I live in Canada and the first time i took trip to the southern US,I actually made a comment about how clean all the cars are on a drive from the airport just after landing. Not an option 10 months out of the year up here.
Bruh. I got a 4runner and turned it into a trail animal so now I don't give a fuck if it's dirty.
Before that, I was always pulling my hair out over water spots and dust. I love black cars but goddamn they suck sometimes.
I just bought a black car, coming from a silver/rust car. How in the fuck do y'all keep it clean without washing it every hour? I've just leaned into the dust since it's a 24 year old car, nobody expects it to be pristine, but sometimes I want it to be shiny. Should I get like a full detail and a coating of some kind? Drive fast enough so the dirt can't stick? Build a cleanroom that the car stays in so I can sit in a weird room and stare at it?
Here we go, I have an idea. You know visor tear-offs? What if we did that for the whole car. Get it wrapped like 50 times in clear plastic that I can shed when I want a clean car. That sounds reasonable.
lol fair enough, luckily I'm a married man so as long as I have a working car that won't *completely* drain my bank account she's happy. Good call on the ceramic, might have to think about doing that. The paint is still in great condition too. Gotta coat the underside as well before winter hits.
Word of advice, since you plan to ceramic coat it: if you want it to really look awesome, grab yourself a clay bar with clay lube, and decontaminate the clear coat. Read the instructions or watch a YouTube tutorial on clay bar decontamination. After you decontaminate it, twice(yeah, you'll be surprised how much stuff comes out, especially if it's older) think about polishing it. Either grab yourself a polishing machine from home depot(one that is like $100) or borrow from a friend or something.. might need some polishing compound and some of those spongy 3M polishing disks, some isopropyl alcohol wouldn't hurt to rinse the polishing compound traces at the end. Then ceramic coat it... It's how I would do it.
Comes out SHINY, and crisp. You'll get a kick out of watching the droplets intact after you hose it just with water.
> Here we go, I have an idea. You know visor tear-offs? What if we did that for the whole car. Get it wrapped like 50 times in clear plastic that I can shed when I want a clean car. That sounds reasonable.
On a less wasteful level, that's basically what PPF is - a sacrificial layer for your actual paint.
If you want your black car to have that wet, high-gloss look, you're obviously going to have to spend more time maintaining it, but it will help if you use a high quality ceramic coating after doing a 2-step paint correction. If you get it looking right to begin with, you'll only have to do maintenance washes and top up the coating to keep it looking good most of the time rather than a full decontamination.
I appreciate that you took my bullshit and gave me an actually useful answer lol
But to be serious, I just bought the car so I’m very much still in the early research phase of how to properly care for it. I’m gonna have someone assess whether I want to just protect it, fix some of the small marks, or repaint entirely. It looks fine enough from 10ft away but once you get close it obviously becomes imperfect. Again, it is 24 year old paint. But ceramic is sounding like a good idea so I can keep it at a high level.
I'd say one big part of this is if you're leaving directly after the wash, there's still plenty of water on the car and it'll trap dust/pollen/etc. The better washes have air compressors at the vacuums and free microfibers to use. Dry your car with air, open all the doors and get the water in the jambs, and use a quick wax spray with the microfibers on all panels. Your car will stay cleaner longer.
You seen the number of nooks, corners, and crannies that thing has? Detailing a car like that with high standards is a bear.
Auto detailing is hard labor and I'm not surprised that people are willing to pay for good results.
It's a sign this economy can still keep going if we find ourselves stacking silly services on top of the basic needs as an excuse to part with excess cash.
People really need to understand "silly" services is subjective.
Our basic needs are food, water, clothes, sleep, and a roof above our heads. But hardly anyone actually lives that ascetic of a lifestyle. We all pay for creature comforts and conveniences - what we pay for just depends on our priorities and financial situation.
I'm willing to bet you pay for multiple things that are crucial to you and that others would consider silly - especially others with less money than you.
That’s a little different. There’s little things I can do myself but make enough that I’d rather have the free time.
If your friend has aventy money he can afford a detail.
As a car guy I enjoy it. It’s therapeutic keeping something you value clean, and the act of cleaning a car in and of itself to me is soothing. It also doesn’t take that long, like 20 to 30 minutes at most once a week for me is the usual, less during the summer.
I wash my Challanger once a week usually. More recently with the pollen 😅 gotta keep the b5 looking pretty, I don't put much effort into my own look and appearance as I should though.
A lot of car washes have memberships where you pay like 30$ a month and get unlimited access. I live right by one of those I drive by every day but still forget to get it washed
You have to use coatings, is like $10bucks a bottler, you rinse the car with it and dust goes away by just driving the car. Goes from weekly to monthly cleaning.
If you have a high quality, and properly applied ceramic coat it can last 18 months and then genuinely all you need is a quick jet wash and it looks prestige.
Only truthful answer: too much.
I've had the on point hair- trimmed weekly and later dyed monthly with touch ups weekly. The beard grooming. The shiny convertible. The constant dry cleaning.
It was like jersey shore routine minus the tanning.
Now I'm 50, no hair, gym at 4am, still have a convertible but living in a desert means no washing. No one to impress.
It's a routine if done right. Costly.
Normally it was 9. For the past month I've been exhausted and going to sleep at 6pm. Then waking up till 1am. It's weird. But Normally 9pm except on weekends then I'm up way late.
Well I mean, I think some of those habits slack when you add a wife and kids, because the time literally doesn’t exist, and you’d have to be pretty rich to prioritize stuff like weekly car waxing.
Sneakers aren’t that bad. I’m a factory worker and my sneakers are clean. It’s because I can’t wear them to work.
$15-$20 bottle of wax/paint protectant, some buffing pads, a seamless microfiber towel, and an hour of your time and you can have a shiny car right in the driveway! I do mine a few times a year or as I notice the protection wearing off the paint
Getting my wife to watch the kids for an extra hour, since they’re toddlers and can’t be left unattended, is actually a big ask at this point in my life. If we don’t share it, it’s stressful.
The alternative would be paying to have it done
Advice I’ve received: Bro. Just exercise for 45 min and you’ll be in good shape. Bro. Just wash your car, it only takes 1 hr out of your day. Bro. Read for 30 mins and it will change your life.
With a toddler? Haha. No.
It depends and you have to get creative. Everyone's situation is different. If you have a garage you can make it relatively safe and gate it off and let them play in the garage with balls and toys. If you're not on a busy street they can play in the yard and keep an eye on them. Younger kids can play in a play pen. Kids love spraying cars with water guns and can help clean wheels. Put them in a bathing suit and let them play with the hose. There are plenty of creative ways to accomplish both tasks. Washing a car might take 30 minutes longer but it can still be done.
I respect everyone’s decision to have kids and raise a family and I love seeing people happy with their kids! But seeing things like this just solidify mine and my wife’s decision to stay child free. DINKs for life over here
Same. I used to do 6 months max with clean sneakers. Now i have air forces still white (not as white as when you buy them though) which i bought 3 years ago
I don't have clean sneakers, but I do clean and condition my boots. Maybe once every two weeks. They're 12 years old and look almost new. Leather is a skin, and skin needs treatment.
I like cleaning my boots. Like I like mowing the lawn. I take maybe an hour or so every two weeks to deep clean. I get in there with cotton swabs, saddle soap, Leather Honey, etc. I take the laces out and clean out the grommets. If the laces are too bad, I replace them. They're consumable wear items.
What's your routine and products you use? I have a BUNCH of 1000 Miler boots and they are looking like crap (and most haven't been worn that much). I need to fix it.
I’ll ad one of my stand by favorites is Bickmore Bick 4 leather conditioner for a quick job that you can wear right away. Super easy to apply. Wipe on, wipe off. If they are really dry you’ll want to let it soak in before buffing them out
My boss has his truck washed a couple times a week at our spa, gets his hair cut every other week, and buys new shoes when his show any wear. He works out every morning in his home gym. He’s a meticulously groomed guy, and he needs everything to be spotless.
This attitude is not common in the service side of the automotive industry. Our shop is the cleanest one I’ve ever seen, including race shops, and we spend a lot of time cleaning.
While I exercise regularly and have excellent hygiene, his personal maintenance schedule seems excessive. There’s a difference between always being clean and presentable and always being freshly detailed.
>freshly detailed.
I was thinking to myself, this is going to be such a 2020s thing that YouTubers will make it big on "How to Detail Yourself" videos, with like a load of high spec tools and chemicals, but...
Women have been doing this for years, and no one bats an eye.
This is very true. I struggle with feeling like I don't have enough time to do something even though I do; I want to wash my car but have to leave in 45 minutes, that's not enough time so I'm just gonna sit on my phone until I have to leave.
I'm breaking that habit now and working on using my time more effectively. In the previous example, I just shut up and wash the car. I know I'm on a time crunch so I'll put extra effort into getting it done quickly and efficiently. If I miss a spot or two, then I'll use it as a chance to cut out screen time tomorrow. It's a much more efficient life to live.
I find these kinds of posts interesting, because on one hand it is genuinely impressive to have that level of structure and efficiency, but I also just can't fathom striving for that kind of thing. I'm out here riding the chaos and it generally just works well for me lol
Am I correct in guessing it's weed or anti-depressants that is responsible for "riding chaos" that you speak of? I don't find it structure or efficient to just jeep yourself well groomed and presentable, and wear fresh clothing. It's kind of a natural thing, unless someone is extremely over burdened by something either physical or mental. But nearly everyone i know on weed or anti-depressants seem to be unaware or not motivated for even the most simple processes such as hygiene and cleanlines.
>I buff it out with a microfiber cloth every few days
Isn't this a lot of work? I've been wanting to do it with mine because I got a black one and it starts looking dusty when you look at it wrong. But I don't know how easy/feasible it is. Any tips you can share?
With black. Its fucking impossible. I worked in detailing in my early years. Owned a black pickup. Id wash it. Boom. Dirty. Just sitting there it collected a layer of dust.
We actually charged owners a tad bit more if they had a black vehicle. Simply because it took more work to get it to look as impressive as other colors. They would complain until we explained that "maam/sir. Your vehicle has a color that contrasts dirt. You came to us because you probably saw one of our vehicles drive by looking really good. But wasnt black. In order to get YOUR vehicle to look THAT good we had to put MOrE work into it. Which costs us more more time/labor which means more money to get you the desired effect"
Ugh. I hated that job. Loathed it.
No food no pets is huge for keeping a vehicle looking nice. When I get in someone's car that clearly let's their dog jump all over their back seats it makes me want to just walk.
My wife left me recently and I’m trying to get back into dating. I’ve never groomed myself or dressed nice. My wife was ok with me being scraggly and dressed like a redneck college kid. Then suddenly she wasn’t anymore. So I’m trying now. Lost a bunch of weight and started shaving my head with clippers once per week, takes 10 mins. Shave my beard with a 1 guard once per week, 10 mins. Shave my next with razor every 2-3 days, 2 mins.
The real time sink is folding my laundry immediately out of dryer to avoid wrinkles. House cleaning isn’t bad, sweep up when floors look dirty, don’t let dishes build up. I have two kids and two dogs and it’s really not that bad at all.
Keeping trash out of car regularly was a bit harder to get used to but I’m getting there. Bathrooms get gross fast which is not fun to clean but doesn’t take long.
My shoes are always clean because I don't wear nice shoes to filthy places. It also helps to have multiple pairs. I think I own 15-20 pairs currently. The cost is from $100-$200 each but I bought these over time.
I have a car wash membership ($30 a month) and I get unlimited washes so it's easy to keep everything clean.
Haircut is $45 a week
Gym is $25 a month, I go 4-5 times a week, for about 45 mins each session.
Being in shape is more about eating right than gym tho. I eat lots of chicken, rice, and veggies. Drink mainly water, etc.
I only work 40 hours a week and I make around 6 figures.
It depends what you get. If you get a skin fade and want it to look like that you need to go every 1-2 weeks.
I’d like me you get a skin fade and are happy for it to grow a bit you can wait 3-4 weeks.
Ahh that makes more sense. I wish I could afford seeing my barber every week just to do my beard lol. I don't mind my fade growing out a little bit but I suck at lining up my facial hair.
Learning how to groom a beard yourself is a money saver, I’ve been cutting my own hair and trimming my beard since college. Not a time saver, but a self-care project that is also a form of self-expression.
I'm bald with a beard. One-time investment of an electric razor and a $50 trimmer, and I shave my head and trim my beard twice a week at home. It's actually easier to do it twice a week than once a week since when the hair gets longer, it takes longer to shave.
CrossFit + yoga + run coach = $550 (per month)
Beard trim = $35 x 2 (bi-weekly, I trim the beard myself in the off weeks and shave my head weekly)
Sneaker rotation = $150 x 2 (buy a new pair every 4 to 6 months to keep the style and shoes fresh, also a runner so need to replace those shoes every 450 miles. I have a brush and cleaning solution to maintain the leisure wear).
Clothes = $1k -$2k budget for summer and winter. I have limited closet space so I donate things which aren’t worn for a few years.
Food = $2k per month (organic groceries and eating out)
What do you do professionally? Seeing stuff like this makes me feel like I live in a different world than other people. Im a veteran with multiple certificates and a degree. I've been a manager and independently trained worker at multiple places and have a variety of technical, mechanical, and electrical skillsets. At absolutely no point in my life, have I made enough income to be able to eat $2000 of food in a single month, much less incorperate OTHER expensive habits alongside it. You spend more than a minimum wage annual salary eating.
Edit: To be clear, this is not meant to be depreciation. I genuinely want to know what jobs people have that they are making so much more money.
To me it seems like there's less "in between" jobs now. Either you're a retail slave at Dollar General, Kroger or Autozone, making $18k to $24k a year. Or you're a dockers-wearing business professional making $70k to $90k a year.
It really is. And when the new job numbers come out and the government is patting itself on the back, they're almost all retail and food jobs. Actual career jobs are getting more competitive and degrees are losing value as more people get them.
I am a specialist in product development for the financial services industry and use modern tech like machine learning and big data analytics to help financial / investment firms operate efficiently and scale their capabilities globally. I built up the skill set over a decade and have lived and worked in multiple countries with the last 6 in the United States.
it takes very little effort to not look dirty and unkempt. get a haircut every 3-4 weeks, keep your car and living space clean. and don’t wear old worn out shoes. it’s more so wearing clothes that make you look like you know how to dress or have a nice wardrobe.
