Emotional Detachment and Financial Desperation

Time and time again, I've seen people get emotionally attached to a program.

BIG MISTAKE...

The talk about trust and faith in the program, sometime to a cult-like level.

BIG MISTAKE...

They actually think the operators actually give a damn about them and have their interests at heart.

BIG MISTAKE...

The minute you lose your emotional detachment and forget what these programs really are, you are sheep for the shearing, and a shearing you will get.

For in their loyalty they'll keep pouring money into it, rolling all their profits, and even help pay the operator's legal bills.

It is easy enough to get attached, especially if the program has an active forum, because we as a species are hard-wired to be part of a tribe.

And in order to fit it, we are hard-wired to overlook the little flaws our tribe has.

But you got to fight it. You got to remain a lone wolf.

Then there is the whole cognitive dissonance thing, none of us deals well with thinking we've screwed up and will go to any lengths to avoid thinking that. And the more money we have in a program, the greater the lengths will be because your suppressed anxiety level is that much higher. I can't image what it would be like to have $10K riding in one of these. But anyone in that position must have really let their emotions get the better of them in a big way.

Maybe it was greed, but now with that spend it turns to fear, and any hint of program problems or complaints generate unbearable anxiety. Its fight or flight, and since their gold is in the program, they fight. Attacking the critic unmercifully.

And when the program goes down, they believe whatever BS the operator feeds, including promises of refunds. Because they can't admit to what really happened, they can't learn, and are doomed to repeat shearings.

So how do you stay detached?

1. Never forget that they are all ponzis.
2. Never forget that the operator will either cut and run, or the pyramid will collapse from its own weight.
4. Assume the operator doesn't give a shit about you.
5. Never commit more than a few hundred into one.
6. Remember the 10 signs that the fat lady is about to sing.
7. Pull some money off the table as quick as you can.
8. And there is always another program.

I've read the posts on many forums of deceased programs and programs in their death throws.

What scares me, seriously scares me, is the number of people who are using these programs as desperate last ditch effort to stay financially afloat.

THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO DO IT!!!

THIS IS THE ABSOLUTE WORSE THING TO DO!!!

Why?

1. These are crapshoots, using them as a way out is like depending on the slots for a way out.

2. Desperation breeds foredoomed risk-taking, such as putting everything into single program, or rolling over all the profits all the way into oblivion.

3. You’re far better off using the money you have to cut a deal with your creditors.

4. Even if by some miracle you did score big, it doesn't address the real financial management issues that got you in the red in the first place, so you'll just blow it one way or another and be right back where you started.

I read on one forum a post from some guy who put his last $150 into pnzi in a desperate attempt to stave off forclosure. I wonder if he thought of talking to the bank about restructuring his mortgage and giving them the $150. Or if that didn?t work, selling the house and doing a lease-back to buy.

As for deep debt in general, one can restructure. More importantly, one can learn good financial management skills.

If I may suggest, a far better option for the financially-distressed than spending into these programs, is to read and take to heart the book "How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Dept & Live Prosperously" by Jerrold Mundis.