How much money or wealth do you need?

To sustain life and be happy we need money or welath. Had we been in the primitive age we did not need money as there was a barter system and you could get all else through a system of exchange one good for another. But today we live in a different epoch and money matters today more than anything else.


I always have an inkling without money life cannot be carried on whether you are a materialist or spiritualist.

I always think that I need a certain amount of money to feel secured yet the word certain is relative and there is no certain or sufficient. What we call certain or sufficeint at one point in life will be insufficient at another point in life.

I just want to discuss this with people here

Enough that I don't feel like I might be out on the street if the slightest thing went wrong.

I think you hit it with one of the words that you used in original post -- "secure" -- Personally, money enables me to feel secure. And so my "need" for money is driven by creating or extending that feeling of security.

So when I was younger and single, I needed far less money to feel secure because my responsibilities were far fewer than they are now. With a family and a personal sense of responsibility that extends further into the future than that of my younger days, I feel the need for money now than at any other time in my life.

. . . .
We have these chipmunks that spend all spring and summer storing seeds for the winter. I feel sort of like that regarding money, only for me the "winter" = the "future" and I just don't know how long or how short that winter will be, so I try to scrimp and save, scrimp and save, scrimp and save as life-long habit.

Haha, Comedian, that's just what I try to do! To my husband's great dismay. He finds that I exaggerate. But then he would buy his chicken or tomatoes at double the price and spend 17 euro on a ticket to the nearest town every week. Then I just think, 'Hold on, we could have a nice cake and a coffee here with that, instead of sitting on a train after which you still have the cake and the coffee...'.

So yes, the squirrel trying to gather money. You never know! Hopefully we will all find the money back, though, unlike the squirrel who buries everywhere so it can find it everywhere because he has forgotten where he left it in the summer... :goof:

Just as much as i need to live with dignity and be able to pay the bills.

I think its a moving target, that constantly appears to be, forever just out of reach. As a young man money suffices enough to cover your beer and social life. Then you get married and with it comes the mortgage, the kids & you think that you will never get through that endless financial tunnel. If the breaks are good, you hang in there and make good money. But then you never really forget where you came from, and as said by others, its the security and peace of mind that assumes prominence with that money in the bank. Not the Mercedes in the drive!

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." ...
Alas, poor old Karl Marx couldn't see that human nature would replace the last word with 'wants'.

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Originally Posted by Brian Bean

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." ...
Alas, poor old Karl Marx couldn't see that human nature would replace the last word with 'wants'.

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Ha! Very nice.

"Give me neither poverty nor riches."

I'd written my own response, but then was accidentally logged out before posting it. This sums up my thoughts well though.

"Our incomes should be like our shoes; if too small, they will gall and pinch us, but if too large, they will cause us to stumble and to trip. But wealth, after all, is a relative thing, since he that has little, and wants less, is richer than he that has much, but wants more. True contentment depends not upon what we have; a tub was large enough for Diogenes, but a world was too little for Alexander." ~ Colton

My dad taught me not to save money, he doesn't trust the economy. He drilled it into my head that it's better to own things with actual worth, and that money (being a symbol of time spent working) is worthless on it's own if people stop believing in it. So, I put my money into things (mostly education and coal stock right now). When I get older I think I'll play with property. I'm good with money and I don't want kids, so I'm not too worried about it.

As far as we actually need to sustain a good quality of life in Canada, I can't remember the figure. It actually wasn't much though, I remember it being something like $20,000 with an additional $5,000 per child, maybe a bit more or less.

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Originally Posted by JuniperWoolf

My dad taught me not to save money, he doesn't trust the economy. He drilled it into my head that it's better to own things with actual worth, and that money (being a symbol of time spent working) is worthless on it's own if people stop believing in it. So, I put my money into things (mostly education and coal stock right now). When I get older I think I'll play with property. I'm good with money and I don't want kids, so I'm not too worried about it.

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I like that philosophy -- one that I can appreciate, though I don't think education and stock are things any more than money is. . . they're both ultimately symbolic and will fluctuate in value based on social or cultural or economic needs at a given time.

I remember in the mid '90s when one class in computer networking was solid gold for one's career. . . . now, not so much. I also remember when that WorldCom stock that I had was worth real money, but now, not so much. . . :lol:

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Originally Posted by Brian Bean

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." ...
Alas, poor old Karl Marx couldn't see that human nature would replace the last word with 'wants'.

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Yup, I think you are right there, Brian. I always thought that communism sounded nice (I mean, imagine, you only do what you can and you'll get what you need as well as the neighbour who does more), but really, in the words of Blackadder, 'There [was] only a little flaw in the whole plan... Namely that it was bullocks.' Not really that strong, but it does go against human nature to have all the same, no matter what you do. That's why people invented money, isn't it?

Or this one:

"Luxury only comforts the poor, and even then but for a brief season, while they are unused to it." (Alexander Pushkin, Dubrowski")

I remember learning in school that poverty negatively impacts mental health, but that once people break that barrier they report similar levels of happiness at each income level after that. That's over the long term. Of course if you hit the jackpot tomorrow you would be out of your mind, but a year or more down the road you would be just as happy as if you were earning a lower middle class wage.

