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.
Published on May 3rd, 2005 - 5 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)
» What Inflation Will Do to Your Retirement Savings
» From the Archives (April 13th – May 3rd)
» Have You Checked Your Tax Receipt?
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
5 Responses to “The Best Dollar(s) that I’ve Ever Spent”
Leave a Reply
Top Cards by Category
Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter.
Earn 25,000 Membership Rewards(R) bonus points when you spend $1,000 in your first three months of Card membership.
Earn 25,000 Membership Rewards(R) bonus points when you spend $1,000 in your first three months of Card membership.
Earn up to 5% cash back* in categories that change and enjoy a 0% introductory rate for 15 months on Balance Transfers and 15 months on Purchases.
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy amenities for you and your business, like: complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club(R) lounges.
5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*. Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on everything else. No annual fee
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Reports to 3 major credit bureaus monthly and acceptance at millions of locations worldwide, including website purchases and reservations.
- 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
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
How to save money on insurance
- Double-Check Your Ally CDs
- Stocks are Not Bonds, CDs, or Savings Accounts
- The Best Values in Colleges - 2012 Edition
- Five Myths About Renter's Insurance
- Own Your Investments, Rent Your Fun
- Citibank to Issue Credit Cards in China
- Heartstrings and Pursestrings
- Saving Money at the Grocery Store: Store Brand Pricing on the Rise
- Missing Tax Paperwork?
- Is Your Investment Allocation Right?

Tip It!
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.