Shhhh…can you keep a secret?
Have you ever come across a really great offer? Let’s even say it is an opportunity for you that makes a few bucks with time being your main investment. What do you do that information? Do you share it with scores of others on the Internet? Clue in a few close friends or relatives? Keep things quiet to yourself?
I have been pondering this whole thought for a little while now after I came across such an opportunity. I found out about it in a off-hand mention buried in a long theard on a message board. So right off the bat, I would have been out of luck if this person had not shared about it in their message. Granted in this case, the information is not secret per-say, but wasn’t hugely publicized either at that point. I did make a nice little amount of money when it was really active, not enough to get rid of my credit card debt or anything but still worth my time while it lasted.
In the end, this particular deal followed the normal pattern and the gravy train ended as more people found out about it and the rewards got smaller and smaller till they mostly went away. For some dedicated souls, there is still money to be made, but the old happy days are probably gone for good.
Back to my original question though, what do you do with your deals, potentially if they are of a more fragile nature? I tend to find that most times, even with the best of deals most people won’t take advantage of the opportunity anyway. I remember back when ING Direct had a really nice referral offer where a new customer only had to put like a dollar in your account and both you and the new depositor got a little bonus. I mentioned it to a few friends, not only because I would have liked to recieve the bonus, but because it was a good deal just from the interest rate alone compared to what they were recieving. Did any of them jump at the chance? Nope. I was just dumbfounded that people would walk away from free money that barely required any work and no risk. Compared to other deals that have come across my way that required a lot more risk and potential capital, this one was a piece of pie.
Then again, I shake my head in disblief when I hear my coworkers talk about how they don’t take advantage of the company’s 401k and thus walking away from free money ever paycheck in the form of the company match. Then there is those who do participate in the 401k, but keep their money in super conservative investments that no where match their age or retirement needs. I won’t even go into the coworker who constantly keeps two 401k loans out and keeps their 401k mostly in money market funds.
I’ll grant you that paying off debt could be a mathmatically reason for not taking advantage of a 401k, but of course most people aren’t exactly using that approach either.
In the end, I am no closer to having an answer to this ponderable for myself, and probably will continue to try to spread the knowledge among my peeps when it seems appropriate, but know it’ll probably a losing battle.