A couple of nights ago on Twitter, I promised a very special post. This is that post.
There are a lot of financial books and experts out there. I have not written one of those books nor am I one of those experts. I am, however, someone who finds that financial expertise is all around us. Whether it’s from a repo man or from Roseanne, we can learn a lot about our money from what we see and read. It is with that introduction that I present…Daily Money Shot’s Porn Star Guide to Managing Your Money.
That’s right. Here in this comprehensive post are numerous tips, derived from porn stars about how to generate income and manage your finances. Who knew that porn stars could impart wisdom like:
Spend more on the things that enhance your life rather than hinder it
If you’ve seen one porn star, you’ve seen them all. And the one thing you’ll probably notice is that none of them look real. That’s because they know how to enhance their appearance in order to be more successful in their profession. They know that boob jobs and bleaching their hair (just to name the obvious) will cost a substantial amount of money but the payoff is worth it.
Porn star to real life translation—when calculating your budget, make sure that you’re spending more in categories that make you happy. If you like to travel or eat out (pun totally intended), then make sure that you allot more money in those categories.
Know your limitations
Porn stars know what they will and won’t do. I don’t know for sure, but I’m assuming that they discuss those limitations with their agents and directors prior to filming a movie. It’s not profitable for anyone for these men and women to join a movie only to find out later on that they won’t do that. If they are clear up front, everyone makes the most amount of money possible and no one is uncomfortable.
Porn star to real life translation—Have a budget. A budget sets your limitations for you. It tells how much money you have to spend and save, and it lets you know if there’s any wiggle room that month. If you’re in debt repayment mode, the limitations of a budget give you the freedom to say no to friends who are spendthrifts.
Diversify
My favorite morning show, Preston and Steve, often has porn stars as in-studio guests (yes, I know that Howard Stern did this first). The ladies will discuss strip club appearances, book signings, in-store appearances…pretty much any place you can think of that would be appropriate for a porn star to show up, they go to. They do performances and appearances as a way of making money. They know that they cannot solely rely on movies as an income stream so they seek out other ways to generate income.
Porn star to real life translation—Same principle, more clothes. Find ways to make more money in a multitude of ways. Whether it’s through a side business, part-time job, the stock market or stealing from your kid, it’s important that you have multiple ways of generating income.
Promote, promote, promote!
As previously stated, porn stars know how to diversify their income. In order to do that, they need to promote themselves as much as possible. It’s why they do those appearances and attend parties and events (and even make appearance on quality TV programming like Celebrity Rehab). By getting their names out there, they can generate that diverse income and be able to live in houses like these.
Porn star to real life translation—Whether you’re looking for a traditional job or aiming for self-employment, you have to let people know you’re available. Tell them what you can do, what special skills you have and what sets you apart from everyone else. Be your own agent. Negotiate what’s best for you. And get out there and sell yourself!
Protect yourself
From what I’ve seen, condoms are not exactly popular in porn movies. However, from what I understand, porn stars are required to have frequent STD and AIDS testing not only as a precaution for themselves but for those they work with. Protection is extremely important in this line of work because their livelihoods depend on them staying safe.
Porn star to real life translation—One word: insurance. I hate insurance as much as the next person and I’m not intending for this to be a debate on the pros and cons (or a commentary on why it sucks and is too expensive) but insurance is so important. Whether it’s medical, life, car, home/renter’s insurance, you need to have insurance as protection against anything bad happening. Will it cover the entire cost in a lot of cases? No. But it will make things easier.
When it comes to dealing with money, porn stars sure do know what they’re doing. We can all learn a lot from them. After all, just because you keep your clothes on at work doesn’t mean you can’t make the most of your money!
Comments
Trackbacks
-
[…] The Daily Money Shot has just published her Porn Star Guide to Managing Your Money. […]
-
[…] Money Shot with Porn Star Guide to Managing Your Money Yep, that is all I need to […]
-
[…] Porn Star Guide to Managing Your Money at Daily Money Shot […]
-
[…] Money Shot translates porn star finances into real life. Sadly there are no photos, […]
Finally, a real world analogy I can really get behind! Um, er….right. This is the kind of humorous but so true sort of post that a person will remember when trying to deal with their finances.
Vonnie will probably wonder why I’m giggling next time we’re having a conversation about what our “limitations” are with our weekend entertainment budget.
Travis @debtchronicles recently posted…What’s a Dell? It’s a Vacation Destination!
I’m giggling at the whole sentence ” what our limitations are with our weekend entertainment budget”. I wrote a post about porn; I can’t help it!
Wow Jana, as always you come up with some very creative ideas to write about. I love it (even the dirty little puns), it’s fabulous!
Carrie – Careful Cents recently posted…Monthly Progress Report: Favorite Posts and Other Awesomeness
Thanks, Carrie!
I actually just saw an article about how condoms are now supposed to be required in porn movies. I’d really like to know who’s in charge of keeping up with that regulation; could you imagine?
“Look there – 19 minutes into the movie! That guy didn’t put on a condom before [insert gratuitous action here]! That’s it, I’m going to have to give the studio a call. Right after I finish watching this scene.”
