Is money everything in life? Yes or no?

[Ron H]

Hello!
For some people money is everything and for some peace in life is everything but for me Role-playing is everything for me. Its a stress relief and builds that creativity. Any thoughts?

 

[Lydia]

In the words of old Kanye, “Having money’s not everything, not having it is.”

I think once you’re able to meet basic needs and establish a secure foundation, the ability of money to improve your life diminishes pretty rapidly.

There’s been quite a lot of research on this, and a landmark study about a decade ago found that around $90k/yr (in today’s money) people’s happiness plateaued - with higher salaries there might be more overall life “satisfaction,” but not a measurable increase in day-to-day happiness. A more recent study has challenged these findings and suggested that happiness does continue to rise at higher salaries, so I suppose it’s not a completely settled matter, but I’m inclined to think there is a definite limit to the happiness money can provide. I personally know more than a couple miserable rich bastards.

There are always a lot of variables that can effect this, too. Where you are relative to your community, what your interests/hobbies are, your personal values and goals, etc.

The main things that make us really happy, according to research, are having good relationships (friends/family/romantic), being able to help others, and appreciating what we have. Being part of a community and feeling a sense of value and belonging is HUGE - and role-playing can definitely provide that.

 

[KatelynQ1]

Speaking personally, it goes without saying that money is important but it isn't everything. There was a time where money was everything to me thanks to influence from my family & comparing that time to now, I realise that I'm 100x happier without that view on life.

For me, as long as you have a comfortable amount to live as well as a little extra to indulge in a hobby, then life is good. Even if not though, there's far more important things that it's possible to lose sight of while panicking about your bank account. Things like your relationships, the activities you enjoy & who you are as a person (just to name a few).

Being yourself is more important than being rich!

 

[Mythological]

I think that if you lack money - then it's everything. If you can't afford to eat or put a roof over your head, or pay for medical care - it's pretty damn important.

 

[Sync]

There's a little quote I know that sums it up, I think: All I ask is a chance to prove money can't make me happy. - Ashleigh Brilliant

 

[Mustang]

Money to me is freedom. The more you have the less crap you have to deal with. I wouldn't have to or want to work, I wouldn't have to worry about some things the way I do now. It is freedom. I am not talking about wanting to live like a Playboy or anything either. I don't think I could even be bothered jet-setting all over the world.
I would be happy to just live in my house, surf the net, play guitar and listen to music without ever needing anything other than the basics. And of course if I did get really sick I could pay for the best treatments or put myself in a good "home" if needed.

 

[interestedwriter1710]

Perhaps an alternative interpretation may be to attempt to identify exactly why seemingly arbitrary units of particular currencies are at all valuable - one interpretation is, quintessentially, most people are interested in money because of the human capital that money affords. What exactly is human capital? Well, the human capital that is responsible for the impressive technological progress in the past few decades, or, the human capital that organizes and maintains the modern infrastructure that allows a vast proportion of many populations around the world to afford a much higher quality of life (one can remind himself/herself of the necessary infrastructure that's required for hot showers and flush toilets). We do not need to grow our own food, or fabricate our own electronic devices, nor perform self-surgery, we exchange our own human capital labor for others.

In fact, BlueMoon is such an illustration of the value of human capital, that a significantly greater amount of excitement is typically introduced when erotic fiction can be constructed dynamically with a compatible partner. However, the human capital value of writing partners on forums such as BlueMoon is not necessarily directly valued in USD terms, and this is considered to be good cultural practice by many. Although one would not be surprised if, moving forward into the future, there emerges a certain type of "professional writer" whose niche is solely to engage in dynamic erotic writing with clients, in the same way that there is such a thing as "phone sex" (audio as opposed to written).

Yet, a point to consider for many is, are the economic systems in the modern world fair in their allocation of units of currencies as a means of supposedly trying to track human capital productivity? Although it is understandable that the doctor or the computer scientist should be highly valued in their human capital contributions, and they are, should stock traders be valued so greatly in certain financial systems? What do stock traders contribute exactly? And why aren't caretakers potentially valued to the same extent? There have been centuries of discussions in the political sciences, and without becoming too political, many suggestions of alternative economic systems have been provided.

 

[LifeInterrupted]

Health would be everything as we see wealthy people die just like poor folk do. But money does open up the world and possibilities.