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what
you
can
do
•••
TIMELY
Tips and
Helpful
Suggestions
lor
YOU and YOUR
FAMILY
•
Misleading Earn-Money-at-Home
Schemes
The idea of working at borne to earn money is very
tempting to large oumbers of people. Unfortunately, many at–
home scheroes do not bring the promised extra income.
Here are a few examples of the type of schemes to be
wary of:
Postcard Addressing
One Better Business Bureau shopper signed up with a
company advertising that a person could earn 50 dollars a
week addressing postcards. To make bis 50-dollar-a-week
income he had to spend 16 dollars for materials. He ended
up earning only a 2-dollar commission, and actually lost 14
dollars.
One-Dollar Ads
Many earn-money-at-home proposals first reach people
through advertisements offering information and instruction
for
"only
one dollar." One such "come-on" garnered over a
million doUars.
Knitting Machines
Handicapped people and others, with the hope of mak–
ing money at borne, purchased expensive knitting machines
from promoters. lncluded in the deal was a promise by the
promoters to buy the garments they made. Actually, the
promoters had no intention of buying the garments. The1r
main interest was selling the machines. This knitting machine
scheme netted the promoters over six million dollars.
The Association of Better Business Bureaus Inter–
national gives the following tips for spotting misleading
earn-money-at-home schemes:
l.
An ad might be ruo in the "Help Wanted" colurons
but advertiser has no job to offer.
2. Assurance of "fantastic" profits with little effort
when, in fact, great effort will net only a modest income.
3. Exaggerations about demand for the product, or guar–
anteeing a market where none exists.
4. Claiming no experience necessary when great skill
may be needed.
5. Requesting the purchase of materials, kits and
instructions at high prices.
6. Testimonials initialed by participants who supposedly
made small fortunes - no name or address given.
7. Advance payments requested to show faith in the
promoter.
8. Charge for worthless instructions.
9. An offer to buy a person's entire output at high
prices.
Of course, there are many legitimate earn-money-at-home
proposals. "However," continues the Better Business Bureau,
"most, if not all, legitimate offers of home work do oot de–
mand that you pay anything or buy anything." Also, beware
of any proposals that offer "fantastic profits." Any money a
person earns will require
hard
work.
•
How You Pay for "Convenience Foods"
Today, the "convenience food" market is big business -
and it's profitable - but not for the consumer.
Manufacturers, in order to make a profit aod to offset
expenses for market failures, have doctored up ordinary foods
with flavorings and inexpensive ingredients. As consumer ex–
pert Sidney Margolius put it, "their whole drive now is to
turn staples into manufactured products."
Often, the names and photographs on the packages of
sorne foods are very misleading. A product advertised as hav–
ing "large chunks of beef" may have only a few scrawny
pieces and be filled with potatoes, carrots and gravy.
The "convenience food" industry affects many foods the
Amborsador Coll•9• Pholo
average consumer buys: frozen vegetables, breakfast cereals,
canned goods, ready-to-eat items, beverages. Actually, the
convenience food market has invaded alroost every product
which is considered a food.
Take one itero- typical of many. A package of "beef
stroganoff" may sell for about 80 cents. It might have 3
ounces of beef and other ingredients worth perhaps 30 cents.
That means you are paying about 50 cents for the dried
noodles - for a cost of $2.61 per pound. Ordinary dried
noodles cost 37 cents a pound. The consumer is obviously
paying dearly for his "convenieoce."
Perhaps the most tragic aspect of buying convenience
foods is their lack of nutritional value when compared with