Motivation to keep going

[Giro]

I wanted to see if anyone was interested in a thread that helps you gain a little motivation when saving and being frugal becomes difficult.

I recently increased my after tax contribution to investment accounts and it has me feeling POOR!  I know it's for the best and I'll be so happy that I did it, but I know the reward is a little ways out. 

What keeps you motivated each day?

 

[Adventine]

I like the idea of a motivation thread!

I get my motivation whenever I hear someone complain about having trouble paying their bills. I never want to be in that position, ever.

[Giro]

I wanted to get out of the cold and go somewhere tropical, but I've decided to stay home and take a day off work and relax in front of the fireplace instead. 

The $3k is better invested in my mutual fund. 

[Mermaid3011]

I would love a motivation thread.

The thing with just starting out mustashing is, that I could look at my spreadsheets all day long, but nothing changes unless it's payday LOL.

So somehow I need to keep myself busy the 14 days in between.

Oh and it surely doesn't help to watch the stock market right now either.... gives me stomach pains and I don't even have much invested... 35k or so.

So Giro, What would you say keeps you motivated and what are situations that are hard for you? Have you had some recent small successes?

[Giro]

I would love a motivation thread.

The thing with just starting out mustashing is, that I could look at my spreadsheets all day long, but nothing changes unless it's payday LOL.

So somehow I need to keep myself busy the 14 days in between.

Oh and it surely doesn't help to watch the stock market right now either.... gives me stomach pains and I don't even have much invested... 35k or so.

So Giro, What would you say keeps you motivated and what are situations that are hard for you? Have you had some recent small successes?

For me, I made a countdown to retirement calendar of sorts.  Each day, I tear off one page and I'm one day closer.  I also like to look at my accounts when people start talking about vacations and buying new homes, etc.  But, like you said, that's a bit depressing right now and it only really changes with pay day. 

I like going to thrift stores when the shopping bug bites.  It's an inexpensive alternative.  I also like taking a day off work when it gets miserable in the office or just the weather is too sucky to deal with the commute. 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

How is being frugal difficult?  Spending money actually is difficult as it requires one to put forth an effort to do so. 

[MsSindy]

Mustachism is so much more than just counting the money!  Once you have that stuff figured out, stay motivated by challenging yourself in other ways: tackle new things to learn, DIY, make your own XXX from scratch, etc.  See what things you can optimize: your morning routine, your food prep, your grocery shopping, your household chores.....optimizing the stuff you don't care to do, makes room in your life for the things you really want!

Stay motivated my friends!

[MrMoogle]

I'm sitting around 20x my expenses right now, and it has been very difficult coming back after the long winter break.  Not to mention the market was very flat last year.  I was hoping it would just double so I can stop now :P

Not to mention that I was sick over the break and couldn't go on the trip I had planned.  I've been in funks before, this too shall pass.

[Greenback Reproduction Specialist]

I wanted to see if anyone was interested in a thread that helps you gain a little motivation when saving and being frugal becomes difficult.

I recently increased my after tax contribution to investment accounts and it has me feeling POOR!  I know it's for the best and I'll be so happy that I did it, but I know the reward is a little ways out. 

What keeps you motivated each day?

Short Answer;
I think about how great of an accomplishment it will be, to be 35 and only working if I choose to, not because I have to. But also, how I wish I could afford the time and money to visit with my grand parents more.

Long Answer;
I read the book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" when I was 19yrs old, the book ruined my chance of ever being a happy little employee. I've come to realize I function best in the "S" category, so currently I'm employed. I enjoy my free time to much to go at it as a business. At 19 I set the goal of retiring by the age of 30, even though I didnt really have a plan. Well, I just turned 30 last year... Still not retired, but in a situation where I could quit my job and do minimal stuff pay the bills. Honestly, if I didnt have a family to care for, I could do it right now. What I really want more than anything is to have my assets throw off enough cashflow to cover my monthly living expenses. Its a burning desire at this point, I dont have any other goals at the moment, everything revolves around cutting the length of time until I get my foot out the door. My conservative numbers suggest its all doable in 5 years at this point, which is awesome, but I want to shave a year or two off of that.

