Despite my best efforts, my middle son, Jack, has not yet become the financially savvy teenager I'd hoped he would be.

Case in point: recently, Julia allowed him to buy a game for his Nintendo Switch with our Amazon credit card. Rather than a one-time transaction, Jack associated the card with his account, which authorized it for in-game purchases.

I knew nothing of this.

It only came to my attention when I reviewed the credit card statement on Monday and found $80 in Nintendo charges.

Yes, I was pissed.

Jack was my prime suspect.

To his credit, he readily admitted guilt. In his defense, he was unaware he'd associated my card with his account and thought he was spending his money from his debit card.

He's about as good at paying attention as saving money, so I believe him.

Still, he owes me $80.

In our backyard, there's a large pile of poplar from a tree we had removed last fall. The tree crew stacked it near where it fell, which was not on the wood pile. 

To repay his debt, I told Jack to move the wood to the right spot, and I'd pay him $8 an hour. At his pace and the size of the woodpile, I figured he'd work off half of what he owed in an afternoon. 

Later, when I got home, another kid was at my house. This is not unusual; they all hang out at our house.

The unusual part, because Jack is a master of procrastination, is that he'd already moved and stacked the wood.

When I asked him how much he'd paid his friend to move the wood, he was incredulous.

"How'd you know?"

"Because I'm a dad, and I know things."

"Am I in trouble?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

"Not at all, kiddo; I think it was pretty smart."

Some will disagree, I'm sure.

Here I have a kid in trouble for blowing money that wasn't his on stuff that he shouldn't be buying in the first place. I've punished him with manual labor, and he's gotten off scot-free by paying someone else to do the job.

Except the credit card deal was an honest mistake, and I wasn't punishing him, per se. Mistakes happen, and you have to make them right when they do. 

So moving the woodpile was compensatory, not punitive.

If Jack wants to pay someone rather than do it himself, I say more power to him.

In business and life, the WHO is often the better path to success than the HOW.  

Jack knows HOW to move a wood pile, sure. But he also knows WHO would do it for him at a 50% discount so, technically speaking, Jack made $4/hour to play video games while his buddy moved a big pile of poplar. 

So was he in trouble? Was I mad? 

Hell no.

As is often the case, I'm proud.