Andrea @SoOverDebt recently posted…Are You Going All Out?
How do you even apply for that job? And what would be the job title? Or the job description “Adult film company seeking man or woman to monitor condom usage in movies. Must have an eye for detail”.
It’s an interesting idea, though.
Very interesting article and some food for thought. Great point about the multiple sources of income! I’ll link to this next week in my round up.
Jeff @ Sustainable Life Blog recently posted…Weekly Links: Big Spend Edition
Thanks for the link, Jeff! I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
Gahhhhhh, I really wish I hadn’t seen this post. Pornography is a frightening, frightening industry…and 99.9% of the people who are “talent” have dangerous drug addictions to deal with living their lives. The San Fernando valley is the capital of porn (about 20 minutes away) and I have seen some bizarre people who are in the porn industry…it’s really disturbing. Plus I read Chris Hedges Empire of Illusion which is enough to make you seriously depressed about the whole industry and realize only about 2% of is as fun and light as you make it out to be. I get the point of this article was supposed to be fun, but not everything can be lightly compared to and draw similarities to personal finance. It’s just too huge of an issue.
American Debt Project recently posted…Tracked Every Penny I Spent for an Entire Month: I Don’t Wanna Do That Again!
Well, I’m sorry you saw the post, I guess.
There’s no denying that there are 100 things wrong with the porn industry. I’m certainly not encouraging anyone to become part of the industry and, if someone was contemplating it, I’d point out the high incidents of drug addiction, the poor treatment of the workers and many of the other disturbing elements. I’d also point out that most of the “talent” does not make the money that Jenna Jamison made over her career. However, the post was intended to be tongue-in-cheek, not a commentary on the industry. I think you can draw comparisons to personal finance. The porn industry has made unfathomable amounts of money over the years; clearly, there’s something to the business end of it.
Something about porn star Asia Carrera forcing Mensa to accept her with her irrefutable genius IQ tipped me away from worries about exploitation. That’s more the realm of prostitutes and strippers.
Great blog post – first time visiting your blog. I do disagree with your feelings about insurance though. It’s too much like gambling, and I’m betting on ME. I have chosen to go uninsured after spending $30K on premiums over 7 years and only using about $5K of that – and even then it was a fight to get the insurance company to part with their share. The last straw was a dermatologist appointment that they had an approved fee of $59, and $40 of it was my co-pay. Instead, I have a dedicated savings account (not a tax thing, just a way to manage the moulah). Less insurance, more planning I say.
I did not know that about Asia Carrera. Interesting…
Insurance is a tricky thing. I think it’s great that you’ve figured out a way to make it work for you and after what you experienced, I can totally understand why you opt not to use insurance. I can’t do that. It’s too uncomfortable for me.
No quality comment here. Just want to say I am so glad you are my roomie for FinCon. We are going to have so much fun.
shanendoah@the dog ate my wallet recently posted…The Cult of the Dream Job
Yes. Yes, we are!
This is a hilarious analogy! I didn’t expect it to come from a girl… I’m not sure I agree with spending money on what makes you happy though. For most of us who are recovering from debt, I think we are learning that we can still be happy while only allocating a small percent of our income on the stuff we like (vacationing, shopping, eating out…)
Your comment illustrated my point. You don’t have to go overboard spending on things that make you happy; a little bit goes a long way. When you have a limited income or you’re paying off debt, it’s important to include line items for the things that make you happy. To exclude them would make debt repayment extremely difficult.
Great comparisons. I love the one about insurance…
Crystal recently posted…New Health Insurance – Check!
Well, protection is important!
This line had me rolling: “It’s not profitable for anyone for these men and women to join a movie only to find out later on that they won’t do that.”
Great post, great analogy. Thanks for sharing.
Bryan at Pinch that Penny! recently posted…My Challenges for February
You are welcome! Thanks for reading!
I figured that you, of all my readers, would appreciate this the most. You know, because my site name confused you and all 🙂
amazing! I particularly enjoyed the limitations. I didn’t think about porn stars having limitations, but it makes sense.
20’s Finances recently posted…My Wife Made an Extra $1000 and Gave It Away
Thanks, Corey! I think that everyone has limitations. Even those who do things we would never, ever contemplate doing.
Excellent Analogies. Great work Jana. When you say “I promised a very special post”, you don’t kid around 🙂 I particularly like the one about “Diversify”.
Tushar@EverythingFinance recently posted…How to create a good Craigslist ad and sell your stuff
I definitely don’t kid around with my promises!
Glad you liked the post!
Funny post. I suppose it is appropriate for a blog that has “money shot” in its name.
Andy Hough recently posted…Starting Out Poor or Rich: Which is Better?
With all the search terms I get leading people to this site, it was time I gave the people what they want!
I don’t know why I’m still amazed about what you relate to finances. lol
Awesome! I’d love to see the pimp’s guide to managing money – “Giving money to others is against the rules even when you owe them!” 🙂
Saw ad in paper once for a sex shop.. you could meet this “famous” porn star it was $30.00 for a photo and for $50.00 for a photo of you holding her breasts! I cracked up and showed my husband, told him if that was the going rate he needed to pay up! lol