Money!

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Huuuh! Good God y'all! What is it goo-ood for? Absolutely something. Say it again! Yeah! ...

Silliness aside (this is the AoDA, after all), what's your view on money? Is it a possession to be acquired and maybe even hoarded? A status symbol? Merely a means to an end? Pretty pictures on paper? The root of all evil? A necessary evil? That thing you don't have nearly enough of? Let's hear it!

 

It's a VIP card some do, some don't (or don't want)to have. Having it gets you to meet certain kind of people backstage. But in the main area, the ones who have the normal ticket meet more people.

Some people can't get to the concert.

 

To quote David Lee Roth of Van Halen fame.

"Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy a big ass boat and pull up next to it."

 

I'm quite happy being poor, but well off. I do with very little and money's a non-issue for me so long as I've got enough of it to buy my food and pay the rent and the bills.

Anything extra goes into clothes and maybe a record or a book every now and then. Even one night in a bar per month is close enough to ruin my personal economy, but that's fine since I'm not that big on going to bars and get wasted.

But I am into studying some stuff that might eventually enable to get me enough of money that I'd have to get creative on using it. I'll probably donate a huge chunk of it to welfare organizations and start making investments. But the money's not the issue nor should it ever be if I intend to be a scientist, which I do.

 

I'm like my father in many ways being completely obsessed with financial security. If my balance drops or I find myself to have spent too much for my liking I'll tighten the belt and save it back. It can be a good thing since I tend to be careful how I spend my money and plan all my spending ahead, but it causes somewhat unnecessary stress from time to time.

 

I'm a capitalist pig and I love it! If I die rich I'll consider my life a success. But really though there is nothing money cannot buy. Of course it can buy happiness, I'd be happy never having to work, having a huge house with a full size snooker table, a HUGE tv and a swimming pool. And it can buy love can't it? I mean look at Michael Douglas, why else do you think Catherine Zeta Jone's married him? She may not love him for anything else but his money, but thats still love and I doubt he cares . Money can buy health... well the best private healthcare which is the best to it. If you have lots of money you will have a happy life, of course there are the rare exceptions but thats usually down to someone doing really stupid with their money (i.e drugs, gambling, fraud). So yeh IMO money is the most influential thing in the world and thats not just me being ignorant (just maybe a marxist).

 

Means.

 

Yes.

 

I have no money, I've lived on less than $200 a week (thems NZ $'s too) for most of my adult life - 7 years. The joys of being a student...

 

Yep but the whole point of going onto higher education is to of course get a better job and therefore earn more paper.

 

No, the motivation for me is solely knowledge and wisdom. Money has no intrinsical value unless it is being exchanged for goods and/or services. Until the moment it is being exchanged - bartered if you will - it only has potential value. It is that potential value that means nothing to me. Since I crave little in life other than simple pleasures, there is no need for me to worry much about money.

 

Life is easier with money, so I would say it should be a goal, but not a primary goal. Money is not the problem, greed is, and if you can acquire money without being greedy, that is good. That is what I am going for...

 

I think this is a bizarre question.

Are we talking about colored scraps of paper? Obvoiusly, those have next to no intrinsic value; they're valuable because our governments make them so by backing them up with gold?

A fluid resource that can be for goods and services? Like some precious material that can be bartered for anything? Okay, but that means when you talk about money, you are talking about the goods and services you can buy with it, unless you somehow believe that there is a use for money that you won't spend.

So if we are talking about goods and services, then that opens up a lot of possibilities. Computer games are a good. Food is a good. Having not to make your food all the time is a service. You can, in a sense, buy time; if you have enough money you can afford to quit your job. Other people can be bought to a reasonable extent; if you're willing to pay enough money, you'll probably find someone to do nearly anything for you. People talk about simple lifestyles, but it's pretty apparent that in order to do something like quit your job, travel somewhere far away from the city, and live in a nice little cabin, you need some measure of money.

So it appears to me that when you ask about money, you're just talking about stuff you can buy and consume. This, in the modern world, means a lot of things.

 

Money is a resource. Nothing more, nothing less. The problem is when people put money above other, more important things, like family, friends and God (for those that believe, of course). It is in your family and friends that you find real happiness. Money just pays for the food you eat the entertainment you enjoy and whatever else that you need. It can facilitate enjoyment, but in and of itself it does little.

While it is important to have enough money to pay for food and shelter, water, heat and electricity, even a few luxuries, we don't need a bazillion dollars in the bank. Don't let the accumulation of money rob you of the time to enjoy the things you get with it and the loved ones that you share these things with and you'll be just fine.

 

I'm a student yet and I don't spend too much money. What I spend is less than 20 US$ a month. I live with my mom, she buys food (mostly vegetables which are cheap here) and pay electricity, water and internet bills. According to E.U. standards we're poor but we're happy. If I find a job after university, we'll be happier though.

Also I agree that money can buy everything including love and health. I just don't want to buy everything. I'm fine with whatever I have.

 

I'm 21 years old and I'm making $75,000 NZ a year after tax. I'm not intentionally hoarding this wealth but I just can't seem to spend it fast enough. I already have all the stuff I need and I've always been a 'bread and butter' type of person when it comes to my wants.

I have enough of it but I still want more. I view it as a measure of my success since in my line of work it is the result of a successful job (commission based work) and I don't think there's anyone who wants to be less successful. If anything I want to save enough money so that I can support myself and a family without my wife or kids ever needing to work till my kids are at least out of university. If I can do that I think I've succeeded financially.

But on that note I don't want to just 'succeed'. I want to pass with high grades so I'd want to have enough money so that my family would be considered 'upper class' at least.

Aquiring money is my objective but I don't want to aquire money just for the sake of having more money but because having more money will allow my family to be in a state I wish them to be.

I know it is possible to be happy without (a large amount of) money but I think it's impossible to lead a happy life without money since in the economics of today and how interdependant we are and how specalised everyone it we 'need' it to purchase things we could not provide for ourselves if left to our own devices.

I do not see aquiring vast amounts of money and the desire to do so as an evil thing. It is HOW you aquire that money, what you do with it and if you let it affect your opinion of yourself for having it and your opinion of others for not. If aquiring vast amounts of money is 'evil' then Bill Gates by definition must be one of the most evil people on the face of the world despite the fact that he is responsiable for the continued existance of at least a million African lives via donations from his personal bank account.

 

How much is that in U.S? (If you know the rate)

 

I've got ninety thousand pounds in my pyjamas,
I've got forty thousand french francs in my fridge.
I've got lost of lovely lire,
Now the Deutschemark's getting dearer,
And my dollar bills would buy the Brooklyn Bridge.

There is nothing quite as wonderful as money,
There is nothing quite as beautiful as cash.
Some people say it's folly,
But I'd rather have the lolly,
With money you can make a splash.

There is nothing quite wonderful as money,
(money, money, money, money)
There is nothing like a newly minted pound,
(money, money, money, money)

Everyone must hanker for the butchness of a banker,
It's accountancy that makes the world go round.
(round, round, round)

You can keep your Marxist ways
For it's only just a phase.
For it's money money money makes the world go round.
(money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, moneeeeeeeeeeeyyyy)

 

Well, actually, I'm afraid to say that gold standard went out years ago. In some people's eyes, this would mean that paper money is not actually backed by anything, other than everyone else's belief that is worth something, thus allowing them to accept it as a medium of exchange.

Saber, NZ$75,000 is usually about US$45,000 depending on the exchange rate on the day.

 

Money is created by us for us---but not by me, and most of my money is for someone else.