A Graphic Lesson on Money

Gary North

January 10, 2009

I received this tip from a subscriber to my "Tip of the Week." It is so good, I want to pass it alone.

Once when our daughter came home from college she rented a couple of movies and failed to return them before heading back to school. I called her and told her that I returned the movies but there was a late fee which I paid. To teach her a money lesson, I told her I did not want her to repay me, but I did want her to take the fee (couple of dollars) and flush it down the toilet!

She was shocked of course and begged and pleaded with me to let her mail me the money, but I insisted. I did not want her money. I wanted her to learn a lesson. It would have been all too easy for her to give Dad a couple of bucks to shut him up. Instead I wanted her to take a couple of dollars, walk to the toilet, lift the lid, throw them in and then flush the toilet, and then stand there and wave to her money as it went down the toilet.

After several minutes of discussion about how crazy that was and more begging and pleading, she finally agreed and promised me that she would do it. I am proud to say that she is much more responsible about her money. I think it was the most creative parenting I ever did. Well worth a couple of bucks!

The reason why this worked is because of the graphic nature of the ritual -- and it surely was a ritual. It required an action. This action (1) drove home the economic point; (2) sealed point into the memory.

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