This article is a guest blogger submission written by Ben and first published at MoneySmartLife. If you like what you see, why not subscribe to his RSS feed?

The Biggest Loser
I caught the end of a reality TV show tonight called “The Biggest Loser”. People on the show learn to change their lifestyle in order to lose weight and regain good health. With a simple plan of diet and exercise, they change their lives. The person that loses the most weight, wins the competition.

The Biggest Saver
What if there was a show called “The Biggest Saver”? What if we had someone weighing us in financially every week on national television? How much more accountable would we be with our personal finances?

Healthy Appearances
The unfortunate thing about financial health is that unlike being overweight, you can’t always judge a person’s wealth by looking at them. If someone can’t fit into their pants, it is obvious to everyone. However, someone could be spending every penny they earn to pay for nice clothes, expensive cars, and a big house. To others, they come may come across as well to do, when in reality they are two weeks away from a financial heart attack.

Internal Motivation
Appearances can be discouraging for those that decide to make a change and get financially fit. If you lose weight, it shows. People offer compliments and ask how you did it. However, if you hit your savings goal 3 months in a row, no one knows. There are no compliments; you don’t feel any different physically. For this reason, the journey for financial health is often driven largely by internal motivation.

Keys to Success
Why are the people on the show able to lose 30-40% of their weight in a short period of time?

- They have a mentor. Someone encouraging them and keeping them motivated to push on when things get tough
- They follow a system. They’re shown a simple system of diet and exercise.
- They have the support of a team. It’s not them against the world. They have others to turn to for motivation and advice

If you can incorporate the above keys to success into your financial journey, I guarantee you will make great strides towards your financial goal; you will become the “Biggest Saver”!