Reducing Expenses

You can jack off the dog to feed the cat.

You may need to rethink your priorities. Cancelling your gym membership and living off of cereal and fast food, the latter of which is full of preservatives and bad fats, is a recipe for deteriorating health. You're missing a lot of important stuff that can only be found from fruits and veggies while becoming more sedentary in the process. You may stay thin due to a modest calorie intake, but that is not the same as healthy.

If you cannot afford to club, then you cannot afford to club. Simple. It's one thing to trim some discretionary spending fat to free up funds for other pursuits, but another altogether to start cutting into the meat and bone on core health and well being. You're obviously single if you can live like that. Maybe the better option would be to hit the gym more often and then find some civilian pussy to hit instead.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with @ricky on this. If you need to cut back this much on basics needed for a quality life just to indulge yourself here, its not worth it. It's unhealthy and clearly you could use the money better somewhere else.

It literally hurts me to see someone go to these extremes for this, like you're making your life revolve around doing this. This is an expensive hobby, and even a lot of us who have extra money to frivalously spend on this without cutting back elsewhere in life consider it a rock bottom priority for where our money goes.

Tijuana is one of the cheapest places for adult fun. If you have to implement draconian austerity measures to afford TJ, then perhaps you need to rethink your priorities.

Saving money... figure out, in detail, your monthly expenses versus income (do it in something like Quicken or Mint). Then look at ways to reduce/eliminate your largest discretionary expenses, and then look at ways to reduce your largest non-discretionary expenses (harder but possible).

Savings a few dollars per week on laundry doesn't hurt, but small stuff like this can be addressed after the big expenses are trimmed.

If you wanna cut out or cut down cable to buy a few more lapdances, I won't judge. If you were eating out at four and five star restaurants several nights a week and decided you wanted to eat at home a few days to spend that money on strippers, again I don't think thats out of line. Shifting your entertainment dollars around to maximize your enjoyment is reasonable if not wise.

But I'm with the others. If you're buying bulk cereal at costco to see some strippers you might want to take a step back and assess your priorities. Cutting back on basics to indulge in frivolities isn't a course I'd recommend.

Reminds me of a scene in that movie Pitch Black. Dude is sitting there with a nice bottle of wine & a cigar, on a deserted planet filled with animals trying to eat him & he's like " its amazing how you can do without the essentials of life, so long as you have the little luxuries. " - A funny line in a movie, but shitty life advice.

I’ll agree with most that you are not in a position to do this at this point in your life. Cutting back your expenses by eating from the cheap menu at fast food joints will get very expensive if you eat that swill. Your health will suffer and beside health care costs you wi
Not feel well and start losing time from money-making endeavors, actually leaving you with less money.

Based on your dietary choices - you might be dead before you save enough money to get out to a club.

I recommend spending time and finding better dietary choices - that remain cheap. No Whole Foods type expenses. But many grocers offer a nice selection of good quality fruits and vegetables. A better - and leaner - set of dietary choices should keep your costs lower - and possibly keep your body lean.

I’m not sure where you are - but cutting the gym cost isn’t a bad choice. Since you are cutting back on car mileage too - I would suggest finding some places that allow you to walk. If you walk to the grocery store and other places - it’s a very good way to cut down on overbuying. You have the calories expended to get there and back - and you also must think about how much you can carry.

However, my first recommendation is to take a step back and decide if you are in the proper economic position to enjoy clubbing.

You need a better job or a 2nd job, to start a successful business, or do something to have enough money to pay for housing, food, clothing, healthcare, etc. And then if you have left over funds, spend on the SC. If you're still in your 20's or 30's and on a budget, try getting a girlfriend. The first couple years of a gf can be just as exciting and very cheap with the right girl. Many of use are older here and have excess income we can spend on frivolous things without compromising our budgets.

@Cashman: "I recommend spending time and finding better dietary choices....many grocers offer a nice selection of good quality fruits and vegetables."

LOL, this board is hilarious. Quality advice for getting your nut off and making sensible nutritional choices.