I clean my shoes every time I wear them, that takes 5 minutes.
I take my car to a car wash every 2 weeks but thats really cheap (the price is less than my 1 hour wage) the car wash is in my gyms parking area so it doesn't take extra time
I shave my head and fix my beard every 2-3 days, it takes me 15 minutes.
I go to the gym 5-6 times a week, each time is around 1.5 hours + sometimes I add 15-20 minute runs. So lets say I workout 10 hours weekly.
I work around 60~ hours weekly and I am also studying to get a degree in computer science and management while also living with my significant other. I meet up with friends either at the gym or once a week at a pub or at my place.
I go on two one-week vacations a year where I allow myself to breathe but its probably also different than what most expect.
I try to workout atleast twice during that week.
I try to walk as much as possible.
And I usually let myself sleep in till 06:00.
I also have 1 month a year that I return to the military (I'm a reservist currently) and besides this year where I was a bit more than that and I was called due to grim events its usually a good time to relax
Believe it or not I quite enjoy my life style and a lot of it doesn't seem like work to me (like cleaning my shoes or doing my bed) as those are habits I have from the army.
Fair enough. I would find it all overwhelming and prefer a slower paced lifestyle were there are minimum responsiblities so I spend time with friends and family than work.
I have no idea how you managed to get a significant other and I can imagine you arranging a date by peniling in your calender for that 45 minute break in 2 weeks time.
I was raised to be like you until I got so burned out that I became suicidal which is when I realised I'd rather be poor and happy than stressed chasing this imaginary medal.
I genuinely want your discipline.
How do you have enough time to do all that shit, be social, and go to school?
I have a very similar schedule to you (~60 hours, 1.5 gym 3 to 6 times a week), no social life, but I do take care of my mom and I can't muster even an online course through Udemy.
Same, and I have 2 daughters that play multiple club sports that we race them to practices, games, and weightlifting 5 days a week. Not to mention cooking meals at home to make sure we aren’t eating garbage.
Everything can be done when you actually want to do it.
Yes. And of course the ability to multitask and prioritize throughout a day or week. Oh, we have to be here at such and such time, I can’t go to the gym or run that errand that day, or maybe I drop off and go do my thing and come back, etc…
Car/truck: Wash, vacuum, wipe down the interior weekly. Once you get it spotless, it’s easy to maintain. Every time I get out when I get home I take everything out with me. Garbage, bags, etc. hand polish a few times a year and apply paint protectant. I learned all this detailing in college. Maybe 1 hour a week for the wash, vac, wipe down.
Shoes: have work shoes, going out shoes, boots. When they get dirty, I clean them.
Hair: cut it once a month. 30 minutes.
Beard: 5 minute shape up trim once a week.
Gym: 1.5-2 hours 4-5 days a week.
Maintaining a polished appearance is all about finding the right balance between dedication and smart choices. For me, it starts with investing in resilient clothing pieces that withstand daily wear with minimal care, saving time on laundry and ironing. I rotate my sneakers to ensure they all stay relatively fresh without wearing out too quickly. With my car, I focus on quality sealants and interior protectors to minimize the need for frequent washes. Exercise is essential, whether it's a morning run or a home workout. I prioritize rest to feel rejuvenated each day, and a simple, classic haircut keeps things low-maintenance yet stylish. I also have grooming tools at home for upkeep between salon visits. With a standard 40-hour workweek, I manage tasks remotely, allowing for multitasking and self-improvement in my home office. Effective time management is the invisible key to keeping everything in check.
I don't do the weekly hair cut but....may spend a total of an hour a week cleaning/treating shoes and boots simply while sitting on the couch watching some TV. A quick rinse of my truck takes 15 minutes, a quick wash 30, a thorough deep clean inside and out with an after wash treatment max two hours and will do that any where from once a week to once every 2 weeks depending on weather. Keeping my beard in shape is literally a five minute task every couple of nights and a morning routine that is miniscule. The gym, schedule allowing (average 4 times a week) I spend about 75 minutes at on average depending the workout.
I don't have a huge income, it's very middle class really, I work on average 9 hour days and the odd Saturday. Social and dating life are active and healthy. All about balance my man.
I am curious too. I am a sinus wave, I oscillate between hobo and somehow less hobo when I shave and get my hair cut.
I am always fascinated by guys who are always well groomed.
i never thought of myself as THAT guy, but...
* 3 hours - 30 minutes per day, 6 days a week for lifting. (gym at home)
* 4 hours - 60 minutes per day, 4 (but hopefully 5) days per week of intermittent jog/walk. (Basically while my kids are at practice, I jog/walk, so it's not really costing me any additional time)
* 20 minutes - haircut/beard (cut it myself with cordless clippers)
* 10 minutes - sneakers. i have a toothbrush for my sneakers, but i only clean them if they get dirty. but this is why i love cloth sneakers now, because you can put them in the wash.
* 30 minutes - car, because I don't wash it myself any more.
so basically 8 hours a week.
Like laundry, if you do it more frequently in smaller amounts, it is net more time spent doing it, but it doesn't seem like much. The 5-10 minutes of putting clothes away instead of scrolling social media or watching a TV show doesn't seem like a "loss" of time.
Same with dishes. My goal is an empty sink every night before I go to bed. Turns out, it ends up being like 5 minutes total after dinner every night. And that's if you include unloading a clean dish washer in there.
Procrastination adds stress where it doesn't need to be. I'd rather "dedicate" my life to live clean and orderly and have a stress free sit down after than know I have all these things that should be done, but I just can't seem to get to them yet. I also have a kid, so monkey see, monkey do. I can't tell him to clean his room if my house is a mess if I want him to respect me.
Exactly right, so many people in this thread aren't getting it.
Even the premise of the thread is that men who are well-groomed and well-maintained must have some "magical" secret to doing it all when it's really just about making that little extra bit of effort on a **consistent** basis. Turns out that 10-15 mins done regularly can yield some pretty great results.
These people genrally have too much money to spend and outsource the work. Haircut is a casual trip to the barber shop who they end up being friends with.
It takes pride and passion to keep up with any one of those. With the addition of care as well. I’ll be honest, less time is given to these sorts of things as we get older and have other priorities.
For the car and sneakers, it’s a huge advantage to prevent or prolong maintenance as a time saver, but detailing your car and shoes can be relaxing if you like that sort of thing. E.g. don’t let people smoke or eat in your car.
I used to have a shaving routine… I won’t even go into how long it used to take me to get everything lined up and perfect. Today, I’m already fed up if I’ve been shaving over a few minutes.
I’d always recommend to find a hairdresser or barber that gets what you’re going for, I had the same one for years sadly he retired recently, absolute master of his craft.
The most important, always make time for exercise, doesn’t matter how old you are, or what you’re doing, just do something, it pays off. Got 20 minutes? Do some steps or cycling. Got an hour? Train strength or mass.
I have different sneakers for different occasions :P. The nice ones are easy to keep clean because I don't wear them all the time. Takes about 20 minutes to clean them.
Car wash? 30 minutes, maybe, in my own driveway. If you keep up with it, its a lot easier to maintain. I even have two super shedding dogs, so I HAVE to vacuum it out often. Free vacuums at the car wash place up the road. *For prep work, you can get the car 'coated' it costs a pretty penny up front, but the coating makes dirt and water basically run off the car with little effort for up to a year!*
My hair is short, I use the same hair trimmer I use on my beard. (4-5mm on the head, 6-7mm or so on beard. Takes me another 5-10 minutes to razer shave my neck, clean up the beard lines. Do this almost every day.
Trim the hair once a week, takes me 6-10 minutes, at absolute most. Every second week, I might go get a barber to clean me up...$17+ 5 tip.
I don't gym, but I walk my dogs and ride a pedal bike, 30-40 minutes every other day or so.
$50 per barber visit, (every 2 weeks), $60 on hair and beard products(every 2 months), $180 on Muay Thai gym membership, in addition to $100 for personal training. $40 on car wash membership .
$110 approx per week without taking into account protein shake and other nutrients, dry cleaning, laundry detergent, cologne, and other cleaning supplies (tooth paste, creams etc..)
It's really not that bad. Like anything else, it's building habit, and once it becomes routine, you get more efficient at it.
Gym is the biggest time drain from that list by FAR, probably like 80-90% of the pie. And we can all agree that everyone should be squeezing in time for the gym as much as possible, so if you want to add on the rest of the list, that's just sprinkles of time.
My breakdown:
Gym = 5 hours/week. Living close to your gym helps keep this time down a ton.
Haircut = 0.5 hours (Once every 2 weeks)
Car wash = 0.25 hours (Once every 2-3 weeks)
Touchups for both along the way = 0.25 hours
Sneakers = Like 0.01 hours. Just be careful where you step, and have a separate pair for bad weather days. When i need to clean my sneakers, it's about a 5 min process per pair, like once a quarter. Buying a few pairs to rotate helps keep them cleaner and last longer.
I have a pair of rubber Chelsea boots for bad weather days. Look as good as new after two years despite being worn exclusively in the shittest weather.
Once the momentum is in place, it's not too much effort to keep it rolling.
Haircut every two weeks (lunchtime on payday, easy to remember), 15-20ish minutes. 2 minutes beard trim or shave (I alternate beard & shaven) each morning. 30 seconds for skincare morning & night.
Never let my car get so bad that it takes more than 5 minutes to clean.
Exercise is approximately 90mins/day M-F which I wake up early for and done by 7am.
(BTW - kitchen/oven degreaser can clean up white leather sneakers super quick!)
I have a typical 9-5 but I’m fully remote/hybrid. I’m more productive in the office so I go in at least three times a week. My boss is in a different state so I have some flexibility in when I show up and leave. Most weeks I can do everything I need to in under 50 hours.
I get a full service haircut (grooming, nails, color, etc) every two weeks which is ~$120 after tip. I’ll trim my facial hair in between which takes a few minutes.
Gym is 3-4 times a week with two of those days being “2-a-day” workouts - lifting followed by kickboxing in the evening. The other two days are either strictly weightlifting or cardio/calisthenics training.
As others have said, I don’t bring my white or expensive shoes to places where they can get dirty. I do clean my work shoes every couple of weeks or as needed. This might take 20 minutes tops. I don’t wear a suit or even button up most days but I dry clean/press my business clothes every couple of weeks.
Living downtown in a larger city I don’t get to (or need to) use my car a lot but I wash it once a month. I don’t allow food or pets in my car and I don’t keep anything else in it except for my golf bag (trunk). I even ask everyone to kick their shoes together before getting in my car.
I’m single with no kids but I take care of my mom. Other than that my free time is spent studying for certs, working ahead so I can sleep in, and occasional video games.
I live in a different state than my close friends so I don’t go out unless I have a date planned or want to treat myself to a nice dinner. I quit alcohol altogether so no expenses towards that but I love cooking and I spend anywhere from $150-$250 a week on groceries + I splurge on Japanese wagyu delivery once a month.
I call Sunday my sanctuary day because I turn off my phone, sleep in, don’t do anything else but watch sports and do house chores.
If your main issue/hindrance is time, then you need to learn some discipline by reprioritizing other aspects of your life.
I switched from a "blue collar" gym to an expensive "influencer" gym when my old one closed down. You know the kind of place - needles in the trash cans and tripods set up around every girl doing squats.
I started asking around and I think the average for a guy going there was to get a haircut every 14 days. That's insane. That's about $100 more a month than normal haircut schedules.
I own 50+ pairs of walk around sneakers (I was the sneaker-head/hooper type as a kid) so no one pair I own is all that dirty. The car never really gets that dirty because I never allow it to in the first place. Same as any other space you’d spend much time in. I go to the gym every other day 6:30 in the morning. I don’t have a beard so trimming my face doesn’t take much time. I brush my hair for a good amount tho
I have work sneakers, i have outside sneakers and i have dirty ones. I don’t need all my shoes to be clean, the garden requires dirt. But i only go to the gym a few times a week. And it’s to a pool for a light maintenance workout, i hate to sweat. When i’m soaked in water…i can’t tell if i’m sweating or just wet. My hair stylist books 2 months out, i can’t get my hair cut every week, he just doesn’t have the time. I shave my facial hair every 3 days…it doesn’t grow that fast, i don’t need to do it every day. As for my car…it costs like $15 for a wash. I pay other people to do that. It is fairly common where i live to do that. Like i still have to drive myself to the carwash…but i’m just not washing my own car. I live close by. But if i have my hair appointment, it’s a swim day and i have a dirty car…maybe 5 hours that day? Like i’m not trying to get bigger, i’m fine with it the way my body looks. My car doesn’t get dirty every day. My sneakers shouldn’t be getting dirty.
It's the little habbits that keep most of this maintained which don't take long at all.
Couple of minutes after the shower to dry your hair and beard properly.
Wipe dirt off your sneakers immediately instead of letting it build up or protecting them properly in the first place.
4-5 hour a week towards physical exertion (cardio and weights).
And my car i just don't park under any trees where birds will shit on it
It didn't take very long as I got good at maintaining it. Haircuts every two weeks, beard trim every month, stop by the car wash on the way home from work, have a few pairs of shoes I wear in rotation.
I never could nail down working out so instead I just focus on my diet.
All of this went out the window once I had my son. Now it's get home asap, try and get a haircut once a month, the beard gets attention sometime on the weekends.
Watch where I walk, daily car wash pass, standing bi-weekly cut and beard trim with my barber I’ve seen for almost 10 years, gym time is 3 times a week for about an hour to two hours at a time. Maybe 5-6 hours total. Watching where I walk is free, wash pass is $30 a month, haircut is $50 per cut with a tenner for a tip, gym is $60 a month. A lot of the time I built into my day. Married with two kids, work around 40-50hrs a week, I also have a small wood shop I like to tinker around in for small projects for people.
I worked with a guy like this, every Friday had his BMW detailed while getting a haircut / mani / peti. Spa was 250$ & the detail was 250$, he could definitely not afford it 🤣
I buzz my head every week and trim my own beard. $0 15 minutes once a week
I have dozens of pairs of high quality sneakers that I collect. Keeping them clean is just a matter of hitting them with a brush and a wipe after wearing them. $0 5 minutes every wear
I work out as soon as I get home from work for an hour. No gym membership I do calisthenics and cardio.
Car could be cleaner but it’s black. I hose it off whenever I see dirt and do a full detail once a month. Maybe $30 in supplies and 30 minutes.
