Do you have issues communicating with others? Is discussing money a taboo topic in your household? It’s time to get over that and learn how to communicate about your finances! No, you don’t need to be an open book about it with everyone. However, you should have at least one confidant who is reliable and can help you stay consistent as you work towards your financial goals. In other words, you need to find an accountability partner if you want to make consistent progress in your journey towards financial independence. Accountability partners aren’t necessarily mandatory, but they make your job a lot easier.
What Is An Accountability Partner?
For those of you who have never heard of an accountability partner, the term is actually self-explanatory. It’s exactly like it sounds, so don’t overcomplicate it – as most are prone to do with personal finance concepts. An accountability partner is a friend, family member, or spouse who serves to hold you accountable for a specific goal or accomplishment. For example, if you wanted to cut your spending on restaurants in half, you would likely want an accountability partner to help you with that goal.
Accountability partners can be for any goal, but I mainly use them and reference them as it relates to personal finance. A lot of people get help with their careers, professional development, and self improvement, but not everyone remembers to ask for assistance with their financial goals. Part of that may be because most desire to keep that aspect of their lives private. Even if you’re one of those people, having a confidant is valuable enough that you should let at least one person in on some of the details.
Why Does Anyone Need One?
Well, accountability partners come with a myriad of benefits, for starters. However, at the end of the day, the main point is that they make it easier to stay consistent on your path towards your goals. It’s less about having someone to back you up and more about having someone who will remind you to correct your course. Additionally, the mere fact that you have to touch base with someone else makes it more likely that you’ll follow through on your intentions.
Benefits
- Accountability partners are there to help you stay motivated and consistent.
- A second mind can be useful for planning and coming up with effective strategies.
- They can be a more objective party – to give you a different perspective on your progress.
- Accountability partners can give you advice as you encounter hurdles.
- They act as a constant reminder of your goals.
- They can help you push yourself to your limits.
- It’s someone to share your success and failures with!
Discipline Is Easier As A Team
Generally, when you’re working together, it’s easier to be disciplined and consistent. Going through parts of life alone may be required at times, but so much is easier when you have someone in your corner. If you’ve never needed someone’s support to say on track – that’s great – but most people perform much better with support. Don’t underestimate the value of a good support system in your life, especially during those trying periods.
Of Course, You Have To Set Specific Goals
With all of that said, you obviously have to be specific about the goals you set with your accountability partner. If you don’t tell them exactly what you’re trying to do, and where you’re at now, then it will be hard for them to help or encourage you. Set goals, be specific, and be realistic about what you can do. I know it’s easy to want to take on everything at once, but that’s not always possible. Most people overestimate what they can do in a few months or a year, but underestimate what they can do over several years or a decade.
You Need To Keep In Touch
In order for your accountability partner to be useful, you have to stay in touch with them. That can be face-to-face, calls, or any other form of communication. Just make sure you two are touching base and on the same page. If you fall out of touch, then that accountability partner can no longer support you. That’s why it’s usually a good idea to pick someone that you’ll have (or want) to interact with regularly anyway. If you choose someone you don’t really want to stay in touch with, then dropping communication is almost easy for you – and an excuse to push off what you need to do to reach your goals.
How Do You Find An Accountability Partner?
Finding an accountability partner is simple. Pick someone you trust. There are a lot of factors that go into that, but ultimately that is what you need. Finding that may seem hard, but you probably have that in your life in some way. Are you close with your family? Perhaps your best friend could fill the role of an accountability partner. Alternatively, maybe your spouse or significant other could help you in this capacity.
Which brings up an important point – your spouse as an accountability partner. Sometimes that may be the absolute perfect setup, but be wary. Having your spouse be the person pushing you to stay consistent isn’t always great for your romantic relationship. So, keep that in mind when deciding on your accountability partner. If the level of support you need could harm your relationship, then it may be better to go with someone else.
The Traits You Need In An Accountability Partner
First up, you need to trust them – as I’ve already said. A lot of these other traits will just contribute to that. Additional traits may just be about filling the function of an accountability partner and ways to do that more efficiently.
- They will always encourage you.
- He or she isn’t afraid to challenge you and drive you to do better.
- Of course, your accountability partner should still care about you – they should just be willing to give you tough love when you need it as well. That means they should also know how much is going too far.
- They’ll need good communication skills, especially when it comes to giving constructive criticism.
- Your accountability partner can’t be afraid of this type of commitment and support in your relationship (whatever that may be).
- They need to be realistic.
- Whoever it is, your accountability partner should be someone you respect and view as an equal. They have to be held in somewhat high esteem or it won’t work.
Conclusion
Hopefully all of this information helps you in your search for your accountability partner – and on your path towards your goals. Don’t get discouraged at hiccups and setbacks, those are just part of the process. If you have some tips about having an accountability partner and managing that relationship, let us know in the comments!
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