I don’t mean to sound like a condescending elder but, you asked. I assume you’re young and single. As you’ve described your ideas for having the money for a Tijuana trip, you also sound like you don’t have much discretionary income. Further, your whole sense of priorities seems out of line. By the way, you’re not unique that way, just sayin. My recommendations are:

1. Chase civvie pussy for now.
2. Get a second job.
3. Eat and exercise for your health. No, it doesn’t require an expensive gym membership but that “expensive gym membership” is what gets many people off their asses in the first place. And eat healthy food. Fortunately eating healthy doesn’t need to be expensive. Eat whole food and skip the processed shit and restaurant food entirely. Plant a garden if you can.
4. Practice living under your means, saving and investing and do that for life so that you accumulate some wealth. There are many areas where we all spend unnecessarily. That’s not problematic if one gets enjoyment from the expenditure and the money is truly from excess. But if your plan is to save quarters doing laundry in bulk, It will be 20 years before you can enjoy that Tijuana trip. My sense is that you need to re-evaluate all your earning and spending habits before you can accumulate enough to pay to fuck. Again, live poorer than you need to and accumulate some money just for its own sake and you will find your decision making and options much better once you make that a habit.

You haven’t “arrived” in life because you go to Tijuana and pay to fuck. Lots of members here enjoy that but it doesn’t deserve some sort of merit badge or anything and it’s really not something to aspire to. It’s just an amusement that can be enjoyed once you have the means to enjoy it, if it even still appeals to you at that point.

Cereal is grain-based and actually not healthy for you despite what the advertising/TV-commercials tell you

DeclinetoState - i agree! After rereading my post - it’s pretty comical that it’s on a strip club site!

I got too involved in my post - and forgot a key item - is this guy young and single? Wtf is he saving for TJ whores for? Why not hit civilian pussy? Maybe he should clarify why he is doing this...

You need to make a plan to make more $$$, right now it seems you really can't afford strip clubbing - you're biggest issue is not that you're not saving enough, it's that you're not making enough. Always good to live below one's means but if you're resorting to cereal for meals then that's beyond living below your mesns.

You should take some cooking classes maybe at s local high school at night and prepare some healthy nutritious meals to eat at home - healthy-food is the best medicine and cutting down on that is stupid/counterproductive

OP I've seen you review a few NorCal clubs so I'm gonna assume you live near me. If that's the case, a trip to TJ will cost just as much as one of your SC visits if you spend decently. A round trip flight from Sacramento to San Diego can be obtained for $59 each way on Southwest when they have those sales. A stay at Cascadas on Monday or Tuesday night will be $66 ($50 for the VIP card + $11 for the room via an 80% discount with the VIP card). The rest of your money will be spent on food, drinks, and chicas. So just about $200 on airfare and hotel, then give yourself at least another $300 for the rest. 3 arribas at $80 each is $240, use the other $60 for food and drinks. That's a mere $500 for a cool 2 day trip. There's been days I've spent more than that just on one trip to the club, not counting the airfare and hotel to where ever I'm staying.

Like the others said, you should be using your extra money to do this. If it takes you a while to save up, just take that extra time and keep doing research. But definitely don't cut out essential things to live a quality life. Top ramen, cereal for dinner and that kind of stuff shouldn't be necessary.

@Cash - I'm not actually hassling you, just being a smartass. What you said was solid. I'm glad we had this opportunity to break into small groups and discuss our feelings, LOL.

DeclinetoState - no worries. I thought it was funny when I reread my advice! It’s odd where club discussions can go.

Damn. Eating junk food to save up for a visit Tijuana? If true, you really have no business dealing with strip clubs or brothels until you are in much better financial shape.

Cell phone bill, see if you can cut that down. I noticed I'm on wifi anyway most of the time.

Make more money - career or business moves.

Learn pickup - I see guys pulling at bars and clubs just about every time I'm there. Saves them a SC/TJ trip.

When you make big life changes to financially support a hobby, it's probably not a healthy hobby for you.

Shadowcat has left me ROTFLMFAO, and face turning red too.

It is a strange world we live in. Things can be hard.

In time I will have an organization people can be invited to join, which will SOLVE ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS!

In the interim though I suggest to our OP that sex tourism is wasteful. Why fuck girls you will never see again and so far from home.

Look to your local girls, and also to what you might do living wise and career wise.

SJG

I agree with all of the others that you need to re-think your priorities. Aside from your idea to slash your food budget, all the other ideas you had were OK.

