There is this ad on TV by a guy who sells his book called "Free Money". He says all one has to do is to make a claim for this, that and that, to the Government and a check will come your way. He guarantees $500 return within 30 days or money back for his book priced at around $29+SH. Is this a scam or what?

no its not a scam my aunt tried it out an she got 500 dollars..and now im trying to convince my mom to do it too but she thinks everything like that is a scam

Scam. He's the only one getting rich off that scheme...

When the word Free is used I would always be wary, as there no such thing as a free lunch !
In life financially, it's a zero sum game up & down, winners & losers - so for someone to buy there must be a seller, for someone to win, there must be a loser & so on.
MY philosopy is to, question everything & assume nothing & stay totally focused & yes there are Free products available, but there nearly always is an alterier motive !

Mark

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Is this the guy that dresses like the Riddler and screams a lot?

I find him less than reputable.

There are hundreds of internet marketers out there that use the word free. I do! I am an internet marketer of myself and yes be wary of the word FREE. Most of the time when it is used people are sincere about it but, people also have to rememeber that you still have to work a little bit to get results! You only get what you put in!

None of you have read the OP's entire post. He is describing government grant programs that require long drawn out application forms. These government grants are indeed NOT scams, they are very much real. It's just that the acceptance rate is very low. However, information about such grants and how to apply for them is readily available for free on several government domain websites, so you don't need to pay somebody 30 dollars to find them.