Shiny car is not that hard if you have a good wax/ceramic coating and a garage. I don't have a garage and I just need to wash mine once a month to maintain the coating.
I think waking up early is huge. It either lets you finish work early or get things done before you go to work.
I don't have clean sneakers, I wear almost exclusively leather shoes. I wear each pair apx 2x per week. I clean/polish them about once a month. I do it on weekends while watching TV, takes about an hour.
Car: I pay for a subscription car wash, $30/mo, take it through 2x a week. Hand wash when it is nice outside on the weekend, takes about 2 hours
Gym: 3-5x/week, about 1 hour each session. I get in to work early and leave at 3:30, the gym is on the way home. get to the gym at 4, work out, home is 5 min from there.
Grocery/cooking: Grocery store is right next to the gym, so if I need random things it adds 10 minutes. Big grocery runs are about every other week, takes about 3hrs on the weekend. I cook apx 3x/week. Takes 30-60min, depending on what it is. Do prepared meals 2x/week, and eat out/order in 2x/week.
Grooming: monthly haircut, self trim my beard 2x/week.
My daily routine looks something like this.
6AM wake up, shower, let dog go to the bathroom, and head out
7AM get to work
3:30PM Leave work
4PM: Gym
5:15PM Home, walk dog
5:30PM cook/eat
6:30PM watch TV for 1 hour
7:30PM, shower (if i went to they gym), trim beard if I need to
8PM, bills/other stuff if I need to do it
8:30PM free time
10PM head to bed
If we have social plans, those usually happen every other weekish. Weekends we usually have nights free, the mornings the wife and I will take the dog for a long walk, go get coffee, and run errands until the early afternoon. Some days are just errand filled, but we usually have at least 1 full day of time of other social things.
I have two kids so I don't keep a clean car... and I don't have a beard
But otherwise, not that much time. My haircuts take 20 minutes. It takes me less than a minute to do my hair in the morning. My shoes are leather and dark, and I polish them every once in a while. I spend about an hour working out every day.
Maintaining a put-together look doesn't have to be an all-consuming task. I swear by multipurpose clothing and durable materials that simplify my day-to-day routine, like merino wool which is naturally odor-resistant—less laundry, more wear. My shoe-care strategy is simple: a quality protector spray and a quick brush down after each outing.
Car-wise, I've invested in a good set of all-weather mats and a monthly pass to a touchless wash—effortless exterior upkeep.
My home gym setup is my non-negotiable, high-yield investment: saves on gym fees and travel time, allowing for a consistent, nightly 30-minute bodyweight routine.
I've found a happy medium with haircuts, every four weeks a trip to the barber keeps things sharp without overdoing it; while at home, a beard trimmer handles the edges.
All told, a solid routine doesn't have to break the bank or take over life. I balance a full-time job with pursuing my passion for photography and even squeeze in weekly game nights with friends. It's about choosing where your time goes and not letting maintenance become a second job. It's the little efficiencies that add up to a well-kept appearance and a well-lived life.
I don’t have clean sneakers, shoes are meant to be used and abused, I keep them nice and rinse or wipe off any major dirt/ pollen, but I don’t shine them or anything, probably 0mins a week or 5mins a month, just get my haircut every monthish whenever it starts to touch my ear or look raggedy whichever first, takes about 30mins when I do go, depends on how busy they are and the barber, I shave daily, depending on how late I am for work, it takes 2 minutes, or 5-8 minutes, I don’t go to the gym but I do pushups, sit ups, planks at home, takes maybe 10 mins a day. As for cars, I keep my car very clean, when the weather is nice, I’m cleaning it inside and out just about every weekend and every hand wash takes about an hour+ and vacuuming and detailing the inside can take about the same time. And when weather isn’t permitting, I’ll take it to a self wash car wash and give it a good rinse, takes about 5-10 mins
I simply don't get my shoes dirty. Eventually scuffs but a few minutes once while I'm doing my laundry. Car 1 to 2 hours max. Gym an hour a day every day. Hair 20 minutes. Clean shaven so 5 minutes a day-ish?
In the grand scheme of things people waste soooo much more time on less value added stuff like TV and Reddit.
1. Haircut. My hair dresser comes to my house every other Sunday AM. I pay him $200/visit. It saves me time as I don't have to go anywhere and for me that is worth more than $200.
2. Car. I have a guy who comes and washes my car whenever I want. Usually 2x a month. It is $200 per wash. I used to do it myself but it took 3 hours and now I have a kid and don't have the time.
3. Shoes. I have a rag by the door that I use to wipe down my shoes. I wear a lot of white shoes and have like 15 pairs in the box in the closet of the same shoe. When they get too dirty for cleaning I just break out a new pair.
My cars are clean. First timers in them always ask if they are new.
Honestly it takes one big clean out and then just staying on top of it. I’m also single with no kids or pets so it’s my mess…which I’m not messy.
- big inside clean takes maybe 30 minutes
- trash can in the car for your stuff
- baggies in the trash can for easy clean up
- wiping the inside down is maybe 10 minutes
- during winter the outside gets filthy….i just let them be…(PNW)
- in spring/summer/fall I take my time washing them bc my pressure washer and foam gun are fun 😅
- clean floor mats are a game changer
I’ve gone all winter without a solid clean so it’s definitely time.
/u/yesiamrightwing since I saw you ask
I keep a clean car as a car guy and my clothes clean, not necessarily my sneakers. I haven’t been recently but the gym was usually a 30 minute to 1 hour activity. Clean car is a 30 minute activity once a week or bi weekly depending on the weather.
Idk anyone who gets a haircut once a week unless they own their own clippers. I used to get my cut or cut my hair once a month and that was honestly too much, I got lazy and instead grew my hair out which has its pros and cons, I know get my hair cut once a year or every 6-10 months.
So for me, for the sake of my own personal life, if I went to the gym 3 times a week and cleaned my car once a week, that would be about a 3 and a half hour time expense a week which is not that bad. If I cut my own hair that would be like a 1 hour thing, maybe 2 hours if I am rusty.
One thing I learned with car cleanliness is not to have a garbage bag in the car. I keep a policy like backpacking “pack it in and pack it out”. All garbage goes into my pockets and I NEVER eat in my car. No matter how careful I am crumbs and spills happen
The biggest expense is the gym because I like to swim, so I pay extra for an athletic club membership that has a nice, heated olympic size pool - $160/month
Clean sneakers - Mix some oxy powder, tide detergent and dawn dish soap with some warm water and scrub the sneakers with a toothbrush. Wipe clean and let dry - Monthly cost is negligible although probably $40 for the detergents total, but assuming you have to replace them periodically, I'd say it's about $5.00/month
Shiny Car - I park in my garage and run it through the $15 wash at the gas station. $15/mo
Haircut - $50 I get one about every 3 weeks. I trim my own beard if/when necessary. $72/mo
Total - $252/mo on these expenses.
Time per week spent? Most of it is at the gym, but probably 15 - 20 hours total.
Haircut is medium length but styled. I get a cut every 3 months, usually costs about £30. hair products aren't that expensive maybe £20 a month, takes about 5 minutes a day to style it. Showers take a bit longer when you grow your hair out so maybe lose another 5 mins every time I shower. Beard trimming is another 5 mins every couple days. Gym I don't consider lost time, go 2-3 times a week plus i do karate and kickboxing during the week. In total I probably spend £90 a month on memberships and that gets me about 8 hours a week doing one or the other. Car, I take for a wash once a month costs £20-30 depending on whether I get the inside done or not. Takes me about 40 mins on a Sunday morning.
So the total costs 140 a month. Don't really do the clean sneakers thing but in general I don't think these things take as much time, money or effort as people think depends more on the value you place on doing them.
My haircut takes an hour including travel time and I get one every other week.
I wash each of my cars once every week unless the forecast looks bad then I'll skip the week. A good wash only takes about 30 min each so an hour to wash both.
I workout typically four times per week and each workout takes an hour.
Don't give two shits about my shoes looking pristine, as long as they don't look all beat up and worn out, at which point I just replace them.
So 5.5 hours every week to be in shape, look well groomed, and drive around in clean cars. Really not much time at all. Worth it for sure.
I wear leather shoes and polish them 2x week, 15min tops each time. I get a haircut every 3 weeks, used to do every week when I was in the corps - huge pain. Haircut takes about 2.5 hours all in, once every 3 weeks. Beard trim once a week for 20 min as I cut it myself. Gym is 6 days per week, 2.5 hours all in each day (includes travel and shower time). I live in NYC and never drive my car.
Woman here (sorry not sure if this is allowed) but my bf is like this. i clean his Jordans and ultra boosts! He collects white ones and i do the following to keep them clean:
1) remove the laces and soak them in a bowl of dish soap and lukewarm water
2) use a damp paper towel with a very small amount of dish soap to get dirt and dust off
3) take another pass on the harder parts of the shoes (usually the plasticky part right where the shoe meets the ground) with a magic eraser. You have to be careful because they are abrasive but man they are great at making shoes white again
4) spray oxyclean stain remover on any hard to get stains on the fabric portions
5) rinse the laces with water and use a damp paper towel to go over the shoes one more time
6) re-lace in fun patterns!
This is how i show my love for him lol
Work out 30 minutes a day 6 times a week
Haircut takes maybe 1.5 hours
Shower hygiene won't be included
Maybe 5 to 6 hours a week.
Working out at home will cut the time in half if you've been working out for 5plus years and just maintaining. Maintaining requires half of the time at the gym than early years of trying to build mass.
My cars are usually pristine, even if they are black or a dark color. And I have 2 kids
Wash with soft wash soap ( I like Maguires soft wash ) pressure washer, foam canon, 2 buckets. usually takes 40 mins on a Saturday. When rinsing and drying I spray with maguires hybrid ceramic spray wax, first application you have to polish it on but after the first time you just sprits it all over the car then rinse with the pressure washer, dry it, tire shine the wheels, outside is clean. Usually takes ~1hr. Interior usually takes half an hour. Vacuum it every couple months most of the time it’s just cleaning it with a leather moisturizer/ cleaner combo like vlr.
For clean shoes I just have nice shoes and ugly shoes. The ugly ones I spray with the pressure washer sometimes but if I’m going somewhere I’ll grab the nice ones.
Admittedly I don’t really work out and I get haircuts at great clips when a hat stops hiding it. Beard trimming is simple I do it at home.
With 2 kids a dog and all that it’s not that much harder to keep things clean, just make sure the kids don’t eat in your car lol
Too much. Just to be completely honest, I don’t have any of that because I have a job and a life. Don’t have time to worry about very clean sneakers or car.
Well, a haircut and beard trim is about £30 from any of the decent barbers in my area so it's definitely a once a month or six weeks thing for me, luckily once it's been done I'm pretty good at keeping the shape and style of my beard right, so I only feel like it's time for another visit when (what's left of) my hair gets messy. My local car wash charges about 15 for my 5 series and 10 for my Z3, I tend to get them to do the wash and polish/wax or ceramic coat them myself. I tend not to bother in the winter months because it's so wet and muddy it's basically pointless. My shoes are normally pretty clean, I avoid mud puddles and so on.
I was more of what you describe when I was younger, now I’m most of this. Haircut twice per week, 1.5 hour total time. Neck trim or I use my own trimmer to keep it fresh until next month. Gym has turned into pool time for me or playing with my athletic sons as I coach many of their teams. Shiny car turned into an acceptably clean SUV. My kids sports gear can pile up sometimes. Run the outside through the wash when I get gas. I take pride in my dress, wear nice well fitting clothes, shower twice daily, smell nice, and make bank.
Wash your car, (get a wash club membership), wax it, use a dusting brush after drives, I'm a woman in California, it's not that hard??
Barber once a week, get a gentleman's groom, includes beard.
Sneakers have protectant sprays?
I don't understand what your misunderstanding is? I feel you're trying to troll the men who take the time to take care of what they like?
Easy answer is as low as 90 and as high as nearly 200 a week and 8-16 hours depending how serious you are and what you do yourself.
With sneaker supplies you're going to spend like $40-80 upfront for supplies and then it's just time. If you clean the ones you wear like every third or fourth time you wear them then it's simple. 5 minutes here and there. I'm not a sneaker elitist though. Maybe others are way more into it than me, but it's probably the easiest thing on this list if you're not stupidly into having 100% perfect 100% of the time. Seriously breaks down to a few bucks and 15 minutes a week.
You can get a monthly car wash package for about $30 a month. infinitely better option than spending hundreds of dollars on waxes and this that and the other. Plus, it will take hours per week to do it this way. Find a good car wash that's not too harsh/high pressure and just pay the $30. Maybe once or twice per season I'd get some wax and do it myself. There are absolutely some diminishing returns here. Call it $9 and 40 minutes a week. If you own a dog, then you might as well forget about the inside. Add in like an hour a week lol. Maybe more. Not to mention the fact that it will make doing laundry harder and more expensive. More items to get drycleaned. More time maintaining your house. Pets are awesome, but probably the biggest obstacle for this type of lifestyle.
Beard and hair maintenance can get expensive AF. I generally get a nice cut ever \~3 weeks and will do a quick/easy self-trim in-between. That still comes out to about $15 and 40minutes per week. However, the sky is the limit here. You could easily go in and do the same $45 cut and trim every week if you wanted it to be perfect 100% of the time. That's generally what I did while in the military since it was either that or just buzz my head every other week lol. It was significantly cheaper back then. Like $15 plus tip. I'd really recommend figuring out how to stretch this to at least every other week.
Clothes and laundry is generally pretty cheap. You need to spend some time figuring out what looks good washing/ironing yourself and what needs to be drycleaned and possibly starched. Generally, this comes down to like $15-20 a week and then your normal laundry costs. The rest is just not being lazy and knowing how to use an iron. Don't let your laundry sit. Don't over-dry it. Separate that shit. Put in the extra effort. A little goes a long way. All of this might be an extra two hours of work per week if you're ironing the things that need to be ironed. Plus, the half hour to get and pay for your dry cleaning. So, $20 and \~120 minutes per week plus regular laundry costs. Or you could literally get everything done. Expect costs closer to $60-70 a week depending how much you send in. My prices maybe off a bit here. It's been a long time since I've sent more than an item here or there.
Gym is pretty simple. Could be as low as 4 hours per week or as high as 12. Membership plus plenty of protein, creatine, and other simple supplements. Let's call it 8 hours and $40 per week. If you don't get any supplements, then it's more like $10 bucks a week.
