Boys Gone Shopping Wild
Share This
You’ve heard about our hunter and gatherer ancestors, no? Did you know that you can find them at your local Target? Humans have carried some of their ancient, gendered instincts with them when it comes to shopping, at least according to one U Penn study, “Men Buy, Women Shop.” Women tend to browse around, “gathering” up the best from various sources and enjoying the experience, while men tend to buy, going straight in for the “kill.”
If you saw this harangue on women’s shopping habits, I want to set the record straight. It’s not that either sex is better or worse—They’re just different. There are certainly things that guys spend more on:
Eating Out
Source: Flickr
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest poll, the average guy spends about $1,800 per year eating out while ladies spend $1,145. Is the significant difference because so many men are treating ladies to dinner? Possibly. I find that cooking at home and lugging the leftovers into work saves me at least $100 per month—and that adds up.
Instead, check out this cookbook, Nigel Slater’s Real Fast Food, which will lend some cooking inspiration to even the most amateur of home cooks.
Electronics
Source: Flickr
Men spent an average of $701 per year on “audio and visual equipment,” while women clock in at $536. (Yes, we all spend more on audio and visual equipment than drinking, below, thankfully.) There’s enormous evidence that this is changing as all of our lives become more digital and connected, as everyone relies on technology to navigate life and do business, but men still seem more willing to pay for the high-end gear.
Instead of always having to have the latest and greatest, go second-hand shopping for electronics. I met up with EBay Gadget Director Cat Schwartz at an event geared to Christmas buyers and she was singing the praises of some incredible deals found by browsing for cameras, phones, and computers that have barely been used.
Sports Tickets
Source: Flickr
The 2008 season at Yankee stadium, the last season in the iconic stadium, sent hoards of fans from all over the country to New York City. Every weekend, it seemed, another one of my friends here was hosting another group of young guys who were simply not going to turn this prospect down (and who underestimated how far 160th Street really is from Midtown). Official seats were going from $12 to $400, but on unofficial sites like StubHub.com, the most expensive seats were a painful $1200.
The point? I am not sure how many fans of any particular team are male or female; I am certain that both sexes appreciate their teams. And I know that advertisers and sponsors of these events are zeroing in on the guy’s night out. The upcoming Superbowl has reportedly sold ad space for $3 million, including some 3D ads, despite the economic downturn. If the years gone by are any indication, it will be a study of what marketers think that guys like. (The SoBe lizards will be making an appearance.)
Instead, check out Spring Training for your favorite team in Florida or Arizona’s burgeoning Cactus League.
Drinking
Source: Flickr
Men spend almost twice as much per year on alcohol than women–$552 versus $233. I can just hear the bad jokes now: Men have to drink to deal with women’s shopping, right? Since the price of a drink is usually marked up at least 50 percent if you’re out at a bar, a night out can get seriously expensive, as too many people probably know.
Instead, check out Esquire’s awesome drinks database for inspiration on making your own cocktail. Or plan an “apartment crawl” with your friends, where each person prepares a special cocktail and appetizer and you migrate from apartment to apartment (responsibly, of course), instead of bar to bar.
Cars
Source: Flickr
Yes, it is unfortunately very true. Men do the majority of the car buying and they tend to buy the less energy efficient models. The LA Times reported that there were only 9 cars that women bought more than men. And they’re not just cute (OK, some of them are…) but they’re also practical.
In a time when we most certainly know that our choice of cars affects not only our pocket book but our international policies, it’s better to drive with a sound mind. And… a Prius is much sexier.
Memberships (i.e. Boys Only Clubs)
Source: Flickr
When you think about “exclusive” clubs, most of which involve funny hats, secret handshakes or both, they are by-and-large male. (We’ll try to forget any Ya Ya Sisterhoods for now. You do have to born into that, right? Ha, no fee required!) In fact, the Supreme Court ruled in 1989 to allow women into Rotary Clubs, the international small business do-gooders with a steep entrance fee. Women made up 12 percent of the members as of 2003, according to this article in the Rotarian magazine.