One other thought, the rich and wealthy buy assets, the poor and middle class buy liabilities. It took me a while to get to the point where I get more excited buying stock or a rental house, than the thought of a new car or some other toy. So I dont feel poor passing on consumeristic things in life, I understand that buying assets will ultimately give me the freedom to what is most important in life, and that is spend time with family and friends. That gets me excited and keeps me fired up!

[Greenback Reproduction Specialist]

I like the idea of a motivation thread!

I get my motivation whenever I hear someone complain about having trouble paying their bills. I never want to be in that position, ever.

+1 so true. Been there, done that, I cant figure out why anyone would do that to themselves. Never again!

[SwordGuy]

Oh and it surely doesn't help to watch the stock market right now either.... gives me stomach pains and I don't even have much invested... 35k or so.

Then you seriously do not understand the stock market.

You have $35,000 in stocks, so you are clearly in your accumulation phase.    Now is PRECISELY the time you want stocks to be low!   You should be dancing for joy that you are buying stocks on sale this early into your accumulation phase!

[Greenback Reproduction Specialist]

Oh and it surely doesn't help to watch the stock market right now either.... gives me stomach pains and I don't even have much invested... 35k or so.

Then you seriously do not understand the stock market.

You have $35,000 in stocks, so you are clearly in your accumulation phase.    Now is PRECISELY the time you want stocks to be low!   You should be dancing for joy that you are buying stocks on sale this early into your accumulation phase!

No kidding, I'm trying to find things to sell and or get extra funds together to buy right now.

[Mermaid3011]

I know I know... (Actually I have a finance degree and work in investments), it still makes me cringe for a while... And then I go on Bloomberg and see what I want to buy next... :)

Actually I also think that we haven't bottomed out yet. Give it another few weeks. 2016 will be shitty. 2017 slow recovery.

[acanthurus]

I track my net worth annually. Sometimes I think my annual savings isn't enough to make a difference. I have about 9x my gross income in liquid, investable assets, so saving 50% of my net pay is about equal to what the portfolio does own its own without me.

But I look back at where I was 4 years ago. It would take a >50% market decline to put me back there. I basically paid off a house, in four years, by myself. And not a mustachian house either. We're talking full on McMansion in a good neighborhood.

So even though my motivation has been lagging, I look at that. Four years. House. And I think hey, do it another couple years and see how I feel.

Also I want to do two chicks at the same time, and the kind of girls who'd double up on a guy like me dig money. So there's that.

[redbird]

My motivation was growing up in a very poor household, where even something as small as an unexpected $50 expense break the bank. Where if the food stamp allowance went down, that caused financial issues.

I immediately, from the moment I moved out of my parents' house at 18, decided to work towards trying to have a better life than that. I never felt the need to reward myself for saving money and being frugal. It comes naturally from that drive to never want to be in that position my parents were in.

I think that mindset was probably good for me. Compared to what I grew up with it feels like quite a high standard of living.

Compared to my parents, I have:
- a car that's *only* 5 years old (they tended to only afford cars that were 10+ at the time of the purchase)
- savings (they never had any money left over)
- investments (LOL! can't invest if you don't have any money to invest WITH)
- no worries about if I'm going to be able to afford the bills this month
- I can actually afford to go on vacations. Fancy out of state and out of country ones even!

I have never felt deprived of things by being frugal and I never let my lifestyle inflate too much over the years. So, in that sense, I feel super rich.

