It’s time once again for another edition of our latest financial series…DINKS Reality. We discuss the money lessons, and sometimes the life lessons, learned from our favourite reality television shows. With a new television channel package that my boyfriend Nick has added onto our ever growing cable bill, we now get the National Geographic Channel.
The National Geographic Channel has a show called Locked Up Abroad. It is a series about Real People who live to tell their Real Stories about being locked up abroad because of their greed and their love of money. They are far from home, and far from help.
I have seen several episodes of this show and each time a person is approached by a “business man” to “transport” goods (usually drugs) across foreign boarders. The “business man” has a “fool proof” business plan that can’t fail. However, each and every time the greedy transporter is caught by foreign authorities and sentenced to several years in a foreign prison.
The one thing that astonishes me about this show is in each and every episode I have seen, the transporter says that they needed the money and it was “easy money” to make. I am sure we can all testify to the fact that there is no such thing as easy money. If it was easy we would all be doing it. We all work for our money.
A recent episode of Locked Up Abroad told the story of an American girl who was offered to smuggle drugs from Japan. It was 2 days of work, all expenses paid, and she would make $35,000…in 48 hours. Although the offer to make $35,000 in 2 days may sound tempting, it is definitely too good to be true. Nobody makes $35,000 in one day without taking some risk. The reward may be great, but the risk may be greater. This is the exact moment when temptation has to be overcome by some financial sense. Common sense has to get off the sidelines and come into play.
Would you be tempted by $35,000?
I am the first to admit that I could use $35,000, and the offer to make it with only 24 hours work is tempting. My fear of going to prison, and especially a foreign prison, is far greater than my love of money. However, we can’t say the same for everyone; otherwise Locked Up Abroad wouldn’t exist. One thing on my list to never do before I die is go to prison; the thought scares the hell out of me. Also on my list of things never to do before I die is get eaten by a shark!
The other reality check about Locked Up Abroad is that Americans are locked in foreign prisons. The judicial system in some foreign countries is not as liberal as in the United States of America. The woman who was caught with drugs in Japan was immediately taken to prison. She later received a letter stating that she had been sentenced to 9 years in a Japanese prison. No court date, no trial by jury, and no philosophy of being innocent until proven guilty.
Would you smuggle something across the border if the price was right?
MSN recently published an article titled “The craziest things people have tried to sneak on planes”. You would not believe what some people try to smuggle. According to MSN people have tried to sneak everything on planes from Baby Tigers to Dead Bodies…that’s right, dead bodies.
(Photo by Malias)
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
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