Fighting over household chores and responsibilities is one of the most common arguments in any marriage or relationship. One couple has a unique way to settle those arguments – cold hard cash.
Daniel Reeves and Bethany Soule are a happily married couple with two children. They attribute their happiness to not fighting about chores, but instead paying each other to shoulder the responsibilities they don’t want to do themselves.
Bethany might pay Daniel $20 to put the kids to bed one night. And Daniel might receive $4 from Bethany to walk the dog when it’s raining outside the next day. These numbers aren’t just random, though. When a task needs completing, they will both write down the number (in dollars) they’d be willing to perform the task for on a piece of paper. They then show each other the number. The one with the lower number is then paid by the other to complete the task.
The things this couple will do for cash don’t stop at just household chores, though. Daniel paid Bethany $30,000 to have each of their two children. They also used this system to decide what to name their children. The person who chose the name had to pay for the privilege.
Many couples can’t imagine using such a system, but Daniel and Bethany say it works great. They say some couples are fine with a simple hug to show how grateful they are. Daniel and Bethany need something a little more tangible. Cash seems to work well for them. It keeps them from being at each other’s throats, and things get done around the house.
Some people believe that marriage is difficult enough without trivializing everything with a dollar amount. There’s also the fact that men tend to earn more than women, giving them more bargaining power.
And then there are the children to consider. While they are young, they might not understand the situation, but eventually, they will. How will they feel knowing that one of their parents had to pay the other to put them to bed?
Unsurprisingly, this unconventional couple also co-founded an unconventional business that helps people commit to goals through staking money with their online goal tracking app. Whether your goal is losing weight or learning English, they believe the key to success is money. Their business is called Beeminder because they give you goal reminders but with a sting if you fail. Bethany explains it simply, “You pledge money to stay on track towards your goals, and if you go off track, we take your money.”
References:
https://www.gq.com/story/married-couple-money-chores
https://www.cnbc.com/2014/02/13/couples-pay-each-other-for-chores.html
Fighting over housework is one of the most common problems in any marriage. One couple says the answer is cold hard cash.
Daniel Reeves and Bethany Soule are a happily married couple with two children. They say they are happy because they don’t fight about housework. Instead, they pay each other to shoulder the work they don’t want to do themselves.
Bethany might pay Daniel $20 to put the children to bed one night. And Daniel might receive $4 from Bethany to walk the dog when it’s raining outside the next day. These numbers are carefully chosen. When a job needs to be done, they will both write down the number (in dollars) that they would do it for. They then show each other the number. The one with the lower number is then paid by the other to do the job.
The things this couple will do for cash don’t stop at just housework, though. Daniel paid Bethany $30,000 to have each of their two children. They also used this system to decide what to name their children. The person who chose the name had to pay the other.
Many couples can’t imagine using such a system, but Daniel and Bethany say it works great. They say some couples are fine with a simple hug to show how grateful they are. Daniel and Bethany need something else. Cash seems to work well for them. It keeps them from being at each other’s throats, and things get done around the house.
Can this work for everyone? Some believe that marriage is difficult enough without giving everything a dollar amount. And men often earn more than women, giving them more power.
And then there are the children to think about. While they are young, they might not understand the situation, but one day, they will. How will they feel knowing that one of their parents had to pay the other to put them to bed?
This couple also started a unique business. It’s an online app that helps people succeed with goals through staking money. Whether your goal is losing weight or learning English, they believe the key to success is money. Their business is called Beeminder. It gives you goal reminders and a sting for failure. Bethany explains it simply. She says, “You pledge money to stay on track towards your goals, and if you go off track, we take your money.”
References:
https://www.gq.com/story/married-couple-money-chores
https://www.cnbc.com/2014/02/13/couples-pay-each-other-for-chores.html
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