But it helps that I really don't care what others think about me, plus I'm an introvert. That helps immensely. My in-laws have a super fancy expensive house that's far bigger than they actually need, but because they entertain people so much, they love the space. (They're not regular people - they have 2 guest rooms plus a study with a sofa bed that is easy to convert into a temporary 3rd guest room.) I think things like that are insanity and wastes of money, but that's what makes them happy. Things like that don't make me happy, so that's ways I get to save some cash.

[FI@2022Jem]

Following.  I have been a member of the forum for years and my participation and motivation ebb and flow.

I am sadly not one of those people who no longer craves spending money- the temptation is real!  I have noticed what works for me is finding a way to do something (activity) to appreciate what I have- and not theoretically:
1) if I want to shop I can organize my closet and re-discover things stuffed into the back of a drawer- try on outfits, get a bit organized.  Then the desire to shop diminishes and I have motivation. Or
2) if I start to daydream about a new car I'll wash and vacuum mine.  My car is fine but usually pretty filthy on the outside and littered with Cheerios on the inside (toddler mom) but when it is clean I feel pretty happy about it and I get more motivation.
3) basically I loose motivation when I feel stagnant or have a period of inaction.  Purposeful activity is what helps pull me out of it.  Same if I am feeling a bit depressed/down- going through the motions of getting together with a friend, cooking something, being outside, (getting shit done!) is what helps!

I should add that I'm not perfect at this and my closet cleano-uts are usually just a drawer at a time but it still helps!

[EcoCanuck]

​Motivation always ebs and flows.

I've always been a save then spend sort of person. A few years later and a lot of maturing and I'm still doing the same but I've shifted what I'm saving up for. Now saving for that big DP for a possible home at some point in the (near?) future. It can be hard because this has a much longer lag time between the save and spend but I know that this will be a defining moment of my financial success in life.

One way that I curbed that desire to spend on travel is I literally found a job overseas. Now everyday I'm travelling AND saving. Now that I've settled in a bit its easier to blow off the new and exciting food for a peanut butter sammich. That's another few $$ towards my goal. I also treat myself every now and again. Sometimes planned and sometime spur of the moment. Remember that you have to enjoy the moment not only anticipate the future.

It can be tedious to stare at that balance sheet. Checking daily can cause a drag on the progress. Limit how often you're reviewing. If you need a reminder take a peak. Want to feel better? Read the newspaper and take a moment to appreciate just how lucky we really have it.

EcoCanuck

[steviesterno]

i had a motivation kick in the junk yesterday. I save some cash around the house as my hobby slush fund, and looked yesterday at $1800. yes, I know it should be in vanguard and whatnot, I still feel like having some emergency cash on hand. But as i was looking at it, it didn't represent things to me. Yes I've been saving for stuff for a while, and now that I'm looking at the pile of money I see time. I see it took hours of my life to earn it, but I like what I do so that's not upsetting. what I saw was about 2 months my wife can spend at home with our soon to be newborn. 2 months of dedicated parent time. that struck me as pretty powerful. We just started saving hard the last few years, and making better choices. But seeing money as time and not as stuff is really helping me decide what I want to spend on and what I really don't need to.

so as the car is paid off (not mustachion but still not terrible) that payment will go to investing instead of a new car. my hobby fund will stay in the safe, but it stays there as time, not as stuff.

[Cougar]

I would love a motivation thread.

The thing with just starting out mustashing is, that I could look at my spreadsheets all day long, but nothing changes unless it's payday LOL.

So somehow I need to keep myself busy the 14 days in between.

Oh and it surely doesn't help to watch the stock market right now either.... gives me stomach pains and I don't even have much invested... 35k or so.

So Giro, What would you say keeps you motivated and what are situations that are hard for you? Have you had some recent small successes?

you have to make other goals, physically or otherwise; to keep you going while you build up your retirement.

as to the stock market, why can't you move it to cash or a bond fund when we're heading into a recession ? i know other posters say stocks are on sale now, but they are not; they are still much overvalued. educate yourself on things  like corporate profits, pe ratios, corporate sales revenue, the baltic dry index and you can see the direction is still further down.

