5 Manly Things That Will Beef Up Your Bottom Line

I don’t know how the rest of you men feel, but I think being financially responsible is one of the manliest things you could do. Not only because I think I’m a pretty manly guy, but because being financially responsible is all about establishing yourself as a solid, dependable rock of bearded glory. If you can’t handle that, hopefully there will be a manly man who can take care of you when you’re completely broke. But if you can see a vision of yourself in that bearded glory, here are some manly things you can do to get there.

Do your own car and home repairs

When you get right down to it, most repairs at home and on your car are pretty simple. It just boils down to taking the time to figure out how things work. Trust me, I am not the most handy guy. My brothers took shop classes throughout high school; I took choir. But there are DIY instructions for just about anything on the internet and you can get yourself a Haynes manual for your car, which is a complete tear-down and rebuild of your make and model. For the little things like oil changes, it isn’t going to save you that much, but I’ve saved hundreds of dollars in other car repairs by doing it myself. Plus you get that euphoric feeling of making something right, and every time you walk by something in the house that you fixed, you can think to yourself, “That’s right. That was me.”

Wake up early

Some of the manliest men I know are farmers. They work all day long and everything they have they earned with muscle and sweat. One of the secrets to their success is that they get up when the rooster crows, which I learned while living in a developing country is quite a bit earlier than sunrise. But we aren’t just getting up early for the sake of getting up early. That is your time to hustle. Write a book. Work on making a hobby something you can earn money with. Do something that you’re passionate about that you can’t do during your boring work day, and find ways to monetize it. You may not know a lot about starting a business, but your passion can make up for your ignorance. And you can learn that stuff over time.

Make your own food

I can’t think of many things more socially acceptable and yet more draining on your financial plan than eating out every day. It’s nice to do every once in a while, but when it becomes an everyday occurrence, it’s a sign of laziness. Take the time to prepare yourself a lunch every day for work, and learn to cook dinner at night. It’s a lot less convenient, but since when is being manly and financially independent convenient? Plus, if you ask my wife, the thing she was most attracted to when we were dating was that I could cook. I’m positive it made up for my goofy looking face. So if you want to be manlier and sexier, learn to cook and save your dough for more important things.

Invest in yourself

Rather than investing all your money in video games and booze, invest in the asset that will give you the best return over the long run: you. And I’m not talking about investing in the things you like. I’m talking about investing in your future – education (whether it’s formal or informal), side businesses, retirement, or whatever else. The idea is for you to give yourself more opportunities for the future. If you’ve ever read The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, you know what I’m talking about. Tim’s a manly man who spends most of his time and resources investing in himself, and he’s a rockstar because of it, and made quite a bit of money doing it 🙂

Don’t be a slave to another man

When you are in debt, you are in bondage to those companies you owe money to. You can’t really achieve your full potential until you’ve shed that bondage, and the faster you do it, the more exponential that potential grows. Some debt is understandable when it’s used to leverage your assets to increase your wealth (like a house), but using debt for frivolous expenses and trying to look financially manly is just posing. And no one likes posers. So achieve your manliness the old-fashioned way: by working your butt off and investing in your future. My dad taught me this lesson when I was 14 and wanted a computer. He loaned me $700 and I paid the rest. I can’t remember how long it took me to pay the loan off, but I HATED having to give a portion of each of my paychecks to him. The day I paid it off was one of the best days of my life.

What are some other manly things you have done to boost your bottom line?

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