Concert, Pickup Artist, and Books
Justin Timberlake Concert
So I went to the JT concert last Wednesday and I have to say I had fun. The stage wasn’t bad but it wasn’t anywhere as cool as the Daft Punk stage that Lark showed me. He had Good Charlotte opening up for him and Timberland had a short little set that really didn’t add anything to the show. With a lineup like that you would expect the place to be lined with the usual teenie bopper audience that watches TRL but you would be dead wrong. I’ve never seen so many hot women in one place at one time. The majority of the women were in their mid twenties to early forties. There were teenagers but they were vastly outnumbered. Guys if you want to pick up women, GO TO A JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE CONCERT. It’s like Craigslist, even a one eyed leper could get laid.
The Pickup Artist
So I’ve been watching this reality tv show on VH1 called the Pickup Artist. It’s about 8 guys that desperately need help with confidence in approaching and talking to women. The show is hilarious because the majority of the guys are all geeks and you get to watch them transform and finally figure this stuff out. Along the way they are help by a guy called Mystery (his website is www.mysterymethod.com). It’s definitely worth watching because it shows geeks breaking out of their shell and becoming better at socializing with people. As far as I’ve come from the shy kid in high school, it’s something I still need to work on to become the person I want to be. I have a very high image of myself and I constantly push myself to grow into that image.
Books
I’ve also spent a fair amount of time in the last few days reading through some personal finance books to get some inspiration on getting out of debt. A lot of conflicting information out there but it’s good because people are different and need different approaches to getting themselves out of debt. The three books I’ve read in the past few days are The Millionaire Next Door, Pay It Down, and The Automatic Millionaire. Here are the lessons of each book.
The Millionaire Next Door = Spend less than you make. Live frugally and you’ll be rich. Live like you’re rich (buying expensive things, living in expensive homes, driving expensive cars) will cause you to have a lower net worth.
Pay It Down = Little things add up. Your Starbucks habit, the vending machines, smoking and drinking all add up. If you could just cut those little expenses out, you’ll have more at the end of the month to save/invest/pay off debt.
The Automatic Millionaire = Pay yourself first. Set up an automatic debit from your account whenever you get paid and set it aside. This then causes you to live on a smaller amount and you won’t notice it.
From all the reading I’ve done and what I already know on the subject I’ve determined what my solution to my problem will be. I’m using Quicken more than just a spreadsheet for my accounts. I’m taking a more active role in identifying where my money goes. I’ve trimmed down on my book buying. I’ve gotten a library card and have now gotten used to placing holds on the books I want. I’ve reduced my spending on eating out by a large amount since we’ve gotten better at cooking at home. I still have to get better at renting my video games instead of just buying them when the games come out. Through the Xbox Live Diamond Card and now through American Express since their program is better, I’m buying movie tickets in bulk at a discount. It ends up shaving a couple bucks off each ticket which isn’t much but every little bit counts. Two more months of payments for breaking my lease at the Vintage to go. One later this month and then the last payment next month and I will have another $465 to put towards paying off my debt. Another expense that’s killing me is the insurance on my car. Yes even though it’s on consignment I still have to pay insurance on the damn thing. Add to that the depreciation on my car and the interest on the credit cards because the thing hasn’t sold and it is easily the worst decision I’ve ever made. It’ll be 5 years at least before I even think about buying a car. I’m tempted to live in NYC for the rest of my life so I’ll never have to.
haha, I’ll have to check out that show. Good to see you getting somewhere with your debt. I’m trying to steal some of your ideas (not very well but I’m getting there) btw.
Yeah the show is awesome. At least those guys are willing to risk and try. It’s the only way you get better.
There’s a ton of information out there for how you should pay your debts. There’s paying off the lowest debt first so you can see the difference you’re making, there’s paying off the lowest debt/minimum payment option, and paying on the highest rate. I’m going with the highest rate option because I’m a math geek and it makes the most sense.
Honestly, even the best of us can always be better men. It never hurts to constantly work to improve yourself. Not just to get women, but to be happier in general.