[Giro]

Great posts folks.

One of my weaknesses is spending for convenience.  My daughter goes to latch key and it costs $14 before school and $14 after school.  If I can take her to the bus instead of latch key, I save $14 that day.  It takes a little planning and for me to get out of bed earlier to get her to the bus stop.  I'm working on getting us all organized so our mornings are smooth and we don't miss the bus.

Motivation for today, it's really cold and snowy today and we are expecting 2 inches of accumulation.  When I'm FIRE, I will not have to worry about where to send my daughter on school cancellation days. 

[Giro]

I would love a motivation thread.

The thing with just starting out mustashing is, that I could look at my spreadsheets all day long, but nothing changes unless it's payday LOL.

So somehow I need to keep myself busy the 14 days in between.

Oh and it surely doesn't help to watch the stock market right now either.... gives me stomach pains and I don't even have much invested... 35k or so.

So Giro, What would you say keeps you motivated and what are situations that are hard for you? Have you had some recent small successes?

you have to make other goals, physically or otherwise; to keep you going while you build up your retirement.

as to the stock market, why can't you move it to cash or a bond fund when we're heading into a recession ? i know other posters say stocks are on sale now, but they are not; they are still much overvalued. educate yourself on things  like corporate profits, pe ratios, corporate sales revenue, the baltic dry index and you can see the direction is still further down.

This is scary advice to sell the stocks and buy bonds.  Right now, stock prices are pretty low and that could be a considerable loss.  You are predicting that we are moving into a recession and I wouldn't agree with that prediction.  And why would you move stocks to bonds if you are heading into a recession, why not continue to accumulate and wait it out? 

[Cougar]

I would love a motivation thread.

The thing with just starting out mustashing is, that I could look at my spreadsheets all day long, but nothing changes unless it's payday LOL.

So somehow I need to keep myself busy the 14 days in between.

Oh and it surely doesn't help to watch the stock market right now either.... gives me stomach pains and I don't even have much invested... 35k or so.

So Giro, What would you say keeps you motivated and what are situations that are hard for you? Have you had some recent small successes?

you have to make other goals, physically or otherwise; to keep you going while you build up your retirement.

as to the stock market, why can't you move it to cash or a bond fund when we're heading into a recession ? i know other posters say stocks are on sale now, but they are not; they are still much overvalued. educate yourself on things  like corporate profits, pe ratios, corporate sales revenue, the baltic dry index and you can see the direction is still further down.

This is scary advice to sell the stocks and buy bonds.  Right now, stock prices are pretty low and that could be a considerable loss.  You are predicting that we are moving into a recession and I wouldn't agree with that prediction.  And why would you move stocks to bonds if you are heading into a recession, why not continue to accumulate and wait it out?

you are entitled to your opinion as am I, but if you look at so many economic indicators, they are all trending down and what really drives the stock market when the fed isn't artificially influencing it is corporate profits and those are trending down. the world economy is slowing, that is a fact; i don't know where you expect things to turn around and the market to shoot up on that fact.

imo, your best planning is to conserve principal, and that is cash or bonds now. you are free to disagree, but i've been mostly in cash this year, so i'm sure of what i say; i hadnt lost 10% like everyone else.

[Giro]

I would love a motivation thread.

The thing with just starting out mustashing is, that I could look at my spreadsheets all day long, but nothing changes unless it's payday LOL.

So somehow I need to keep myself busy the 14 days in between.

Oh and it surely doesn't help to watch the stock market right now either.... gives me stomach pains and I don't even have much invested... 35k or so.

So Giro, What would you say keeps you motivated and what are situations that are hard for you? Have you had some recent small successes?

you have to make other goals, physically or otherwise; to keep you going while you build up your retirement.

as to the stock market, why can't you move it to cash or a bond fund when we're heading into a recession ? i know other posters say stocks are on sale now, but they are not; they are still much overvalued. educate yourself on things  like corporate profits, pe ratios, corporate sales revenue, the baltic dry index and you can see the direction is still further down.

