(IMAGE) Young,Gay & Broke…But Still Fabulous!

By: Blake Michaels
GAY GUYS

Money is like a deity, honey, and we all are quick to get on our hands and knees and work for it. But no matter how hard we sweat we never seem to have enough to live the kind of lifestyle we proclaim to have—gay nightlife requires us to spend money like there’s no tomorrow. But nowadays everyone seems to be broke…

I’m not going to be all high brow and pretend like I have money. I don’t. In fact, our lack of money is a common thread my friends and I share. But another thing that links us together is an understanding that you don’t need money to have a good time. If that were the case I’d have been dead years ago.

Wake up and look in the mirror—that didn’t cost you a cent, honey.


Everyone is struggling with money nowadays, and that’s okay. Most guys my age have either student loan debt or credit card debt or pushing through minimum wage jobs to build a reputation for themselves. It’s all part of the hustle, but you’re never going to make it through when you consider the hustle a curse or that it’s going to last forever.

At the end of the day, your value isn’t what’s in your bank account—that’s always going to fluctuate back and forth like a pendulum. But you yourself are worth more than a job. You cost just as much as you think you are. When you let your paycheck become your identity, you’re going to be awfully cheap. Trust me: joy, love, peace and self-content are free. Better find some before you forget how.

The thing about money is that it affects the value we carry as men. I blame our parents—always telling us to “man up” or pressuring us to secure ourselves lavishly, otherwise what are we good for? Rarely does society teach boys how to gain self-worth without the houses, cars and giant paydays. It doesn’t match up with what American culture pretends to be.

I may not be pulling up to the clubs in expensive cars, but I guarantee you that everyone knows my name by the end of the night not because I’ve bought them but because they bought me.

I’m the one who defines my worth and because I own every little piece of it, the world wants it too. When I’m on my deathbed the last thing I want is regret—regret I didn’t make the most of what I had when I had it, that I spent my vibrant years working rather than living.

Life is out there and it doesn’t need a credit card, baby. Fun in the sun is free and the memories you make are insurmountable. Don’t let your money situation wear you down—the sooner you let go, the quicker you’ll come back to reality.

Look up and realize that you don’t need to be rich to have fun in your gayborhood, or to try and impress someone. True friends don’t care whether you live in a mansion or on someone’s couch. They accept you and all your flavors—so you better make them sweet, not bitter.