Scoot over, Tupperware and Mary Kay.

There's a new home party-giver who wants a seat on your couch.

As Americans struggle to make ends meet, home gold-buying parties are becoming the latest fad across the South and Midwest.

"We are holding five or six parties a week," said Stacey Mikel, who operates FastCashGoldParties.com in Jupiter, Fla., with her husband, Paul, a pawnshop owner.

The company operates in eight states, but not yet Kentucky, she said. "We have had a few inquiries from Kentucky" and are eying the Bluegrass for future business.

"We are expanding because it's a very good business," Stacey Mikel said. "A lot of people want to get into it. It's kind of the new thing for women."

Why women?

"They usually have the jewelry" – unwanted gold jewelry that they want to turn into cash, Mikel said, although men are welcome at the parties, and so are other gold items besides jewelry.

FastCashGoldParties.com parties work a lot like Mary Kay or Tupperware parties. The host or hostess invites friends and neighbors to their home and provides refreshments. The company sends a buyer, and the host or hostess gets 10 percent of the total purchased by the company.

To read the complete article, visit www.kentucky.com.