training. However, land is an asset youncannot hide.
    5)Gold silver stash. At least, these can be hidden, although transporting requires caution in times of crisis. And in normal times, it is hard to get fair price.
    6)Guns. Conserve value pretty well if 2nd amendment respected. However, require proper care and maintenance. Many guns sit in humid places rusting away. Fortunately, they can usually be saved even after years of neglect.
    BUt before thinking of any of the above, PAY OFF DEBT. Indebted people, even in shiney cars, are NWO serfs.
    Nothing more.

    1. BUt before thinking of any of the above, PAY OFF DEBT
      fukkin ay. I hate when I hear people scheming about stocks when they’re paying 18% to a goddamn credit card…

  11. A natural spinoff blog or podcast for Donovan here, would be “Dressing Sharpe”. (You’re welcome.)

  12. 1) I love vintage / classic cars, so if you live in a warmer US state (CA, AZ, NV, NM), there lots of great luxury or high-end choices for $10,000 or under and there’s a chance your ride will INCREASE in value. I owned the top supercar from the ’80s for less than a new Honda Civic and absolutely loved the experience.
    2) Rent a fixer-upper in a convenient location and put lots of elbow grease into it in terms of paint, new tile etc. Owner will appreciate it and your place will look and feel higher end. Pick posters for wall art, but spend some money on the framing. Upgrade faucets, light fixtures and use quality bedding that you bought on sale. Remember that minimalism always looks classy, masculine and powerful.
    3) I have a massive wardrobe, but everything I buy is at least 70% off retail and I take the time to take care of the textiles. I still wear things from 20 years ago, which is easy because I keep in shape and have classic (nearly timeless) style. I typically shop at outlets, within their clearance sections, AND use their coupons to boot. $100 shirts for less than $20, and $250 shoes for less than $60 is the norm.

    1. What do you expect an old Aston Martin (like a DB5) that needed work would run I would love to get one early next spring and get it up and running.

        1. actually, that is exactly what I was thinking of. I enjoy working on cars and thought it would be a fun hobby to get a brit car that needed constant work.

        2. You know you’re preaching to the choir here…
          But I’ll tell you the biggest pain in the ass is having a place to do it. My project is currently berthed at a rented garage in the burbs 40 minutes away. A place within a mile of my house, if it even existed would cost more than my first apartment…
          One of the only things I dislike about living in the city.

        3. Your neighbors will love you if you have a car on blocks for weeks on end with a puddle of oil to match.

        5. I like working on cars as a hobby. I do not like working on a car that must be functioning in the morning to get to work. Had to change the clutch on a Nissan Cherry by myself and without another ride to get any additional parts/supplies should something not go as planned, not fun.

        8. That takes at least six to eight weeks, and by that time you can skip town, so you’re free and clear.

      2. An incredibly shabby example will still set you back north of $200,000. The time to buy a restorable DB5 was 25+ years ago for us mere mortals. Consider classic Alfa Romeos, such as the late ’80s to early ’90s Spiders. A decent one will set you back $10,000 and could become worth $20,000 if restored well.

        1. My first car was an Alfa I put together. I wasn’t thinking maybe a Karman Ghia

        2. What kind of Alfa? The KG has beautiful lines, but is a bit of a dog to drive. I like more giddy up in my machines.

        3. BTW: a similar looking car to the Karmann Ghia, but offering a better driving experience is the Volvo P1800.

        4. It was an AR 33 which my cousins and I got from a junk yard and spent a summer Frankensteining it into a car. It didn’t have beautiful lines lol…but for a first car shared between a couple of teenagers it was a dream come true

    2. Vintage cars keep their value beautifully. They’re a solid investment. In cold states, store them during the winter because of the salt on the roads.

  13. 1. DO NOT spend money on HOOKERS! Learn game, and invest in your self-improvement inself. That is money well spent.
    2. DO NOT spend money on DRUGS! That BMW your dealer drives was bought from your hard-earned cash, and he is fucking the sluts you could fuck instead.
    3. DO NOT give money to your GIRLFRIENDs. She should love your dick not your wallet, you want to be the alpha she fucks not the beta she bucks.

