Is Money that important?

It makes the world go round, more opportunities etc. Money is a good measure of success but at the end of the day you have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and be happy with who you are. I'd rather make that choice. If anyone wants to be a minimalist then have at it, but I'd rather be where the action is.

 

Money is only important if you don't have any, then it is vital.

 

While it's true that it isn't everything and being rich won't make you happy in itself, having money definitely makes it alot easier to enjoy life.

 

Money is definately important, and it makes the world go round.

In many ways, the money you have is affected by the decisions you make. For instance, "working for the man" vs. owning your own business, single vs married, kids vs no-kids, own vs. rent, private school vs public, new car vs old ****box. And so on. If you are happy with your choices, then you may not need as much money.

It's hard to live a comfortable modern day life (especially in SoCal) without (or with little) money. Here, money is king, and everyone has the nice car, the bling jewlery, the electronic gadgets, etc.

The key is to prioritize you needs and wants. Sure, I'd love a new ferrari, and a $5000 (or even $10000) watch. But, I'd also rather that my kids go to private school, that my wife be a stay at home mom, etc.

But, I can make some compromises as well: I have a 30 year old Ferrari, and while it is no 360, it is still loads of fun. I wear an automatic chronograph made by Hamilton, which is pretty nice for $500, and houses the same movement as many watches that cost thousands of dollars more. I've even been known to buy an electonic gadget or two...

And finally, sometimes, the quest for something is more exciting than when you finally obtain it. How many times have you lusted for something for a while, and then, after finally obtaining it, get bored with it?

Dom

 

So true...


With that said, money is very important to me... i dream of being obscenely rich... Disgustingly wealthy... Not just "Ferrari in the driveway" rich, more like "private jet and private island" rich... So rich that the U.A.E. calls me and asks to borrow money... So rich that Bill Gates's accountant would constantly badger Bill and say things like, "If this software doesn't get off the ground, you'll NEVER be making Carbon McCoy-type money...!" So rich that my annual charity donations would erase the term "third world country" from every language on the planet...

i dream of being Scrooge McDuck rich, where i could have a huge Trump-like building with a diving board at the top and i could just do a triple gainer into the biggest sh!tload of quarters the world has ever seen (though it would probably hurt)... So rich that, on a whim, i could buy all of the credit card companies that ever refused me credit and then sell them at a loss to a friend who would bankrupt them on purpose (no, i'm not bitter)...

i dream of being black Enzo and Breadvan rich... i dream of being so rich that there would be global gas station conglomerates named after me... "No, honey, forget Exxon, there's a Carbon station right down the road..." i dream of being so obscenely, ridiculously wealthy, that someone would name a jewel after me... "This Valentine's Day, show your wife you really love her by buying her this carbon-encrusted bracelet..."

i dream of a carbon fiber house, made completely out of carbon fiber... Everything from the walls to the furniture to the sinks to the faucets to the toilet paper roll holders... i dream of a solid gold driveway - just because i can... i dream of Superamericas as birthday presents to all my friends... i dream of F40 wedding anniversary gifts...

i subscribe to such a ridiculously filthy rich subconscious tale where if anyone actually DOES have champaigne wishes and cavier dreams, they're really just having a nightmare... i dream of privatized, European-style driver education throughout the entire country, completely free, paid for by me - 'cause i'm so absurdly rich... i dream of a completely homeless-less society because i'm so rich that i just decided to write a check one day and take care of it... i dream of being so absurdly, digustingly, obscenely, filthy wealthy and rich that one year of my income taxes would generously fund cancer and AIDS research for the next thousand years... i dream of drowning in such perturbing amounts of money that i could buy another sun and keep it on standby just in case the one we have burns out...

i dream of such massive amounts of money that i could pay to have the black hole painted blue... i dream of such incredible numbers in my bank account that i could provide the entire planet with free, top of the line health care and that when the U.N. contacted me to the pay the annual bill, i could just say, "put it on my tab"... i dream of being so uncomprehendingly rich that the government would ask me to make a public appearance at Fort Knox just so that gold would go up in the stock market... i dream of SWB taxi cabs all running around Carbon International - my private airport...



...so yes, to answer your question, it WOULD make a difference if i were only worth $5,000 as opposed to 60 million... But i dream of being so rich that if i were reduced to "only" being worth 60 million, the entire staff at every brokerage firm in the world would ritualistically disembowel themselves ninja-style...

 

For me, there will never be "enough"...

 

wow, that's a lot of dreaming!

