Gold Rush

I've been watching two Discovery Channel shows, Gold Rush and Jungle Gold. It's quite interesting to see people look for gold instead of looking for a job...or retraining.

These people go into debt to find gold. Most of the time they lose money or break even. Some lose their life savings. In Jungle Gold, they leave $300,000 more in debt. This is what I'd call fool's gold.

Jungle Gold takes place in Ghana and Utah. Victor from Ghana helps two Utahns search for gold. He says these two fall for "sweet words." So many people overestimate the amount of gold on their land. Sometimes they lie or fool themselves. These people show gold, but that doesn't mean it came from their land.

I believe God only blesses those who truly need to find gold in order to feed their families. The Ghana natives found more gold because they were feeding their villages. They weren't seeking a quick profit. The Ghana people had fewer choices to earn money than Americans do.

We are blessed in some countries to have so much. In fact, we are blinded by how much we have. We think we need a TV and a large house to survive. There's nothing wrong with renting a three bedroom apartment or home. If you are in debt so much, it's time to sell some things, retrain for a higher paying position, get any job...even if it's minimum wage. The Utahns said that it would take them 30 years to get out of debt working a normal job. While chasing for gold, they dug themselves deeper into debt than before. They would have made more money handing out hamburgers at McDonald's (as long as they curbed their spending).

So instead of chasing for gold or the next get-rich-quick scheme, sell what you don't need, find a job, ask for assistance, and live within your means (not that I'm the perfect example).