Have you ever gotten a message on Facebook that looks something like this? “HEY GIRL, I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU IN A WHILE, YOU LOOK AMAAAAZING. DO YOU WANT TO LOOK EVEN BETTER AT YOUR NEXT EVENT? BUY MY MASCARA AND I’LL THROW IN A FREE GIFT. BUT HURRY, SALE ENDS AT MIDNIGHT.” Yeah…those messages.
While it may be easy to brush these off, roll our eyes, and hit delete, a surprising number of women in America are caught up in these businesses, known as multi-level marketing schemes. In today's episode, Jean Chatzky talks to Jane Marie, author of Selling the Dream: The Billion Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans about why MLMs target women specifically, the signs to look out for to know if you’re being targeted by one, and what to do next if you’ve already lost money.
In Mailbag, a listener asks how to find the best low-cost brokerage account and we do the math on whether ‘becoming a millionaire by retirement’ is feasible for everyone. In our news of the week, we talk about Donald Trump’s new stock, the end of swipe fees on Visa and Mastercard, and the passing of behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman.
Takeaways:
Chapters:
00:00:00: Introduction to the podcast and the topic of MLMs
00:10:03: Introduction of guest Jane Marie
00:15:23: The nature of MLMs today
00:18:49: The appeal of MLMs to individuals
00:21:17: The cycle of investment and loss in MLMs
00:23:59: The reality of income in MLMs
00:25:49: Why MLMs target women
00:30:51: The role of the FTC in regulating MLMs
00:32:51: Current trends and "flavors of the month" in MLMs
00:34:37: Jane Marie's hopes for the impact of her book "Selling the Dream"
00:37:13: Mailbag
Join us! Snag all the latest episodes, savvy budgeting tips, investing advice and even giveaways via the HerMoney Newsletter at Hermoney.com/subscribe!
The HerMoney with Jean Chatzky podcast is sponsored by Edelman Financial Engines. The podcast team and its host are neither employees nor clients of EFE, however, the show does receive fixed compensation and is a paid endorser and therefore has an incentive to endorse EFE and its planners. To learn more about the sponsorship, please visit PlanEFE.com/HerMoney.
Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast, and to learn more about Airwave, head to www.airwavemedia.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ep 396: Shaping Your Authentic Self With Dr. Sara Kuburic
Ep 395: Low Waste Cooking Hacks With Sohla El-Waylly
Ep 394: Speak Confidently In Any Room With Matt Abrahams
Ep 393: Bring Your Whole Self To Work With Maeve DuVally
Ep 392: The Hidden Power of Weak Language with Alison Fragale
Ep 391: From Broke to Millionaire with Chloe Elise
Ep 390: Is "Quiet Thriving" the new "Quiet Quitting?" With Erica Keswin
Bonus: Girl Math with Danica McKellar
Ep 389: What “Fake News” Really Looks Like, with Dan Ariely
Ep 388: How to Overcome Perfectionist Tendencies with Elise Loehnen
Bonus Mailbag #46: What A Possible Recession Means For Your Portfolio With Gargi Pal Chaudhuri
Ep 387: How Your Generation Affects Your Financial Decisions with Jean Twenge
Ep 386: The Joy of A Secret-Free Life with Letty Cottin Pogrebin
Ep 385: What Is “Enough”? with Manisha Thakor
Ep 384: The Cost of Beauty Culture with Elise Hu
Bonus Mailbag #45: All Of Your Student Loans Questions Answered With Tara Siegel Bernard
Ep 383: Teenagers And Money With Mattie Kahn
Ep 382: Kitchen Renovations On A Budget With Sophie Donelson
Ep 381: Honing Your Senses For A Sharper Life With Gretchen Rubin
Ep 380: Write Your Own Money Rules With Ramit Sethi
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
So Money with Farnoosh Torabi
Everyone’s Talkin’ Money
The Payoff
The Mental Wealth Show with Rich Jones
Jill on Money with Jill Schlesinger