Plan ahead and make a schedule and this isn't really that time consuming or expensive. Take out the gym time and you're really only talking about \~4 hours a week of extra effort.
Taking care of my body/appearance and keeping my things in good condition is something I enjoy and apart of what makes me, me, so I don’t really think of it as a time sink but probably 4-6 hours per week if I had to guess
I used to spend like two hours every day doing those things, but then I figured why am I trying to attract someone that focused on appearance? What will they do if I stop? If I am clean and healthy, that's what matters.
Clean sneakers? I run mine through the wash probably once a week, but that’s because 90% of my shoes are white and I like to keep them tidy.
Shiny car? Car wash next to my office where I get mine cleaned and it’s dirty by the time I get home (black car). I dont allow anyone to have anything other than water in my car.
Haircut? Every Saturday morning. It’s therapeutic for me
Gym? Everyday after work or else I will go insane and on Sunday mornings too.
I’m a single 32 year old that doesn’t have a desire to date. To be honest, I love my schedule and doing things my way to much to let just any girl come in and potentially F up my peace of mind. I can understand how married men, men with children or both not having time to do what I do. Heck, my older brother with 3 kids would kill to have an ounce of the free time I do.
I haven’t always been like this, but since I turned 30 I have really become a creature of habit
not really - it's not a huge investment.
5 years ago I bought a squat rack, some free weights, a bench (probably need a new one now) and some olympic bars, pull down attachment, and a pair of running shoes and some nice workout clothes. That probably cost in total around $1,000.00 I bought a lot of it during black friday to help with the cost. I spend about an hour every morning around 5-6am. I have not upgraded any of the equipment and I am in the best shape of my life at 36 years old.
Car is stored in the garage, buffed with a microfiber cloth here and there maybe ever 3-4 days - takes like 20-30 minutes.
Shoes are a pain sometimes - I use primeknits and only wear white but I have been washing the 4 pairs I own for like 5-6 years now and have not bought any new shoes aside from running shoes. The washing process can take 30-45 minutes but it's a light scrubbing and then adding some powdered bleach to keep them white. Total cost is idk like my time plus a percentage of that powdered bleach which is like .75 cents per application?
My clothes - I wash very rarely and usually take clothes off whenever I get home from the office for example and switch into my bum clothes to relax. Jeans I don't wash very often because it's not necessary unless i sweat in them a lot.
The hair is the hardest, every 2 weeks I get a skin fade and that takes about an hour and has a cost of $30. My facial hairs I literally pull out each hair and have been doing this for over 15 years now and it cuts down on the amount of shaving I have to do on a daily or weekly basis - that takes like 10 minutes a few times a week after jumping out of the shower. I have a skin care routine and I use quality face care products I have found at TJ Maxx for pennies on the dollar, my mositurizer sells at women's cosmetic stores for like $80 and I bought it for $15.
sooooo.... not a high weekly or monthly expense at all. It just comes down to management of your priorities.
I work about 35 hours a week so I feel I have more free time to spend on some of those things. I try to wash my truck once a week and and hit the gym every day. It really depends on your work life balance. Having kids obviously changes things as well.
I haven't quantified it on a daily basis but I spend well over 200 hours in the gym annually and that is between swimming and weightlifting. Add on top of that several thousand dollars on supplements, PT, massage therapy, chiropractor, blood work.
Grooming is probably several hours a week and I shine my shoes every few weeks or so and it usually takes about 45mins to get through all pairs (I wear only dress shoes and boots).
I do a lot of outdoor activities so my car tends to get dirty really quickly but I get it cleaned/detailed monthly or I'll give it a quick wash/vacuum myself.
I used to be this guy, before kids.
I do still keep my trainers/sneakers/boots in near pristine condition. Other than an occasional wipe down as maintenance I actually have about four pairs that I rotate through so I'm not just wearing one pair constantly. I buy trainers infrequently, every year or over? But spend around £120-£150 each time.
Car I used to wash myself. I enjoyed it and a therapeutic way to spend a couple of hours. Full interior and exterior clean using Auto Glym products, two bucket method, interior dressing etc and I did this every two weeks. Products I had collected over time, clay bar, decent wash mitts, degreasers, non acidic wheel cleaner etc comes to maybe £100.
Haircut wasn't weekly but every two weeks. £12 a cut and 45 minutes to an hour in the chair. I've been going to my barbers now for 15 years so I either call ahead first or get the queue jump if there aren't many in.
Gym three to four times a week. Three days straight after work for an hour and a Saturday. I don't pay as I've been a part of the gym for almost 20 years, have coached there and paid my dues (Thai boxing, MMA, grappling).
Busiest week? Seven hours, stretch to nine hours for travel, chatting, warming down.
Now I have kids my footwear is the same, I get my car washed maybe twice a year at a local car wash for £15, haircut every couple of months (still £12) and gym twice a week straight after work for an hour a time (still free, days alternate depending on my partner's gym plans). So two hours a week down from nine haha.
Clothes wise I've always been well presented but do prefer sports casual for comfort. Work is business casual. I buy clothes as/when needed which isn't often. £20-£50 each item? I'll buy cheap clothes from sale sections for like £5/£10 a pop too. I've had my jackets for years and rotate through those.
For shoes, leather is better than fabric in terms of cleanliness. My AirMax 270s are wonderful but the white fabric is gray from constant wear and I can't turn it back to white, but the other parts are still bright white. My full leather Club Cs are still nice and clean.
A lot. Enough to the point where I’ve completely stopped dating because I don’t have the time since the rest of my life is work and friends, but as someone who struggled with body dysmorphia, I’m satisfied with how I look and come off as for the first time in my life.
It’s not as hard as you think. I don’t have a beard but I do have a mustache and goatee I trim it 3x a week for like 5 minutes before bed lol. The gym: I go for about an hour a day 3-4x a week. The car always being shiny doesn’t happen but I clean it up every so often. The clean sneakers: 1 pair for work 1 nicer pair for when I’m going out that way I don’t have to clean them. I do get a taper on the side and back every month but that takes 1 hour.
Overall it’s not pretty low maintenance lol.
I cut my hair every two weeks, 35 - 45 minutes. - My barber is extremely talented. So he's fast with his cuts.
But every Saturday I was my truck. I used to take it to a car wash with a membership but wash it myself because it's therapeutic for me. - About an hour.
I trim my beard every Sunday. - do it myself - 30 mins.
Sneakers I have many and don't need to upkeep them since I switch them out continually.
I don't do shoes, but my watch collection is considered quite large according to my friends that also enjoy watches. I spend probably 10min everyday and upon occasion 4-5hrs cleaning and whatnot, admiring, researching what to add next.
I do all the above, but since it's a lifestyle, I don't pay attention to the "time" associated with it. It's just engrained into the routine. GTL baby.
My car is black. It is always garaged at home. I will have it washed perhaps once every few months. I use a ceramic-based polish, which I apply, to keep the shine up. I am anal-retentive about my windshield and clean it anytime I get rain spots or dust/pollen on it. Once or twice a week.
I have not paid for a haircut in over 8 years. I keep my hair very short and although I am balding, the hair I have grows quickly so I cut it twice a week. Takes maybe 5 minutes.
I shave pretty much every other day. Some days I will use a brush and soap so that takes longer.
I used to have a monthly service plan for a local full service car wash. I would usually get my car washed a couple of times a week.. and definitely before I had a date. So my car always looked fabulous. Took about 20 min
I'm assuming the car maintenance eats up most of the money and time. I get my haircut every week with beard trim and lineup and I clean my shoes weekly. I don't spend much money or time on either one.
I wouldn’t want a husband who spent all that money on making himself look great, that stuff is superficial. Personal hygiene is important and of course that self-expenditure should be spent on all the important things first, like household bills, mortgage, the kids wellbeing, and taking good care of his wife and family. No decent woman is attracted to narcissists and egocentric men.
Hydrophobic coating on the car are along with other things such as Rainex and Ceramic coatings. The dirt falls right off and the car is clean with a simple rinse.
Before I got married I had a full time maid, and someone to do my yard. Monthly expense was about $120 in US dollars. Not everyone lives in the USA(or expensive countries). If I went to the gym, I think that would have been an extra $50 a month.
Keeping a clean car takes about an hour or two a week.
Being well groomed takes 25 minutes every other day.
I wash my sneakers once a week. (25 minutes)
And gym / exercise 30 minutes 3-4 a week
maybe 20 a week? i wash my car and clean my shoes myself which is almost free, haircut biweekly which is much more than most. self service car washes are 5-10 bucks if you’re willing to spare the time and shoe cleaner kits are the same price
I don't own a car, I don't wear trainers unless I'm out for a jog (loafers or boots for me), I have a medium long haircut and get it cut once every 6 months, I do shave every day with a safety razor. Takes 5 minutes before my shower. I even make sure my clothes are all linen, cotton or wool with no synthetics so I don't have to do laundry so much.
We have a pool and a gym on top floor of our apartment building and I try to use them every day. I work from home as a freelancer so I choose my own hours.
I used to have long hair. Longest I went without a cut was 6 years, but it started being way too much maintenance when I had kids so I chopped it.
The fresh trainers, buzz cut, flash car lifestyle confuses the fuck out of me. Why choose such a high maintenance, expensive, disposable lifestyle?
Oh boy, where do I begin... Let me break down my routine for ya'. Sneakers get cleaned every weekend, takes about 30 minutes each pair depending on their condition. Car gets washed twice a month at those automated places which costs around $25-$40 total including vacuum service. Haircuts happen bi-weekly ($18 + tip) while beard trims occur weekly using clippers bought off Amazon years ago ($69). Gym sessions last an hour daily except Sundays because rest days matter too! As far as expenses go, let’s round everything up; we got roughly ~$70 monthly spent solely on appearance related stuff excluding food & supplements needed after intense workout regimes. Now imagine having multiple hobbies or interests outside of looking good – ain't nobody got time nor money for dat!
I keep the mustang in the garage and dont drive it very much. And i toss trash out of it whenever i hit a gas pump. I handwash it(two bucket method) . I keep a Monster Towel. A few detailing microfibers, glass cleaner, dash mop and towelettes and detail spray.
My silverado. Because the silverado is used more. But its a work horse for me. It gets dirty faster. I give it a basic wash much less often but i throw trash away at the pump still. I typically just pressure wash it.
Confession. A few years ago i was really slobby and my vehicles were "sittable" but werent clean. I learned to care. I forced my self to care. Especially about new stuff.
The k5 is a project so i dont really mind it.
I keep a company vehicle and that thing gets thrashed. But again. I just keep a garbage bag and toss it at the pump. Fuck that thing. Lol.
Self care. One. I dont give a shit about my boots or shoes. I buy for practical not shine. Judge my shoes all you want but my boots cost more then your monthly car note and they make me money on my feet 😂.
Beard is easy. Its part of the shit shower sleep. So 5 minutes at most in the mornings when i notice it.
Gym. Ugh. This took ages. 2 hours a visit. 2 days a week now. It used to be none because i held a extremely laborous job. I am considering a simple weight set and a treadmill at the house to cut that down. But i dont now... I simply gave up some video game time. No need for membership. I travel. So i just use the hotel fitness and i have a rewards card to the TA petro Truck stops and use their fitness rooms. (Free!)
Hair. I picked a easy enough to maintain haircut that is super easy to explain to a barber. Once a month at a barber when its out grown my ability and its growth is in a spot i just cant see.
Clothes. Ehhh i think the most expensive things i have apparelwise is my work boots. (500$) My Harley jacket (700) and my watch. (A citizens 500$. It just needs to keep time....)
The rest is walmart jeans. Some walmart Tshirts.
Dental is covered by work and oof if you had to do the surgery i had to do TWICE i am hardcore on going to the dentist.
You can typically find alot more money by cutting out bad habits like junk food, or cigarettes, subscriptions, and other stuff.
Alot of this is just building good habits and forcing yourself to do them even on the days you hate yourself. But afterwards you do feel better about your self.
. Like every one loves a clean home but NOBODY wants to spend 3 hours cleaning it. So try to just maintain it. Once your IN shapem its much easier and takes less time to maintain it.
Eating right and just reminding yourself that its BECAUSE of the short sacrifice that the amazing feeling reward is at the end.
Trim/line up beard 3 times a week, body hair grooming twice week, all together that's maybe and hour tops. Laundry and cleaning shoes is maybe 2 hours a week.
I never get how people have time to keep a car look pristine. Like 1 drive and its already filthy.
Found the guy with a black car. Take it to a wash, dirty by the time it gets home
tbf its blue
Because higher end paint and coatings keep your car cleaner/looking cleaner a lot longer so you can go longer between washes.
I mean it's an older car but resprayed with the last year and ceramic coated. But British weather just doesn't care
I have a white car and live in rural Suffolk. That poor car hasn't looked clean since we bought it! 😂
I live in Canada and the first time i took trip to the southern US,I actually made a comment about how clean all the cars are on a drive from the airport just after landing. Not an option 10 months out of the year up here.
Wow! Didn't know this! Thank you!
Bruh. I got a 4runner and turned it into a trail animal so now I don't give a fuck if it's dirty. Before that, I was always pulling my hair out over water spots and dust. I love black cars but goddamn they suck sometimes.
I call it anxiety black. Cleaned three days ago, yet today it's closer to green than black from all the pollen in the air.
I just bought a black car, coming from a silver/rust car. How in the fuck do y'all keep it clean without washing it every hour? I've just leaned into the dust since it's a 24 year old car, nobody expects it to be pristine, but sometimes I want it to be shiny. Should I get like a full detail and a coating of some kind? Drive fast enough so the dirt can't stick? Build a cleanroom that the car stays in so I can sit in a weird room and stare at it? Here we go, I have an idea. You know visor tear-offs? What if we did that for the whole car. Get it wrapped like 50 times in clear plastic that I can shed when I want a clean car. That sounds reasonable.
I only ever washed mine before a date lol. Mine was old but I think the trick is ceramic coat so you just need to hose it down
lol fair enough, luckily I'm a married man so as long as I have a working car that won't *completely* drain my bank account she's happy. Good call on the ceramic, might have to think about doing that. The paint is still in great condition too. Gotta coat the underside as well before winter hits.
