You know? The other day I was thinking about Pink Floyd's super famous song "Money" and, more specifically about its lyrics, its words, its message. It is undeniably a really good tune (but by no means my favorite of theirs) and it is one of the first songs most people get to listen from the British combo (along with "Another Brick in the Wall", of course).
Anyway, it is the message we're discussing here:
"Money, get away"... "Money, get back"... "Money, it's a crime..." and so on, and so forth...
Basically a condemnation of money for being the root of all the evils of our ugly world. Hmmm... quite funny coming from a bunch of millionaires who probably live in some mansion in the French Riviera and who would easily charge their fans between 50 to 100€ for a concert ticket and who would not hesitate to report them if they found out said fans were downloading their songs for free. Don't get me wrong, I love the Floyd, but a group of philanthropic hippies these guys were not (Roger Waters even admitted in an interview that he was inspired to write The Wall after he spat at an enthusiastic fan in a gig and was disgusted by his repulsive behavior, but that is a completely different story!)
The thing is that I've always found the Rock Stars' hypocrysy about good deeds and especially about trying to pretend how little they care about money quite annoying; especially if they don't practice what they preach, they talk the talk but not walk the walk, etc. I mean, I'd rather have an artist (but also other types of professionals such as cooks, painters, etc.) who unabashedly admits he's only in it for the money than someone trying to convince me about artistic integrity and whatnot when his/her actions show otherwise. I just don't buy that BS, sorry.
That is not to say that true artistic integrity does not exist and that there are not people who have other much more important motivations than CASH in their careers and lives. Quite a few bands/individuals have risked much of their time, energy and investments in setting up record labels so as to help new, up-and-coming artists make their music (or whatever creation) available, and many have agreed to lower their fees so as to keep down the price tickets; all of it, out of pure altruism. So, of course, kudos to them!
Whatever, the issue I wanted to be discussed in this very post is MONEY; that is, how important money is in our lives.
I'll talk about myself, and expect you to do the same (as usual, in the comments box): I LOVE my job, but I really doubt I would do it for free. I've always thought that if you can make a living out of something you genuinely enjoy doing, then you're a lucky person. But of course, getting some money in exchange for that job which you love is an ESSENTIAL part of the equation; I mean, how could one live, otherwise?
The thing is that I reckon the money that I get for my job is pretty reasonable; sure, my job is a decently-paid one (especially when compared to most jobs in our country), and such pay would allow one to live comfortably (it pays the bills, for sure!), provided that person has some minimal money-management skills. In relation to this, I have to say that I wouldn't call myself a materialist; I'm not obsessed with money or whatever: I only see money as the vehicle for obtaining some goods, services or (more importantly, in my case) experiences/memories. Duh! you will say; EVERYONE uses money to buy things or experiences! Right, but what I mean is that I'm not that concerned about how much money I have in my bank account or about NOT SPENDING money (and consequently, saving it!) or about setting some private pension plan or saving it for a rainy day and stuff.
The truth is that I'm a lousy saver: probably, having a job for a life has made me relax about having to amass some savings to fall back on if needed; it is quite complicated for me to set a budget and stick to it. Furthermore, I don't have kids, and things would be different if I had. On the other hand, I live on my own and all the expenses to meet (rent, utility bills, groceries, petrol, phone, internet), I have to do so myself. Periodically, some unexpected expense (municipal taxes, car repairs, car/house insurance, goddamned fines...) will come up, rendering the chance of saving some money a quite improbable one.
After paying bills and meeting my de rigueur expenses, there comes enjoyment; what a miserable life would it be if one could not treat him/herself after a long, hard work week, right? I'm not a capricious man and have little concern for cars or designer brands or expensive clothes but, I do have some interests and most of them are not free: I love music, and not just listening to it, but POSSESSING it, that is, buying vinyl records. I feel bad if I spend too much money on records (I try not to spend more than 5% of my monthly income on that), but sometimes I just give in to my record buying impulses.
Eating out (and washing down a nice meal with an equally nice wine) is another of my personal pleasures, and I love doing it once a week at least (I hate being ripped off, though). So is craft beer (which is not exactly cheap). I also enjoy travelling quite a bit, and travelling can be a costly activity (I usually rely on others who are much better at finding travel bargains than me!).
I guess that, based on the previously stated, I'm more of a spender than a saver. I don't know, I don't really throw money away or spend money like water, but if with a decent pay, I can barely make ends meet, then a saver I'm definitely not.
What about you guys/girls. What is your attitude towards money? How much money is enough money? (not a specific amount, but more of a description) Can you live on your income? Do you make do with what you have or would more money make a considerable difference?
Have your say!
