This is a guest article by Evan, creator of My Journey to Millions. In the article, Evan discusses what motivated him to move forward with earning multiple streams of income along this journey, and takes a motivational approach to inspire readers to improve their personal finances.

Take a moment and just think about what you did last night — that time after the kids are sleeping and you are “relaxing.” Were you watching television? According to one recent government study the average American watches 2.7 hours of television per day. Assuming that counts weekdays, that is more than 10 hours per week doing nothing productive! Don’t get me wrong. I love Teen Mom just as much as the next person, but I almost never watch it without multitasking. People often ask me how I have time to blog and attempt to build multiple streams of income, and my answer is always the same, “How do you nothave time?”

Sometimes people have legitimate reasons for not finding time in the day, but when I look closely at someone’s schedule, it’s not that they don’t have time; often they don’t share my irrational motivation.

To put it bluntly, it confuses the hell out of me. (Side note: I have also found that when you actually create a budget with someone, most people have no idea what they are spending).

What motivates me

Some people are naturally competitive or envious of others’ success, but that is not what drives me. Blogging about personal finance for the past three years has given me a chance to look at 28 year-old Evan with 30 year-old Evan’s eyes. Blogging is a very valuable tool that most people don’t use.

When it comes to finances, I am almost entirely motivated by fear.

• I am afraid I will not be able to provide for my family.
• I am afraid I will live an average life.
• I am afraid I can get fired one day.
• I am afraid my lifestyle can be taken away at any time.
• I am afraid I will be forced to work until I am 65.

It can probably be argued that for the most part my fears are irrational and exaggerated in my mind, but with employers having less and less loyalty to their employees, I’ll stick with being overcautious.

Harnessing what motivates you

I truly believe that the first step in bettering one’s financial situation is understanding what motivates you. From my limited experience, it is easier to change the systems around you than actually changing yourself. Knowing what motivates you is the first step in harnessing that power.

For example, if you are are a competitive person, instead of toning down your natural tendencies, try creating a game out of your situation. Find a person you can compete with. Share your balance sheets with each other and bet dinner on who can increase their net worth in a certain amount of time, or try to see who can save more money on fixed costs like cable or cell phones.

If you are a person motivated by material goods then set a goal for yourself like save a certain amount of money, perhaps the cost of that new television before you buy. If you are homebody family guy, put pictures of your kids everywhere. That could be enough motivation to work to a better financial position.

For me, my motivation — my fear — has inspired me to try and build multiple streams of income, which I think is more valuable and effective than trying to change my motivation.

Stop making excuses

Regardless of what is motivating you, it is time to stop making excuses. If you are that average American and watch 10 hours of television a week, you can never claim to have no time. So I ask once again:

What did you do last night? Are you proud of it?

Bureau of Labor Statistics

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I’ve written extensively about taking control of your finances. One aspect of the ability to succeed with your financial goals is making active, thoughtful decisions pertaining to your use of money. Uptal Dholakia is a professor of management at Rice University in Houston, and he is currently conducting research pertaining to self-control and decision making as they pertain to personal finance as well as other personal issues.

I’ve always been excited to participate in academic research; I was a frequent subject for Princeton University’s cognitive psychology department when I was much younger, and I continued through college by participating in occasional research studies conducted by graduate students at my own university. In fact, when I attended a psychology class my sophomore year and was considering the pursuit of a minor in psychology, participation in graduate research studies was mandatory. Regardless of the requirement, I enjoyed it.

Professor Dholakia is inviting Consumerism Commentary readers to participate in this study. In order to participate, all that is required is to answer questions on a web-based survey.

I completed the survey last night, and it took less than ten minutes to complete. The questions were not difficult, but they did make me think about my decision-making process and how I allow myself to succumb to impulse decisions. There are some questions about demographics at the end of the survey, but the information will be held confidential and reported only in aggregate.

The professor has agreed to share the results of the research with Consumerism Commentary, so once the analysis is complete, you can expect an article discussing the findings published here.

Please help further research regarding the psychology of personal finance by completing the survey here. No electrodes need to be connected to your body and you won’t need to receive any electric shocks.

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