Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Where does a dancer hold her cash?

I didn't think of this before just jumping into stripping.  But one reader who is considering dancing asked me this so here are my thoughts.

Normally, I keep my cash in my wallet, but I don't carry my wallet around when I try to sell dances.  So what do I do with the cash I receive throughout a shift?

I am a garter girl.  I keep it on my thigh with the cash folded over it and secured with a rubber band, so it's always within reach and actually ON me.  Some girls carry a small purse around the club.  I'd be afraid to lose it on accident.  This is a preference specific question.  Some methods work better for others.

But a few rules that have served me well:

#1: Always keep your money on you.  Don't just throw it in your locker.  Lockers get ransacked by junkie new girls that haven't been fired yet and there's no recovering it once she's out the door.

#2: Do not loan any of your money to other dancers, or anyone for that matter.  You won't get it back.

#3: It helps to keep your money straight and organized.  If you got a pile of ones, try to straighten them out as you go.  If the money is flowing on stage, it's likely the money is flowing for lap dancing too, so try not to spend too much time fixing ones when you could be earning far more doing dances.

I definitely DO NOT recommend the tip jar shoes, especially because I take off my heels when I do dances, therefore my money is not on me, and is at risk for ending up missing.  I would not take that chance.  I used to have a pair when I first started dancing, and found that if someone put coins in them, they'd clank around and everyone would know where I was walking.  I'm stealthy, so that was a problem.  But even having cash in them is annoying.  There is a little compartment that opens up where you seat your foot so it's not like it's hard to get the cash out, but again, I don't like not having my cash physically on me.

So if you wanna roll with a garter but don't like the thigh garter, you can wear an ankle garter and it'll always be right above your foot.  Just make sure to always fold the bills over the garter once it's on, and secure them with a rubber band.  Do not come to work without rubber bands or a way to get them.  Most of the time, the door girl or manager will have them, but in case they don't, you'll want to have some with you.

Another way to keep your money secure that I've seen is to strap it to your wrist or arm.  Some girls use hair ties because they're softer than rubber bands, but it's virtually the same concept as the garter method.  Wear a hair tie (that doesn't cut off your circulation) around your arm or wrist, fold the cash over it the same way you would with a garter, and secure with another hair tie or rubber band.  You could even go a step further and put another hair tie around the stack to tightly secure it to your wrist.  Without it, your stack will flap around on your arm but still be attached.

There are many more ideas and tips on the Exotic Dancer Net forum.  Before I went back to school, I was very active in this community of smart, brilliant, like-minded dancers, and there is a wealth of information and help for new dancers.  One of the members posted a YouTube video showing how to strap it to your wrist, but it might not be available anymore because I just looked for it and couldn't find it.  :(

So, I hope this helps, Rebel.  Thank you for asking!