Being in a relationship can be a great thing. Imagine having a partner who always has your back and who is there to motivate you when times get tough. What about the ability to leverage two incomes? That sounds like bliss. Of course, the grass is always greener on the other side. I know for a fact that relationships take work and sometimes having another person to consider makes things much harder. However, in this post, I wanted to explore how to stay Motivated as a single person. So, without further adieu, let’s dive in.

It’s Hard

Well, I have to admit that staying motivated while single is hard. There are so many distractions, it’s not even funny. And you’d think the pandemic would help things, but not really. There’s only so much of watching tv or reading a book by myself I can take. Human beings are social beings and at some point, there’s a need to hang out with friends. My problem is that I fill that need more than I should, which can at times get expensive.

And to point out the obvious, I have no one but myself to try to hold me back. I rationalize a lot of the expenses away. Thoughts like YOLO are abundant and sometimes dominant. It’s a constant struggle.

Financial discipline can sometimes be just theory, but somehow, I know that if I want to be successful, I have to fight through the noise. I even have to fight my most habitual spending impulses. It’s hard.

So, how does a single person stay motived? Let’s see.

Find Your Accountability To Stay Motivated

To stay motivated, I recommend you find your accountability, whatever or whoever that is.

I remember when I was deeper in debt, I was able to get out of it using an accountability partner, who was a friend of mind. We decided that we would keep each other accountable for our new year’s resolution. In that process, I created a Google Excel Spreadsheet that we both could access anytime. I also color coded a row every time I made a payment. Each time I filled in a color, it gave me that much motivation to make the next payment. Having an accountability partner to check in with me from time to time also helped as well. So, I recommend finding an accountability partner if you can.

Currently, I have fitness goals that I am trying to meet. That was one of my New Year’s resolutions for 2021. On my office door at work, I keep a weight tracker. It’s crazy, I know. But, every day I weigh myself (bad habit, but whatever), and then I track it on my door. I then write one-liner notes about what I think of my weight that day. Although anyone walking by can see it, it’s really more so for me to help keep me motivated. So far so good. I started the year at 197 lbs and, at the time of this writing, I currently weigh 166. I started the year at a 39-inch waste and now I’m at 33.5-inch waste. Accountability helps to stay motivated.

Finally, blogging helps. I write posts when things are good and when things are bad. It keeps me honest and it keeps me accountable. The dividend growth investing community is great at supporting its members through their journey of dividend investing. Every time I produce my dividend income report, I get a little more motivation to keep going. It’s a long journey, but one that is definitely worthwhile if you can stick it out.

Do whatever you can to stay motivated!

Have a Circle of Like-Minded Friends

I think this is important and I am working towards this myself. It’s important to have a circle of like-minded friends.

Currently, the friends I hang out with are not money conscientious as I am. Inevitably, when I go out, I spend way too much. Even during these pandemic times, I tend to go out way too much. My State is a bit more open than others.

What I’ve been working on is finding those activities that are fun, but doesn’t cost money. So, I started playing chess again. It’s great because now I have a few chess friends that get together and play chess. We play on a weekly basis and sometimes several times a week. The more I do these activities, the less money I spend.

I also have a friend that I play video games with. It’s usually a low cost affair. What I am still trying to find, however, are those friends who are into investing as I am. That would be awesome.

So, I recommend you find a circle of like-minded friends to help you stay motivated.

Conclusion

As a single person, it’s sometimes hard to stay motivated. I always want to hang out with friends, which inevitably means spending money. Sometimes it means spending more money that I would have liked. But it’s important to fight those urges.

The road to financial freedom is not in a straight line. We sometimes stumble and we sometimes fall. But it’s the getting up and the going that’s important. Imagine how you will feel once you’ve reached your goal of financial freedom.

What do you do to stay motivated? Have any tips? Share your thoughts by commenting below.

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