Instead, join a professional organization that is more focused on your field—and inclusive—like the Society for Professional Journalists, or one of the thousands of others out there.
Dating services
Source: Flickr
Not that there’s anything wrong with EHarmony. Many people have met the love of their life through online dating services. But it still costs money. And, according to at least one study in Canada, “For every woman using an online dating service, there are more than 2 men.” And the total amount spent on online dating each year? $214 million. Ouch!
Better than that: keep up with friends of friends. If my anecdotal evidence is worth anything, almost all couples meet through another mutual friend.
Gender wars aside, the moral of this story is to spend wisely, know what it is that you spend on—and what businesses and advertisers want you to spend on—so that you can live more of the good life down the road.
Organize your financial life.
Use Mint.com to see where your money goes, get bill reminders and alerts, track your investment performance, and find extra savings. It’s FREE!
Find Out MoreHow Mint Can Help
See Where You Spend
Mint.com auto-categorizes all of your transactions so you’ll always know where your money goes. Find out more »
Popular Articles
25 Comments so far
leave a commentVery cool article. Although I’ll admit the first thing I thought when I saw the headline was, “I bet porn tops this list”.
You’ve restored my faith in my fellow man …
This is most worthless thing I have read on the internet. Stay in the kitchen, it’s dangerous out there in the real world.
why is it not mentioned that the reason men spend double on drinking is because they have to buy two drinks at a time? actually what the numbers show is that women drink twice as much as men – while men’s numbers are double, it can be rationalized half are going towards women and the full amount women spend is going towards themselves.
That’s because they haven’t got any money from their wives to blow on a regular and ongoing basis. If I could only spend money once a year, probably by subterfuge, it would sure as hell be on the best car money could buy.
Not sure agree with these, most of my money goes to my mortgage
I think both sexes are quickly learning that they were spending too much on whatever it was that they felt compelled to buy.
Yep this is so true, we do spend a hell of a lot of money on electronics and eating out!
Interesting list, I can attest to some of those. But I think the main difference (and I’m generalizing here -sorry ladies) between men and women’s consumption patterns is that men tend to spend their money on more tangiable things that can accrue in value or are considered investments, whereas women are socialized to buy items that aren’t tangible (services – massage, hair care, etc) and they’re less likely to make investments towards their future in terms of playing stocks, or saving up.
It’s safe to say that women do spend more on clothing and accessories then men, men tend to be more stable or better off then women as a result. Obviously this isn’t 100% true – and it doesn’t apply to everyone, there are many women who are self-sufficient and smart with their money. But it’s just something I’ve noticed in the women in my life (siblings, friends, etc).
It is good to occasionally see recognition for the fact that although men and women are equal, they certainly are not alike. This is evident on so many different levels, but it is particularly clear in their attitudes toward shopping. When women enter into a store the salesperson had better reorient themselves a bit so that they can offer her the kind of experience she finds most effective.
i think you are unfairly categorizing rotarians, lions, and other traditional civic organizations. first, my lions club has a female member. second, you are unfortunately framing all male or all female organizations as discriminatory as opposed to serving an important social function. commonly, we don’t see this as membership in the moose these days but in ‘girls night out’ or ‘guys night out.’ this is bonding social capital.
granted, solely spending time within one’s community is destructive encouraging isolationism and prejudice. these activities should be buttressed by diverse social functions, but to dismiss the value of civic organizations out of hand because it has a small population of women is unfair.
rotary has recently embarked on a $400 million dollar project with bill gates to fight polio, the lions clubs have helped thousands of people recover their vision, has fought diabetes, and the kiwanis has done a lot of work with disadvantaged young people and equipping young people with leadership skills.
the lions club alone is an organization of millions of people and the membership of these organizations are likely among the most prominent and sincere members of our communities.
