Today marks a special day. A day when men get to make fun of women, and women try to make fun of men (they do like to try, don't they?).

Yup, welcome to the Battle of The Sexes my friends! Brought to you by Debt Ninja, Fabulously Broke, Krystal at work, and yours truly - J to the motha f'in Money.

Today's topic: Why being the opposite sex is bad for your financial situation.

I must admit, at first I was a little leery about doing another man vs. women post since I'm a huge fan of the ladies (ow ow!), but after Fabulously Broke started talking smack I got my game face on and now here we are - laughing about how much money you women blow on shoes! (and by women, I mean the "average" women, not you fine frugal folks, right?). If I had a dollar for every pair of shoes my lady friends have, I could have gone three rounds of my $100 Lottery Project!

I did a little recon work and realized your closets are slammed full of these bad boys. I knew you had more than us cavemen do, but good golly o'molly - it's like a miniature mall in there! High heels, low heels, rain boots, snow boots, shoes falling apart, shoes that have never been worn, sandals, slippers, ballet shoes, what the what? As stunning as they make you feel (and look, I will admit), women sure like giving up the money for 'em.

In fact, it's even more mesmerizing lining up the differences like so:

MEN Pair of tennis shoes (2 maybe?) Pair or two of dress shoes Pair of boots Pair of sandals Pair of cleats

WOMEN Pair(s) of running shoes Pairs of casual sneakers (3) Flats (at *least* 5 pairs) Wedges Classic black pumps Low heels mid-sized heels high-heels (black, 2 pairs) high-heels (non-black, 3 pairs) Strappy dress shoes Open-toed dress shoes Dress boots (black) Dress boots (brown) Stripper boots Rain boots Snow boots Ugg boots Boots without heels Boots that don't even look like boots Gladiator sandals Flip-flops Platform sandals Mules (wtf?) Clogs Ballet slippers (even though not IN ballet) Comfy slippers

When it comes down to it, the average women spends a crap ton on shoes - much less than us man species. And on underwear too come to think of it (lingerie anyone?). Unfortunately I must stop there for fear of retribution from the Mrs....It has certainly been a while since I last picked her up something purrty. Which, btw, is something I firmly believe in men taking care of every once in a while. Nothing says I Love You like some black laced undergarments ;)

So, women of the internets, what say you about these shoe habits? Am I horribly off-base? Are you at least picking them up on 50%+ discounts? (Please say yes...please say yes)

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After you comment, be sure to check out the other battlers of the sexers today - I'm sure they have something just as feisty to say about us behemoths:

- Debt Ninja: Boys rule, girls drool
- Fabulously Broke: How men cost women more money (hah!)
- Krystal at Work: Who spends more - men or women?

Labels: men vs women, shopping

Shaking The Money Tree had a post on the cost of being a girl, so I thought I'd rebuttal with the cost of being a guy ;) It was a bit tricky to calculate since I share a lot of this stuff with the Mrs., but I tried to be as accurate as possible.

Instead of splitting my costs in half, I calculated what it would cost me if I were out on my own but with the same products (which jacks up the price, mind you, but now I'm addicted to the "better stuff" anyways). I'm sure I'll come across as super metro here, but it's all good I'm not ashamed. I use body wash & hairspray, so what. A guy's gotta look & feel good right? (don't answer that)

The numbers on the left represent Jolie's figures from 2008 - which I chose over '09 since it's juicier & I'd guess closer to the average anyways - and then mine are to the right. They're also pro-rated to show monthly averages, and we're really only talking about bathroom stuff here.

JOLIE: Bodywash - $2.46 Shampoo - $4.40 Conditioner - $4.40 Blush - $2.41 Eye Shadow - $2.98 Lipstick - $4.23 Toothpaste - $2.08 Fem. Products - $8.96 Deodorant - $5.94 Contact Solution - $8.88 Gel - $9.92 Razors - $5.99 Facewash - $7.11 Foundation - $11.47 Moisturizer - $19.97 Mascara - $7.47 MONTH TOTAL - $98.59

J. MONEY: Bodywash - $3.00 (Caress) Shampoo - $3.00 (Garnier) Puff - $.50 (See, I'm addicted!) Toothpaste - $2.50 (Crest) Flossers - $5.50 (Reach) Deodorant - $2.00 (Degree) Hairspray - $3.50 (Salon Grafix) Shaving Gel - $1.00 (Gillette) Razors - $1.80 (Gillette Excel @ $18 10-pack) Mouthwash - $4.00 (Act Anticavity) MONTH TOTAL - $26.80

Would ya look at that! We men sure have it good. This is the first time I've ever seen it broken down before, and it's pretty cool to check out. I know the numbers will fluctuate depending on your own situation (esp for those more rugged men), but it still gives us a good overall picture. It would be cool to see how it compares throughout the rest of our lifestyles too! Like with clothes, food, shopping, etc. I don't know how much more you could break it down, but if anyone did the legwork I'd happily provide my numbers to you.

So there you have it: Beauty vs. The Beast! This doesn't prove anything we didn't already know, but hopefully you enjoyed it as much as I did. And to be fair, Jolie DID actually knock her monthly expenses down this year to $85.95, so we gotta give her mad props for that.

Labels: about j., men vs women, where our money goes

Because I have to be honest, I'd totally be cool if the Mrs. made more than me. In fact, I might even prefer it! That would mean a lot more money coming in (esp since she's a grad student right now, haha...) but even more so it would mean her career would be movin' and shakin'. And if we had two people bringing $75k+? I couldn't even imagine what that would do to our finances.

I'll even take it one step further, cuz I'm crazy like that - When it's time to have those babies, I'd even stay at home if she wanted me to! I know it's a lot more work than I could ever imagine, but the idea of blogging full-time and working on all my side projects would be killer. As long as I had the freedom to get outside and mingle with other humans and all I think I could manage it. Plus, don't stay-at-home moms take their kids out to parks and shopping malls and stuff like that anyways? Maybe I could form some "Daddy Daycare" where we take turns watching the brood while playing poker or something ;)

But dream life aside, I really don't see the problem here. Would we suck as men if we can't bring more home than the woman? Does it mean we're not worthy of a happy life? I know it's in our genes to be super competitive and all (as with a lot of chicks I know), but if you're in a truly loving relationship I'd imagine you'd want what's best for the family regardless. Or at least I'd hope. I don't have any experience to back it up myself, but I'm fairly certain the future me would agree.

All in all, I think it's awesome that women are earning more these days. It might hurt a few frail egos at first, but people will learn to get over it. It's when your household is bringing in substantially LESS when you have to worry! So congratulate your girl if she's rockin' it out - she's making your family that much stronger.

Labels: career, life, men vs women, personal finance