I’ve started wagering. I don’t normally bet on things because the odds of losing are so much greater than the odds of winning, so it just doesn’t make financial sense. (Though I did buy a couple of tickets for the 1.3 billion dollar Powerball drawing…just in case…despite the fact that I’m very aware that the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.)  But the wagering I’m doing now is different because I’m betting on my own behavior.

Along with this year’s New Year’s resolutions about diet and exercise, I started using the app Pact on my smartphone.  With Pact I am betting on myself.  Last week I bet that I would exercise three times and that I would eat at least seven servings of fruits and vegetables.  And I met my requirements within the first few days of the week, so this week I increased my bet to three times exercising and 15 servings of fruit and veggies.  If I meet my wager, I get paid.  But for every veggie or workout that I miss, I owe $5.  The money from the people who fail is divided up among those who succeed.

I’ll probably get about a dollar for last week’s success (I’ll find out for sure tomorrow).  And that’s not a lot, I know.  But somebody is paying me for doing healthy things that I was going to be doing anyway.  And if I get a dollar a week for the rest of the year, that’s $50, just for doing things that are good for me.  And that’s a bet I’m willing to take.