Have you ever thought about paying your daughters for good grades? I did and it worked out well until disaster struck.
I was so sick and tired of being nickel-and-dimed for everything my girls thought they wanted to have or really needed that I came up with what I believed was a brilliant plan.
They were in elementary school at the time, so around ages 7 to 10, when genius struck.
I told my three daughters I would pay them $4 for every A they received as well as $3 for a B and $2 for a C. In 2026 dollars, that would be the equivalent of $8 for an A, $6 for a B and $4 for a C.
It may not sound like much, but each quarterly report card was an opportunity for each of my daughters to collect on 8 to 10 grades.
But, there was a caveat. If one of my daughters got a D, she owed me $20 and, God forbid, she received an F, then she owed me $100.
I figured if my daughter ever got an F, she would have to reimburse me for gas I used to cart her butt to school just so she could continue her nap.
They readily agreed to the stipulation and eagerly looked forward to bringing home their report cards. They could buy clothes, gifts, food and movies with their windfall.
That took a very sudden turn when my middle daughter was in middle school and her focus turned away from actual study to interacting with boys and spending time with friends.
On the last day of 8th grade, her report card reflected her changing priorities as she received two Ds and two Fs.
That meant, rather than be flush with cash, the poor lass owed her father $220 or the equivalent of $393 in 2026 dollars.
Let’s just say the tears were abundant that evening as my daughter learned of the gravity of her situation.
She opted to do extra chores to pay off her debt, and being grounded for a while gave her extra time to get them done.
When school resumed in the fall, all of my daughters were making far more money by babysitting or working real jobs that they no longer cared about their father’s money-for-grades scheme.
