New York — New Year’s resolutions have a notoriously low success rate — only 8% of people achieve their goals. Losing weight, drinking less, being nicer to the cat — all of these aspirations fall away as January wears on. The rate spikes, however, when the resolution has to do with money and finance. This trend showed up in research by the goal-setting website StickK. Users create a commitment contract for a personal goal and can have a "referee" (usually a friend) verify their progress; they can also add a financial stake, such as pledging an amount to be automatically sent from their credit card on file with the site to a cause they detest if they fail to meet their goal. When a referee is used, the average success rate is 61% for goals related to money and finance, says Jordan Goldberg, the company’s chairman. (For those wanting to lose weight, the success rate is a not-too-shabby 47%.) When the goal involves using a referee and a financial stake, the success rate for financial r...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.