    1. Point 1 and 3 are the same thing!!! But your right about 2, I swear half the doable women in my town got knocked up by the same drug dealer at a club…

      1. Come to think on it… yeah.
        So, as in a general rule: DO NOT give money to WOMEN! Period. Because you want to be the alfa fucks, not the beta bucks.
        And, admit it, you have already given them loads of. Well, depending on your age, but kind of inevitable. For the rest of your life, try to get the balance back!

        1. Oh I admit it, with drugs you pay twice… first for the dope up front, second through taxes going to baby mommas, addicts, government funded meth, all the medical expense.. you know your local dealer ain’t paying child support with the cash in his pocket, or being a stand up citizen.
          Can’t get around taxes until the system falls apart and hopefully by then my exodus is already long underway

  14. When did rok became captain obvious ?we all know the basic don’t bite what you can’t chew saying .

    1. in a world that doesn’t just make biting off more than you can chew easy, but actively encourages it through credit prison this is something that bears repeating.

    2. Lots of young men grow up with no guidance from any masculine figure in their lives. Basic common sense things, ain’t so common sense when your only economics teacher has been commercial television and watching the neighbors spend themselves blind on stupid shit.

  15. In the cities, you don’t need a car. Just Uber her over to your place. Girls love that stuff, especially if you have a really nice condo in a somewhat dodgy neighborhood, like I do.
    FEMALE MIND:
    Ohmygod Uber’s here! (excited tingle)
    (backseat, looking out window) Ohmygod this neighborhood looks dangerous! (scared tingle)
    (walks up to door) Ohmygod this place looks so welcoming and comfortable! (found safety in Mordor tingle)
    Make that hindbrain do the work for you. Three tingles before she even sees you. It literally has never failed to seal the deal.

      1. The word “tingles” seems to have been legally prohibited from ever being mentioned in the same sentence as “ComicCon” (except to explain that it’s been legally prohibited, of course).

    3. Really what is with women and getting excited over Uber? I see this all the time. Its like some daddy is coming to pick them up and they forget they are paying for it. I’m more reserved when I have to use Uber because I don’t see much difference in just calling a normal cab or using public transport.

  16. This one might help – get a pay-as-you-go debit card/credit card. Don’t buy anything on credit, period. Pay cash. The card will allow you to do things everybody with a mountain of debt does, but you won’t have to spend most of your money making the bankers richer.

    1. I ended up having to do go cash only by circumstance. Worked my way through college and joined the Navy, never established credit, since I never bought anything on time. Way back in the bad old days if you wrote a check they wanted to see a credit card and they’d write the number on the ceck. I didn’t have a credit card, so I couldn’t write checks anywhere– I was forced to carry cash everywhere. Got back from a deployment having pretty much banked all my earnings for 6+ months. Tried to get a credit card through my bank. Credit rep at the bank advised me they couldn’t, and I should go buy some stuff from department stores to build credit. “So, to prove I’m prudent with money, you want me to go waste money buying crap I don’t need, and paying more than I have to by piling interest on top of the cost of buying things I don’t need?” I changed banks.
      It was a while before I finally got a credit card, but you’re right. I saved an awful lot of money operating cash only.

  17. You have to be careful with clothes… while it is silly to go all out on designer brands, if you cheap out, you really do end up getting what you pay for.

    1. Buy a 500 dollar pair of dress shoes what will last you 10 years if properly maintained and someone will say “can’t believe you spend 500 dollars on shoes” But a 100 dollar pair of dress shoes you replace annually and everyone thinks you are frugal. Need to prorate cost over time to figure out real cost.

      1. The last two pairs of shoes I bought cost me around $50 a piece and lasted for 5+ years.

        1. Not a bad deal. I need dress shoes every day and work and live in a walking city. I have to bring all of my shoes to the cobbler for resoling every year and I usually go for a polish once every few months.

  18. If you are fool enough to get married do it at local court house and take that amazingly huge chunk of money and put it towards a house rather than a couple of hours that you will, more like than not, be too drunk to remember.

    1. This thread is rapidly becoming a primer for anybody who wants to save money, live better and make more loot. Save some nuggets for that e-book, man!

    3. Average wedding is something like $27,000… twenty-seven thousand fucking dollars for a four hour party?
      Never.

        1. If I ever spend 27k in a four hour period you bet your bippy I won’t be fucking only one woman that night and at least one person will not survive.

