Recently I wrote about the incentive my husband gave me to lose some weight . Basically he is willing to forgo half of his entertainment budget if I lose the fat I gained post college. A commenter pointed me at a website called stickK.com which lets you put money on your goals, and I thought it was a pretty interesting concept.

Basically, stickK.com lets you draft up a Commitment Contract with yourself and put money on it. If you fulfill your part of the deal, then the money is returned to you. However, if you fail to deliver on the contract then the money is forfeited to an organization or a person of your choice.

To make things more interesting, you can designate the money to a person or an organization you hate with a passion. So if you do not reach your personal goals your foes will benefit. I think this may be more motivating than receiving money.

To keep yourself accountable, you could also designate a referee to monitor your progress. If your referee reports that you failed, then your money is forfeited. A good referee would be someone that knows you personally.

For example, I could make a contract with myself to lose 15 pounds by the end of the year and stake $1000 on it. Then I could designate the money to my husband's entertainment fund in case I fail. In order to avoid losing all the money to a gleeful shopping spree for games by my husband, I would probably work harder at losing the weight.

I think anyone could implement this with or without stickK, but having a third party does help you from reneging on a promise. Have you ever staked money on completing a goal? Did it work?