MLM, Balanced Budgets, and #Moneytalk

So the Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) has been bouncing around on the Web, and allow me to add my views on the subject. If it looks like a pyramid, and you are encouraged to recruit friends and family so you can make more money, it is a Pyramid Scheme. In my younger days, more than once, I was invited to a “party”. The hosts of the “party” were always vague about why the party was happening, but inevitably, it ended up being a Pyramid Soap Party. After my first Pyramid Soap Party, I learned to be much more inquisitive about parties. Sort of like, if you can’t figure out who the sucker is in the party, be careful, it is most likely you.

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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Some folks will make lots of money from MLM, but will it be you? This is the question you should ask first, and whether you have a group of friends you won’t mind if they never talk to you again. The snubbing will happen after you succeed or fail at convincing them to join your “… sure fire money making system…”. John Oliver did sum it up best in his video description of things.

Ontario will have a balanced budget by 2018, is the claim put forward by the Liberal Government. This will be done without new taxes on the “middle class” (a term I really no longer view as a valid measurement, everyone has their own interpretation of that term). There will be plenty of higher service charges, so you will pay more, just not in taxes (if you are part of the mythical middle class).

There is an election coming, we shall see whether this sways Ontario Voters or not.

Please do not confuse a balanced budget with paying down the Ontario Debt. The current Ontario Debt is about $312 B (Cdn). Can that amount be repaid? That remains to be seen, but the balanced budget simply means that the Ontario Debt should no longer be growing (however it isn’t decreasing either).

Someone sent me an invite to a meeting in 11 months, and was concerned I only replied with a Maybe response. It vexed them to the point that they came over and asked why? I explained, a lot of things can happen in 11 months. I might win the lottery, or suddenly become a wealthy author, or maybe the horses will sing. She didn’t get that last reference.

My Writings For the Week of April 28^th

I actually finished off 3 different pieces this week, which might signal a renewed dedication on my part, or it might be an anomaly. First I wrote about Quicken 2017 Review – The Year of the Comeback? It is a better version of Quicken that doesn’t crash as much, but still has issues. The subscription aspect of it has me worried as well.

As I have written before I work for the Government and the big news in Ottawa has been the Phoenix Pay system, and the problems it is having. With Phoenix Pay System Side Swipe I point out that not only Civil Servants are feeling the pain of the problems with this new system. Phoenix is even being blamed for bad attendance at Ottawa Sens games this year.

Finally I wrote over at my Tech and Security site something new, For God’s Sake Don’t Click That ! I write about the perils of click-bait and phishing sites out there, looking to make your technological life miserable.

Financial Allergy Season

I haven’t had a bad year for allergies for a while, however, it seems 2017 is promising to be a return to the bad old years of runny noses and watery eyes. These great stories shouldn’t make your eyes water, or berate the balanced budget point either.

• Preet Banerjee brings us another podcast with investor, spy, billionaire, and holder of 11 honorary doctorates, Stephen Jarislowsky. He also gives us his latest Drawing Conclusions video to show us what kind of income you need to be able to afford rents in various cities across Canada.
• Mark from My Own Advisor brings us This boring money advice never goes out of style, old advice isn’t necessarily bad (unless it is to invest in buggy whips).
• The dream of retirement at 65 is starting to fade, as pointed out in the report HSBC calls for Millennials to wake up to living and working longer, as research finds only 1 in 10 expects to work past 65. My generation is the last that will have a  retirement.
• How secure are banks and financial services firms? Helpnet Security assures you not that secure.
• Seeking Alpha always has whimsical titles, and A Different Take On The Active Vs. Passive Management Debate…. is another. You can tell they want to espouse active investing, but begrudgingly see that Index Investing has its place too.
• Michael James does seem to be the place to get your book reviewed, as he does again with Victory Lap Retirement. The section about being trapped in a job you hate, because it pays well is an interesting quandary, for some folks.

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Truth in Advertising?

Our friends at Cracked brings us a truly honest Credit Card ad, don’t think we will ever see this for real, but I do like the sentiment.

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2017 Random Thoughts

• Overheated Housing Market, Rent Controls and #MoneyTalk (April 21^st)
• Ladies on Panels, Good Friday, Friendly Skies, Loose Money and #MoneyTalk (April 14^th)
• Tax Time, Housing Bubbles, Financial Easter and #MoneyTalk (April 7^th)
• April Fools, High on Life and #MoneyTalk (March 31^st)
• Ho Hum Budget, Brackets Busted and #MoneyTalk (March 24^th)
• Naughty Banks, March Madness, Big Snow and #MoneyTalk (March 17^th)
• Teller Upselling, Auto-filling Taxes, Spring Forward and #MoneyTalk, (March 10^th )
• Lent Begins, Loose Money and #MoneyTalk (March 3^rd )
• RRSP Season, Tax Time, and #MoneyTalk (February 24^th )
• Farewell Vinyl Café, Snow, Monopoly and #MoneyTalk (February 17^th )
• RRSP , Tax , TFSA , RESP, and RDSP Time and #MoneyTalk (February 10^th )
• Year of the Fire Rooster, Financial Groundhog Day and #MoneyTalk (February 3^rd )
• Alternate Financial Facts, 1984 and #Moneytalk (January 27th)
• Bungled Mortgages, Friday the 13th and #Moneytalk (January 13th)
• Merry New Year, CPP, EI and #MoneyTalk (January 6th)

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