She has been single for eight and a half years, built a career around it, and says she wouldn’t have it any other way. Lucy Meggeson is the author of Shiny Happy Singles (Thrive Solo in the US), host of the Thrive Solo podcast, and one of the most compelling voices challenging everything we think we know about singleness, relationships and what a successful life really looks like.
In this episode of Money and Us, Anna sits down with Lucy for a candid and thought provoking conversation about one of the most misunderstood topics of our time. What does it actually mean to thrive as a single person? Why do we still assume that being single is a problem to be solved? And what does money look like when you’re navigating life entirely on your own terms?
Lucy challenges the fairy tale narrative most of us were sold from childhood, the idea that success means marriage, children and happily ever after. She talks about the freedom, peace and emotional stability that single life can bring, the financial realities of living solo, and why by 2030, almost half of women aged 25 to 44 are predicted to be single.
This is a conversation for single women who are ready to stop apologising for their lives, for partnered people who want to be better friends and allies, and for anyone who has ever questioned whether the life they’re living is the one they actually chose.
Key Moments:
• By 2030, almost 45% of women aged 25 to 44 are predicted to be single, and why that number doesn’t surprise Lucy at all
• The fairy tale narrative we were sold as little girls and why it sets so many women up to feel like failures
• Why Lucy believes that if a single woman tells you she’s happy, you should believe her
• The financial realities of living solo, from the single person tax to the hidden costs most people never consider
• The most underrated benefits of single life that nobody talks about, including peace, emotional stability and the lack of compromise
• Why life is an inside job, and what that means whether you’re single or not
• What wealth means to Lucy, and why freedom is at the heart of her answer
Chapters: 00:00 Introduction
01:16 Fact or Fiction: Will Half of Women Be Single by 2030?
02:40 Why More Women Are Choosing to Stay Single
05:08 The Relationship Story We're All Taught
07:32 Disney, Fairytales & Finding Prince Charming
08:44 What Does Success Really Look Like?
10:36 Is Lucy Anti-Relationship?
12:12 The Reality of Being Happily Single
14:08 The Question Every Single Woman Gets Asked
15:21 Why Lucy Chooses to Stay Single
18:16 Why She Becomes Her Best Self Alone
20:03 Lucy's Relationship History
24:09 The Lockdown Moment That Changed Everything
25:30 Why She Created Thrive Solo
28:01 The Double Standard Between 'Spinster' and 'Bachelor'
31:04 Writing Shiny Happy Singles
35:12 Why So Many Women Feel Seen
37:16 How to Start Enjoying Being Single
41:29 Why Happiness Is an Inside Job
44:27 What Married Friends Need to Understand
46:07 Why We Don't Celebrate Single People Enough
48:45 Stop Putting Your Life on Hold
53:48 The Personal Growth That Comes From Being Single
57:43 The Money Reality of Single Life
59:26 Why Lucy Left BBC Radio 2
01:02:09 Starting Over During Lockdown
01:03:26 The Financial Cost of Following Your Purpose
01:07:00 The 'Single Tax' Explained
01:11:45 Financial Independence vs Financial Security
01:16:30 Final Advice for Anyone Feeling Behind in Life
01:20:15 Closing Thoughts
Sponsor:
Capital at Risk. Investment Values May Rise and Fall
What is Money & Us ?
Money and Us with Anna Brading is your reminder that it’s never too late to take control of your finances and change your life.
Anna is a Certified Financial Education Instructor, author and mum who knows first hand what it feels like to do all the things you’re taught to do and still feel completely lost with money. She figured it out, changed her life, and has since built a community of over 250,000 people, written a bestselling book and has been invited to Parliament to advocate for better financial education for all. Now she’s here to help you do the same.
Most of us were never taught how money really works. Almost three quarters of UK adults never received any financial education at school, so it’s no wonder so many of us feel overwhelmed, underprepared and like we’re somehow behind. We’ve convinced ourselves it’s too complicated, that we’ve left it too late, or that the advice out there just doesn’t apply to our lives. The reality of juggling work and kids, caring for elderly relatives, going through health challenges, and still showing up with a smile on our faces.
What if the right conversation, at the right time, could change everything?
Every week, Anna sits down with some of the UK’s leading experts for honest, real conversations about money in the context of real life. From entrepreneurship and investing to relationships, grief, addiction, parenthood and raising the next generation, these are the conversations that meet you where you are right now, not where you think you should be.
Money and Us is a space where no question is too small, no starting point is too late, and nobody is made to feel judged or behind. Most of us are figuring this out as we go, and that’s exactly what this podcast is here for.