        2. Jesus, no shit. I’m getting laid by six porn stars at least, and snorting a pound of coke. Craziness.

        3. Yeah, I would pretty much be living the sex scenes from the book American psycho. Hell, I threw a bachelor party for one of my cousins in south America where we had an island where we hunted prostitutes with nets. We called it the Island of Doctor More Ho. Between the booze, the birds, the blow, the island, the boat, the nets we didn’t spend 1/5 of that and it lasted for 2 days.

        4. Please remind me to bribe you for an invite to your next cousin’s wedding. (Island of Doctor More Ho! – ha!)
          I just don’t understand the blowing-a-shitload-of-money thing on a wedding, of all things. I believe an eye-opening study could be done, correlating how many marriages wind up in divorce, if there is an expensive wedding involved, versus a more modest one. My hunch would be the more costly the wedding, the higher the frequency of divorce. And I’d be willing to bet on that being the case, before any data was even gathered.

        5. Epic. How many times have you told that story just to have people say “that didn’t happen?”

        6. “..more costly the wedding, the higher the frequency of divorce.”
          I’ve heard that before.

        7. On second thought, those results would probably be a foregone conclusion. Heh. Still, I’d really like to see the hard numbers.

        8. Bob you would have loved that party. First La Paz for 2 days to go to route 36 (google it, you will die) then the bike ride on the “death road” starting at 15,400 feet and going straight down in what was the most frightening thing ever then a rented island, half dozen prostitutes and what amounted to the hunger games for another 2 days. I know how to throw a party

        9. Probably a few. The truth is, it wasn’t that expensive to rent a vacation island a a bunch of hookers for 2 days. Probably cheaper than 1 night in vegas would have cost.

        10. Jesus, man, that is an over-the-top, epically awesome visual there. You may be right about us getting together in Vegas. With our mutual penchant for having an excessively good time, we just might wind up in the morgue. But what a way to go, eh. With cash winnings stacking up as we continued to party, it would no doubt fuel the ride to those can’t-turn-back heights. Puts a smile on my party-induced, rigor-mortis-tightening face, just thinking about it.

        11. I found a british company that will take you and your guests to Chernobyl and let you drive around in decommissioned soviet tanks shooting off rounds from a Kalashnikov and then back to the hotels for a good time with wholesome eastern European women. I could never convince anyone to go to Chernobyl with me though.

        12. Sign me up. “I ain’t afraid of no radiation.” That put a new bullet point on my bucket list for sure…dude…I figured you of all people would appreciate this as it just happened. I just iced a big renewal deal with a client in Chicago, and my venture into full-time sports betting is now officially on. I’ll be leaving Phoenix around the third week of January, and won’t keep my hotel room here in the desert (which I’ve had for four and a half years now). I’m nervous, as this is somewhat like jumping into an abyss, but I’m certain it will work out well, just as it has on a part-time basis. Off to celebrate now with some day drinking (passed on that one yesterday). Life is good, slurp it up.

        13. It’s not a hunch. The data proves it — the more costly the wedding, the more likely a divorce. Don’t have time to look up the source, but I’ve read it.

        14. Awesome. Isn’t being nervous great? I haven’t felt nervous in years. I look forward to the next time I do.

        16. Because women live for their wedding day but don’t live for their marriage. For them the beginning and end of the fantasy is with the huge expensive party. That they need to account for spending at least a decade or longer with the poor schlub standing next to them never seems to enter their tiny little brain containers. Spend $27k for 4 hours, yay! Spend the money more responsibly through investments or preparing for our future life and homestead? What are you, crazy?
          A woman in the wedding state of mind will think NOTHING of blowing $10k on a dress. Nothing. It’s expected, because “it’s her day, and she deserves it” (notice how it’s only “her” day?). But if the poor meat dildo she’s marrying needs a semi-decent car to get to and from work, she’ll nag him ten ways to Sunday to justify upgrading from his 1973 Gremlin with what she’ll refer to right out the gate as “our” money.

        19. I will send you the link to these guys off site. It seems like it would be so killer right?

        21. A lot of people structure it as an investment wherein parents put up the initial capital and the Happy Couple (TM) reaps the dividends.

        22. “with our mutual penchant for having an excessively good time, we just might wind up in the morgue.”
          CLASSIC Bob Smith, right there….

