Get-rich-quick schemes vs. wealth

It has been my hidden shame for some time that I'm one of those gullible people who buys get-rich-quick programs. Since turning 18, I've purchased the following programs (click links for reviews of these programs:

• Don Lapre's "Making Money" program
• Carleton Sheets' "No Money Down" system
• Michael Masterson's "Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting"
• Russ Dalbey's "Making Money in the Cash Flow Business" program
• Some fly-by-night "Make Big Bucks on eBay" program that cost me over $2,000

The complete list is much longer than that, and has cost me far more than I care to admit. So why in the the world would somebody (me) who claims to be a personal finance blogger fall for this baloney? Am I just a moron, or what?

The short answer is, "No." The longer answer goes something like this:

I used to be a moron about money. I had few fixed monthly expenses, and a job that paid weekly, so I didn't feel like I had to manage my money well. I lived with my parents for a long time, so I didn't have to be very responsible, either. I would accumulate large amounts of money, or what I thought was a lot of money, and then blow it on some huge purchase. I probably spent upwards of $7,000 on a gun collection that I've since sold. Add to that the several thousand dollars I spent on get-rich-quick schemes, and I have blown through about $10,000 in worthless stuff.

I admit, some of those programs weren't scams. If I'd had the fortitude to go through a steep learning curve, and the ambition to "go out and do it," I could have made them work. But that's beside the point, and here's why: People who buy those programs are much like I was back then, because they are looking for the easy way to wealth. They don't want to expend any effort, or use their brains. They want to order a system on the telephone or Internet, and when it's delivered to their door, they expect it to come with a check for a million dollars and a big brass band playing "Pomp and Circumstance".

Now, I said that I used to be a moron about money. Somewhere along the way, that changed. I got married, I started taking responsibility for my life and my finances. I started budgeting, saving money, and paying off debts. I started planning for the future, and I saw that no get-rich-quick scheme was going to provide for that future. I went back to college with the purpose of graduating with a degree in Accounting. I enlisted in the Navy with the expectation of becoming an officer when I was graduated from college. At some point, I grew up.

I still expect to become wealthy in the future. I plan for it, and I'm slowly working the plan. But I don't rely on pie-in-the-sky promises from infomercial gurus. I don't expect somebody to hold my hand and make me wealthy. And, I've learned to save money by switching the channel when infomercials are played. It's probably going to save (or make) millions for me.

If you're like I used to be, wanting something for nothing, get rid of your illusions right now. As Harry Brown said in How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World, nobody owes you anything. Not love, or money, or food, or shelter. The sooner you realize that, and the sooner you stop expecting a free ride, the sooner you will stop wasting time and money on infomercial schemes and start making some real money. You'll probably end up much happier in the process.