 

Money is very important, but at some time you have to determine where to draw the line and put your family ahead of the money. I passed up my dream carreer where I would have made about 10% of what I make now, but I recognized that carrying on the family business will allow my children and grandchildren (I have neither) in the future to have financial security. My parents were both dirt poor and to this day, my father does not like to spend a lot of money on anything that doesn't involve the business, but, that being said, there are things that I will spend money on for enjoyment to help counter all the crap I have to go through at work.

 

Money is not important to me. I'm making 33% less than I did and I'm no less happy than I was making more.

I can lose what I own and be left with a bed, a roof, some clothes, and food to eat and I would be happy.

I have a Brittania quartz watch given to me in 1995 that I replaced the band on twice during ownership and I lost my $50 black and silver Fossil I bought in '99 when I was in the service to use as a "dress watch" for my "blues." It was simple and elegant.

I only own three weeks of clothes. I wish what I have would last longer than a few years because thats the only reason I replace them.

Most of the time I sit in front of a computer browsing the web or playing games, spending time with my friends or family, driving, detailing, or take care of animals when I'm not working or sleeping.

I'm lazy and self absorbed. I don't do anything I don't want to do, no matter how much it pays.

I'm just as happy making a bowl of pasta or mac-n-cheese as I am going out to Morton's just down the street.

Time is far, far more valuable than money. I spend it like crazy/how I like. The only things more important than that is life, family, and friends.

If you want, or need, more than that in life, my condolences.

People tell me I should get a girlfriend again and my response to them is, "Why?" Ignorance (and lack of drama) is bliss.

Sunny

 

Yes.

 

Some people are lost without money. Its all they really know.

 

Having lots of money is no guaranty of happiness.

Having no money is a guaranty of unhappiness.

Find your own happy place.



There have been a number of studies done that coorelate "happiness" with wealth. It seems below a certain level... "poor", people are very unhappy. As income and wealth rise, so does happiness until at a certain point it levels off. From that point on, happiness stays flat as income and wealth continue to increase. Then, at a point way out on the very wealthy scale... happiness actually began to decline again.

Does that mean all poor people and all very rich people are not happy? Of course not. Studies only tell broad trends....

Like everything: your mileage may vary.





Terry

 

My first reaction to the question is what I have heard before.

1. It's always easy to say money is not important when you have plenty of it.

2. When your survival depends on it and you don't have any it's damn important.

3. #1 and #2 have nothing to do with personal happiness although having an abundance of money does allow a person more choices in how they want to spend their time.

4. I don't NEED anything except food, a place to sleep and a little companionshhip once in a while but I prefer to have a few things that make life more enjoyable, a Ferrari is one of them.

5. It's all relative and you know how we feel about relatives.

 

Money brings happiness as long as its the springboard for creating happiness, not the gluttonous need that that takes away from things that would otherwise bring happiness.

 

As long as the bills are paid and there is a few bucks in the bank, people and relationships are far more important than cash.

 

Someone challenged me once and said do my friends pay the bills for me? The answer was, yes, they do when I'm unable to do so not due to lack of trying.

Money is important to the extent that its important to other people. If I could eat and sleep and get medical attention if I need it, thats still two things out of three I have that other people don't.

Sunny

 

I think there are different levels of "is money that important"

With wealth comes control over your time. That is the most valuable of assets.... Some might argue that many wealthy people are not in control of their time but I disagree. They might have chosen to give up control but it was their choice.

More importantly than, is it important, is what you do with it.............

So if I had a choice of:

A. Poor and don't save
B. Poor and do save
C. Rich and don't save
D. Rich and do save

I'm going with D

 

'Nuff said.
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Hell yes! It's a way to keep score...lol

 

I look at it this way..

Money in and of itself is meaningless...its what you choose to do with that money that matters.

If you play your cards right money brings SECURITY..security then gives you a degree of FREEDOM with your time most people dont have.

That freedom allows you to LIVE your life instead of just surviving.

Most people, even those in the upper middle class, are so busy 'surviving' they arent 'living'.

The key to happiness is to LIVE your life..dont just be a survivor.

By the way I have a friend who is worth well into 9 figures and hes one of the most unhappy people I know. So money in and unto itself definately does not buy happiness.

just my $.02

 

I like how you put it into perspective.


___________________________________
Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money - Goode Charlotte

 

Hello, friend

 

I work a LOT and there's no way I can say it's not pretty important. I'm not saying I'm not content with what I have regarding family, friends, etc...

But wow, every single thing you do is in one way or another based off of money. I think it is a large factor in being happy.

My family grew up really poor and I would feel bad if I couldn't give them everything they deserved and everything they gave me back with interest.

Actually...

On average, people work more than they sleep, more than they ANYTHING. With the security you have with money, you have time to spend with the people you love... and not worry about something as useless as paying the mortgage when you have kids to raise!