        25. Yes, it does. And I’m actually rather serious, I’d lay down some bread for that kind of trip.

        26. I’ve been to Chernobyl. Not driving around in tanks, but tours are fairly common hence I question where you will be shooting off rounds. Pripyat is like a snap shot of 80s Soviet life. The reactor is still functioning mind you and most tours involve lunch at the company cafeteria. You may want to hold off until the Ukraine settles down a bit.

        27. No idea. I need to dig up the link. It was some brit company offering. If you google “Chernobyl bachelor party” it comes up

        29. What? How do they do this? How do they get access to a highly restricted area and how did they acquire tanks? Proof or bullshit.

        30. It’s Ukraine, not “the Ukraine”, Slavic languages don’t have “the”, and countries are proper nouns…

        32. probably bullshit then. Not you bullshiting, but them. Wouldn’t be surprised if they take all your money and hold you ransom.

        33. It kind of looked legit but yes that is absolutely a possibility. The idea def made me smile though

      2. I believe that the high cost of weddings is some kind of thing built into the situation to give men one last chance to realize that what they are doing is insane.

        1. And what about that expensive chocolate diamond box set the bitch has to get (shakes head).

        2. Yeah, the bride-to-be had better have an in-tact hymen, no tattoos, and an alpha male father who she loves dearly and who is still married to mother — for the groom’s sake…. lol.

        3. My ex had an alpha male father with a twenty-five-year solid-as-hell marriage … and she still frivorced me.
          For some women, even the example of the parents isn’t enough to stop the cuntiness.

        4. I would only buy a diamond for a woman if I was very, very wealthy and she was a straight up, unrepentant gold digger. The honesty in that relationship, if you can afford it, is fine by me.

        5. Maintenance, my friend, You can’t buy a Ferrari and neglect to change the oil.
          Church every week, dates every month, sex 3x/week, read scriptures and other books with her daily, throw away the TV, expect but also show appreciation for her housework, do your share (not more) of the chores, yearly vacations……all of it. Sounds like a lot of work, but looking at what my co-worker is going through in his divorce, it is child’s play.
          Sorry to hear that you are going through a divorce.

        6. My daughter demanded her fiancée get her a fake diamond for her engagement ring and bank the difference in savings. She just couldn’t see him putting the money into a real diamond when nobody can really tell the difference.

        7. “Chocolate Diamond”
          Ain’t that a hoot? They’re literally creating an entire market demand and campaign around THE WORST GRADE OF DIAMOND SINCE FOREVER. If you wanted a brown diamond back in 1989 the shop attendant probably would have handed you a few twenty carat ones for free and told you to leave the premises. Today, it’s “chocolate diamonds!” Might as well repackage shit and sell it as ambrosia.

        8. Diamonds are bullshit overpriced anyways. Even the high end ones are not anywhere near as rare as they are made out to be.

        10. People who know gemstones don’t go anywhere near diamonds. The whole industry is a near-monopoly creating fake value for millions of amateurs.
          There are far better gemstones to invest in, if you’re willing to study.

        11. I guess as long as kids aren’t in the picture it isn’t as big of a deal. My brother had his wife die on him leaving a kid. He remarried and recently divorced. He said watching his wife die of cancer was easier to deal with than dovorce

      3. My engagement “ring” was four studded Nokian Snow Tires for her Camry Hybrid. Her appreciation was genuine…we moved ahead with the wedding.Had she bitched – out the back door she would have gone.
        Our wedding cost less than $ 300. Our honeymoon less than $ 600.
        We are still married – four years later – and she still brings me coffee every morning while Im in bed. Only a fuckin chump would pay $ 27000 for a wedding.

    4. Local magistrate in Edinburgh Scotland did it for pocket cash money, and at the time the round trip flight to Scotland was less than flying to Mexico (like, I think, $280.00 round trip in the early ’90’s, it was a great deal). We did exactly as you mention, we spent actual big money elsewhere and still had a great wedding story to tell.

      1. yup. want a story to tell…here is a great story “welcome to my home. I own it debt free” Other than that, if you got to the point where you are willing to get married one would think that anything you do will be a great story.