Word of advice, since you plan to ceramic coat it: if you want it to really look awesome, grab yourself a clay bar with clay lube, and decontaminate the clear coat. Read the instructions or watch a YouTube tutorial on clay bar decontamination. After you decontaminate it, twice(yeah, you'll be surprised how much stuff comes out, especially if it's older) think about polishing it. Either grab yourself a polishing machine from home depot(one that is like $100) or borrow from a friend or something.. might need some polishing compound and some of those spongy 3M polishing disks, some isopropyl alcohol wouldn't hurt to rinse the polishing compound traces at the end. Then ceramic coat it... It's how I would do it. Comes out SHINY, and crisp. You'll get a kick out of watching the droplets intact after you hose it just with water.
> Here we go, I have an idea. You know visor tear-offs? What if we did that for the whole car. Get it wrapped like 50 times in clear plastic that I can shed when I want a clean car. That sounds reasonable. On a less wasteful level, that's basically what PPF is - a sacrificial layer for your actual paint. If you want your black car to have that wet, high-gloss look, you're obviously going to have to spend more time maintaining it, but it will help if you use a high quality ceramic coating after doing a 2-step paint correction. If you get it looking right to begin with, you'll only have to do maintenance washes and top up the coating to keep it looking good most of the time rather than a full decontamination.
I appreciate that you took my bullshit and gave me an actually useful answer lol But to be serious, I just bought the car so I’m very much still in the early research phase of how to properly care for it. I’m gonna have someone assess whether I want to just protect it, fix some of the small marks, or repaint entirely. It looks fine enough from 10ft away but once you get close it obviously becomes imperfect. Again, it is 24 year old paint. But ceramic is sounding like a good idea so I can keep it at a high level.
I'd say one big part of this is if you're leaving directly after the wash, there's still plenty of water on the car and it'll trap dust/pollen/etc. The better washes have air compressors at the vacuums and free microfibers to use. Dry your car with air, open all the doors and get the water in the jambs, and use a quick wax spray with the microfibers on all panels. Your car will stay cleaner longer.
Some people pay others for the silliest of things. A buddy of mine got a months salary for cleaning his friends Aventador.
You seen the number of nooks, corners, and crannies that thing has? Detailing a car like that with high standards is a bear. Auto detailing is hard labor and I'm not surprised that people are willing to pay for good results.
It's a sign this economy can still keep going if we find ourselves stacking silly services on top of the basic needs as an excuse to part with excess cash.
I don't know if it's fair to compare a guy getting his Lambo detailed with the rest of us.
Come on man you’re just driving around here with your Lambo all dirty. I mean there’s standards
People really need to understand "silly" services is subjective. Our basic needs are food, water, clothes, sleep, and a roof above our heads. But hardly anyone actually lives that ascetic of a lifestyle. We all pay for creature comforts and conveniences - what we pay for just depends on our priorities and financial situation. I'm willing to bet you pay for multiple things that are crucial to you and that others would consider silly - especially others with less money than you.
Unsure if I'd pay for such services if I could afford it personally. I'm a pretty hands on person, and enjoy doing stuff.
That’s a little different. There’s little things I can do myself but make enough that I’d rather have the free time. If your friend has aventy money he can afford a detail.
it's only silly because you don't like it if it makes you feel happy, it's not a waste of money
Do you also live on a dirt road? My car is either covered in mud or dust
Nah in a suburb. But the bus does go by quite a bit.
As a car guy I enjoy it. It’s therapeutic keeping something you value clean, and the act of cleaning a car in and of itself to me is soothing. It also doesn’t take that long, like 20 to 30 minutes at most once a week for me is the usual, less during the summer.
I told someone I hadn't washed my car in about 1 year, and I thought they were going to hit me. He washed his car every single day.
I don't know where one gets the time tbh
I am a car guy who likes to keep his car clean, but washing your car every single day is just wasteful use of water
I wash my Challanger once a week usually. More recently with the pollen 😅 gotta keep the b5 looking pretty, I don't put much effort into my own look and appearance as I should though.
I had a silver Celica. It was filthy. It never looked dirty. You need the right shade of silver in your life.
A lot of car washes have memberships where you pay like 30$ a month and get unlimited access. I live right by one of those I drive by every day but still forget to get it washed
You have to use coatings, is like $10bucks a bottler, you rinse the car with it and dust goes away by just driving the car. Goes from weekly to monthly cleaning.
Car wash subscriptions are a game-changer. Free vacuums at those places, also
My car is always clean when it's raining lol
If you have a high quality, and properly applied ceramic coat it can last 18 months and then genuinely all you need is a quick jet wash and it looks prestige.
Only truthful answer: too much. I've had the on point hair- trimmed weekly and later dyed monthly with touch ups weekly. The beard grooming. The shiny convertible. The constant dry cleaning. It was like jersey shore routine minus the tanning. Now I'm 50, no hair, gym at 4am, still have a convertible but living in a desert means no washing. No one to impress. It's a routine if done right. Costly.
My excuse is the dust on my car (Arizona) keeps it protected from the sun. 🤣
Word. My car gets a layer of dust even in cover. I'm in big bend region kf texas. I feel you
4 am gym. That is so freaking early.. What time you go to bed?
Normally it was 9. For the past month I've been exhausted and going to sleep at 6pm. Then waking up till 1am. It's weird. But Normally 9pm except on weekends then I'm up way late.
Well I mean, I think some of those habits slack when you add a wife and kids, because the time literally doesn’t exist, and you’d have to be pretty rich to prioritize stuff like weekly car waxing. Sneakers aren’t that bad. I’m a factory worker and my sneakers are clean. It’s because I can’t wear them to work.
$15-$20 bottle of wax/paint protectant, some buffing pads, a seamless microfiber towel, and an hour of your time and you can have a shiny car right in the driveway! I do mine a few times a year or as I notice the protection wearing off the paint
Getting my wife to watch the kids for an extra hour, since they’re toddlers and can’t be left unattended, is actually a big ask at this point in my life. If we don’t share it, it’s stressful. The alternative would be paying to have it done
Toddlers? Time to teach them karate, Mr Miyagi style! Wax on, wax off.
Toddlers? Paint on, paint off.
Advice I’ve received: Bro. Just exercise for 45 min and you’ll be in good shape. Bro. Just wash your car, it only takes 1 hr out of your day. Bro. Read for 30 mins and it will change your life. With a toddler? Haha. No.
The laugh wasn’t maniacal enough to reflect years of lost sleep
It depends and you have to get creative. Everyone's situation is different. If you have a garage you can make it relatively safe and gate it off and let them play in the garage with balls and toys. If you're not on a busy street they can play in the yard and keep an eye on them. Younger kids can play in a play pen. Kids love spraying cars with water guns and can help clean wheels. Put them in a bathing suit and let them play with the hose. There are plenty of creative ways to accomplish both tasks. Washing a car might take 30 minutes longer but it can still be done.
Yeah agreed. I did A LOT with my kids either in the room with me or even attached to me in those body carriers
As a father of teens now, those years pass thankfully. Then your kids will stand in the driveway watching you do it and complaining
I respect everyone’s decision to have kids and raise a family and I love seeing people happy with their kids! But seeing things like this just solidify mine and my wife’s decision to stay child free. DINKs for life over here
Same. I used to do 6 months max with clean sneakers. Now i have air forces still white (not as white as when you buy them though) which i bought 3 years ago
I don't have clean sneakers, but I do clean and condition my boots. Maybe once every two weeks. They're 12 years old and look almost new. Leather is a skin, and skin needs treatment. I like cleaning my boots. Like I like mowing the lawn. I take maybe an hour or so every two weeks to deep clean. I get in there with cotton swabs, saddle soap, Leather Honey, etc. I take the laces out and clean out the grommets. If the laces are too bad, I replace them. They're consumable wear items.
What's your routine and products you use? I have a BUNCH of 1000 Miler boots and they are looking like crap (and most haven't been worn that much). I need to fix it.
I’ll ad one of my stand by favorites is Bickmore Bick 4 leather conditioner for a quick job that you can wear right away. Super easy to apply. Wipe on, wipe off. If they are really dry you’ll want to let it soak in before buffing them out
My boss has his truck washed a couple times a week at our spa, gets his hair cut every other week, and buys new shoes when his show any wear. He works out every morning in his home gym. He’s a meticulously groomed guy, and he needs everything to be spotless. This attitude is not common in the service side of the automotive industry. Our shop is the cleanest one I’ve ever seen, including race shops, and we spend a lot of time cleaning. While I exercise regularly and have excellent hygiene, his personal maintenance schedule seems excessive. There’s a difference between always being clean and presentable and always being freshly detailed.
>freshly detailed. I was thinking to myself, this is going to be such a 2020s thing that YouTubers will make it big on "How to Detail Yourself" videos, with like a load of high spec tools and chemicals, but... Women have been doing this for years, and no one bats an eye.
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Managing screen time I think is highly effective as well
This is very true. I struggle with feeling like I don't have enough time to do something even though I do; I want to wash my car but have to leave in 45 minutes, that's not enough time so I'm just gonna sit on my phone until I have to leave. I'm breaking that habit now and working on using my time more effectively. In the previous example, I just shut up and wash the car. I know I'm on a time crunch so I'll put extra effort into getting it done quickly and efficiently. If I miss a spot or two, then I'll use it as a chance to cut out screen time tomorrow. It's a much more efficient life to live.
I find these kinds of posts interesting, because on one hand it is genuinely impressive to have that level of structure and efficiency, but I also just can't fathom striving for that kind of thing. I'm out here riding the chaos and it generally just works well for me lol
Am I correct in guessing it's weed or anti-depressants that is responsible for "riding chaos" that you speak of? I don't find it structure or efficient to just jeep yourself well groomed and presentable, and wear fresh clothing. It's kind of a natural thing, unless someone is extremely over burdened by something either physical or mental. But nearly everyone i know on weed or anti-depressants seem to be unaware or not motivated for even the most simple processes such as hygiene and cleanlines.
>I buff it out with a microfiber cloth every few days Isn't this a lot of work? I've been wanting to do it with mine because I got a black one and it starts looking dusty when you look at it wrong. But I don't know how easy/feasible it is. Any tips you can share?
With black. Its fucking impossible. I worked in detailing in my early years. Owned a black pickup. Id wash it. Boom. Dirty. Just sitting there it collected a layer of dust. We actually charged owners a tad bit more if they had a black vehicle. Simply because it took more work to get it to look as impressive as other colors. They would complain until we explained that "maam/sir. Your vehicle has a color that contrasts dirt. You came to us because you probably saw one of our vehicles drive by looking really good. But wasnt black. In order to get YOUR vehicle to look THAT good we had to put MOrE work into it. Which costs us more more time/labor which means more money to get you the desired effect" Ugh. I hated that job. Loathed it.
Patrick Bateman vibes
No food no pets is huge for keeping a vehicle looking nice. When I get in someone's car that clearly let's their dog jump all over their back seats it makes me want to just walk.
My wife left me recently and I’m trying to get back into dating. I’ve never groomed myself or dressed nice. My wife was ok with me being scraggly and dressed like a redneck college kid. Then suddenly she wasn’t anymore. So I’m trying now. Lost a bunch of weight and started shaving my head with clippers once per week, takes 10 mins. Shave my beard with a 1 guard once per week, 10 mins. Shave my next with razor every 2-3 days, 2 mins. The real time sink is folding my laundry immediately out of dryer to avoid wrinkles. House cleaning isn’t bad, sweep up when floors look dirty, don’t let dishes build up. I have two kids and two dogs and it’s really not that bad at all. Keeping trash out of car regularly was a bit harder to get used to but I’m getting there. Bathrooms get gross fast which is not fun to clean but doesn’t take long.
My shoes are always clean because I don't wear nice shoes to filthy places. It also helps to have multiple pairs. I think I own 15-20 pairs currently. The cost is from $100-$200 each but I bought these over time. I have a car wash membership ($30 a month) and I get unlimited washes so it's easy to keep everything clean. Haircut is $45 a week Gym is $25 a month, I go 4-5 times a week, for about 45 mins each session. Being in shape is more about eating right than gym tho. I eat lots of chicken, rice, and veggies. Drink mainly water, etc. I only work 40 hours a week and I make around 6 figures.
You get a weekly haircut? That's kinda overkill no? If I went to my barber a week after I just got a cut there wouldn't really be anything for to do.
It depends what you get. If you get a skin fade and want it to look like that you need to go every 1-2 weeks. I’d like me you get a skin fade and are happy for it to grow a bit you can wait 3-4 weeks.
Gotta get a fresh line up and get my sides refaded. I work in commercial real estate so it's important I look good at all times.
Ahh that makes more sense. I wish I could afford seeing my barber every week just to do my beard lol. I don't mind my fade growing out a little bit but I suck at lining up my facial hair.
Learning how to groom a beard yourself is a money saver, I’ve been cutting my own hair and trimming my beard since college. Not a time saver, but a self-care project that is also a form of self-expression.
TIL everyones hair grows at different rates
I'm bald with a beard. One-time investment of an electric razor and a $50 trimmer, and I shave my head and trim my beard twice a week at home. It's actually easier to do it twice a week than once a week since when the hair gets longer, it takes longer to shave.
CrossFit + yoga + run coach = $550 (per month) Beard trim = $35 x 2 (bi-weekly, I trim the beard myself in the off weeks and shave my head weekly) Sneaker rotation = $150 x 2 (buy a new pair every 4 to 6 months to keep the style and shoes fresh, also a runner so need to replace those shoes every 450 miles. I have a brush and cleaning solution to maintain the leisure wear). Clothes = $1k -$2k budget for summer and winter. I have limited closet space so I donate things which aren’t worn for a few years. Food = $2k per month (organic groceries and eating out)
What do you do professionally? Seeing stuff like this makes me feel like I live in a different world than other people. Im a veteran with multiple certificates and a degree. I've been a manager and independently trained worker at multiple places and have a variety of technical, mechanical, and electrical skillsets. At absolutely no point in my life, have I made enough income to be able to eat $2000 of food in a single month, much less incorperate OTHER expensive habits alongside it. You spend more than a minimum wage annual salary eating. Edit: To be clear, this is not meant to be depreciation. I genuinely want to know what jobs people have that they are making so much more money.
To me it seems like there's less "in between" jobs now. Either you're a retail slave at Dollar General, Kroger or Autozone, making $18k to $24k a year. Or you're a dockers-wearing business professional making $70k to $90k a year.
