The Financial Accountability Challenge

Accountability is one of the largest keys to success for any plan or endeavor we choose to pursue. Accountability encourages us to reach our goals and kicks us in the butt when we drag our feet. Financially speaking, it is imperative that we have accountability in our life. It’s that second (or third or fourth) set of eyes looking over our spending, savings, and our financial goals to help us reach them in time to benefit from them. Considering the average person spends more than 40 hours each week earning their income, doesn’t it just make sense to have a little help each month to ensure our hard work is worth it in the end? I believe it is and that’s why I’m presenting the FA Challenge (Financial Accountability Challenge) to you. Here’s what the FA Challenge is all about:

The Goal: Get traction and run! Getting financially healthy and achieving our financial goals takes persistence and time, so the sooner we get moving the sooner we achieve those goals. Most people need a little (or not so little) kick start before they get moving, and hopefully the FA Challenge will be just that.

Real Accountability: Your financial goals and/or monthly budget will be posted in a public forum (this blog) for myself and others to see. Once posted, I’ll be able to encourage you along in the process, offer suggestions that could help you reach your goals faster, and act as a third party accountability partner. It will also offer you the ability to open up and be ”real” in front of other people trying to do the same thing you are: get/stay financially healthy and reach your goals! You can make others part of you journey and we can all celebrate with you as you reach each of your goals.

It’s Very Tough: Being brutally honest can be tough….very tough! Especially when we’re in the middle of the fight to reach our goals. Saying that we haven’t been great with money management or admitting we need help can be a difficult pill to swallow (pride typically is!), but it’s a necessary part of the process that can’t be skipped if we are serious about improving our position. So each month I want to see an update on how you’re doing during the process. I’m sure some people will be updating on a weekly basis.

There’s no cost to join and there have already been a few submital’s so you’ll see at least one couples story, budget, and goals within a few days. Those of you who are interested in taking the FA Challenge and adding your name to the group here’s what you need to do:

Submit a comment to this post including your first name (not last), brief reason for wanting to join the FA Challenge, basic budget, and what your financial goal is (become debt free, save for a car, purchase first house, etc.). All comments and posts that are part of the FA Challenge will be moderated prior to posting for privacy purposes. You can mimic the first couples post if desired when submitting your post to help you stay organized. Send me a note if you have any questions.

Making Every Penny Stretch

Our money is being stretched in multiple directions every day. Someone, somewhere wants that dollar that is in our back pocket or purse. The laundromat, the hair-stylist, the grocery store, the mechanic, the barista at our regular coffee stand, and of course, don’t forget the government. All want to lay claim to that green bill, that piece of legal tender just waiting leave our wallet and find its way into a cashiers till. With all those hands out wanting a piece of our hard earned money it can be difficult to find enough of it to go around. And while it might be tempting to consider just cutting a few people out (that 25% to the government would be a fun place to start), the legal ramifications typically help persuade us to use a different method for managing our money.

What we need is a plan. I know what you’re thinking, “not the dreaded budget”. You can call it something else if it lowers your pulse a bit, but a plan is what the doctor ordered for your money. A spending plan for your money is want will help insure that each bill gets paid to the right person, at the right time, for the right amount. Wow, that was so profound. Hahaha. I know, but beyond the basics, a plan will also help you reach those goals you have jotted down somewhere (including the ones that jotted down in the back of your mind, like retirement and/or funding your kids college one day). A plan will assist you in saying yes to the items that must be dealt with (the home mortgage) and no to the items of less importance (that magic set that will fulfill your childhood dreams of becoming the great Houdini) during tight months.

A plan will help simplify your personal financial world. Get your money matters down on writing and put it somewhere that you’re going to see it several times a week. Repeat this step every month so that each dollar that comes in has to a home to go before the month is over. And here’s another novel idea, when there’s a little extra some month, start building up that emergency savings account! No really, it’ll pay big rewards when a future month is tighter than expected. Living on a financial plan doesn’t have to be a big, scary ordeal, but it needs to happen if you want to be successful long-term with your money.