Dave Ramsey Said Not to Skip This Step if You're Trying to Get Your Finances in Order

Ramsey's advice could help you stay on track with your goals.

If you're hoping to get better at managing your money, there's a lot of different things you can do in order to accomplish this important objective. 

But, there's one surprising step that finance expert Dave Ramsey said you can't skip if you really want to be successful at improving your financial situation.

Could this be the key to accomplishing your financial objectives? 

Ramsey said if you really want to stick to your budget or to other financial goals, there's one trick to making that happen.  

"Get yourself an accountability partner," Ramsey suggested. "Don't skip this. Accountability and routine are key to getting new habits to stick and making goals actually come true!" 

Ramsey believes you should have regular budget meetings with your accountability partner. Depending on what your financial goals are, you could also check in with your partner on other issues you are working on too. 

For example, if you are primarily focused on paying off credit card debt right now, you could have monthly meetings to report on your progress and share how much extra you paid on your balance that month. Or if your goal is to boost your savings account balance, you could share your balance at a set time each month to showcase how it has grown thanks to your new contributions.

Is Ramsey right? 

Ramsey's advice makes a lot of sense. In fact, there's tons of data showing that having someone to be accountable to can help you make all sorts of important life improvements. For example, the idea of being accountable to someone else is the foundation for programs like Weight Watchers, which aims to help you to lose weight due to regular check-ins with others.

When you know you're going to have to check in with someone else, you're much less likely to want to disappoint them by your lack of progress. You probably won't want to have to report you didn't accomplish your goal for the month and, in fact, you may even be motivated to do more than you had originally intended just so you have something extra positive to share.

The good news is, this step isn't a difficult one to take and there's no real downside to it, so you may as well give it a try if you're working toward any financial goals. Ramsey says you can ask a spouse or partner to serve in this role, or ask someone else you trust (who you can also perhaps help accomplish goals of their own).

"If you're married, you've got an automatic, built-in accountability partner," Ramsey said. "If you aren't, find someone who will both motivate and challenge you through the year." So, figure out who your person is going to be, share your goals, and set up regular sessions to see how you're accomplishing them. Do it today so you can get on the path toward building lasting positive habits, and you'll likely be amazed at what a difference this simple step ends up making in your financial life.