Remember the old Rolaids commercial, “how do you spell relief? R-O-L-A-I-D-S?” That was many years ago, but today stress is at an all-time high. Much of it is due to our financial concerns.

At The Finance Coach, we have a remedy, but not in pill form. It isn’t designed to address the symptoms, but more so the illness. It’s called accountability and 9 out of 10 reasons we get ourselves into debt or fail to get ourselves out is due to lack of accountability with our finances.

Here are three techniques that can help to bring you financial relief.

Create a budget

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, for most it’s harder than it looks. That’s why our last few articles have focused on budgeting. Write down your income and your expenses from last month. Highlight the expenses where you could have made a different decision with (i.e. eating out, buying items outside of groceries, memberships, entertainment, etc.). Decide which of those items that are highlighted need to change to get you where you want to be financially. If the highlighted items can’t do it, you may need to re-evaluate your position on highlighted ones. Regardless, this exercise will get the real issues in front of you and help you determine what you need to be doing and what you need to hold yourself accountable to.

Find an accountability partner

Whether it is exercise or finances, we often fail at holding ourselves accountable. Recognize it, and if that is you, then find someone you trust to help hold you accountable. Share with them what you are trying to accomplish – and don’t hold back. Tell them the end result you want to achieve, the timeframe you want to do it, and how you plan to get there. Ask them to challenge you on your plan AND your actions along the way. Set regular meetings so you know you have to face that person to share your success or failure each step of the way.

Hire a finance coach

OK, shameless plug I know, but hiring a trained finance counselor works for people because it provides that experienced 3rd party you need to help you make the tough decisions that are thrown at you each month. It also gives you someone that is not a friend or family member to help you with a situation you may feel is private. Now you may say, “I can’t afford the fee when I am in this much debt.”, but instead you should be saying, “I can’t afford to live like this anymore.”

If you need to make a change, and if you realize that accountability is your issue, then take your first step to accountability by picking one of the options above that will work for you and make the change. Remember, we are here to help you succeed – that’s why we always offer an initial free consultation.