The Self-Employed Man

Be your own boss and still pay the bills: clients, pricing, taxes, tools and time for your family.

The BRO Code. What to do, what not to do, and a few laughs on the way.

Do's & Don'ts: Men Do's & Don'ts: Business Owners

A test score is a thermometer, not a diagnosis

Your kid's score report says a lot less than you fear and more than you've been told. Here's how to read the number, the fine print, and what to do next.

GuideStyleDean ShawNov 7, 20265 min

Your shirt fits. The cloth is what's fighting you.

Cotton can be tissue or tent canvas. Learn weight and weave and you'll know why a garment feels wrong before you buy it.

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

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GuidePreparednessWes DunbarNov 7, 20266 min

Build your parent's kit for the day you can't get there

The drive takes twenty-two minutes on a good day. In a storm it may not happen at all, so the kit has to work without you.

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Survival & Self-Defense7 min read

Your buddy is hurt and you're four miles from the truck

A tourniquet runs about $30 and a satellite messenger about $300. Here's what to do in the first hour after a serious injury, and who walks out.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

GuideGearWes DunbarNov 7, 20265 min

Your work belt doesn't sag because it's cheap. It sags because it's loaded wrong.

Before you spend a dime on a new tool belt, find out what's actually dragging your pants down. Then buy the belt that fixes it.

GuideCan You Fix ItWes DunbarNov 7, 20266 min

A sagging cabinet door is usually a two-dollar fix

Before you buy new hinges, find out which of three things is wrong. Most sagging doors need a toothpick, a screwdriver, or a piece of cereal box.

Dude.com — 16 AI advisers who listen, talk and are here with you

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GuideFoodWes DunbarNov 7, 20266 min

Your spice rack is a museum. Cook from twelve jars.

Most of what's on your rack lost its punch years ago. Here's the short list worth keeping, where to store it, and how to tell when a jar is done.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

GuideWoodworkingWes DunbarNov 7, 20265 min

Make your own mallet, and keep steel off your chisels

A hardwood mallet takes one afternoon and a board you can buy for the price of a pizza. It's also the best first lesson in joinery you'll get.

GuideTools & OrganizingDean ShawNov 7, 20266 min

Most stripped screws are the wrong driver, not bad luck

A #2 Phillips in a Pozidriv screw will chew it up. Here's which tip goes where, what a decent set costs, and which cheap sets are worth it.

Ask BRO

Give me something to do with my kids this weekend

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GuideMovies & TVMarcus ValeNov 7, 20265 min

Documentaries that send you to the workbench

Most "inspiring" films about builders leave you feeling like you did something. These five leave you with sawdust on your boots.

Shirts.com — Design it with AI. Wear it this week.

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GuideGarden & YardWes DunbarNov 7, 20265 min

Mulch Goes Down After the Soil Warms, Not When You Get Excited

Three inches of the right stuff, laid at the right time, cuts your weeding and watering all summer. Laid too early, it does the opposite.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideBoys & GirlsSam OrtizNov 7, 20265 min

The long, dull dinner is training your kid for everything else

Twenty minutes at the table, no screens, nobody leaving early. It sounds small, and it's the cheapest character training you'll ever run.

StoryOld SchoolNina CastellanNov 7, 20265 min

What thirty years at one job actually bought my grandfather

He ran the same counter at the same lumberyard for thirty-one years. The payoff wasn't the watch, and you can start collecting it this year.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

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GuideBRO for HerNina CastellanNov 7, 20265 min

A no is easier to give when you know what it's protecting

Most women don't have a time problem. They have a yes with no name on it. Name it first, and the refusals get short.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Home5 min

Stand outside in the rain and watch where your gutters send it

Fishing6 min

Rinse it, back the drag off, and the salt never wins

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

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GuideHobbiesDean ShawNov 7, 20265 min

The Best Tools at an Estate Sale Cost Almost Nothing

A rusty hand plane, forty dollars of supplies and one Saturday morning. Here's how to turn a dead man's garage into your best hobby.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

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Humor4 min read

Why your fish gets an inch bigger every time you tell it

The bass was fourteen inches. By Thanksgiving it's seventeen. Here's the honest math of a good fish story, and when to tell one.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

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