Using Accountability for Financial Planning

Accountability: anything or anyone that helps us gain mental leverage to achieve the results we desire.

—The Accountability Stop

As of 2024, I have a written will. I mention this because I put “write will” on my to do list in 2019. It took me five years to get around to it! I’m at an age where it’s prudent, but not necessary to have one. If I had a spouse or children dependent on me, then I should have had a will much earlier in life. 

What was my resistance to writing a will? In most of my financial life I’m prepared for the future. It wasn’t that difficult. I had to collect account information, insurance information, contact information, passwords, etc. I had to make decisions about how assets will be distributed. I had to set aside the time to meet with an estate planner and work out the specifics. However, the typical “urgent” issues of daily life took precedence for years. It was too easy to procrastinate. Eventually, I had to use accountability techniques to get this accomplished. 

A Will and a Way

A blessing and a curse of modern life is the planning required to smoothly transition from work to retirement to “golden years” to our eventual passing. It’s not fun to think about. It’s part of adulting that we instinctively put off until later. Some of this planning is for our future selves—401k contributions, insurance, paying off a mortgage and building an emergency fund. Some is for other people—college savings plans and written wills for instance.

We can use accountability techniques to prepare for the future. They can give us the mental leverage to become better prepared now for the future events that might and will come along. 

Find Your “How”

It’s probably best to tackle our financial planning goals one at a time instead of leaving them all in one mental pile of “to dos” that seems daunting. Work through one issue at a time and take some time between them. Start with setting up 401k contributions first, for instance. Take a small break before tackling insurance.

Here are some suggested accountability techniques that might be good for future planning:

• Set a start date and/or a deadline for addressing various financial planning goals. We shouldn’t give ourselves too much time or we won’t create the necessary urgency to finish them. Two weeks to a month might be an appropriate schedule.
• Make an appointment—either with ourselves to research, make decisions, and fill out paperwork—or with someone to help us plan. We can add more accountability by hiring a financial planner, insurance agent, etc. and setting an appointment for them to help us work through the processes.
• Some of us might benefit from looking at national averages and doing some secret benchmarking. Do we have a larger emergency fund than average? Are we saving more for retirement than the average person our age?
• We can make financial planning and security one of the topics we address with our accountability buddy or accountability group. We could look at classes from Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey, or maybe a Reddit personal finance group.

Financial planning is usually better to keep private. Public accountability methods are probably not the best choices here.

Improving Returns

I previously tried will-writing as one of my goals with an accountability group. I tried considering the project as a gift to those who would be recipients of the proceeds of my will. I got through some pre-planning that way, but I didn’t have enough traction to make a legal version. Eventually I put will-writing on a list with my accountability buddy for 2024. Then I set up an appointment with a local estate planner. 

Writing a legally-recognized will is important. But that wasn’t enough to convince me to do it for five years. When I found the right accountability, I accomplished the task. 

What’s Your Account?

Do you feel like you’re prepared financially for your future? If not, can accountability help you get there?