Comments on: Dollars for pounds–will it work for you?

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:28:25 +0000

The bikini thing would work for me. Along with the public humiliation, there’s the danger to my co-workers’ eyesight if all my blindingly white skin were to be put on display that way.
(Always thinking of others. What can I say? I’m a giver!)

By: Anne

Anne — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:48:19 +0000

As an economist this makes great sense to me. We all value that lost pound differently and subjective value matters. Just think how different your first ten pounds lost felt compared to the last five you need to lose–they have different values attached to them. I think the trick here then is, in econ speak, price discrimination. Charge different prices for different pounds lost along the wieght loss journey, the first few are exhilarating, so you may need less financial incentive than on your last ten when you are sick and tired of it. The key is to figure out what your price is and stick to it, while we are on the topic, you should be financially penalized if you put the weight back on–it’s all about incentives!

By: Cindy

Cindy — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 22:05:58 +0000

Since my husband and I have no separate money stashes, this wouldn’t work for us. I agree with the article that the $5.00 just isn’t that motivational for all the work that goes into losing one pound! Now if my husband said that he would take me off on a weekend to some exotic place and he planned everything, then I would be quite motivated to speed up the weight loss journey. Hummm, I need to drop a hint.