This is scary advice to sell the stocks and buy bonds.  Right now, stock prices are pretty low and that could be a considerable loss.  You are predicting that we are moving into a recession and I wouldn't agree with that prediction.  And why would you move stocks to bonds if you are heading into a recession, why not continue to accumulate and wait it out?

you are entitled to your opinion as am I, but if you look at so many economic indicators, they are all trending down and what really drives the stock market when the fed isn't artificially influencing it is corporate profits and those are trending down. the world economy is slowing, that is a fact; i don't know where you expect things to turn around and the market to shoot up on that fact.

imo, your best planning is to conserve principal, and that is cash or bonds now. you are free to disagree, but i've been mostly in cash this year, so i'm sure of what i say; i hadnt lost 10% like everyone else.

I'm up 3% last year.  I think the market was only down 1% not 10%.

It very well may take a few years to really start gaining.  I am expecting another fairly flat year so I'm accumulating.   

[Cougar]

I would love a motivation thread.

The thing with just starting out mustashing is, that I could look at my spreadsheets all day long, but nothing changes unless it's payday LOL.

So somehow I need to keep myself busy the 14 days in between.

Oh and it surely doesn't help to watch the stock market right now either.... gives me stomach pains and I don't even have much invested... 35k or so.

So Giro, What would you say keeps you motivated and what are situations that are hard for you? Have you had some recent small successes?

you have to make other goals, physically or otherwise; to keep you going while you build up your retirement.

as to the stock market, why can't you move it to cash or a bond fund when we're heading into a recession ? i know other posters say stocks are on sale now, but they are not; they are still much overvalued. educate yourself on things  like corporate profits, pe ratios, corporate sales revenue, the baltic dry index and you can see the direction is still further down.

This is scary advice to sell the stocks and buy bonds.  Right now, stock prices are pretty low and that could be a considerable loss.  You are predicting that we are moving into a recession and I wouldn't agree with that prediction.  And why would you move stocks to bonds if you are heading into a recession, why not continue to accumulate and wait it out?

you are entitled to your opinion as am I, but if you look at so many economic indicators, they are all trending down and what really drives the stock market when the fed isn't artificially influencing it is corporate profits and those are trending down. the world economy is slowing, that is a fact; i don't know where you expect things to turn around and the market to shoot up on that fact.

imo, your best planning is to conserve principal, and that is cash or bonds now. you are free to disagree, but i've been mostly in cash this year, so i'm sure of what i say; i hadnt lost 10% like everyone else.

I'm up 3% last year.  I think the market was only down 1% not 10%.

It very well may take a few years to really start gaining.  I am expecting another fairly flat year so I'm accumulating.   

the mkt is down 10% THIS YEAR, maybe more with todays drop; so you have lost 10% this year.  i did not say anyone lost 10% last year.

So, in order for you to be flat this year; you have to gain nearly 10% from here and if you know mkt history; you know a bad january typically means a bad year for stocks and this is a record bad january.



ok, this is about to get to a he said - he said fight because everyone thinks they know best how to manage money; so i'm out of this thread before it gets there. if anyone thinks i have some insight and would like to know more how i see these things coming; they can personal message me and i will be glad to send you some resources.

[Mermaid3011]

I would love a motivation thread.

The thing with just starting out mustashing is, that I could look at my spreadsheets all day long, but nothing changes unless it's payday LOL.

So somehow I need to keep myself busy the 14 days in between.

Oh and it surely doesn't help to watch the stock market right now either.... gives me stomach pains and I don't even have much invested... 35k or so.

So Giro, What would you say keeps you motivated and what are situations that are hard for you? Have you had some recent small successes?

