How Important Is Money?

No one would argue, I think, that money is unimportant. There are certain things that humanbeings need — food, shelter, medical care and these things cost money. But if one has enoughmoney to live on, to pay for the basic essentials of life, is it important to have a lot more moneythan that? Will your life improve in proportion to the amount of money that you have?

Well, there is no denying that money can buy a lot. Maybe you do not need much money to payfor a simple shelter, but how about if you want a nice big apartment in a nice neighbourhood, or if you want to buy a house? In fact, people do get on each other's nerves if they are crowdedtogether in a small kitchen, if a married couple cannot but share a room with their parents, ifchildren are not allowed to have a little privacy of their own.

Moreover, it is nice to get a little pleasure out of life, a little fun from time to time. Unfortunately, many of the fun things that you can do today cost money. In modern cities, forexample, on any night, outstanding performers appear in night clubs and on concert stages. Furthermore, you can dine on foods from every corner of the world in the restaurants. So howcan it be that many people in modern cities do not have fun? Simple, they do not have themoney to take advantage of all these attractions.

So, is money the road to happiness? Not really. Large numbers of people work every day, workovertime, work weekends, and make a lot of money. Are they happy? No. They have no time toform or maintain friendship, no time to enjoy themselves.

Surely everyone has thought at times, "If only I had a lot of money, I would be the happiestperson in the world." But it is important to remember that money is only a means to an end, not the end itself.