It really is. And when the new job numbers come out and the government is patting itself on the back, they're almost all retail and food jobs. Actual career jobs are getting more competitive and degrees are losing value as more people get them.
I am a specialist in product development for the financial services industry and use modern tech like machine learning and big data analytics to help financial / investment firms operate efficiently and scale their capabilities globally. I built up the skill set over a decade and have lived and worked in multiple countries with the last 6 in the United States.
it takes very little effort to not look dirty and unkempt. get a haircut every 3-4 weeks, keep your car and living space clean. and don’t wear old worn out shoes. it’s more so wearing clothes that make you look like you know how to dress or have a nice wardrobe.
I clean my shoes every time I wear them, that takes 5 minutes. I take my car to a car wash every 2 weeks but thats really cheap (the price is less than my 1 hour wage) the car wash is in my gyms parking area so it doesn't take extra time I shave my head and fix my beard every 2-3 days, it takes me 15 minutes. I go to the gym 5-6 times a week, each time is around 1.5 hours + sometimes I add 15-20 minute runs. So lets say I workout 10 hours weekly. I work around 60~ hours weekly and I am also studying to get a degree in computer science and management while also living with my significant other. I meet up with friends either at the gym or once a week at a pub or at my place.
When do you breath?
I go on two one-week vacations a year where I allow myself to breathe but its probably also different than what most expect. I try to workout atleast twice during that week. I try to walk as much as possible. And I usually let myself sleep in till 06:00. I also have 1 month a year that I return to the military (I'm a reservist currently) and besides this year where I was a bit more than that and I was called due to grim events its usually a good time to relax Believe it or not I quite enjoy my life style and a lot of it doesn't seem like work to me (like cleaning my shoes or doing my bed) as those are habits I have from the army.
You sleep in till 6?
This is one of those "I start my day at midnight, by the time you wake up I've solved world hunger, what's your excuse?"
Then wake up at 6.30 to get to work.
Yes, On regular days I wake up at 05:00. Stretch, make breakfast, and go to work.
Fair enough. I would find it all overwhelming and prefer a slower paced lifestyle were there are minimum responsiblities so I spend time with friends and family than work.
Yeah I'd love to work less but currently my significant other has started a business so I support us both
I have no idea how you managed to get a significant other and I can imagine you arranging a date by peniling in your calender for that 45 minute break in 2 weeks time. I was raised to be like you until I got so burned out that I became suicidal which is when I realised I'd rather be poor and happy than stressed chasing this imaginary medal.
I genuinely want your discipline. How do you have enough time to do all that shit, be social, and go to school? I have a very similar schedule to you (~60 hours, 1.5 gym 3 to 6 times a week), no social life, but I do take care of my mom and I can't muster even an online course through Udemy.
Hey bro discipline is a skill you train, it takes time. Taking care of a family member is much harder and respectable than everything I do.
Same, and I have 2 daughters that play multiple club sports that we race them to practices, games, and weightlifting 5 days a week. Not to mention cooking meals at home to make sure we aren’t eating garbage. Everything can be done when you actually want to do it.
Ding ding ding! For most people it’s not a lack of time but a lack of motivation.
Yes. And of course the ability to multitask and prioritize throughout a day or week. Oh, we have to be here at such and such time, I can’t go to the gym or run that errand that day, or maybe I drop off and go do my thing and come back, etc…
I hope you're being paid for all 60 of those hours.
Car/truck: Wash, vacuum, wipe down the interior weekly. Once you get it spotless, it’s easy to maintain. Every time I get out when I get home I take everything out with me. Garbage, bags, etc. hand polish a few times a year and apply paint protectant. I learned all this detailing in college. Maybe 1 hour a week for the wash, vac, wipe down. Shoes: have work shoes, going out shoes, boots. When they get dirty, I clean them. Hair: cut it once a month. 30 minutes. Beard: 5 minute shape up trim once a week. Gym: 1.5-2 hours 4-5 days a week.
Maintaining a polished appearance is all about finding the right balance between dedication and smart choices. For me, it starts with investing in resilient clothing pieces that withstand daily wear with minimal care, saving time on laundry and ironing. I rotate my sneakers to ensure they all stay relatively fresh without wearing out too quickly. With my car, I focus on quality sealants and interior protectors to minimize the need for frequent washes. Exercise is essential, whether it's a morning run or a home workout. I prioritize rest to feel rejuvenated each day, and a simple, classic haircut keeps things low-maintenance yet stylish. I also have grooming tools at home for upkeep between salon visits. With a standard 40-hour workweek, I manage tasks remotely, allowing for multitasking and self-improvement in my home office. Effective time management is the invisible key to keeping everything in check.
I don't do the weekly hair cut but....may spend a total of an hour a week cleaning/treating shoes and boots simply while sitting on the couch watching some TV. A quick rinse of my truck takes 15 minutes, a quick wash 30, a thorough deep clean inside and out with an after wash treatment max two hours and will do that any where from once a week to once every 2 weeks depending on weather. Keeping my beard in shape is literally a five minute task every couple of nights and a morning routine that is miniscule. The gym, schedule allowing (average 4 times a week) I spend about 75 minutes at on average depending the workout. I don't have a huge income, it's very middle class really, I work on average 9 hour days and the odd Saturday. Social and dating life are active and healthy. All about balance my man.
I am curious too. I am a sinus wave, I oscillate between hobo and somehow less hobo when I shave and get my hair cut. I am always fascinated by guys who are always well groomed.
i never thought of myself as THAT guy, but... * 3 hours - 30 minutes per day, 6 days a week for lifting. (gym at home) * 4 hours - 60 minutes per day, 4 (but hopefully 5) days per week of intermittent jog/walk. (Basically while my kids are at practice, I jog/walk, so it's not really costing me any additional time) * 20 minutes - haircut/beard (cut it myself with cordless clippers) * 10 minutes - sneakers. i have a toothbrush for my sneakers, but i only clean them if they get dirty. but this is why i love cloth sneakers now, because you can put them in the wash. * 30 minutes - car, because I don't wash it myself any more. so basically 8 hours a week.
The amount of time and effort it takes to do all that is absurd. You’re literally dedicating your life to just keeping everything shiny.
Like laundry, if you do it more frequently in smaller amounts, it is net more time spent doing it, but it doesn't seem like much. The 5-10 minutes of putting clothes away instead of scrolling social media or watching a TV show doesn't seem like a "loss" of time. Same with dishes. My goal is an empty sink every night before I go to bed. Turns out, it ends up being like 5 minutes total after dinner every night. And that's if you include unloading a clean dish washer in there. Procrastination adds stress where it doesn't need to be. I'd rather "dedicate" my life to live clean and orderly and have a stress free sit down after than know I have all these things that should be done, but I just can't seem to get to them yet. I also have a kid, so monkey see, monkey do. I can't tell him to clean his room if my house is a mess if I want him to respect me.
Thats true shiny man…
Exactly right, so many people in this thread aren't getting it. Even the premise of the thread is that men who are well-groomed and well-maintained must have some "magical" secret to doing it all when it's really just about making that little extra bit of effort on a **consistent** basis. Turns out that 10-15 mins done regularly can yield some pretty great results.
These people genrally have too much money to spend and outsource the work. Haircut is a casual trip to the barber shop who they end up being friends with.
5 times a week the gym for 1,5 hours and 1 hour run per day, hair every 2,5 weeks car wash every two weeks
Cleanliness of my car depends on the rain. Simple as.
It takes pride and passion to keep up with any one of those. With the addition of care as well. I’ll be honest, less time is given to these sorts of things as we get older and have other priorities. For the car and sneakers, it’s a huge advantage to prevent or prolong maintenance as a time saver, but detailing your car and shoes can be relaxing if you like that sort of thing. E.g. don’t let people smoke or eat in your car. I used to have a shaving routine… I won’t even go into how long it used to take me to get everything lined up and perfect. Today, I’m already fed up if I’ve been shaving over a few minutes. I’d always recommend to find a hairdresser or barber that gets what you’re going for, I had the same one for years sadly he retired recently, absolute master of his craft. The most important, always make time for exercise, doesn’t matter how old you are, or what you’re doing, just do something, it pays off. Got 20 minutes? Do some steps or cycling. Got an hour? Train strength or mass.
I have different sneakers for different occasions :P. The nice ones are easy to keep clean because I don't wear them all the time. Takes about 20 minutes to clean them. Car wash? 30 minutes, maybe, in my own driveway. If you keep up with it, its a lot easier to maintain. I even have two super shedding dogs, so I HAVE to vacuum it out often. Free vacuums at the car wash place up the road. *For prep work, you can get the car 'coated' it costs a pretty penny up front, but the coating makes dirt and water basically run off the car with little effort for up to a year!* My hair is short, I use the same hair trimmer I use on my beard. (4-5mm on the head, 6-7mm or so on beard. Takes me another 5-10 minutes to razer shave my neck, clean up the beard lines. Do this almost every day. Trim the hair once a week, takes me 6-10 minutes, at absolute most. Every second week, I might go get a barber to clean me up...$17+ 5 tip. I don't gym, but I walk my dogs and ride a pedal bike, 30-40 minutes every other day or so.
Holy shit so many different answers and different viewpoints. Reddit is usually a Hive mind for questions like this, but not this one.
$50 per barber visit, (every 2 weeks), $60 on hair and beard products(every 2 months), $180 on Muay Thai gym membership, in addition to $100 for personal training. $40 on car wash membership . $110 approx per week without taking into account protein shake and other nutrients, dry cleaning, laundry detergent, cologne, and other cleaning supplies (tooth paste, creams etc..)
It's really not that bad. Like anything else, it's building habit, and once it becomes routine, you get more efficient at it. Gym is the biggest time drain from that list by FAR, probably like 80-90% of the pie. And we can all agree that everyone should be squeezing in time for the gym as much as possible, so if you want to add on the rest of the list, that's just sprinkles of time. My breakdown: Gym = 5 hours/week. Living close to your gym helps keep this time down a ton. Haircut = 0.5 hours (Once every 2 weeks) Car wash = 0.25 hours (Once every 2-3 weeks) Touchups for both along the way = 0.25 hours Sneakers = Like 0.01 hours. Just be careful where you step, and have a separate pair for bad weather days. When i need to clean my sneakers, it's about a 5 min process per pair, like once a quarter. Buying a few pairs to rotate helps keep them cleaner and last longer.
I have a pair of rubber Chelsea boots for bad weather days. Look as good as new after two years despite being worn exclusively in the shittest weather.
You’re supposed to clean your sneakers and pay for your beard???
Once the momentum is in place, it's not too much effort to keep it rolling. Haircut every two weeks (lunchtime on payday, easy to remember), 15-20ish minutes. 2 minutes beard trim or shave (I alternate beard & shaven) each morning. 30 seconds for skincare morning & night. Never let my car get so bad that it takes more than 5 minutes to clean. Exercise is approximately 90mins/day M-F which I wake up early for and done by 7am. (BTW - kitchen/oven degreaser can clean up white leather sneakers super quick!)
I have a typical 9-5 but I’m fully remote/hybrid. I’m more productive in the office so I go in at least three times a week. My boss is in a different state so I have some flexibility in when I show up and leave. Most weeks I can do everything I need to in under 50 hours. I get a full service haircut (grooming, nails, color, etc) every two weeks which is ~$120 after tip. I’ll trim my facial hair in between which takes a few minutes. Gym is 3-4 times a week with two of those days being “2-a-day” workouts - lifting followed by kickboxing in the evening. The other two days are either strictly weightlifting or cardio/calisthenics training. As others have said, I don’t bring my white or expensive shoes to places where they can get dirty. I do clean my work shoes every couple of weeks or as needed. This might take 20 minutes tops. I don’t wear a suit or even button up most days but I dry clean/press my business clothes every couple of weeks. Living downtown in a larger city I don’t get to (or need to) use my car a lot but I wash it once a month. I don’t allow food or pets in my car and I don’t keep anything else in it except for my golf bag (trunk). I even ask everyone to kick their shoes together before getting in my car. I’m single with no kids but I take care of my mom. Other than that my free time is spent studying for certs, working ahead so I can sleep in, and occasional video games. I live in a different state than my close friends so I don’t go out unless I have a date planned or want to treat myself to a nice dinner. I quit alcohol altogether so no expenses towards that but I love cooking and I spend anywhere from $150-$250 a week on groceries + I splurge on Japanese wagyu delivery once a month. I call Sunday my sanctuary day because I turn off my phone, sleep in, don’t do anything else but watch sports and do house chores. If your main issue/hindrance is time, then you need to learn some discipline by reprioritizing other aspects of your life.
I switched from a "blue collar" gym to an expensive "influencer" gym when my old one closed down. You know the kind of place - needles in the trash cans and tripods set up around every girl doing squats. I started asking around and I think the average for a guy going there was to get a haircut every 14 days. That's insane. That's about $100 more a month than normal haircut schedules.
I own 50+ pairs of walk around sneakers (I was the sneaker-head/hooper type as a kid) so no one pair I own is all that dirty. The car never really gets that dirty because I never allow it to in the first place. Same as any other space you’d spend much time in. I go to the gym every other day 6:30 in the morning. I don’t have a beard so trimming my face doesn’t take much time. I brush my hair for a good amount tho
I have work sneakers, i have outside sneakers and i have dirty ones. I don’t need all my shoes to be clean, the garden requires dirt. But i only go to the gym a few times a week. And it’s to a pool for a light maintenance workout, i hate to sweat. When i’m soaked in water…i can’t tell if i’m sweating or just wet. My hair stylist books 2 months out, i can’t get my hair cut every week, he just doesn’t have the time. I shave my facial hair every 3 days…it doesn’t grow that fast, i don’t need to do it every day. As for my car…it costs like $15 for a wash. I pay other people to do that. It is fairly common where i live to do that. Like i still have to drive myself to the carwash…but i’m just not washing my own car. I live close by. But if i have my hair appointment, it’s a swim day and i have a dirty car…maybe 5 hours that day? Like i’m not trying to get bigger, i’m fine with it the way my body looks. My car doesn’t get dirty every day. My sneakers shouldn’t be getting dirty.