You need to budget at least $50 for a weekly trip to the grocery store. Estimate about 2/3 of your grocery budget for high quality protein sources like eggs, chicken, ground beef, etc. With the other 1/3 you can get cheap, but quality sources of carbohydrates like oats, rice and potatoes, and still gave a few bucks left over for a fruit and a vegetable. This takes discipline, however. At times, I have gotten a week’s worth of groceries for just $50, but ideally, I like to set my weekly grocery budget at $100, although I rarely ever spend close to that amount. If you don’t consume foods like the ones I mentioned, your health will deteriorate.

Also, there are gyms out there that don’t charge an arm and a leg. I go to a gym that only charges $10/month for a membership.

Here’s an idea: earn more money.

Changing your diet in the fashion you describe and canceling your gym membership is a recipe for disaster. It makes absolutely no sense to sacrifice your heath for mongering. You might have more funds for pussy, but what good is it if you look and feel lousy?
Cutting down on eating out, especially fast food, is good. I'd recommend eliminating soda and drinking water or unsweetened ice tea ($3 for a bottle of mix good for about 50 servings) with lemon. More fruits and vegetables. No sweets (candy, pie, ice cream, cookies, etc.), except on the rare occasion.
Cutting down on beer/alcohol, at home or at the bar, will save a lot of money.
You live in California, so I'm assuming you're relatively close to Tijuana, even if you're in the Bay Area, it's easily doable drive. I'd hit TJ semi-regularly and just avoid all these rip-off U.S. clubs. Go quality and high mileage over quantity of strip club excursions with low mileage.

Unless you're looking to invest in a home gym and start meal prepping, I don't think you can fit SCing into your expenses. I think you can't approach your situation with "if I cancel my gym member and live off cereal, I'll have more money for SCing"

@EchoPapa, I'm in a similar boat. I can't really swing OTC or ITC on my budget. I posted a thread topic couple months back on tips I could use for budgeting and saving. A lot of it was useful. Though I think if you want to monger through savings and thrift eating cereal and dollar menu, that it might take 20-35 years compounding interest to get there. In the short term, we need to build income.

I'll argue that on our budgets, civvies are cheaper than pros. If not, then broke guys would never get laid! Plus we don't have some of the problems that the high income / high net worth guys run into when dating (or marrying). So there's that!

I would say that your chances of nailing a lot of strippers for free goes up when you are broke. As a matter of fact quit whatever job you do have and become an aspiring rapper. You can get laid and have someone else pay your bills. Keep the gym membership though, you’ll need to maintain a certain look.

I forgot I made this thread. I also forgot that the majority of TUSCLers are older, wiser, and already financially established compared to me. Thank you everyone for your input serious or otherwise.

I want to point out that the diet I mentioned in my post is short-term, and actually healthier than the "going through the McDonald's drive-thru 3 times a day" diet I had previously. I have tried refraining from the Captain Crunch and choosing more grown-up cereals like Special K and fortifying it with multivitamins and fish oils. I love the convenience of cereal. You put the cereal in the bowl, then some milk, and then you rinse the bowl after you are finished eating the cereal.

I understand that cooking my own food would be healthier and also still affordable, but I hate cooking. More specifically, I hate cleaning up after cooking and eating. Eventually I do plan on transitioning to a more balanced diet.

Also, some of my expense sacrifices have not felt like sacrifices at all. I thought I would miss cable TV. What would I talk about with my friends? It's been a month and I don't miss it at all. In fact, a lot of the TV and sports I was watching was just to watch it. I also haven't played video games in 3 years, and I haven't seen a movie in a theater for over a year. Don't miss any of it at all. Also, I haven't notice a bit of difference in cleanliness ever since I started washing all my clothes in one load. I used to segregate my whites and my coloreds, and I would do several washes per week. Now I throw them all in at once, and I get to save time and pennies. I also make sure to turn off the water when I take a shower, except to get myself initially wet and to rinse off the soap.

One of the other reasons I have been cutting my expenses is because of my recent interest in Minimalism. Many of us in the First World suffer from "too much" rather than "too little." It's not just expenses, but also the clutter of items and even people in our day-to-day lives. I looked through my closet and realized that I don't even wear half the clothes I own. My next step is to put up for sale on Craigslist and Ebay anything I don't need or use, and to donate the rest. I hang out with my friends much less frequently, and am saving money that I would spend on drugs and alcohol. Most of my entertainment now is TUSCL, going to the strip club once a month instead of a few times a month, and watching Internet pornography a few times a day. I love my porn. I even watch the beginning parts where they interview the girl.