    5. …or marry a rich chick who’s daddy pays for it all AND invites all his rich friends ans relatives. This is how so many unremarkable people make it into the upper middle-class.

  19. Good stuff. Also pay very close attention to any monthly charge with automatically recurring billing. You rack up enough of those $10 or $20 a month accounts and they add up quick. I went through and slashed all that so it’s just my phone bill and utilities. Sometimes it’s the every day little things that save you the most money. Like making coffee at home. It all adds up, as any millionaire will tell you. Put everything into investments instead of squandering it away.

    1. You have to watch your bank like a hawk….between those monthly hits and little ‘fees’ and shit they can bleed you for years before you notice.

  20. When it comes to cars, you’re better off doing your own repairs ( if you’re mechanically inclined). Repair shops charge up to 200% of the cost of the parts alone.

    3. And it is amazing how many youtube videos there are out there showing you exactly how to troubleshoot and perform repairs.

      1. Its great. Several videos have helped me repair the washer and dryer. This weekend I’m replacing a catylitic converter. Mechanical fun fun.

  21. I’ll add a few tips (in no particular order):
    *Cars: The majority of cars are pretty well built. Buying a used/CPO model can save you thou$and$ up front, and on applicable sales tax, registration fees and insurance.
    *Cell phones/service: Typically, you come out ahead buy buying your own phone outright. Make sure it’s unlocked though, so that you can use it on most/all carriers worldwide. And I suggest prepaid service – you can save 15+% on your monthly bill (depending on your state and whatever taxes/fees they may have) over postpaid service…that pays for your phone right there.
    *Cable: Get rid of it. 98% of it is unwatchable garbage. I cut the cord last year and haven’t missed cable at all. I use an $8.50 OTA antenna and pick up ~45 channels, many of them in HD. Total monthly bill: $0. Not paying to be connected to the propaganda machine? Saves me ~$100/month.
    *Prepare food, coffee, etc. at home: You learn (or hone your) skills, it’s healthier for you and you save serious money.
    *Spending: Become a credit card rewards whore. Use your miles/points to do fun stuff…for free. The caveat here is to make sure you pay your balance off (unless you score a 0% interest deal) monthly.
    I do all of the above. I then leverage my savings from my frugality to do stuff like go on vacations and splurge when/where I want without denting my bankroll.

    1. Who still uses a metered service for phones? At this point I think most people use contracts with set payments every month.

      1. Not sure what you mean by “metered service” regarding cellular service, but prepaid service is a set amount paid each month.

        1. Metered service is when you pay per minutes of use. Anyways, at this point everyone uses prepaid.

  22. Financing a car you can’t afford is one of the absolute worst investments anyone can make. The damn thing depreciates considerably the moment you drive it off the lot, and from that point forward, it depreciates with every mile you put on it. Then when you add repairs/upkeep/gas to the monthly car payment, you’ll find yourself between paying your landlord or paying the bank. It’s just not worth it, and drowning underwater from a ridiculous car payment for a toy that you’re sure to lose is a great way to fuck up your credit.

    1. See my post above. You buy your first car or two for utility only. Save the nice rides for when you’re in your late 30’s or later, and when you can pay cash for them.

      2. And I’ll say what I said above- if your car is losing that much value off of what you actually paid (vice MSRP), you didn’t haggle enough.

        1. Yep, haggling is a must-do thing. And being of the mindset that you can get up and walk away and avoid buyer-fever is a good thing to have.

        2. Biggest problem new buyers have- starting to get emotionally invested in the deal/vehicle/relationship with salesperson vice focusing on the numbers and leaving if they aren’t right. A lot of vehicles out there (and it is amazing how the price drops the second you start heading towards the door…)
          I once offered a salesman 18K for a vehicle (ridiculously low offer but first place I looked). He moaned about no way in heck… I said fine, I’m being unrealistic and won’t waste your time. As I hit the door the sales manager said – $17,800 and it’s yours.

        3. One dealer made me sit and wait four hours before he accepted my offer. I knew that was coming and had brought a book and a couple magazines. I sat at the table and waited.
          In the end, he caved. It saved me a thousand five hundred dollars.

        4. Which equaled making $375 dollars per hour. Which is how a financial advisor put it at a Navy seminar. Who here makes $50 an hour? It is worth your time haggling 15 minutes for a couple of hundred.

