Ah, I don't agree but that's an interesting point that I could see being true for some people. I think mostly there's plenty of short-term cost to derailing a

Ah, I don't agree but that's an interesting point that I could see being true for some people. I think mostly there's plenty of short-term cost to derailing a Beeminder goal and getting the alert "we are now charging you $X". Not as good as handing over cash but still pretty good! I definitely disagree that surrounding yourself with pictures of your goals is comparable. I mean, it can't hurt and maybe for some people it's enough, but for me personally, for example, things like that just fade into the background for me and lose their effectiveness. A commitment device (monetary or otherwise) doesn't let that happen!