I have stopped pursuing relationships and sex with civilian girls for a few reasons:

1) Ego. Once I've been with a woman at a certain level of looks I don't want to go below that. Even with my recent weight gain--which my cereal-based diet has been helping with--I am still a decent-looking guy and could probably date 5s and 6s without too many problems. The problem is that I've been with 7s, and I never want to date below a 7 again. Getting a 7+ to date me will take a lot more effort and rejections.

2) I like whores more than sluts. Ever since I started going to strip clubs I realize that I actually have more respect for the stripper at the club than the average bar slut. So much of picking up girls at bars involves listening to them and pretending that what they have to say is interesting. That goes against my nature, but I also dislike putting people down. Sometimes I just want to tell the girl I'm talking to that I don't watch Game of Thrones, and that they are boring me, but I usually keep it to myself and smile. Oh, and don't get me started on Tinder.

3) I'm too sensitive. Once I have found a girl I like, I usually end up falling hard and fast. I hate breaking girls hearts, and I really hate having my heart broken. Strippers are so much simpler. The crux of the relationship is money, and once the money is done the relationship is done. It keeps things simple, and the emotions more tidy. Also, when I do some time down the line get involved in another long-term relationship it will need to be an open one. No matter how hot I find a girl, eventually my eyes start to wander after a few months. I'm also not a jealous person, and I enjoy group sex when I can get it.

@ TFP Understood and noted, bro. I could definitely have a good time with $500.00 at Tijuana, but I really want to go all out when I go there for the first time. I already have a list of what I want to do in my head. Cheers to a fellow local monger.

@ Pyroxl Thanks for the tip on the phone bill. I'm planning on picking a cheaper plan, and I'm also looking at cheaper car insurance. I'm a pretty responsible driver, but my insurance company keeps raising their rates for some reason.

@ Dominic77 Thanks for the tips. I took a look at the thread you made. One of my older friends keeps harping for me to make an appointment with Fidelity. Another one of my friends is investing in cryptocurrency, but I don't know how much I trust that. I have actually been thinking about trying sports betting, but that may be a little bit down the line. I do agree with you and others in this thread that I need to think more long term and start building a more lucrative career. My job is decent, but if I really applied myself I could accomplish so much more. Once I come back from my Tijuana trip I really plan on putting my nose to the grindstone.

@ Dblednmike I'm already on it man. I've been playing around with the free copy of GarageBand I got with my Mac. I'll let you know when I drop my first mixtape on Soundcloud.

@ JAprufrock Thank you for the diet tips. I have switched over from Coke to Diet. I know it's barely half a concession, but I think it has helped me slim down. I know it would be best to quit carbonated beverages full stop, but I love the caffeine and taste. I have cut out most dessert out of my diet.

$500 was just a number I started with that sounded like enough to have fun yet not a ton of money. Glad to hear you want to spend more. Still, with the stuff you were talking about cutting back it sounds like it's a struggle to come up with a decent amount. If it's not a big deal to you then have at it my friend.

You need to get over your fear of rejections. That's #1. Also get over "falling hard and fast ... breaking girls hearts, and ... having my heart broken." The fear is holding you back. That's #2. Not saying don't feel but learn to invest and love yourself and work thru the pain like a man. It helps.

#3, if you're looking for a healthy weight loss diet, I posted one that is simple back on Aug 8, 2016:
"Lust over a Stripper"
https://www.tuscl.net/discussion.php?id=…

That diet is proven and it is bachelor friendly, cheap on a per meal basis, while easy to prep with little cleanup. I've helped a couple 400+ lb guys go down to 170 in 15 months (lose 20 lbs/mo) on it.

i suggest take $800. maybe YOU won’t spend all of it in one visit... but i have.

To me, if one chooses to have cereal over making a healthy home cooked meal because they don’t like to clean up afterwards, I would think the same type of logic would apply when trying to get advance in their career; i.e. they won’t bust their ass to get a promotion.

I hate cleaning up the mess after cooking just as much as most us of here, but I still make home cooked meals daily and clean up afterwards. Then again, I do keep things as simple as I usually only have to clean off a George Foreman grill, frying pan or pot from inside a rice cooker.

S275ironman - I see your point. It’s a well thought out analysis of the mentality behind someone who makes poor choices.

