How Much Will You Put on the Line for Your New Year’s Resolution?

As anyone who has made New Year’s resolutions knows, making them is easy but sticking to them is difficult. One method to keep resolutions is to offer yourself a reward if you stick to them. However, that does not seem to work either. Dean Karlan an economist at Yale came up with a method that works for him, if he did not meet his goal of losing a pound of weight a week he paid his friend $1,000 (link). He lost the weight and kept the cash. While, Tim Harford the, Undercover Economist, continue his regiment of 200 sit-ups and pushups under threat of the $1,000 loss.

Let me know if you need me to hold any $1,000 checks. Or you could sign up with stickK.com Karlan’s new company to enforce these types of goals.

hat tip and further discussion on marginalrevolution.