      3. I get annoyed at those who point fingers at older men who buy nice cars and say they are going through a mid life crisis. No, it is guys that always wanted those cars, but had enough financial sense to wait until they were older.

        1. That’s quite true. “Hur hur midlife crisis hur hur! They ain’t cool like me driving my dad’s BMW/driving the car that is going to be repossessed in two months! Hur hur”. Whatever, kid. Heh.

        2. My son is 12, I am soon going to be in the market for something pre-1975 that I can fix up with him. Nothing fancy, just something that he can learn basic mechanics, and have pride in his work. Perhaps an old Camaro or Trans-AM.

  23. There’s a surprising amount of decent stuff at thrift stores. (Goodwills are really corporate and picked-over, I tend to prefer St Vincents). It helps that men’s fashion is really binary, switching back and forth between normal ties and skinny ones and shoes with pointed tips vs ones with flat tips.
    They’re great for baby clothes too since they grow like weeds and their clothing isn’t worn long.
    Going “thrifting” is also a good way to test a mate’s character. You’re in for a bumpy ride if your wife is the kind of person who wants expensive things just for the sake of having expensive things.

  24. Cars tip for the young bucks. This is how I keep from having car payments, ever again in my life.
    1. Buy a new car (Yes, you heard me, fuck “resale value”). Make payments on it like you normally would, however, make extra payments against principal every single time you can. Pay that 5 year loan off in 3, it can be done.
    2. Drive that car until it is held together with duct tape and bondo. The day you stop driving it should be the day that the salvage yard comes to tow it out of your driveway because the engine block is cracked and the mileage is over 200k.
    3. After you pay off the car in 3-4 years, continue making “car payments” of the same amount to a set aside savings account. Every month. No exceptions, it is a payment that is due and that you can not “miss”. Just make it a habit and you won’t miss it.
    4. By the time your car is being towed out of your driveway (see step 2) you should have a lot of cash in that savings account, as in, enough to go into a dealer and buy a nice reasonably priced car for cash.
    5. Buy the nice reasonably priced car for cash.
    6. Make car payments to yourself as you were doing before as you ride that car from pretty new little thang into a slag heap to be towed 10 years later.
    7. Rinse, lather, repeat.
    I buy my motorcycles and cars this way. I haven’t had an actual car payment in almost 2 decades. If I absolutely have a huge emergency (house gets blown up due to the experiments I was doing in the basement involving very fragile chemistry, for example), I have a cash stash just in case. But I won’t touch it otherwise.
    Buying a car cash is a great feeling. Knowing that I’ll never be paying usury/interest on any car I buy (outside of the first) is just icing on the cake.

    1. Having a decent savings stash is great financial advice. It cuts way down on stress.
      Have always bought cars from the classified ads. I will research what is the best car for my needs and budget and then set up 4 or 5 appointments to look at the car from different sellers, then just spend a day and look at all of them before I make a decision. It is a great tool to use in haggling. If you tell them you are looking at the same from others, they will give you a deal.
      My cars have been getting newer as I am getting on better financial standing, but I am not in that market (yet).

        2. I have a 90 Honda Accord with just below 200k that I bought for just $400 that replaced a 2000 Chevy Malibu that went away due to too many engine fixes. Gotta say, while it’s a transition car for a newer Japanese car or a sturdy work and business van, I like the little bastard.

    3. Agree- a new car is a far better deal if you keep your vehicle long term and get the maintenance done. Regular oil changes, air filters etc.
      The timing belt may seem like a huge bill when your car needs it, a lot of labor involved. But if it breaks and you have an ‘interference engine’ you’ll have either a huge repair bill or an even larger engine replacement bill. If you buy used- one of those things you need to check how close the vehicle is to needing it/whether it was done on time.
      And if you’re willing to haggle. There have been books written on this but – know what you want to pay, be willing at any point prior to signing to just get up and walk out. Internet pricing is cool, got a great quote on my last car (Hyundai Elantra) which I paid cash for. The statement a car loses X% value just driving off the lot might be true about the MSRP, but every vehicle I’ve bought new I got for less than the blue-book value of a used model with 10K miles. (It’s one of the things I look at before I go in haggling on a vehicle).
      Agree if you maintain them and drive them until the wheels fall off its far cheaper in the long run. 2002,2003 and 2006 vehicles running strong.