Lets see here. This list is pretty lame. It offers NO reasons for WHY men spend more. First off, how many bars have a mens night? I do not know of a SINGLE one where I live. But every one of them has a ladies night where they pay less than half of what men pay. Also, many times, men are buying women drinks. I would be willing to bet this would offset the difference just a little.
Dating services. Fact is your average guy is less picky than you average woman. I have read that there are more women compared to men so I look forward to women getting some of their medicine back. Women get too picky for their own good and most of them make bad choices and then blame all men.
Memberships, correct me if I am wrong. There are MORE mens clubs than womens. Maybe that would affect things?
Cars? Maybe. But then maybe men are buying the cars that their WIFE drives. That would skew the results now wouldn’t it. I know many couples where the man buys the SUV or some other pricy vehicle and the WIFE drives it while he is in a tin can.
Electronics? Ok I can get that one. Men like their big TVs and stereos. But I bet if there was $500 cell phone, it would be women buying it.
I certainly agree on sports. More men like sports, on average, than women.
“Men spend almost twice as much per year on alcohol than women–$552 versus $233.” For ever $550 dollars I send, the women spend $200? Thats why we get the dollar more an hour.
Thanks for the dig at online dating. Instead of just including your anecdotal information, maybe you should just hold off until you have actual figures to report.
Signed,
Married
Craigslist
$0 spent
So what you are saying is guys spend more on technology, the opposite sex, cars, sports, and drinking
. I’m not sure this is very surprising. Guys spend more on stuff that, well, guys like.
I’d like to see clothes, furniture, home decor, beauty supplies, Personal care maintenance added to the list, lol. I’d imagine these are areas that women dominate and that just might make this a less biased list.
My wife got me to buy a house recently (Thanks to HGTV a station geared towards women), which has just about doubled our living expenses.
Cat Schwartz… Wasn’t she that dizz from techtv that unknowingly posted naked pictures of herself on the internet?
Money is made to be spent. So, if the men enjoy spending it on those things, great!. Enjoy life
$552 a YEAR on drinking??
That can’t be correct. I spend about €100 a week on drinking in bars, and thats if I take it easy. Almost everyone I know spends at least the same.
That works out as $6845.28 a year.
Thats $526.56 a MONTH. Yes alcohol is more expensive in Ireland, but not by that much. You American guys need to man up!
i am totally agree on what you are expressing
nice article
Ha… that’s easy to explain… men make more money.
men buy more substantial things made to last though (even if we never see them out to their intended use or lifespan)
what about $$ for clothes/shoes women hav dozens of shoes
Television Spy —You make a good point good point (tactfully
) about how we are socialized. I think this has to do w/ what is traditionally found attractive to the opposite sex: a woman is valued for her beauty and thus spends money on that, and a man is valued when seen as a good provider. I’m also generalizing of course.
Also, a few of the comments from others seem to be defensive. I’m sure the article is meant to be interesting and amusing, and not meant to critique anyone. Respectfully I say, “Lighten up.”
I agree with some of the things in the article. I definately spend more money on food than my wife. We had a tough discussion once when our spending tracking revealed that I was eating $250 a month outside of her $350 a month set aside for groceries. I couldn’t justify why I almost spent as much as her without anything to come home with. I, hunter, brought home killing from McDonalds— cold fries.
It was dissapointing to learn what she was sacrificing for her values. She wanted to take a vacation in a few months and saw each additional dollar for lunch money as taking away from her vacation money. Where as I was on a separate page altogether, which restaurant am I in the mood for has nothing to do with vacation.
So men and women are different, we knew that, but as a married man it is still fun to laugh at the mistakes others are making and ignore mine a little longer. BTW, we had a great time on vacation. Nowadays, I spend less on food because I can imagine my wife’s values and my own when making spending decisions.
For all those shopping-challenged males out there, there is finally a book for us!
Check out “The Ultimate Shop Manual: A Man’s Guide to Shopping for and With Women” at bn.com or amazon.com.
This book will make both men and women laugh, learn, and understand the connection between shopping and their relationships!
It is a great book packed with humor AND good advice that men can actually use.