Faux January One- Resolution Edition.

It’s that time again. Time to make up hopes and dreams for the next twelve months, so full of promise that you can’t possibly forget them again this year, right? But if you’re so intent on keeping that New Years Resolution in 2009, why not bet on it?

Economists at Yale have developed a cheeky new website, StickK.com, a graveyard of resolutions for the upcoming year, with a financial twist. Users log in to StickK.com for free, make up a commitment contract with specific goals, details as to what the goal entails, a deadline… and the amount of money you bet on being able to achieve that goal. Included from StickK.com are Reporting Periods, a set date you must chime in with your success, ensuring the goal is still on it’s way. In the odd chance that you put money down and still don’t make your goal, the amount of the bet is forfeited to your choice of supporter, charity, or wherever else you’d like to see it disappear to.

Of course, if weight is your big problem, you can also swing by flaab.com. Users on this E. Jean website make bets on how much weight they would like to use and what will happen if they don’t. Whichever amount of cash you pick can go to your cube mate at work, your bff, or even your ex. Plus, there’s also an entry box to make loosing the bet more humiliating by betting a stupid activity. Kissing dogs, stopping coffee or alcohol intake, and updating Facebook Status’ all apply.

For a more general resolution tracker, Start a Resolution is a cute little website that is simple to use and leads you through a step-by-step course of how you can actually achieve your goals. You can also browse through similar resolutions and see how other users are going about getting to their goals.

The non-betting resoluter would fare much better on 43Things.com. Rather than an ultimatum or list of impending doom, users log in for free and make a list of everything they would love to accomplish in the near future. After adding a simply worded goal, such as “Build a Deck,” or “Create a Podcast,” or even “Start a Business,” you are presented with a list of others with the same goal. Share progress, give support, or take helpful tips and hints. Plus, after you finish that goal, your name goes up on the home page with the shiny, happy words: achieved.

For myself, I usually post my “Hope-to-Accomplish” list somewhere nice and public, like the Internet, so everyone can prod me and ask me “hey, how’s that going?” and I can feel the ultimate shame of letting down friends and family when I don’t achieve.