What is an accountability contract?
An accountability contract is a commitment with a real cost attached to breaking it. You state a goal, a deadline, and a way to prove you did it. If you don't, you pay — automatically, without anyone chasing you.
That's different from a habit tracker, a to-do list, or telling a friend you'll do something. Those rely on you grading your own honesty. An accountability contract moves the judgment call to before you start: you describe what would count as proof, and a deadline decides the outcome.
Why a cash stake changes behavior
Wanting a good outcome pulls you forward. Refusing to lose money pushes you off the couch. Most habit tools only use the first one. An accountability contract keeps both running on the same clock.
How FailFee implements it
FailFee turns the idea into a specific mechanism: membership to use the app, then a Stripe card hold of $5–$100, a deadline of at most 5 days 12 hours, and photo proof checked against the description you wrote. Pass and the hold is released. Miss it and the stake is captured as a fee. There's no canceling once the contract is live.