4 Things that All Men Should Try

What is “the male lifestyle?” It is not going to mean the same thing to every man. Some men might like bungee jumping, while others can’t imagine themselves ever doing something like that.

However, there are some things that we feel every man should try at least one time. Some of these things include playing some sort of fantasy sport, starting (and finishing) a DIY project, doing your own taxes, and making an investment of some sort. Maybe you’ll give them a shot and find out you don’t like them, but these are some quintessential parts of the male experience that it makes sense to attempt at least once during your life.

Play Fantasy Football

You may want to try playing fantasy football if you’ve never done it before. Look, we know that not all men like sports. Some men might not care about football in the slightest, or baseball, or basketball, or any other professional or amateur athletic contest.

Playing fantasy football can generate excitement, though, even if you know very little about the game itself. That’s part of what makes doing it such an appealing prospect.

You can draft a team using an auto-draft feature if you don’t know anything about the players and their skill levels. There’s a skill element involved when you play in a fantasy football league, but there’s a ton of luck to it as well. You definitely don’t need to know much about the game to potentially win a league.

In fact, it’s sometimes even better if you don’t follow the sport very closely and you start a league with some friends. Think about the bragging rights you can enjoy if you win the league, and you don’t even know the first thing about football. Your buddies who follow it religiously will never live it down.

Try a DIY Project

Maybe you grew up learning to use your hands. Perhaps you had a father, uncle, aunt, or some other family member who taught you how to fix and build things. If you grew up in a blue-collar household, you knowing how to do some of these things as an adult becomes more likely.

If no one taught you how to tighten a leaky faucet, how to install some kitchen backsplash, or how to change a tire, you should try this type of activity at some point. It’s true that you can always pay someone else to do something, particularly with the advent of TaskRabbit and similar apps. However, you’ll never know if you can do something like what we mentioned unless you try it.

Trying a DIY project and succeeding gives you a great feeling. Every time you walk past that leaky faucet that you fixed or the backsplash that you installed, you can feel proud about what you accomplished. If you find that you’re better at working with your hands than you thought, you might feel encouraged to try some more ambitious projects at some point.

Do Your Taxes

Maybe you pay H&R Block or some similar company to do your taxes every year. You must pay those taxes, but you might decide giving money to someone to do it for you is unnecessary.

You can try doing your income taxes yourself at least once. Maybe you’ll find that it irritates you, and once you do it yourself one time, you never want to again. There’s no question that it can get a little tricky.

You might find that you like doing it, though. Finding out how to do it and then putting what you learn into action gives you much the same feeling as fixing something around the house. This is an adult activity, and doing it yourself instead of hiring someone else to do it for you should make you feel like you’re capable of just about anything.

Make an Investment

Maybe you have some excess money at some point, and you’re not sure what to do with it. Perhaps you received a windfall like an inheritance when a relative died. Maybe you got a tax refund from the IRS.

You know that you should save for your eventual retirement if you can, but before you start worrying about that endeavor, you might use that extra money and invest it in something that might pay off as time passes.

For instance, you might put that money in a CD, or you can open an IRA. You may put the money in a mutual fund or buy some stock. Learning to do this when you’re younger should prepare you for setting up a more diverse portfolio as you get closer to retirement time.