from AskMen.com
1. Use coupons
Sure, we all have visions of old ladies holding up grocery store lines with bunches of coupons, but in reality, this is something men should be doing too. Nearly all big retail outlets offer coupons at some point, and electronics stores, multi-purpose stores (like Target or The Wiz), grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels often serve up unbeatable deals.
Why we don’t: Let’s be honest here. We don’t use coupons because we’re too lazy to look for them, and also because we don’t want to look cheap. Period.
Why we should: Who wouldn’t like to save some money now and again? Considering that the only catch is having to scan the local newspaper or fliers left at our door, it’s inconceivable that we should not start doing clipping coupons. And besides, the more you save on things like groceries, the more you can spend on beer and electronics.
2. Get regular check-ups
We usually visit doctors and dentists as a last resort, when that sprained ankle has swollen to the size of a grapefruit or that toothache can no longer be ignored. But every man should get checked out regularly, if not for STDs or illnesses related to aging (heart and prostate diseases especially), then at least in order to lead an all-around healthy life.
Why we don’t: Most men know two things in this area: What we don’t know won’t hurt us, and most pain can be walked off or put up with.
Why we should: Stupid pride and fear can keep you from spotting and eradicating small problems before they become serious. Besides, hitting on nurses is fun.
3. Follow a recipe
Cooking in general should be every modern cosmopolitan man’s goal, but more importantly, cracking open a cookbook and following a recipe is something every man should be able to do. If not for the impression you can make on women or the simple and tasty meal ideas, then at least to be able to control exactly what you’re eating, and how it’s prepared.
Why we don’t: No matter how good or easy a recipe or cookbook may be, most of us men know that it’s much easier to just order food, or get married.
Why we should: Most books are so simple that monkeys could cook up a four-course meal, so there’s no reason you can’t make every meal at home a winner. This is especially helpful if you’re trying to start a new relationship on the right foot, or if you’re tying to spice up an older one.
4. Maintain your stuff
When is the last time you cleaned the inside of your car? What about the outside? Ironed your shirts lately? And what about those shoes? Shouldn’t you get them shined? Exactly. The list of our maintenance failures is never-ending, and while it can be difficult to keep up when we’re busy, this is something we really should do.
Why we don’t: It’s easier to hope these things will start fending for themselves, which is another way of saying that we’re lazy and that ironing shirts is about as exciting as watching a game of lawn bowling.
Why we should: If you can’t maintain things, why buy them in the first place? Besides, if you care for the things you buy, they’ll not only look and perform better, but they’ll last longer, too, saving you money in the long run.
5. Read the instructions/owner’s manual
If you look around your house for them, you’ll discover that the manuals to your electronic devices, car and appliances have probably never been used (that is, if you’ve even kept them).
Why we don’t: Who needs a small multilingual booklet to tell them what to do? And anyway, they’re impossible to decipher half the time. Is the use of ancient hieroglyphs really necessary to explain the features of a DVD player?
Why we should: Hooking up your surround sound system properly allows you to watch movies the way they were meant to be watched: loud, and in your face.
6. Do laundry properly
Most of us have good intentions when it comes to washing our clothes. We want to do it regularly and properly, but we have trouble following the instructions on the label and somehow still end up mixing colors and whites, piling our clean clothes with the dirty ones, and never ironing the items that need it most.
Why we don’t: Everyone knows that doing laundry sucks, which is why we often go by the motto, “the faster it’s done, the better.” This attitude is obviously the main culprit.
Why we should: If your clothes look sloppy, dirty or wrinkled, you will not make your best impression on others, particularly in professional settings.
7. This one was a little too mature for our G rated audiance, but lets just say it was about men engaging in more hugging and kissing before moving on to getting things done!
8. Throw away old belongings
Every man has a favorite shirt, hat or pair of shoes. These are always difficult to part with — even if an item doesn’t really fit into your grown-up wardrobe, it’s easy to believe that “there’s still some life left in it.” But why do we keep all those old baseball cards? Or the ticket to every single concert we’ve ever attended? What about those Mad magazine receipts from 1987? These are all examples of old, unnecessary things that we should really learn to just throw away.
Why we don’t: When our official biographer turns up, all of our junk will be considered priceless. And what if one day, probably the day after we throw it out, we really need that old copy of TV Guide with Bob Saget on the cover?
Why we should: Most of the useless crap we hoard does little besides collect dust and take up potentially useful space.
9. Watch less TV
Even if the first thing you want to do when you get home is plop yourself down on the couch and zone out in front of the TV, think of how many other things you could do if you watched less of it. You could, for example, get the exercise you always talk about or even read a book. These might not sound like thrilling alternatives, but really, how many times do you need to watch the West Coast Customs guys install an X-box in the back of a car on Pimp My Ride?
Why we don’t: No matter how slim the pickings, most of us have an undying hope that we will find something great on. In fact, no matter how awful, we know that with time, we’ll find a game, movie or show worth watching.
Why we should: With so much crappy reality programming these days, watching a lot of television can truly feel wasteful. This is especially true in the summer, when reruns rule the day and warmer weather calls for more outings.
10. Check the expiry dates on food
Are you afraid of opening your fridge door? If so, you’re not alone. That awful rotting smell you fear is something common to many men’s refrigerators. And while a lot of that has to do with our laziness in clearing out old food, the problem starts earlier. Many of us never bother to check the expiration dates when shopping for products like cheese, milk, juice, and meat.
Why we don’t: Because grocery shopping, like doing the laundry, is often a royal pain the ass, we’re often speeding through it and unfocused. It also doesn’t help that most of us are preoccupied with the idea of picking up women at the supermarket.
Why we should: Staving off food poisoning and salmonella wouldn’t hurt anyone. And we might save some money if we didn’t have to throw out half the contents of our fridge two days after buying it.
11. Leave household plumbing and electrical work to professionals
Would you trust yourself to remove your appendix? Then why do you think you can rewire your home? Sure, that leaky faucet or faulty fuse box looks easy to fiddle with and repair, and yes, it’s your house, but honestly, what the hell do you know about these things? Let’s face it: Most of us regular Joes are not Bob Villa, and even though it hurts more than anything to have to call in another man to do the job, leaving it to the pros is something we should all do.
Why we don’t: Like territorial animals, most of us have a hard time watching another man fixing our problems and having all the fun involved, too.
Why we should: Nothing kills a weekend like flooding the basement, except maybe electrocution. For the safety of your family and your home, you should let the experts take care of any problems that arise.
12. Not be mesmerized by big breasts
At this point in our lives, the sight of big breasts should not be such a big deal. Let’s face it: even excluding personal experience, most men have been inundated with images of breasts. So what’s the big deal? You’d think that by now, we’d be so used to it that it would barely register. Why does the sight of large squeezers completely paralyze us, even for that brief moment?
Why we don’t: Because they’re breasts and they’re big… a certain respect is due, after all, especially when you consider how often we daydream about them.
Why we should: Even smaller breasts deserve attention. And frankly, the power large breasts hold over us is starting to give men a bad name. Remember, in the battle of the sexes, we must reveal no weaknesses.
Certainly every man has his own list of things he thinks he should do but, for some reason, doesn’t. The important thing is to discover a way to get these done on a regular basis.