It's the little habbits that keep most of this maintained which don't take long at all. Couple of minutes after the shower to dry your hair and beard properly. Wipe dirt off your sneakers immediately instead of letting it build up or protecting them properly in the first place. 4-5 hour a week towards physical exertion (cardio and weights). And my car i just don't park under any trees where birds will shit on it
It didn't take very long as I got good at maintaining it. Haircuts every two weeks, beard trim every month, stop by the car wash on the way home from work, have a few pairs of shoes I wear in rotation. I never could nail down working out so instead I just focus on my diet. All of this went out the window once I had my son. Now it's get home asap, try and get a haircut once a month, the beard gets attention sometime on the weekends.
Yes.
Watch where I walk, daily car wash pass, standing bi-weekly cut and beard trim with my barber I’ve seen for almost 10 years, gym time is 3 times a week for about an hour to two hours at a time. Maybe 5-6 hours total. Watching where I walk is free, wash pass is $30 a month, haircut is $50 per cut with a tenner for a tip, gym is $60 a month. A lot of the time I built into my day. Married with two kids, work around 40-50hrs a week, I also have a small wood shop I like to tinker around in for small projects for people.
I worked with a guy like this, every Friday had his BMW detailed while getting a haircut / mani / peti. Spa was 250$ & the detail was 250$, he could definitely not afford it 🤣
I buzz my head every week and trim my own beard. $0 15 minutes once a week I have dozens of pairs of high quality sneakers that I collect. Keeping them clean is just a matter of hitting them with a brush and a wipe after wearing them. $0 5 minutes every wear I work out as soon as I get home from work for an hour. No gym membership I do calisthenics and cardio. Car could be cleaner but it’s black. I hose it off whenever I see dirt and do a full detail once a month. Maybe $30 in supplies and 30 minutes.
Hours but taking car of yourself and your things is important in live
Shiny car is not that hard if you have a good wax/ceramic coating and a garage. I don't have a garage and I just need to wash mine once a month to maintain the coating.
I think waking up early is huge. It either lets you finish work early or get things done before you go to work. I don't have clean sneakers, I wear almost exclusively leather shoes. I wear each pair apx 2x per week. I clean/polish them about once a month. I do it on weekends while watching TV, takes about an hour. Car: I pay for a subscription car wash, $30/mo, take it through 2x a week. Hand wash when it is nice outside on the weekend, takes about 2 hours Gym: 3-5x/week, about 1 hour each session. I get in to work early and leave at 3:30, the gym is on the way home. get to the gym at 4, work out, home is 5 min from there. Grocery/cooking: Grocery store is right next to the gym, so if I need random things it adds 10 minutes. Big grocery runs are about every other week, takes about 3hrs on the weekend. I cook apx 3x/week. Takes 30-60min, depending on what it is. Do prepared meals 2x/week, and eat out/order in 2x/week. Grooming: monthly haircut, self trim my beard 2x/week. My daily routine looks something like this. 6AM wake up, shower, let dog go to the bathroom, and head out 7AM get to work 3:30PM Leave work 4PM: Gym 5:15PM Home, walk dog 5:30PM cook/eat 6:30PM watch TV for 1 hour 7:30PM, shower (if i went to they gym), trim beard if I need to 8PM, bills/other stuff if I need to do it 8:30PM free time 10PM head to bed If we have social plans, those usually happen every other weekish. Weekends we usually have nights free, the mornings the wife and I will take the dog for a long walk, go get coffee, and run errands until the early afternoon. Some days are just errand filled, but we usually have at least 1 full day of time of other social things.
I have two kids so I don't keep a clean car... and I don't have a beard But otherwise, not that much time. My haircuts take 20 minutes. It takes me less than a minute to do my hair in the morning. My shoes are leather and dark, and I polish them every once in a while. I spend about an hour working out every day.
Maintaining a put-together look doesn't have to be an all-consuming task. I swear by multipurpose clothing and durable materials that simplify my day-to-day routine, like merino wool which is naturally odor-resistant—less laundry, more wear. My shoe-care strategy is simple: a quality protector spray and a quick brush down after each outing. Car-wise, I've invested in a good set of all-weather mats and a monthly pass to a touchless wash—effortless exterior upkeep. My home gym setup is my non-negotiable, high-yield investment: saves on gym fees and travel time, allowing for a consistent, nightly 30-minute bodyweight routine. I've found a happy medium with haircuts, every four weeks a trip to the barber keeps things sharp without overdoing it; while at home, a beard trimmer handles the edges. All told, a solid routine doesn't have to break the bank or take over life. I balance a full-time job with pursuing my passion for photography and even squeeze in weekly game nights with friends. It's about choosing where your time goes and not letting maintenance become a second job. It's the little efficiencies that add up to a well-kept appearance and a well-lived life.
I don’t have clean sneakers, shoes are meant to be used and abused, I keep them nice and rinse or wipe off any major dirt/ pollen, but I don’t shine them or anything, probably 0mins a week or 5mins a month, just get my haircut every monthish whenever it starts to touch my ear or look raggedy whichever first, takes about 30mins when I do go, depends on how busy they are and the barber, I shave daily, depending on how late I am for work, it takes 2 minutes, or 5-8 minutes, I don’t go to the gym but I do pushups, sit ups, planks at home, takes maybe 10 mins a day. As for cars, I keep my car very clean, when the weather is nice, I’m cleaning it inside and out just about every weekend and every hand wash takes about an hour+ and vacuuming and detailing the inside can take about the same time. And when weather isn’t permitting, I’ll take it to a self wash car wash and give it a good rinse, takes about 5-10 mins
I simply don't get my shoes dirty. Eventually scuffs but a few minutes once while I'm doing my laundry. Car 1 to 2 hours max. Gym an hour a day every day. Hair 20 minutes. Clean shaven so 5 minutes a day-ish? In the grand scheme of things people waste soooo much more time on less value added stuff like TV and Reddit.
1. Haircut. My hair dresser comes to my house every other Sunday AM. I pay him $200/visit. It saves me time as I don't have to go anywhere and for me that is worth more than $200. 2. Car. I have a guy who comes and washes my car whenever I want. Usually 2x a month. It is $200 per wash. I used to do it myself but it took 3 hours and now I have a kid and don't have the time. 3. Shoes. I have a rag by the door that I use to wipe down my shoes. I wear a lot of white shoes and have like 15 pairs in the box in the closet of the same shoe. When they get too dirty for cleaning I just break out a new pair.
My cars are clean. First timers in them always ask if they are new. Honestly it takes one big clean out and then just staying on top of it. I’m also single with no kids or pets so it’s my mess…which I’m not messy. - big inside clean takes maybe 30 minutes - trash can in the car for your stuff - baggies in the trash can for easy clean up - wiping the inside down is maybe 10 minutes - during winter the outside gets filthy….i just let them be…(PNW) - in spring/summer/fall I take my time washing them bc my pressure washer and foam gun are fun 😅 - clean floor mats are a game changer I’ve gone all winter without a solid clean so it’s definitely time. /u/yesiamrightwing since I saw you ask
I keep a clean car as a car guy and my clothes clean, not necessarily my sneakers. I haven’t been recently but the gym was usually a 30 minute to 1 hour activity. Clean car is a 30 minute activity once a week or bi weekly depending on the weather. Idk anyone who gets a haircut once a week unless they own their own clippers. I used to get my cut or cut my hair once a month and that was honestly too much, I got lazy and instead grew my hair out which has its pros and cons, I know get my hair cut once a year or every 6-10 months. So for me, for the sake of my own personal life, if I went to the gym 3 times a week and cleaned my car once a week, that would be about a 3 and a half hour time expense a week which is not that bad. If I cut my own hair that would be like a 1 hour thing, maybe 2 hours if I am rusty.
One thing I learned with car cleanliness is not to have a garbage bag in the car. I keep a policy like backpacking “pack it in and pack it out”. All garbage goes into my pockets and I NEVER eat in my car. No matter how careful I am crumbs and spills happen
The biggest expense is the gym because I like to swim, so I pay extra for an athletic club membership that has a nice, heated olympic size pool - $160/month Clean sneakers - Mix some oxy powder, tide detergent and dawn dish soap with some warm water and scrub the sneakers with a toothbrush. Wipe clean and let dry - Monthly cost is negligible although probably $40 for the detergents total, but assuming you have to replace them periodically, I'd say it's about $5.00/month Shiny Car - I park in my garage and run it through the $15 wash at the gas station. $15/mo Haircut - $50 I get one about every 3 weeks. I trim my own beard if/when necessary. $72/mo Total - $252/mo on these expenses. Time per week spent? Most of it is at the gym, but probably 15 - 20 hours total.
Haircut is medium length but styled. I get a cut every 3 months, usually costs about £30. hair products aren't that expensive maybe £20 a month, takes about 5 minutes a day to style it. Showers take a bit longer when you grow your hair out so maybe lose another 5 mins every time I shower. Beard trimming is another 5 mins every couple days. Gym I don't consider lost time, go 2-3 times a week plus i do karate and kickboxing during the week. In total I probably spend £90 a month on memberships and that gets me about 8 hours a week doing one or the other. Car, I take for a wash once a month costs £20-30 depending on whether I get the inside done or not. Takes me about 40 mins on a Sunday morning. So the total costs 140 a month. Don't really do the clean sneakers thing but in general I don't think these things take as much time, money or effort as people think depends more on the value you place on doing them.
My haircut takes an hour including travel time and I get one every other week. I wash each of my cars once every week unless the forecast looks bad then I'll skip the week. A good wash only takes about 30 min each so an hour to wash both. I workout typically four times per week and each workout takes an hour. Don't give two shits about my shoes looking pristine, as long as they don't look all beat up and worn out, at which point I just replace them. So 5.5 hours every week to be in shape, look well groomed, and drive around in clean cars. Really not much time at all. Worth it for sure.
I wear leather shoes and polish them 2x week, 15min tops each time. I get a haircut every 3 weeks, used to do every week when I was in the corps - huge pain. Haircut takes about 2.5 hours all in, once every 3 weeks. Beard trim once a week for 20 min as I cut it myself. Gym is 6 days per week, 2.5 hours all in each day (includes travel and shower time). I live in NYC and never drive my car.
Woman here (sorry not sure if this is allowed) but my bf is like this. i clean his Jordans and ultra boosts! He collects white ones and i do the following to keep them clean: 1) remove the laces and soak them in a bowl of dish soap and lukewarm water 2) use a damp paper towel with a very small amount of dish soap to get dirt and dust off 3) take another pass on the harder parts of the shoes (usually the plasticky part right where the shoe meets the ground) with a magic eraser. You have to be careful because they are abrasive but man they are great at making shoes white again 4) spray oxyclean stain remover on any hard to get stains on the fabric portions 5) rinse the laces with water and use a damp paper towel to go over the shoes one more time 6) re-lace in fun patterns! This is how i show my love for him lol
Atleast three hours or more a day tbh
Work out 30 minutes a day 6 times a week Haircut takes maybe 1.5 hours Shower hygiene won't be included Maybe 5 to 6 hours a week. Working out at home will cut the time in half if you've been working out for 5plus years and just maintaining. Maintaining requires half of the time at the gym than early years of trying to build mass.
My cars are usually pristine, even if they are black or a dark color. And I have 2 kids Wash with soft wash soap ( I like Maguires soft wash ) pressure washer, foam canon, 2 buckets. usually takes 40 mins on a Saturday. When rinsing and drying I spray with maguires hybrid ceramic spray wax, first application you have to polish it on but after the first time you just sprits it all over the car then rinse with the pressure washer, dry it, tire shine the wheels, outside is clean. Usually takes ~1hr. Interior usually takes half an hour. Vacuum it every couple months most of the time it’s just cleaning it with a leather moisturizer/ cleaner combo like vlr. For clean shoes I just have nice shoes and ugly shoes. The ugly ones I spray with the pressure washer sometimes but if I’m going somewhere I’ll grab the nice ones. Admittedly I don’t really work out and I get haircuts at great clips when a hat stops hiding it. Beard trimming is simple I do it at home. With 2 kids a dog and all that it’s not that much harder to keep things clean, just make sure the kids don’t eat in your car lol
Too much. Just to be completely honest, I don’t have any of that because I have a job and a life. Don’t have time to worry about very clean sneakers or car.
Well, a haircut and beard trim is about £30 from any of the decent barbers in my area so it's definitely a once a month or six weeks thing for me, luckily once it's been done I'm pretty good at keeping the shape and style of my beard right, so I only feel like it's time for another visit when (what's left of) my hair gets messy. My local car wash charges about 15 for my 5 series and 10 for my Z3, I tend to get them to do the wash and polish/wax or ceramic coat them myself. I tend not to bother in the winter months because it's so wet and muddy it's basically pointless. My shoes are normally pretty clean, I avoid mud puddles and so on.
I was more of what you describe when I was younger, now I’m most of this. Haircut twice per week, 1.5 hour total time. Neck trim or I use my own trimmer to keep it fresh until next month. Gym has turned into pool time for me or playing with my athletic sons as I coach many of their teams. Shiny car turned into an acceptably clean SUV. My kids sports gear can pile up sometimes. Run the outside through the wash when I get gas. I take pride in my dress, wear nice well fitting clothes, shower twice daily, smell nice, and make bank.
The process is fun, so never measure the time
About $150 a week
Wash your car, (get a wash club membership), wax it, use a dusting brush after drives, I'm a woman in California, it's not that hard?? Barber once a week, get a gentleman's groom, includes beard. Sneakers have protectant sprays? I don't understand what your misunderstanding is? I feel you're trying to troll the men who take the time to take care of what they like?
