“Money doesn’t grow on trees,” long a parental favorite for ducking the inevitable Friday night contribution to a child’s night out, is worth talking about to investors. As market manias heat up…be it real estate, stocks or the get rich scheme de jour…out of the closet come those characters that would have us believe that money does, in fact, grow on trees.

The crowd selling books, seminars, tapes and schemes on how to get rich the easy way generally neglect an important part of the money making equation…money not earned by wages or gifts but the result of investment activity comes with a price we call risk.

Today, the “get rich quick schemes” focus on real estate activity. When real estate slows down and the stock market heats up the focus will shift to stocks, options and futures. If jobs were scarce as they were during the recession of the early 1990s we would probably see a proliferation of multilevel marketing schemes.

It has always been puzzling that those promoting money orchards would be willing to give away the keys to the orchard just because someone shells money for their expensive seminars, books and tapes. If it is that easy, why put on high pressure seminars and write books when one could stay home and manufacture money using the methods contained in the tapes? The answer to the above is likely that the real money is made selling seminars, books and tapes.

For example, Robert Kiyosaki has written a series of books, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, that will are designed to get readers pumped up for success. Mr. Kiyosaki has his fans and detractors. Go to www.programcritique.com for a taste of both. Just keep in mind that some of his anecdotes are fictionalized, and according to the web site, www.intellibiz.com, his poor dad was not poor and his rich dad did not exist.

Another favorite is Wade Cook who first made the scene in the 1990s with his seminars on wrap-around mortgages. Tax law changes, and a fired up stock market inspired him to move his money printing presses to the stock option “orchard.” His early seminars advised attendees that if they were willing to fork over $3,250 for his complete seminar, he would show them how they could make 20% or more a month trading stock options. At that rate an attendee would have been more than Bill Gates if they stuck to the program for five years or so!

Alas, Mr. Cook turned out to be more fraud than prophet of wealth. He filed for bankruptcy in 2001, citing extraordinary “trading losses” not to mention contempt citations from the FTC and pending lawsuits from a number of state Attorney’s General.

Then there was Donald Bickerstaff, a jolly, personable Scotsman from San Rafael, California. Bickerstaff’s approach was a lot simpler. He didn’t charge for his wealth protection seminars…he just wanted your money. In return he gave his investors handsome statements showing wonderful returns on their investments.

Little did his investors know, but their money went for racehorses in England, a fancy spread near San Diego and a very lavish lifestyle. According to his trial records, Mr. Bickerstaff’s investors took an $11,808,931 hit, before they marched him off to jail.

The moral of these stories is simple, when someone says that you can make a barnyard full of money for little effort and a small check to their treasury; Take it for what is most likely found in barnyards…and certainly not a tree growing money.