For me, I made a countdown to retirement calendar of sorts.  Each day, I tear off one page and I'm one day closer.  I also like to look at my accounts when people start talking about vacations and buying new homes, etc.  But, like you said, that's a bit depressing right now and it only really changes with pay day. 

I like going to thrift stores when the shopping bug bites.  It's an inexpensive alternative.  I also like taking a day off work when it gets miserable in the office or just the weather is too sucky to deal with the commute.

Oh cool!! A calendar is a great idea! (Mine wouldn't fit on my desk... showing about 15 years LOL)
Yes - looking at your accounts and calculating your net worth maybe monthly is definitely something motivating me as well!
And to be honest - coming here! I mean... it's such a huge group and there are people who are in a similar situation as you are, maybe sometimes struggling as well to keep going and making MMM a habit.

I have been to thrift stores only once or twice but next time I really NEED something, I'll definitely have a look around. Sadly the local Goodwill just went bankrupt and they closed a huge number of stores :(

Taking a day off is awesome! You get to sit around and still be paid for every minute. :)

And are you using Swagbucks http://www.swagbucks.com/register?rb=17749458&cmp=72&cxid=1200-facebook ? I am actually using it regularly and even though the points I earn each day are minimal... it really adds up! I think over the last 2 months I have made 125$ in giftcards.

[Giro]

I would love a motivation thread.

The thing with just starting out mustashing is, that I could look at my spreadsheets all day long, but nothing changes unless it's payday LOL.

So somehow I need to keep myself busy the 14 days in between.

Oh and it surely doesn't help to watch the stock market right now either.... gives me stomach pains and I don't even have much invested... 35k or so.

So Giro, What would you say keeps you motivated and what are situations that are hard for you? Have you had some recent small successes?

For me, I made a countdown to retirement calendar of sorts.  Each day, I tear off one page and I'm one day closer.  I also like to look at my accounts when people start talking about vacations and buying new homes, etc.  But, like you said, that's a bit depressing right now and it only really changes with pay day. 

I like going to thrift stores when the shopping bug bites.  It's an inexpensive alternative.  I also like taking a day off work when it gets miserable in the office or just the weather is too sucky to deal with the commute.

Oh cool!! A calendar is a great idea! (Mine wouldn't fit on my desk... showing about 15 years LOL)
Yes - looking at your accounts and calculating your net worth maybe monthly is definitely something motivating me as well!
And to be honest - coming here! I mean... it's such a huge group and there are people who are in a similar situation as you are, maybe sometimes struggling as well to keep going and making MMM a habit.

I have been to thrift stores only once or twice but next time I really NEED something, I'll definitely have a look around. Sadly the local Goodwill just went bankrupt and they closed a huge number of stores :(

Taking a day off is awesome! You get to sit around and still be paid for every minute. :)

And are you using Swagbucks http://www.swagbucks.com/register?rb=17749458&cmp=72&cxid=1200-facebook ? I am actually using it regularly and even though the points I earn each day are minimal... it really adds up! I think over the last 2 months I have made 125$ in giftcards.

I tried swagbucks and hated it.  I know people like it, but how many hours did it take you to earn $125 in gift cards.  I have maybe a few hundred points and I do log in and get a few points each day, but it would take me YEARS to earn anything of any value.

My husband and I discussed our current stache and where we are.  That is very motivating to me.  He wants to get his civilian retirements so he won't retire until 2021.....That makes me a little sad.  I want to retire maybe in late 2017 or 2018.  heck sometimes I want to retire this year in November.  I just don't want him to stay until 2021 for a lousy $1200 or so a month pension.  :(

but back to motivating....I like the idea of staying busy that another poster mentioned.  I love fitness and I'm also creating monthly fitness goals in addition to my workouts.  I'm running each day (NOT a runner) and I'm doing 100 pushups at the end of my workout.  I like checking that off each day and I have a team of 4 doing the same thing.  I'm managing the spreadsheet and I send it out each week. 