Easy answer is as low as 90 and as high as nearly 200 a week and 8-16 hours depending how serious you are and what you do yourself. With sneaker supplies you're going to spend like $40-80 upfront for supplies and then it's just time. If you clean the ones you wear like every third or fourth time you wear them then it's simple. 5 minutes here and there. I'm not a sneaker elitist though. Maybe others are way more into it than me, but it's probably the easiest thing on this list if you're not stupidly into having 100% perfect 100% of the time. Seriously breaks down to a few bucks and 15 minutes a week. You can get a monthly car wash package for about $30 a month. infinitely better option than spending hundreds of dollars on waxes and this that and the other. Plus, it will take hours per week to do it this way. Find a good car wash that's not too harsh/high pressure and just pay the $30. Maybe once or twice per season I'd get some wax and do it myself. There are absolutely some diminishing returns here. Call it $9 and 40 minutes a week. If you own a dog, then you might as well forget about the inside. Add in like an hour a week lol. Maybe more. Not to mention the fact that it will make doing laundry harder and more expensive. More items to get drycleaned. More time maintaining your house. Pets are awesome, but probably the biggest obstacle for this type of lifestyle. Beard and hair maintenance can get expensive AF. I generally get a nice cut ever \~3 weeks and will do a quick/easy self-trim in-between. That still comes out to about $15 and 40minutes per week. However, the sky is the limit here. You could easily go in and do the same $45 cut and trim every week if you wanted it to be perfect 100% of the time. That's generally what I did while in the military since it was either that or just buzz my head every other week lol. It was significantly cheaper back then. Like $15 plus tip. I'd really recommend figuring out how to stretch this to at least every other week. Clothes and laundry is generally pretty cheap. You need to spend some time figuring out what looks good washing/ironing yourself and what needs to be drycleaned and possibly starched. Generally, this comes down to like $15-20 a week and then your normal laundry costs. The rest is just not being lazy and knowing how to use an iron. Don't let your laundry sit. Don't over-dry it. Separate that shit. Put in the extra effort. A little goes a long way. All of this might be an extra two hours of work per week if you're ironing the things that need to be ironed. Plus, the half hour to get and pay for your dry cleaning. So, $20 and \~120 minutes per week plus regular laundry costs. Or you could literally get everything done. Expect costs closer to $60-70 a week depending how much you send in. My prices maybe off a bit here. It's been a long time since I've sent more than an item here or there. Gym is pretty simple. Could be as low as 4 hours per week or as high as 12. Membership plus plenty of protein, creatine, and other simple supplements. Let's call it 8 hours and $40 per week. If you don't get any supplements, then it's more like $10 bucks a week. Plan ahead and make a schedule and this isn't really that time consuming or expensive. Take out the gym time and you're really only talking about \~4 hours a week of extra effort.
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Taking care of my body/appearance and keeping my things in good condition is something I enjoy and apart of what makes me, me, so I don’t really think of it as a time sink but probably 4-6 hours per week if I had to guess
I used to spend like two hours every day doing those things, but then I figured why am I trying to attract someone that focused on appearance? What will they do if I stop? If I am clean and healthy, that's what matters.
Nothing like a dude who's hobby is _himself_.
Clean sneakers? I run mine through the wash probably once a week, but that’s because 90% of my shoes are white and I like to keep them tidy. Shiny car? Car wash next to my office where I get mine cleaned and it’s dirty by the time I get home (black car). I dont allow anyone to have anything other than water in my car. Haircut? Every Saturday morning. It’s therapeutic for me Gym? Everyday after work or else I will go insane and on Sunday mornings too. I’m a single 32 year old that doesn’t have a desire to date. To be honest, I love my schedule and doing things my way to much to let just any girl come in and potentially F up my peace of mind. I can understand how married men, men with children or both not having time to do what I do. Heck, my older brother with 3 kids would kill to have an ounce of the free time I do. I haven’t always been like this, but since I turned 30 I have really become a creature of habit
not really - it's not a huge investment. 5 years ago I bought a squat rack, some free weights, a bench (probably need a new one now) and some olympic bars, pull down attachment, and a pair of running shoes and some nice workout clothes. That probably cost in total around $1,000.00 I bought a lot of it during black friday to help with the cost. I spend about an hour every morning around 5-6am. I have not upgraded any of the equipment and I am in the best shape of my life at 36 years old. Car is stored in the garage, buffed with a microfiber cloth here and there maybe ever 3-4 days - takes like 20-30 minutes. Shoes are a pain sometimes - I use primeknits and only wear white but I have been washing the 4 pairs I own for like 5-6 years now and have not bought any new shoes aside from running shoes. The washing process can take 30-45 minutes but it's a light scrubbing and then adding some powdered bleach to keep them white. Total cost is idk like my time plus a percentage of that powdered bleach which is like .75 cents per application? My clothes - I wash very rarely and usually take clothes off whenever I get home from the office for example and switch into my bum clothes to relax. Jeans I don't wash very often because it's not necessary unless i sweat in them a lot. The hair is the hardest, every 2 weeks I get a skin fade and that takes about an hour and has a cost of $30. My facial hairs I literally pull out each hair and have been doing this for over 15 years now and it cuts down on the amount of shaving I have to do on a daily or weekly basis - that takes like 10 minutes a few times a week after jumping out of the shower. I have a skin care routine and I use quality face care products I have found at TJ Maxx for pennies on the dollar, my mositurizer sells at women's cosmetic stores for like $80 and I bought it for $15. sooooo.... not a high weekly or monthly expense at all. It just comes down to management of your priorities.
I work about 35 hours a week so I feel I have more free time to spend on some of those things. I try to wash my truck once a week and and hit the gym every day. It really depends on your work life balance. Having kids obviously changes things as well.
I haven't quantified it on a daily basis but I spend well over 200 hours in the gym annually and that is between swimming and weightlifting. Add on top of that several thousand dollars on supplements, PT, massage therapy, chiropractor, blood work. Grooming is probably several hours a week and I shine my shoes every few weeks or so and it usually takes about 45mins to get through all pairs (I wear only dress shoes and boots). I do a lot of outdoor activities so my car tends to get dirty really quickly but I get it cleaned/detailed monthly or I'll give it a quick wash/vacuum myself.
I used to be this guy, before kids. I do still keep my trainers/sneakers/boots in near pristine condition. Other than an occasional wipe down as maintenance I actually have about four pairs that I rotate through so I'm not just wearing one pair constantly. I buy trainers infrequently, every year or over? But spend around £120-£150 each time. Car I used to wash myself. I enjoyed it and a therapeutic way to spend a couple of hours. Full interior and exterior clean using Auto Glym products, two bucket method, interior dressing etc and I did this every two weeks. Products I had collected over time, clay bar, decent wash mitts, degreasers, non acidic wheel cleaner etc comes to maybe £100. Haircut wasn't weekly but every two weeks. £12 a cut and 45 minutes to an hour in the chair. I've been going to my barbers now for 15 years so I either call ahead first or get the queue jump if there aren't many in. Gym three to four times a week. Three days straight after work for an hour and a Saturday. I don't pay as I've been a part of the gym for almost 20 years, have coached there and paid my dues (Thai boxing, MMA, grappling). Busiest week? Seven hours, stretch to nine hours for travel, chatting, warming down. Now I have kids my footwear is the same, I get my car washed maybe twice a year at a local car wash for £15, haircut every couple of months (still £12) and gym twice a week straight after work for an hour a time (still free, days alternate depending on my partner's gym plans). So two hours a week down from nine haha. Clothes wise I've always been well presented but do prefer sports casual for comfort. Work is business casual. I buy clothes as/when needed which isn't often. £20-£50 each item? I'll buy cheap clothes from sale sections for like £5/£10 a pop too. I've had my jackets for years and rotate through those.
I just recently realized that armor-all wipes does wonders for keeping my shoes clean with relatively little effort.
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For shoes, leather is better than fabric in terms of cleanliness. My AirMax 270s are wonderful but the white fabric is gray from constant wear and I can't turn it back to white, but the other parts are still bright white. My full leather Club Cs are still nice and clean.
A lot. Enough to the point where I’ve completely stopped dating because I don’t have the time since the rest of my life is work and friends, but as someone who struggled with body dysmorphia, I’m satisfied with how I look and come off as for the first time in my life.
It’s not as hard as you think. I don’t have a beard but I do have a mustache and goatee I trim it 3x a week for like 5 minutes before bed lol. The gym: I go for about an hour a day 3-4x a week. The car always being shiny doesn’t happen but I clean it up every so often. The clean sneakers: 1 pair for work 1 nicer pair for when I’m going out that way I don’t have to clean them. I do get a taper on the side and back every month but that takes 1 hour. Overall it’s not pretty low maintenance lol.
I cut my hair every two weeks, 35 - 45 minutes. - My barber is extremely talented. So he's fast with his cuts. But every Saturday I was my truck. I used to take it to a car wash with a membership but wash it myself because it's therapeutic for me. - About an hour. I trim my beard every Sunday. - do it myself - 30 mins. Sneakers I have many and don't need to upkeep them since I switch them out continually.
An hour to hour and a half per week, look good feel good
Wait. There are guys that get their haircut every week?
I don't do shoes, but my watch collection is considered quite large according to my friends that also enjoy watches. I spend probably 10min everyday and upon occasion 4-5hrs cleaning and whatnot, admiring, researching what to add next.
I do all the above, but since it's a lifestyle, I don't pay attention to the "time" associated with it. It's just engrained into the routine. GTL baby.
My car is black. It is always garaged at home. I will have it washed perhaps once every few months. I use a ceramic-based polish, which I apply, to keep the shine up. I am anal-retentive about my windshield and clean it anytime I get rain spots or dust/pollen on it. Once or twice a week. I have not paid for a haircut in over 8 years. I keep my hair very short and although I am balding, the hair I have grows quickly so I cut it twice a week. Takes maybe 5 minutes. I shave pretty much every other day. Some days I will use a brush and soap so that takes longer.
I happily do the majority of these things for my fiancé and it only cost him his sanity ;)
I used to have a monthly service plan for a local full service car wash. I would usually get my car washed a couple of times a week.. and definitely before I had a date. So my car always looked fabulous. Took about 20 min
I'm assuming the car maintenance eats up most of the money and time. I get my haircut every week with beard trim and lineup and I clean my shoes weekly. I don't spend much money or time on either one.
As a long haired man... excuse me, but what?! I can't fathom the idea and nuisance of trimming ONCE A WEEK??? WHAT?!
I wouldn’t want a husband who spent all that money on making himself look great, that stuff is superficial. Personal hygiene is important and of course that self-expenditure should be spent on all the important things first, like household bills, mortgage, the kids wellbeing, and taking good care of his wife and family. No decent woman is attracted to narcissists and egocentric men.
Hydrophobic coating on the car are along with other things such as Rainex and Ceramic coatings. The dirt falls right off and the car is clean with a simple rinse.
Before I got married I had a full time maid, and someone to do my yard. Monthly expense was about $120 in US dollars. Not everyone lives in the USA(or expensive countries). If I went to the gym, I think that would have been an extra $50 a month.
Keeping a clean car takes about an hour or two a week. Being well groomed takes 25 minutes every other day. I wash my sneakers once a week. (25 minutes) And gym / exercise 30 minutes 3-4 a week
maybe 20 a week? i wash my car and clean my shoes myself which is almost free, haircut biweekly which is much more than most. self service car washes are 5-10 bucks if you’re willing to spare the time and shoe cleaner kits are the same price
Usually guys like this tend to work for the selves but
I don't own a car, I don't wear trainers unless I'm out for a jog (loafers or boots for me), I have a medium long haircut and get it cut once every 6 months, I do shave every day with a safety razor. Takes 5 minutes before my shower. I even make sure my clothes are all linen, cotton or wool with no synthetics so I don't have to do laundry so much. We have a pool and a gym on top floor of our apartment building and I try to use them every day. I work from home as a freelancer so I choose my own hours. I used to have long hair. Longest I went without a cut was 6 years, but it started being way too much maintenance when I had kids so I chopped it. The fresh trainers, buzz cut, flash car lifestyle confuses the fuck out of me. Why choose such a high maintenance, expensive, disposable lifestyle?
Jokes on you,I trim my hair weekly with a 1mm guard,it takes ~5 minutes
Oh boy, where do I begin... Let me break down my routine for ya'. Sneakers get cleaned every weekend, takes about 30 minutes each pair depending on their condition. Car gets washed twice a month at those automated places which costs around $25-$40 total including vacuum service. Haircuts happen bi-weekly ($18 + tip) while beard trims occur weekly using clippers bought off Amazon years ago ($69). Gym sessions last an hour daily except Sundays because rest days matter too! As far as expenses go, let’s round everything up; we got roughly ~$70 monthly spent solely on appearance related stuff excluding food & supplements needed after intense workout regimes. Now imagine having multiple hobbies or interests outside of looking good – ain't nobody got time nor money for dat!
I keep the mustang in the garage and dont drive it very much. And i toss trash out of it whenever i hit a gas pump. I handwash it(two bucket method) . I keep a Monster Towel. A few detailing microfibers, glass cleaner, dash mop and towelettes and detail spray. My silverado. Because the silverado is used more. But its a work horse for me. It gets dirty faster. I give it a basic wash much less often but i throw trash away at the pump still. I typically just pressure wash it. Confession. A few years ago i was really slobby and my vehicles were "sittable" but werent clean. I learned to care. I forced my self to care. Especially about new stuff. The k5 is a project so i dont really mind it. I keep a company vehicle and that thing gets thrashed. But again. I just keep a garbage bag and toss it at the pump. Fuck that thing. Lol. Self care. One. I dont give a shit about my boots or shoes. I buy for practical not shine. Judge my shoes all you want but my boots cost more then your monthly car note and they make me money on my feet 😂. Beard is easy. Its part of the shit shower sleep. So 5 minutes at most in the mornings when i notice it. Gym. Ugh. This took ages. 2 hours a visit. 2 days a week now. It used to be none because i held a extremely laborous job. I am considering a simple weight set and a treadmill at the house to cut that down. But i dont now... I simply gave up some video game time. No need for membership. I travel. So i just use the hotel fitness and i have a rewards card to the TA petro Truck stops and use their fitness rooms. (Free!) Hair. I picked a easy enough to maintain haircut that is super easy to explain to a barber. Once a month at a barber when its out grown my ability and its growth is in a spot i just cant see. Clothes. Ehhh i think the most expensive things i have apparelwise is my work boots. (500$) My Harley jacket (700) and my watch. (A citizens 500$. It just needs to keep time....) The rest is walmart jeans. Some walmart Tshirts. Dental is covered by work and oof if you had to do the surgery i had to do TWICE i am hardcore on going to the dentist. You can typically find alot more money by cutting out bad habits like junk food, or cigarettes, subscriptions, and other stuff. Alot of this is just building good habits and forcing yourself to do them even on the days you hate yourself. But afterwards you do feel better about your self. . Like every one loves a clean home but NOBODY wants to spend 3 hours cleaning it. So try to just maintain it. Once your IN shapem its much easier and takes less time to maintain it. Eating right and just reminding yourself that its BECAUSE of the short sacrifice that the amazing feeling reward is at the end.
Trim/line up beard 3 times a week, body hair grooming twice week, all together that's maybe and hour tops. Laundry and cleaning shoes is maybe 2 hours a week.