I still think that doing such drastic and unhealthy things - simply to enjoy a little time clubbing - is a sign that he shouldn’t be clubbing.

Thank you everyone for your comments and concern. I do want to stress that while I'm not in the financial position I would prefer to be in, it isn't so bad that I have to choose between eating food or going to a strip club. The reasons I am making these cuts in my life have been explained in previous comments, but the main reason is that I have heard so many great things about Tijuana and I am an impatient person who doesn't want to wait too long to try it out.

@Dominic77

Thank you for the advice and diet plan. You are right about learning to invest in and love myself. That said, I am currently not interested in being in a long-term, monogamous relationship, and I dislike the chase and the games involved in picking up girls. Exchanging money for companionship keeps things simple, and the dollar seems to go pretty far in TJ.

@TFP & justme62

The wise thing would be to bring $500.00 and force myself to be somewhat picky and frugal with my cash, but I would hate to invest the time and effort to go down to there and then find myself doing math in my head to maximize my dollar--even though that is the smart move. I have a figure in my head, and I want to bring a little more than that just in case.

@s275ironman

I don't see the nobility in working hard just to work hard. If I really want something, I will put in the time and energy to really pursue it. Washing dishes is just one of those weird things that I really dislike doing. That said, the diet I am on is only short-term and I plan on switching over to a more tenable diet after a month or two.

Tips Continued....

6) Cologne/Fragrance

Whenever there's a special event or date, I like to swing by my local mall and surreptitiously spray myself down with the sampler of my choice while the lady behind the counter isn't looking. Not only do you save money on cologne, but you get to try out a new scent and figure out the one you really like. My personal favorite is Versace Eros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsPsM6YY…

Also, if you visit your local library or a doctor/dental office they will usually have issues of men's magazines like GQ or Esquire laying about. If you flip through them you can usually find a sleeve with a sealed flap that contains a sample of the latest cologne. Quickly and quietly tear out the sleeve and store a couple in your glove compartment. Whenever you need to freshen up you can unseal the flap and rub the scent on your neck and arms.

7) Washing Clothes

Purchase Liquid Castile Soap. The most famous name brand is Dr Bronner's, but you can save money and get an equally effective product by just purchasing a generic liquid Castile soap at your local Walmart. Put your dirty clothes in a shopping bag, fill with water, then squeeze a couple squirts of liquid Castile soap. Use one hand to close the top of the bag, then shake the bag and use the other hand to massage and rub the clothes. After, wrap your wet clothes with a dry towel and step on it to squeeze as much moisture out as possible. Air dry on a clothesline.

You can also use liquid Castile soap as hair and body wash, tooth soap, and dish soap as well!

Please feel free to share your money saving tips in this thread.

The McD’s app (iOS & Android) lets you get a premium sandwich once a day for a $1. (Big Mac, quarter pounder, etc.). I don’t use it often but I like frugality.

Keep your money in a high yield interest account.
Use the gym membership but downgrade to planet fitness if you aren't trying to bulk lift.
Eat healthy, it pays off more than eating fast food.
Go from post paid to prepaid phone plan.
Read a book and create a side hustle. This will help you increase your income.
Hurry the hell up and pay off your debts fast.

Some of these may not seem like saving money at first, but it's a long term saver. Especially eating healthier. Less trips to see doc in the future.

The most expensive part of a tj trip for me is travel

the most expensive part for me is my interactions with the:
1. ladies. (arriba, fishas, groping.) 80%
2. my drinks, tacos. 12%
3. tips to staff. 5%
4. travel. (gas, parking) 3%

oh shit. i forgot hotel. 3%. so that’s 103%. (obviously math is hard for me.)

1.atf 2.travel.3.other chicas 4.hotel 5.food 6 1 tips gor everyone

Start stripping part time for extra cash or become an Uber driver

Have you thought about starting a frugality blog?

Not only can you do things such as doing a cost benefit analysis on making vs buying your own laundry detergent, but you could also make some affiliate income with random stuff you promote every here and there.

you can make your own condoms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R39Ehpb…

^Self sufficiency is always a good thing. Lol!

Its the organization I am building, which will provide the best overall package. And for sex, its always 365 days per year drained dry, and never any cost.

SJG

^ Pumping loads.

@ nicespice - I have thought about it, but I have been getting busier and busier lately. Anyways, I have some plans percolating right now but they are all under construction.