[MsSindy]

.......
Also I want to do two chicks at the same time, and the kind of girls who'd double up on a guy like me dig money. So there's that.

Ha, Ha!  Did you write that just to see if anyone was actually reading your post??  too funny!

[Helvegen]

I tried swagbucks and hated it.  I know people like it, but how many hours did it take you to earn $125 in gift cards.  I have maybe a few hundred points and I do log in and get a few points each day, but it would take me YEARS to earn anything of any value.

I tried SB and also don't get the appeal. I'd rather churn or engineer shopping trips where they end up paying me to take things I actually do need away. That's also work, but I actually enjoy doing it.

[Mermaid3011]

I started using Swagbucks early in December and made 125$ in giftcards by mid January.

But you are right - it takes a while to earn points.

The one thing that really helps are the surveys. My goal is usually to do 1-2 surveys a day - lunch break, evening while watching Netflix... whenever.
In the beginning I made 200-300 points a day (i.e. 2-3$), now I am fine with 100-150 points a day. It adds up slowly, but this finances my coffee habit and I don't actually feel it's work.

Is anyone having a second job on the side to make some extra cash? I've been wondering about that... and what do you guys do?

[StockBeard]

I subscribed to almost 50 personal finance/lifestyle blogs, and I lurk on these forums. A lot.
This is how I keep motivated, mostly.

Looking at my numbers was my way of staying motivated... early last year. Recently, not so much. Looking at the numbers is actually more depressing. I keep optimistic thinking that the way back will even be more impressive.

[Mermaid3011]

I subscribed to almost 50 personal finance/lifestyle blogs, and I lurk on these forums. A lot.
This is how I keep motivated, mostly.

Looking at my numbers was my way of staying motivated... early last year. Recently, not so much. Looking at the numbers is actually more depressing. I keep optimistic thinking that the way back will even be more impressive.

It really is depressing, isnt it!?

Funny enough, my spreadsheets havent changed for a while ( I am only paid twice a month ), so I've started moving 20 bucks at a time into my savings, just so I can change my spreadsheet LOL
Oh and the first thing I thought this morning was - Monday - oh it's payday on Friday! I get to put some money in my savings.

Boy oh boy... what a change to last year ...

[steveo]

I know that this is a bit of a dick comment but I don't really have any problems being frugal. I don't want a bunch of stuff anyway and if I really want something I buy it.

[StockBeard]

I know that this is a bit of a dick comment but I don't really have any problems being frugal. I don't want a bunch of stuff anyway and if I really want something I buy it.

I don't have a problem being frugal either. I do, however, have a problem with not being FI (and therefore RE) yet. I have a problem with having to show up in my cubicle so often.
I think people on this thread talk about either being hard to be frugal, or being tough to see the FI goal getting further away :)

[arebelspy]

I know that this is a bit of a dick comment but I don't really have any problems being frugal. I don't want a bunch of stuff anyway and if I really want something I buy it.

+1.  Well said.

There's no "motivation" needed when your lifestyle is exactly what you want.  You just live your life, and, assuming you're LBYM and have income higher than expenses, FI is a natural eventual byproduct.

"Staying motivated" indicates, to me, something is out of balance.  You're having to force yourself to spend less/save more.

And that's not sustainable, and not healthy.

http://markmanson.net/goals

The people who do well at a goal/habit are those who enjoy it.  If you're fighting to stay motivated, it's not a good indicator for long term success, typically (exceptions do exist, obviously).

Work on aligning your actions and values, and spending falls in line.  No motivation needed.

[Mermaid3011]

Call it "motivation", call it "support" or just "great ideas for reaching FI even sooner".

I love to hear from others not only what goes well, but also what is harder to cut out or to adjust compared to "before MMM". I am a very social person and enjoy having a group to share things with since I don't find a lot of colleagues or friends who get excited about another 10 bucks shaved off their grocery budget.

Laughing together, crying together... that's what it's about IMO.