The Best Dollar(s) that I’ve Ever Spent
A few weeks ago, I taught my son to ride his bike. After too many episodes of running up and down the street holding onto his seat while trying to teach him how to ride, I finally wised up. We live on a slight incline and I told him that he needed to practice coasting down the hill with his feet out to the side in order to learn what it feels like to balance on a bike.
I soon noticed that he was actually getting pretty good. But instead of trying to right himself whenever he started to tip, he’d always take the easy way out and simply put a foot down on the ground. It was clear to me that he just needed a little nudge to get over his trepidation. So I made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse.
I offered him a dollar if he could coast to the end of the cul de sac without touching the ground. And after just one try, I owed him a dollar. Next up was learning to pedal.
I briefly explained to him what to expect when pedaling without me holding on. I then offered him another dollar if he could pedal to the end of the street. After a few false starts, he rode off and earned his dollar. But whenever he got to the end of the street, he would walk his bike back up the incline so he could start again, so…
I made him a final offer: ride back up the hill for a third (and final) dollar. After a couple of tries, he got the hang of starting of uphill, and he rode right back up to our house. Since that time, we’ve hardly been able to get him off his bike.
So… The next time you need to teach a kid to ride a bike, think about paying them off. Unorthodox? Maybe. Effective? Definitely. Three bucks beats the hell out of running up and down the street endlessly, and it was a lot more empowering for my son to essentially master this on his own.
Disclaimer: Discover is a paid advertiser of this site.
Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the Discover online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards.
Modified on September 1st, 2010 - 18 Comments
Filed under: Family & Life
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» What Would You Do With a Million Dollars?» Santa Dollars and Bunny Bucks
» Carnivals – Week of 07/10/06
» You Can Only Spend Each Dollar Once
» How Much Does a Million Dollars Weigh? (Revisited)
» From the Archives (April 13th – May 3rd)
» Have You Checked Your Tax Receipt?
» One Year Ago This Week (December 3rd – December 9th)
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
18 Responses to “The Best Dollar(s) that I’ve Ever Spent”
Leave a Reply
Top Cards by Category
Earn 100 Reward Dollars after you make $1,000 in purchases in the first three months of Cardmembership.
Earn 25K Membership Rewards(R) points after you spend $2,000 during your first three months of Card membership.
Consumer friendly credit card with a great low rate of 7.25% and save on interest charges. No balance transfer fees and no annual fee.
The new Discover it card is out to change the way people think about credit cards. No annual fee. No overlimit fee. No foreign transaction fee & no pay-by-phone fee. No late fee on your first late payment. And Discover won't increase your APR for paying late.*
The new Discover it card is out to change the way people think about credit cards. No annual fee. No overlimit fee. No foreign transaction fee & no pay-by-phone fee. No late fee on your first late payment. And Discover won't increase your APR for paying late.*
Consumer friendly credit card with a great low rate of 7.25% and save on interest charges. No balance transfer fees and no annual fee.
Limited Time Offer: Get 25,000 Membership Rewards(R) points after you spend $5,000 in the first three months of Card membership. Enroll and select a qualifying airline to receive up to $200 annually in statement credits for incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, charged by the airline.
The new Discover it card is out to change the way people think about credit cards. No annual fee. No overlimit fee. No foreign transaction fee & no pay-by-phone fee. No late fee on your first late payment. And Discover won't increase your APR for paying late.*
- How to Become a Millionaire
- How to Get Out of Debt
- The Best Dollars I've Ever Spent
- How Our Estate Plan is Structured
- How We Paid Our Mortgage In Less than 10 Years
- Money Making Ideas
- How to Manage Your Asset Allocation with Multiple Accounts
- Consumption Smoothing - Save While the Saving's Good
- How to Save on Groceries
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
- Eleven Great Books About Money
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest?
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Will Mac OS X Lion Kill Quicken 2007?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
How to save money on insurance
- Overdraft fees soared to $32 billion in 2012
- How do you combat prom inflation?
- How should you choose a bank? Look in the mirror.
- The cost of clean water
- College debt 101
- Is it possible to live debt free?
- How to prepare for a home appraisal
- Home prices are up: good news or bad?
- A bit of foolishness
- Passive solar homes: the basics
June 4th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
I learned to ride a bike this way…
worked great!
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:13 am
Funny story, but I think you have set your self up for a huge financial hit!
When he ask you to teach him to drive a car
December 7th, 2010 at 12:51 am
Kids can always be motivated by money
January 6th, 2011 at 11:54 pm
Basic positive reinforcement. Try clicker training with your pets, it’s the same thing. That’s a really great story to share and I’m glad it’s in your sidebar.
May 11th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
My grandfather got me to dive underwater when I was younger by putting quarters at the bottom of the pool. Quarters were gold to me then and they are still gold to me now (laundry!! ughh)…Love this story.
April 19th, 2013 at 1:40 pm
Hi there, I found your website by means of Google even as searching for a similar
matter, your web site came up, it appears good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Hello there, just become aware of your blog through Google, and found that it’s truly informative.
I am gonna watch out for brussels. I will be grateful for those
who proceed this in future. Many people might be benefited out
of your writing. Cheers!
April 21st, 2013 at 6:00 pm
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you
create this website yourself or did you hire someone
to do it for you? Plz reply as I’m looking to construct my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. thank you
April 29th, 2013 at 12:41 pm
I genuinely enjoy examining on this web site , it contains excellent
blog posts. “We find comfort among those who agree with us–growth among those who don’t.” by Frank A.
Clark.
May 5th, 2013 at 5:42 pm
Every weekend i used to go to see this website,
for the reason that i wish for enjoyment, for the
reason that this this website conations in fact good funny information too.
May 7th, 2013 at 6:34 am
Hi colleagues, how is the whole thing, and what you
wish for to say concerning this paragraph, in my view its really amazing in support
of me.
May 7th, 2013 at 6:37 am
I all the time emailed this webpage post page to all my contacts,
since if like to read it after that my links will too.
May 7th, 2013 at 7:03 am
Hello colleagues, its fantastic piece of writing concerning cultureand completely explained, keep it up all the time.
May 7th, 2013 at 7:14 am
Awesome blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from
somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog stand out.
Please let me know where you got your theme. With thanks
May 7th, 2013 at 8:32 am
Heya! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers?
My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard work due to no back up.
Do you have any methods to prevent hackers?
May 7th, 2013 at 8:36 am
Amazing blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download
it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog jump out.
Please let me know where you got your theme.
Kudos
May 7th, 2013 at 4:12 pm
Hi! Your write-up rocks too as getting a reputable
fantastic comprehend!??
I can??t truly assist but admire your weblog website, your
web-site is adorable and nice
My partner and I stumbled over right here unique site and thought I need to examine
issues out.
I like what I see so i’m just subsequent you. Look ahead to exploring your internet page however again.
May 10th, 2013 at 1:18 pm
We also provide honeymoon tours, holiday packages, Kerala backwaters tours
and beach tours Goa India. It is also advisable not to go alone
in the dark and it’s too late. It is the pleasure for all tourists to cherish the beauty of sea shores, hill stations, wildlife, ancient temples, old forts etc.
May 16th, 2013 at 12:23 am
Remarkable issues here. I’m very glad to peer your post. Thanks a lot and I’m taking a
look ahead to contact you. Will you please drop me a mail?