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Apr 29, 2008 4:12 pm US/Eastern
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Site Offers Monetary Motivation For Losing Weight
Web Site Uses Cash To Motivate People To Meet Goals
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
A new Web site is offering people who are having trouble losing weight an added incentive for meeting their goals –- a cash reward.
"Is eating a donut today worth 50 dollars? Because that's what it may cost at the end of the week," said Erin Finnegan, who uses the new site Stickk.com.
Finnegan said she has tried everything to reach what she considers her ideal weight. But she said losing the last 10 pounds has been nearly impossible.
"Every pound you lose is like you lose a pound of motivation," she said.
So she is now trying a radical approach at
stickk.com, a free Web site where users bet their hard-earned cash to meet their goals.
It can be anything from kicking a bad habit to losing weight. If users succeed they get the money back. If they fail, a charity, friend or anyone they choose cashes-in.
"We think money and reputation are really, really big motivating forces in getting people to change their behavior," said Stickk.com co founder and CEO Jordan Goldberg.
Americans who go to gyms spend an average of $55 dollars a month on membership fees. But for many of them, that's not enough of a motivator to come in and pick up the weights.
The Yale professors behind the Web site believe it works because the stick is often more effective than the carrot.
"This entire approach is a way of bringing the cost more forward to kind of help people really feel the pain immediately from failing to achieve their goals," said co-founder and Yale economics professor Dean Karlan.
If Finnegan doesn't lose those final 10 pounds by April she stands to lose $600 dollars.
"I am really looking forward to getting the $600 dollars back," she said.
Finnegan said she will meet her goal now that she's putting her money where her mouth is.
People can also sign up to help them quit smoking, run a marathon or set other goals.
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