I've noticed, when I've had this conversation before with others, that generally the people who say that money is unimportant are the ones who have come from relatively priveledged backgrounds - I presume that holds true in general?

I'm not overly concerned with money - being a lecturer hardly pays well. But I don't feel I need it. However, I was raised in a financially comfortable household - though my parents taught me to be careful with money, I have never experienced poverty. So long as I have enough to live on, and can afford the occasional treat, I shall be happy. For me, money is a means to an end - but there are plenty of people I know for whom the aquisition of money is the end in and of itself.

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Originally Posted by Lokasenna

I've noticed, when I've had this conversation before with others, that generally the people who say that money is unimportant are the ones who have come from relatively priveledged backgrounds - I presume that holds true in general?

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I would say yes. I come from an upper-middle to upper class background where money was never an issue (my parents both came from poor backgrounds, though) and so I don't really get too worked up about monetary issues, because it's sort of always been there.
Right now, I basically make no money ($300 a month), but in a couple years when I graduate I'll be doing okay. I don't think I'll ever be rich, but I'll have enough to get by and be comfortable, and that's fine by me. I just want enough to support myself and occasionally do something fun.

It's a difficult question the money one. We've never had much of it, but got by fair enough just the same. It helps that I don't have a car and that we rent cheaply enough, so we have money for theatre, beer, little trips, etc, but not big holidays. Regardless I never sacrifice quality as should be clear. Quality for the small but hugely important little things is a personal motto of mine.

My attitude to money hovers quite a lot. At one point I am fine as I am, at another point I wish to have more to trip around Europe, so more would be needed for that. At another point it makes perfect sense to get a load of cash from somewhere, working wise or whatever, and then to get out of the silly stuff and embrace full on free time, a.k.a paradise! Not likely I am going to do that on a teachers wage though, so would have to seriously think about that one? So anyway, my thoughts tend to hover around dramatically. I certainly don't care for money for the sake of money (to splash around and show off with) but money to get me out of the nonsense world would make sense. However, it's quite easy at the moment, so I don't know - full circle, hovering around...

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Originally Posted by Neely

It's a difficult question the money one. We've never had much of it, but got by fair enough just the same. It helps that I don't have a car and that we rent cheaply enough, so we have money for theatre, beer, little trips, etc, but not big holidays. Regardless I never sacrifice quality as should be clear. Quality for the small but hugely important little things is a personal motto of mine.

My attitude to money hovers quite a lot. At one point I am fine as I am, at another point I wish to have more to trip around Europe, so more would be needed for that. At another point it makes perfect sense to get a load of cash from somewhere, working wise or whatever, and then to get out of the silly stuff and embrace full on free time, a.k.a paradise! Not likely I am going to do that on a teachers wage though, so would have to seriously think about that one? So anyway, my thoughts tend to hover around dramatically. I certainly don't care for money for the sake of money (to splash around and show off with) but money to get me out of the nonsense world would make sense. However, it's quite easy at the moment, so I don't know - full circle, hovering around...

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But while you are hovering around, shouldn't you be looking at the bigger picture ? With both the US Dollar and the Euro facing total collapse over the next couple of years, wouldn't it be preferable to start hedging your bets?

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Originally Posted by Brian Bean

But while you are hovering around, shouldn't you be looking at the bigger picture ? With both the US Dollar and the Euro facing total collapse over the next couple of years, wouldn't it be preferable to start hedging your bets?

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Hmm, I saw your video, but what can I do about it? I don't have any money to put anywhere?

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Originally Posted by The Comedian

I like that philosophy -- one that I can appreciate, though I don't think education and stock are things any more than money is. . . they're both ultimately symbolic and will fluctuate in value based on social or cultural or economic needs at a given time.

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*shrug* I think education is valuable. Knowing how things work is really important to me. As far as my coal goes, my poppa (who's been at that stupid mine since 1968) has it down to a science, so I'm not really worried about it, but you're right it is intangible. I wanted to buy a car, but the guy wouldn't let me (a lot of what I own did come from him, so he gets a say).

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Originally Posted by Neely

Hmm, I saw your video, but what can I do about it? I don't have any money to put anywhere?

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If you haven't any money, you can't lose it, but I have some US dollars and I shall be getting rid of them as soon as I can get to my bank; weather permitting that is. Thank God we are not in the Euro.

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Originally Posted by Kyriakos

Just as much as i need to live with dignity and be able to pay the bills.

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Fine reply.

Like a lot of other people have said I need enough money to make me feel secure. The more interesting question is how do you balance future security vs. present wants?

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Originally Posted by Lokasenna

I've noticed, when I've had this conversation before with others, that generally the people who say that money is unimportant are the ones who have come from relatively priveledged backgrounds - I presume that holds true in general?

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I think it may be partially true. But I tend to think people who come from less privileged backgrounds tend to have a better appreciation of what a livable wage actually is. I remember telling people in university that I was considering teaching high school after getting my degree, and they would comment on how poor teacher's salaries are. I have to wonder what kind of silver spoon one has to be born with to consider 40k a year a poor salary.