In my opinion, I reckon money is a means to live, hobbies and
ReplyDeletelifestyle,everyone needs it to survive. Of course there are things
that money can`t buy, but it is usually necessary to share moments
with family, friends... You don't have to spend a large amount of
money on these moments to have fun, but to enjoy life, experiences,
hobbies... In the society we live money is important and unavoidable.
This doesn't mean money can buy happiness, however, somehow it helps.
On the other hand, when it comes to how much money we need to live,
have our needs covered and enjoy life without being concerned all the
time about money, I don't think it'd be a specific figure, I mean the
same amount for everyone. It would be really tricky to stablish an
amount of money and don't want anymore in your whole life, because I
think the human being is ambitious, and like almost everything in life
is needed to be bought, maybe any day we would want some more.
Although, this is extremely controversy, because if you can have all
you like, I reckon that in somehow you get bored because you don't
need to worry about anything and can want to try other things. What I
mean by this is it is not true that the richer the merrier, actually
is almost the opposite.
From my point of view, as nobody is going to work for nothing, we need
to get paid a decent salary to live with no economics problems, such
as bills, mortgages... And have some fun from time to time, we can
enjoy the ride everyday though. So for me to have a decent salary is
not only essential, but also a question of dignity, otherwise we would
be living a miserable life and that's not the goal of human life, is
it? I think everyone would be able to adapt our lifes, hobbies and
lifestyle to a decent pay, and if everyone could make ends meet there
wouldn't be any economical crisis.
I think I'm more of a saver than a spender, not only because I don't
have an indefinite job, but also because I'm not very capricious or my
whims aren't that expensive. Nevertheless, in fact, I try to please
all my desires within some limits, but you know, tomorrow is not
guaranteed for nobody, no matter how rich or poor you are, you never
know what tomorrow will bring you.
To sum up, money is a matter of great importance, I might also say a
matter of life and death unfortunately in our lives, although for some
more than others, we just have to look at our dear politicians, it
must be a question of profession, but money calls money and these
creatures are never pleased enough, maybe they don't realise they are
lucky enough to be where they are and, of course, it doesn't cross
their minds they have enough and to spare like every citizen should,
but well this is another topic!
Money makes the world go around sings Liza Minelly and company quite a few years ago, but indelible in my memory not only for the excellent performance of this marvellous actors and film but also for the meaning of these words which nowadays can be use as well to descrive our world.
ReplyDeleteI can't deny how usefull is money... I can even go further and admit that I like( not love) money though, but believe me if I say that it isn't my truthfull conviction, it is just a matter of adaptation to the environment I'm into.
I was brought up in a family where money -management -skills where fundamental and all the members were aware of the need to be carefull with the money we own...but at the same time when I was living with my parents I always loved to spend it doing and buying the things I like more than saving because no future was set in my mind further than the next party weekend or the new music tape I wanted to buy between others whims.
Since I become an adult, if you understand as I do so,owner of a mortage or any bills to pay monthly by yourself, my views about money have change. Now is a need...something that you can't live without because you rely on it so much to preserve the quality of life that you have chosen ....On top of that I'm a mother of two so this quality of life should be serve with them so money has became even more important in my life...
Money, for many is considered to be a blessing, the be-all and end-all, for others something bad, dirty, inappropriate to deal with…. But from my point of view, none of them are seeing, understanding what money really is, because they are in an extreme.
ReplyDeleteSo, what´s money? What are its limitations or do we think that having it everything will be perfect in your daily life? How do we come up with the idea that a piece of paper can be good or bad, it’s just paper, innit? Could we live as if money had nothing to do with us? How can the value given to a piece of paper be the root of someone’s happiness, enjoyment, misery, quarrelsome, war, and stuff? Consequently, if the value is given, it can also be undervalued at the same time. I’m just questioning common thinking, not saying anything in any direction.
To be honest and since some time ago, for me it has become only a tool which has its own limitations. So, knowing its nature, limitations, we can relate to it much more better. Therefore, it would be a terrible mistake to look at life only through the mirror of money.
ReplyDeleteHi
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By definition, a materialistic person is "excessively" concerned with physical comforts or the acquisition of wealth and material possessions, rather than with spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values. So in my opinion, the point is the concern about getting money and different personal ways to spend is legitime and reasonable. It's the lack of other concerns which make us being materialistic. Millionards are not the only ones expected to be generous with needs of people around us or living far away. Every one should be. There's nothing wrong in itself in money except if you become unaware that money never will buy spiriritual things as faith, love, empathy,truth , pardon, passion, talent... So welcome money as a necessary way to pay costs of living but lets's help others to get if when they need it too. Even if we have sometimes to compromise some little pleasures because we're not wealthy persons at all!
ReplyDelete