1. Decide to go to Las Vegas. Don’t base this decision on careful planning and saving, but on the fact that your little sister has a bomb-ass job that results in her getting you a free hotel room at Mandalay Bay for three nights ($0!).

The four of us didn't even plan out our Vegas heist—it just spawned naturally in the company of a few broke twenty somethings, gaining momentum at every cost-saving measure.