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this reminds me of beeminder.com

I like the idea of adding financial incentive to stick to habits etc, but i would be uncomfortable with having to deposit money, why not just take a CC and charge it if I break the contract?

also: what prevents me from just lying about whether I did the thing I promised to do?

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From what I have seen, depositing before making the commitment makes you much more likely to succeed. Seeing the money leave your account creates a lot of psychological pressure that otherwise doesn't exist.

The verification system is not fool proof. If you put some effort into forging proof you will succeed. However, I do not believe most people who willingly sign up for this would do that.

A lot of us know what's good for us... doesn't mean it's always easy to do. This is just another way of making it a little easier to actually do what you know is good for you.

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