Worth Every Penny...

Over the past few weeks/weekends, I've been spending time in the garage making things with my hands.  Yeah, I know, how boring for you.  \

But I keep a radio going.  I guess it's a family tradition.  I remember playing in the front yard of the first house I remember, with Dad in the Garage.  I was playing in the driveway, in the yard, or anywhere nearby, Dad was working in the garage on things, and the radio - tuned to an AM station playing Minnesota Twins games, was usually going.  

So I've kept my garage radio tuned to the local "Adult Classic Rock" station.  Before you start on me about a lack of changing my music, I like what I like.  I really haven't heard any decent music on the radio since the mid 90s, I would guess, and while I'm sure there are some few groups still turning out good old rock and roll, I have to admit that I am not much of a fan of Rap, Hip-Hop, or whatever it is they're playing now when the cars go past.  Due to the rather multi-cultural neighborhood in which I live, there's a fair chance I'll hear the steady thump-thump which, when I was a kid, typically signaled Disco, these days the same tempo seems to be more rap in nature.  Or the occasional vehicle will roll by with an accordian really squealing.  Granted, in my younger days, in my parent's house, in that neighborhood, that sort of music would be a polka.  Seems that there is a significant subset of Mexican music which uses that ... instrument.  

But as I listen to songs, some of which are from groups where most of the members are now dead from old age, rather than drug overdoses, there's a regular ad which burps through every so often, and I'm reminded of some old advice.  It's a local author, he claims, who is looking out for my money, because he's found a secret which has allowed him to not suffer substantial losses when the stock market takes a downturn.

And he touts that it's the same method of investment which allowed Walt Disney and JC Penney to get rich.  All rightie, then.  But this fellow does not specify that method on the radio, he rather specifies that he will send you a copy of the book HE wrote, telling you how to do this, for free, he won't even charge you for shipping and handling!

That's right, folks.  That's the sort of advice which is worth every single penny you pay for it.  Why is that?  I'm no longer as close as I once was (which was not all that close, but bear with me), but I do know that it does cost a fair penny to fell the trees, turn them into paper, put that paper into the presses, put the printed pages into signatures, then bind them between covers, stack the books into boxes, and ship the boxes to yet another warehouse (not free space, I assure you) where they sit until someone pulls out a copy, puts it into an envelope, and then ships it on to you.

That is, these things do tend to cost - unless you ship someone a PDF.  Which is also something that will cost money, because most internet service providers these days regulate the amount of data which you can send - that is, unless your provider has sold you an unmetered connection, in which case, good on you, stud.  

But to get back to that central point, the fellow offering his advice for free, only for the cost of your address, is undoubtedly using that information for something else.  Is he using it for identity theft?  I doubt it.  As dumb as this fellow sounds, he certainly would not risk his contract with the radio station, who would undoubtedly want some protection and compensation from him if he was doing anything illegal.  Which I'm guessing he's not.  It is likely the second-oldest profession in the book.  No, not that one, the other one - selling you something else.  

For you see, he has you.  He knows that you listen to a particular radio station, closely enough to recall his 800 number, which you then called from some telephone without first pressing *67, which on most phone systems will disable the caller ID function when you call someone (yes, I occasionally have to use it when calling somewhere I don't want to have my home phone number), so he's got your number, which is tied to a location of sorts, in which case he also knows your address, then he can figure out you're looking for safer investments.  Where he profits is most likely from the benefit of you holding his book, because I would bet that there are instructions in the book for you to invest in a fund in which he has a substantial financial interest.  Or he's just using the book to sell his service.  

Either way, I am reminded of that old chestnut of advice which says every bit of advice you get is worth what you paid for it.  If it was free, it might be of a little value, but I can tell you there are few things that I was told for free that gave me the ability to profit.  There were many things I learned, mostly from doing things the wrong way, that stick with me.  Because I know now the wrong way to do it.  

So I got that going for me.  But as noted above, free advice is usually priceless - for the same reason that it is worthless.  Buyer beware.  Anyone who tells you that you need their free advice is likely selling your name and phone number to someone else.  Hopefully that buyer is honest.  But once your information gets out there, who knows what comes next.