I cannot believe that you are promoting this system sold by a ****** *****. If you like this type of product, why don't you get it through a legitimate lender instead of one of these recruitment schemes? And why on earth would you shell out $3500 for this? Please tell me you didn't...

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Lita - A ****** ***** is not just a plan in which people are paid for recruiting. They recruit others who buy or sell their bogus stuff, and everyone in the food chain gets a cut of it. OF COURSE these companies scream that they're not a ****** *****. Who would admit such a thing?

The article you point to is a typical fluff piece. No substance whatsoever.

You said: "As part of the system you learn to use the bank's money (using an equity line) to pay down the principal on your mortgage faster."

Hello? If you are "using the bank's money" you're borrowing from them. Borrowing money to pay another loan does not get you ahead. But that statement is exactly the type of thing these scams use. It sounds good to the average person.

This is a confusing and risky product that the average consumer cannot and will not understand. They don't need to pay $3500 to a scheme to get out of debt. They need to pay down their debt.

And you've said it perfectly here: "...depending on how much extra cash then can use for debt pay down each month." The key to paying down debt isn't wasting money on a "system". It's actually paying extra on your debt.

I am just completely shocked that they sucked you into this.

Consider the silliness of this: You wrote a post on the value of paying an extra $1200 toward your mortgage. And in the same post, you tell us you flushed $3,500 down the toilet. I wonder how much that extra $3,500 would have saved you on your mortgage?

No disrespect intended here, but I think you really got taken.

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Tracy, please define a pyramid scheme- can you sketch me a picture of what the hierarchy of one would look like? I am curious. --Here's what I took the time to find out- instead of spouting off about things I don't know about- which by the way- makes one look rather silly--

Pyramid schemes now come in so many forms that they may be difficult to recognize immediately. However, they all share one overriding characteristic. They promise consumers or investors large profits based primarily on recruiting others to join their program, not based on profits from any real investment or real sale of goods to the public. Some schemes may purport to sell a product, but they often simply use the product to hide their pyramid structure. There are two tell-tale signs that a product is simply being used to disguise a pyramid scheme: inventory loading and a lack of retail sales. Inventory loading occurs when a company's incentive program forces recruits to buy more products than they could ever sell, often at inflated prices. If this occurs throughout the company's distribution system, the people at the top of the pyramid reap substantial profits, even though little or no product moves to market. The people at the bottom make excessive payments for inventory that simply accumulates in their basements. A lack of retail sales is also a red flag that a pyramid exists. Many pyramid schemes will claim that their product is selling like hot cakes. However, on closer examination, the sales occur only between people inside the pyramid structure or to new recruits joining the structure, not to consumers out in the general public.

A Ponzi scheme is closely related to a pyramid because it revolves around continuous recruiting, but in a Ponzi scheme the promoter generally has no product to sell and pays no commission to investors who recruit new "members." Instead, the promoter collects payments from a stream of people, promising them all the same high rate of return on a short-term investment. In the typical Ponzi scheme, there is no real investment opportunity, and the promoter just uses the money from new recruits to pay obligations owed to longer-standing members of the program. In English, there is an expression that nicely summarizes this scheme: It's called "stealing from Peter to pay Paul." In fact some law enforcement officers call Ponzi schemes "Peter-Paul" scams. Many of you may be familiar with Ponzi schemes reported in the international financial news. For example, the MMM fund in Russia, which issued investors shares of stock and suddenly collapsed in 1994, was characterized as a Ponzi scheme.(2)

Both Ponzi schemes and pyramids are quite seductive because they may be able to deliver a high rate of return to a few early investors for a short period of time. Yet, both pyramid and Ponzi schemes are illegal because they inevitably must fall apart. No program can recruit new members forever. Every pyramid or Ponzi scheme collapses because it cannot expand beyond the size of the earth's population.(3) When the scheme collapses, most investors find themselves at the bottom, unable to recoup their losses.

Some people confuse pyramid and Ponzi schemes with legitimate multilevel marketing. Multilevel marketing programs are known as MLM's,(4) and unlike pyramid or Ponzi schemes, MLM's have a real product to sell. More importantly, MLM's actually sell their product to members of the general public, without requiring these consumers to pay anything extra or to join the MLM system. MLM's may pay commissions to a long string of distributors, but these commission are paid for real retail sales, not for new recruits.

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Tracy,
to continue, please take a look at our structure then take a look at your neighborhood insurance agency, mortgage brokerage and real estate offices- they might be a little offended should you refer to them as pyramid schemes

Perhaps, one should actually investigate and educate themselves about ALL things they feel a need to speak about publicly-

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What is the difference? Please spell it out with specific examples - is it in the hierarchy? the pay distribution?

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Lita - I didn't say you're paying "more" interest on an equity line. But if you're "using an equity line to pay down the principal on your mortgage" (your words), then you're not accomplishing anything. Replacing debt (mortgage) with debt (equity line) gets you nowhere.

My time is far too valuable to waste it with a "free" analysis from this scheme. It has all the hallmarks of the thinly disguised ****** *****(also known in the U.S. as an MLM) and I'm not interested in playing the game with them.

I've done plenty of research on plenty of MLMs to know what they're all about. How long did it take them to tell you that "you'd be great" at doing what they do? And that this would be a natural fit? And that since you're so successful with the program you'd have no problem selling it? And since you're recommending it anyway you might as well sign up and let them get the service through you?

This is a typical recruiting scheme that sells an overpriced product to those who can least afford to waste the money on it. What a shame that it's being promoted here.

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cat fight......

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Lita - I understand MLMs very well, and I understand those involved with them have a vested interest in them being the greatest thing since sliced bread. Anyone else who has done the research and disagrees is just a dummy. I understand where you're coming from.

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Accelerator loans are a legitimate way of paying off your mortgage faster...have a look at http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomeFinancing/ANewWayToPayOffYourHouse.aspx
to see how they work (independent of this particular software).

My question is...why would I want to pay off my house? how did you decide this was the right thing for you to do? Plenty of money experts will tell you not to pay off your house even if you have the money to do so.

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