If you have social media especially Facebook you have noticed a spark of a new (but not so new) hustle on your timeline. You see a friend that you know post something along the lines of "Want to make $160 out of $20"... or..."I made $800 in one day and all I had to do was give $100". Sounds great right? Everyone is looking to make a little extra around the holidays. So when I first seen these posts it got my attention. I almost even joined one of them. But after learning how it worked, I stepped back in reflection and decided it wasn't for me.
Here's how it works:
Let's break down the $20 investment pot...
You invest $20 to get in via Cashapp and send the money to a specific person running it. Then you are put into a line up on a virtual "money board" and with every round you get pushed closer and closer to the middle without having to invest a penny more. Once you're in the middle titled, the purple circle, all 8 of the new people that are added to the group with their invested $20's go straight to your Cashapp account allowing for your initial investment to flip into $160.00
Still sounds great I know!
But what's wrong with this model is that it is not designed for everyone to win. In order for you to "cash out" new people have to come in with their money to move you up. In order for the new people to receive their payout they have to get new people to come in. Eventually someone... actually a lot of people are going to completely lose their money.
I could have easily joined this early and received my payout as a lot of my friends did. But something felt wrong about it. Yes I would have gotten my cut but what about the others still trying to climb their way to the top? I've even seen posts of people stating that they are "stuck" and haven't moved up. To those that are stuck, do you understand that in order to get "unstuck" someone has to take your place and then be stuck until someone takes their place? This is an illusion of helping one another when in actuality every person is out for themselves. It's not progressive and it doesn't help us as a collective.
For those who received their payout yes you made it. Now what. What is an extra $160 or $800 if it was at the expense of others who may not win as well? That amount yes it helps your bills but its very temporary. This hustle isn't truly helping us. It isn't solving our financial issues. If we all took our time to truly come together financially, especially in the black community which is suffering the most as a collective, we could have made a long lasting residual economic impression in where everyone that put in would actually win and keep winning. With you getting your payout you may be thinking to yourself, "Oh well! I got my coin!, whoever gave and didn't get theirs, that sucks for them". If that is your mentality, that is very unfortunate and a whole other discussion in itself.
With coming to this realization, I decided not to participate. This is not a post to bash anyone. It is a post of enlightenment and encouragement to strive for true progression as you move forward even if you already cashed out. I am not just my family's keeper, I am my community's keeper as well and climbing to the top without grabbing the hands of my fellow brothers and sisters to climb up with me, is not a success... it's a continued fail.
Food for thought...