9 Things Every Catholic Should Do During Their Single Years

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Your single years shouldn't be a time of waiting for your life to "begin".

Instead, you should be doing your best to make the most of them right here and right now.

While being single can be annoying at times, no time of life is perfect!

If you're having a rough time during your single/dating years, here are nine things to consider that may help you to better appreciate the season you're in right now.

1. Focus on friendships

The first thing to do when you’re single is to focus on your friendships. It can be tempting to spend your time trying to find a relationship, so when you try to develop friendships, you focus on the opposite sex. It’s important when you’re single to focus on your same-sex friendships.

Invite the guys out for a beer and a cigar. Go out with the girls to a Sunday afternoon brunch (or a beer and cigar, whatever works for you.) Spending time with just the guys or just the girls is important for your formation as a man or woman. As long as you are all actively pursuing a virtuous life, your friendships will make you better.

2. Form a community

Community is just as important as individual friendships. A community needs to be focused on something, so get a group of people together to hike, barbecue, or go to Mass. Note, we said to form a community, not “find” one. A community is not a commodity you can find in the same way you find a nice restaurant. Even if you join an already existing community, each new person forms the community, making it different than it was before.

Also, it’s important for single people to know that they can start a new community whenever they want. Anyone can invite any two people over to their house and start a community. So, if there is no community around you, you should take the initiative and start one.

3. Learn new skills

When you start a new relationship, it tends to take up all your spare time. This is good because it lets you get to know your significant other better. But it means you will lose the free time you have now when you’re single. Take that free time to learn a new skill or hobby.

4. Travel

It may seem like cliché advice, but it is true! Seeing new parts of the world is an exciting part of single life and it gets more difficult (though not impossible) when you have a family. If you’re not a globetrotter, that’s perfectly okay. Traveling around the country can be just as fulfilling as traveling around the world.

The trick to traveling is to start planning now. It’s easy to procrastinate planning and end up not travelling for a year or two. Open up the browser and find a place you want to go. Book the flight and hotel and make the plan. When you get home, start planning the next one while you’re still motivated.

5. Pay off debt

Don’t go too crazy with the jet-setting, though. Another important thing to do while single is get your finances in order. The only person you have to worry about taking care of right now is yourself, so take advantage of this time. Make a budget so you spend less than you make. Then use the rest to make a plan to pay off your debt.

There are two methods to pay off debt: the Snowball and the Avalanche. In the Snowball Method, list your debts smallest to largest by amount. Pay minimum payments on everything and if you have extra money, put it on the smallest debt. When the smallest debt is paid off, take all that money, and roll it towards the next largest debt. The payments “snowball” until you pay off the largest debt.

The Avalanche Method is the same method, but you list debts largest to smallest based on their interest rate. Mathematically, this means you will spend less money getting out of debt. Ultimately, choose the one that motivates you more.

6. Save for a house

Another thing to consider while single is saving for a house. Don’t do this until you are out of debt, however. If you save money in a savings account that accrues at 1% interest and your student loan has a 5% interest rate, your dollar’s value is shrinking by 4% each year!

Besides, once you are used to budgeting to pay off debt, you can just take all that money you were paying on debt and put it towards a house. Meet with a financial planner to decide what kind of account to save money in. If you are not buying a house for at least five years, you may find an investment account is the best place to save instead of a traditional savings account. 

7. Read

When you’re single, especially if you live alone, it is incredibly easy to give in to binge-watching TV shows or playing video games. While you’re single, it’s important to broaden your horizons. Don’t just watch the same TV shows or play the same video games as everyone else. Get a library card and explore different genres of literature.

Don’t feel obligated to read “fancy” books, though. It’s not necessary for you to check out The Iliad or Don Quixote on your first trip to the library. But do get something that stretches your ability just a little. Over time, you’ll find your reading ability will increase and you will be reading more in-depth works. This has the added benefit of making conversation a little more interesting.

8. Work out

Establishing routines while single is an incredibly good thing. Workout routines are particularly good to establish. Before you go searching for bodybuilder meal plans and thirty-day workouts, figure out ways you can incorporate exercise into your day. Can you walk or bike to work? Can you hike or play basketball with friends? Can you do a bodyweight workout in the morning?

If none of these are possible or appealing, consider getting a gym membership. The important thing when exercising is finding the intersection between what is healthy and what you enjoy doing. If one of those two things are not present, your routine will eventually do more harm than good.

9. Pray

Another routine to establish is a prayer routine. Similar to the workout routine, find the intersection between something you enjoy and something that is spiritually beneficial. Also, try to incorporate new routines into what you already do. Can you add a prayer of thanksgiving after receiving communion on Sunday? Can you do meditative prayer or read scripture in the mornings? Can you examine your conscience before bed?

So, there you have it...my list of nine things that all single Catholics should be enjoying but also perfecting during their single years.

Even if you only get through a handful of them before you end up meeting Mr. or Mrs. Right, believe me, your future spouse (and your future self!) will thank you for it.

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