Last Updated on May 29, 2021
How Can An Accountability Partner Change Your Financial Life?
Budgeting is essential to changing your financial habits – it can’t be said enough. Budgeting should occur monthly and take into account different events that happen during that period. But how can you budget your best when it can be so difficult, stressful, and, let’s face it, not very fun? Enter: the accountability partner. Someone who can help you, challenge you, change your perception of budgeting and hopefully improve your financial life!
What is an accountability partner?
An accountability partner is someone who holds you accountable for how you spend your money. They will help you create a monthly budget, check in with you throughout the month to ensure you are staying on budget, and help you close out your budget at the end of the month. The intention of using an accountability partner is to keep yourself on track with the objective of reaching your financial goals as soon as possible.
How can you find an accountability partner?
If you are married, you have a built-in accountability partner! Why? Because you both have an interest in the same financial issues. Even if you choose to have separate bank accounts, you should both have knowledge of how and why you are spending in a certain way. Stay open about your money and any issues you may be having so that your partner does not get blindsided in the future by your money choices.
It can be very difficult for marriages to thrive when there are disagreements about money. Try to honor each other’s spending habits and views about money. Strive to work through any issues you have with transparency by setting financial goals and making choices about money together.
My partner is the problem!
“Nearly half of Americans (48%) who are married or living with a partner say they argue with the person over money, according to a survey of more than 1,000 people by The Cashlorette, which is owned by personal finance site Bankrate.com. Most of those fights are about spending habits, with 60% saying that one person spends too much or the other is too cheap.
The remaining fights are pretty evenly split between someone being dishonest about money, how to divide the bills, and other types of money fights, which could be anything from disagreements over forgetting to pay a bill to a couple’s financial priorities in life.” Market Watch
If you have a significant other but are not married, you can use them as your accountability partner or not; this is your choice. It is a great idea to have in-depth conversations about money if you are serious about the relationship. Getting into the habit of talking about money with your partner will hopefully help you to ease into the transition of working together on finances in the future.
Until you are married, though, you should keep your finances separate or be prepared to walk away without recouping the money you may have contributed.
Once you are engaged, a conversation about money, debt, savings, financial goals, and more should be at the top of your priority list. This would be a good time to commit to being accountability partners for each other so that you can learn about each other’s money personalities. This gives you an opportunity to begin to confide in and trust one another about financial matters. Continue to keep your money separate until marriage, though.
Monetary issues come up often in marriages, so hopefully, starting with transparency will help you feel you are on the same page and work together towards a larger goal. Having conversations about money may also lead you into other important conversations as you prepare for marriage. By engaging in these practices, you may be able to avoid money (and other) issues in the future.
Who else could be your financial accountability partner?
If you don’t have a significant other, an accountability partner can be a parent, sibling, or friend. You must trust this person with personal information, as you will probably be sharing your income and bill amounts, at the very least. Of course, this can be done by sharing as little as possible.
Still, it will be easier for your accountability partner to help you if you are more transparent about your finances. Hopefully, they will also trust you with their finances. You can build a great budget relationship by helping each other make awesome financial decisions.
“The most impactful choice we can make in terms of remaining on track with our goals is having an accountability partner. Taking that step increased our chances of success to more than 85 percent,” Foundr reported.
If you have read the descriptions above and are still unsure who a potential accountability partner should be, consider the questions below as a means of assistance:
- What is our relationship? If we are married, they are my accountability partner.
- Do I trust them with confidential information?
- Am I willing to be as trustworthy with their confidential information as I expect them to be with mine?
- Do they have similar dedication and motivation to work on their financial habits?
- Will they be a good sounding board as I work through my budget?
- Will I be able to meet with them at least once a month to discuss past and future budgets?
- Will they keep me motivated to stay on budget?
- Are they truly invested in my financial well-being?
Reflecting on these questions should help you to find a great accountability partner for your finances. Consider “interviewing” a few people before you make a final decision if you are truly unsure. Even if you are married, you may want to start by talking through your expectations of being accountability partners for each other.
Work to build trust, and though it may take time, it will be worth it. Laying the groundwork for how to best work together can be very beneficial to this money relationship.
What is the process for meeting with my accountability partner?
Once you have figured out who your accountability partner will be, how do you get started? Here are some things to consider and put into practice as you grow your relationship.
Accountability partners should meet at least once every month in order to set up the budget and review previous spending patterns. Although this is a serious event, you can make it fun by having a date night with a spouse or significant other or a girl or guy’s night if it is a friend. You could take the opportunity to get out of the house or just meet in a video chat with food and drink. Try to change up the setting and make it as light as possible since it could potentially be a heavy topic.
Before you get started with the budget, figure out and review 3-5 financial goals you have for the short and long term. These should include writing them down and discussing them with your accountability partner, so you both have a good understanding of what you expect from working together. Do the same with their financial goals. Review these every month and make adjustments as you meet goals or new challenges.
Come to the meeting prepared! Determine how you will record and track your budget and have that ready to go when you arrive. Ensure you have documentation prepared to fill out your budget completely. This includes your income(s), bill amounts, and information from your previous month’s spending that would help make the budget as accurate as possible.
Hopefully, by having this ready, you will cut down on the amount of time you spend looking up information on your paystub or bank account.
What system will you use to record and track your budget? Have it ready to go. This could be as simple as just pencil and paper or as complicated as a spreadsheet or even a budgeting app. Fill it out as you go so you don’t struggle to remember what you talked about after the meeting. Talk through how to best spend your income by going line by line through your budget – starting with your four walls – home, utilities, food, and transportation.
Allow your accountability partner to question your spending on every line. Questions like, “Is that really the best way to spend?” and “How can you trim the budget to add more to your financial goals?” are great questions. Be open to any constructive criticism and really listen to the suggestions that your partner makes – you chose them because of their willingness to help you reach your financial goals, after all.
If you really feel uncomfortable, consider asking yourself why. Is it because of the person you are working with? Then change your accountability partner. If it’s just because it is not something you are used to, you may need to continue to work to be open.
Allow an hour or more for this process – at least for the first few times you budget. As you and your accountability partner become more skilled in this process, you will probably be able to spend less time on the budgeting and more time on the fun part of this outing or Zoom!
How can I be a good accountability partner?
Help them as much as possible – the goal is to spend less than you make and help them use any extra money to boost their financial goals. Text each other once a month or so between sessions to update one another on how things are going financially. Show a true interest in their financial well-being, and celebrate money wins!
When you meet for your monthly money “date,” start and end with celebrations – and try not to linger too long on mistakes. It can be tough to stay on budget, as we well know, and this is a process with which we must give ourselves and others much grace.
In conclusion, using an accountability partner can be an overwhelming prospect at first but can potentially be life-changing in your habits and ability to budget. Spend some time looking for someone who is a good fit, and then put in the work to do your best to hold each other accountable. With time and effort, you will both benefit greatly from working together to improve your money habits and meet your financial goals!