One of the more recent opportunities for moneymaking hopefuls is Lawn Chair Millionaire, which launched at the end of 2007. Passive income is what the program promises. If you join on the same day you submit your information you are allowed a commission from the pool of money from those who also paid to join on the same day.

Joining costs $80, and you have to sign up for a debit card that costs another $64.99 to receive your money. Remaining in the program requires you to pay another $30 per month. So someone is getting some steady net income, but not you, not yet anyway. If you begin to sponsor people, the price of the debit card is reduced with each person you sponsor and you can begin to earn some money. To avoid being called a pyramid, the program offers a product called "The Vault" which, by most accounts, is not that great--mostly a list of other moneymaking offers that cost extra.

The relatively low cost and novel approach to payouts are probably two big contributors to the buzz this new program is generating. The more thoughtful persons in the crowd probably realize that the scheme will not be able to last forever, but that hardly seems to matter to most people. It is almost as if a new casino has opened up and everyone is curious to try their luck. Well, the odds may not be quite such a longshot as gambling, but it is clear if you add up the expenses and payouts that you can't have a net gain of money without sponsoring people. So your chances of making money without signing anyone else up are, in fact, zero.

Like the couple pictured on the website, it seems that many are responding to the opportunity and jumping at the chance to grab some money. Whether all the people can manage to pull in enough to cover their expenses hasn't seemed to stop many from trying it out. They seem to be having fun joining something new that doesn't cost hundreds or thousands of dollars upfront. With such a recent opportunity, it is not clear what the odds of success are. So far everyone claims that they are being paid on the first day they join, just as the site says. So it seems that Lawn Chair Millionaire is not a scam, though it remains to be seen how long they can keep the good times rolling.