      1. This last September I had our 2001 Camry towed out of the driveway, with a cracked block, over 200k miles. I was letting my son drive it. Went out and bought a new car, cash (brought my son along so he could observe a cash transaction for a car), then he got slotted the next oldest car after the one that got towed away. Had the dealer rep we were working with do a quick calculations on a 5 year loan and the interest just to show my son the difference.

    4. And buy a Toyota. Why anyone would buy anything but a Toyota or Honda is beyond me.

      1. My wife is quite partial to the Camry. I like Jap cars too, although I’m thinking about a Pick’em up truck for my next vehicle, and am really on board with an American company for that (assuming we’re not talking that idiotic aluminum frame).

        2. Drive a car with a steel body and feel the difference. The public was duped into the benefits of aluminum when all it really was was another cost-cutting measure since shipping costs are attributed to volume ie. weight.

        3. I loved my Ford Ranger XL back in the early 2000s. It handled exactly the same whether the bed was empty or laden with a five hundred pounds of stuff.
          Only downside: People tend to throw empty cups and bags into the bed.

      2. Because some of us have four grandparents who worked for American auto companies. To buy foreign, in my family, would be like going to family Thanksgiving buck naked. I’ll buy Ford till the day I die, unless I go car-free.

      3. Kia, Hyundai just as well made (at least the ones made since 2003), cheaper, and will come with more features *and* have a longer warranty but Toyota’s and Hondas are solid cars

    5. “3. After you pay off the car in 3-4 years, continue making “car payments” of the same amount to a set aside savings account. Every month. No exceptions, it is a payment that is due and that you can not “miss”. Just make it a habit and you won’t miss it.”
      This is excellent advice for lots of things. When I decided to downgrade my apartment so I could save for my down payment for a condo this is what I did. My current apartment that I have been in for just under 2 years is just about 65% less per month than my last apartment was. I have a bank account and that difference has been hitting that account from my main (100) operating expense account monthly like clockwork. Now that I have cancelled cable that money is going into that account to. It is amazing how quickly that money adds up. If I told you what the projected balance of that account is after 60 months it would knock your socks off. It ensures I will be able to put down close to 40% on my apartment reducing the time I am stuck paying a mortgage by years.

    7. Excellent Post! Serious Life advice!… Pay close attention young fellas… Especially step 6 – “continue making Payments to Yourself.” – this is like passive income. These are such basic concepts that will make your life so much easier down the road – it just takes some discipline. Most parents these days would never think to instill this wisdom in their children, and you’re getting it here for Free!

    8. Not to mention it builds up your credit. Excellent credit is worth more than gold.

    10. You could also build up your credit and qualify for 0% financing, like I did in 2006. It’s the same difference.

    11. “Pay yourself first” is common way of putting this. Most people should be aiming to save at least 20% of their income and single men should be able to do even better.

    1. The 3800 series Buick/Pontiac engine found in them is almost indestructible too and normal wear and tear parts (brake pads/fan belt etc) are dirt cheap too.

      1. Absolutely bombproof engine. My example has over 250,000 miles on it and continues to purr. Drive it on a long roadtrip and arrive feeling refreshed, like you’ve just flown first class on Braniff, drinking Seagrams 7 and grabbing pussies the whole way.

    2. Whatever happened to American cars, my dude? They used to be the most masculine looking and powerful cars out there!

      1. CAFE standards.
        You can thank California for spearheading that one.

        1. Still doesn’t make any sense with so many powerfull cars on the roads (SUV and those yuuuge pick up trucks).
          The design got duller and the interiors more feminine.
          Cars in Europe are becoming too dull and, some, impossible to repair due to their “complexity” unless one goes to the mechanic to get ripped off. .

      2. Well you see, for the top 5%, these cars were,and still are great, but for 95% of people, you just need a car to commute, and in many cases, you have Public Transit so you don’t need need that. American car manufactures failed to create cars aimed at that part of the market (the good fuel economy market), instead focusing on their dumb-ass pickup trucks and muscle cars. As a result, Japanese and Korean cars flooded the market and took over from the overpowered American cars. So to put it simple: People need good fuel economy, and 95% of people don’t give two shits about how powerful their car is.
        As for the “look” of the car, its just a matter of personal taste, and car designers have simply swung towards whatever styles are prevalent now. Maybe at some point they will make cars in your styles you enjoy again.

