My son's first bicycle cost more than three thousand dollars.
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​The simplest bike you can imagine. But the box said "adaptive" — and in our world, that one word works like a hurricane works on gas prices.
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​It's a pattern every special-needs parent learns the expensive way: take a spoon, a bicycle, a dinner plate — add the word "adaptive" — and watch the price double or triple. Sometimes the engineering justifies it. Often the only thing that changed is the sticker.
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​That bike taught me something my law degree and my finance MBA somehow hadn't: nobody is coming to protect your family's money except you. There is no regulator for the adaptive markup. There is no refund for trusting the label.
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​Law #6: Expect the adaptive tax. Question every markup. Ask two questions, out loud, every time: What does the non-adaptive version cost? And: what exactly makes this one different? Sometimes the answer is "everything," and you pay gladly. Often the answer is "the sticker" — and now you know.
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​The fortress I built after that bike is the last third of my book. That's Law #6.
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​The Laws are from my book, Raising Eddie: Fathering a Disabled Son — available on Amazon. Free 10-Strategy Survival Guide: joinironfathers.com/guide · Free 2-minute Fortress Check-Up: joinironfathers.com/gps-updated
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​Educational content from the book — not legal, tax, or investment advice.