It's Just Money

Is Mona Vie a Scam or the Real Deal?

Someone I know has recently become a distibutor for Mona Vie, a juice which purports to give you increased energy, boost your immune system, rid you of any joint pain, feed the hungry and bring peace to the Middle East.

She has encouraged me to try it and become a distributor, but I have politely declined.  The distributor part.  I tried the juice.  It's tasty.  I didn't really stick with it long enough to see any noticeable health or energy benefits, so I can't speak to that part.

It's sold through a Multi-Level Marketing program.  Let's face it, I'm not enamored with the idea of MLMs.  I pretty much assume they are scams, unless proven otherwise.  There have been too many, from Amway to Quixtar, there were the long distance phone ones from about ten years ago, and the super blue green algae.  Remember all that crap?

So, I did a bit of digging.  Not a lot, but I wanted to know what the fuss was all about.  Online, there were a lot of positive things said about the juice itself.  How many of those online comments were by distributors of the stuff, we have no way of knowing.

I guess I have two problems with this juice:

Non Personal Finance Site, and Healthy Inexpensive Activities

Last weekend, my Fiancee and I got up early and met some friends at Griffith Park for the 2006 Race to Strike out Stroke 5k/10k.  We registered through the Cedars Sinai Hospital Team, and the fee was $25.  We had the option of raising money, by soliciting friends, co-workers, etc.  I elected not to, but I probably will next time.  It really is a bargain when you think about it. 

For a $25 contribution, we received two shirts, one the official race shirt, the other the Cedars Team shirt.  The fees covered the race organization, live music, and a warm up by the Laker Girls!  There were also booths handing out freebies, such as Don Francisco coffee, Propel Fitness water and Red Bull.  Yes, from a purely personal finance point of view, I can save $25, run 6 miles on my own, and drink water at home.  But the $25 helps promote an important cause, the shirts and freebies are nice, and there is no way I would be motivated enough to run that much, and at that pace if I were alone.

Some facts about Strokes:

Would you give up a year of your life to not be fat?

According to a recent study by Marlene B. Schwartz, Phd., of Yale, 46% of you would.  But what else would you do to avoid obesity?  Ten years?  A limb?

A year of your life?  Well, that's easy isn't it?  We can easily assume that the last year is not one of the more pleasant ones.  After all, what's the difference between 86 and 87?  How about the difference between 43 and 44?  Between seeing your kid graduate from high school or not?  Walking your daughter down the aisle or not?

There is no doubt that America a little bit of what we would call a body image problem.  Despite, or perhaps because of, a ballooning obesity problem, America has become obsessed with their waistlines.  The size of the weight loss industry in America was estimated to be $46.3 billion in 2004, and expected to grow to $61 billion by 2008.

So, what else would those surveyed to in order to avoid obesity?