    3. That’s a nice lookin shaggin’ wagon. Knew a girl whose parents used to let her drive this. She had the biggest knockers this side of the peninsula.

    1. Living within one’s own means, buying reasonably priced clothes and not indebting oneself out the ears to buy a car to “impress chicks” is “do everything for women”?
      2/10 You’re not even trying to put in an effort to troll. You can do better, apply yourself in the future.

  28. Umm…. what’s wrong with videogames?
    I was mildly interested until that part so let me sum up your article.
    Never spend more then you take in.
    There’s always a better deal around the corner
    Live smart, not stupid.

    1. There’s nothing wrong with video games unless it completely consumes one’s life (I assume it doesn’t consume yours). I tend to play maybe 3-4 hours a week if that, but also balance out my life with working out and working on other projects that are important to me.
      Video games become a problem when people are obsessed and lack focus in other areas of life that are outside of their need to sit in-front of a TV for 8+ hours a day.

  29. Hi Donovan, its good to read you are smart and doing it exactly right.
    For the readers I have one additional advice:
    “Why? Because my game is tight. All they’re concerned
    with is how good a time they’re having with me and the way I make them
    feel. Game saves lives but it also saves money.”
    -> Because Donovan is pushing the “sexy time” button and not the “provider” button.
    If you are looking for ONS/Fling this is exactly what you should do.
    If you are looking for the future mother of your children it may still be better to push the “sexy” buttons first, and bring on the “provider” stuff later. After you have fucked her brains out a couple of times that is.

  30. 800 square feet is a big studio and 750 is cheap (especially downtown) – not sure that would be easy find in any UK / european towns

  32. Nice article Donovan. I am by nature a frugal person and opted for a small but comfortably furnished home. It’s a huge help when the energy bills come in every month.

  33. If you have a credit card balance, consider how much every dollar you spend costs you, 1.20, what? That’s probably low. It makes splaving (spending to save) look ridiculous.

    1. I couldn’t find the statistics of how much a credit card dollar costs you (I supposed it would depend on your balance and the interest rate).

  34. I’d recommend Goodwill for acquiring all kinds of crazy gadgets from a couple of years ago for pennies on the dollar. If you have a bit of a gadget fetish, consider amusing yourself with Goodwill merchandise. Stuff gets outdated, people dump it, and GW usually prices stuff low (at least my local one). Ten bucks goes a long way. I use 90% alcohol and paper towels to clean everything, it’s part of the price you pay, stuff can be a bit grungy.

  35. “…I live in an 800 sq. foot studio downtown for less than $750/mo including utilities..” Downtown in what city? Detroit? That’s cheap, man – but good on you for pulling it off.
    One thing though – as you get older your station in life is expected to improve. Sure, you can rock the thrift store look when you’re in your 20s and maybe 30s, but can you do that past 40 without some other kind of hook (artist, musician, drug dealer, etc.)? Not sure.

  36. One tip I picked up when I was flat broke (business gone oh so bad) was shopping online for good clothes. I needed a suit for client meetings, so I bought one off eBay. I never stopped. A good suit costs a fortune off the peg, but I bought basically new Ted Baker for $30 and still pick up top quality suits for less than $50 that draw constant compliments. I don’t think I could get shiny green polyester for that money in the shops. Aside from that, everything is bang on and I wrote a very similar piece about living cheap to give yourself the head space to go forward. If you don’t mind the quick plug, it’s here: http://www.alphareboot.com/why-every-man-should-aim-for-a-minimalist-lifestyle/

  37. This is all solid advice once again, Donovan. I had a sweet Mercedes for years, but finally sold her to my insurance co last year and replaced her with a newer, more efficient VW Jetta. Still a solid/reliable car, albeit less fast and less sexy, with noticeable savings on gas $$$. I will be moving much closer to work soon to save even more on commute time/money. I’ve also learned to hit my favorite clothing stores during end-of-season sale times, getting $60 shirts for $20-30, or doing my shopping when in Mexico and Europe (the US dollar takes you further even in the top fashion districts), or whenever I can find deals on ebay/amazon.

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