There is an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “How To Sell The Savings Habit To Americans.” The basic theme of the article is that “images of beautiful retirees sailing on expensive yachts in fancy destinations” does not inspire people to save. In other words, the article notes that “Americans are inclined to save more when shown negative images (impoverished families eating cat food in retirement, for example) than when shown positive and rational images (happy, beautiful people in retirement).”
Hidden in the article though is a brief remark about a new website called “StickK” which is a sort of “online commitment store” (still in beta form) designed to help people set goals and keep them.