tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14028331.post117030510604197850..comments2023-05-17T12:11:30.400+01:00Comments on Slap of the Day: Guest Slapper of the Month XIIIBelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16935284724145788208noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14028331.post-81993905081775397312007-02-20T04:21:00.000+00:002007-02-20T04:21:00.000+00:00The only people that say that money doesn't matter...The only people that say that money doesn't matter-Have Lots of it-lol. I Do agree that this is getting to be more and more the haves and the have nots and there is a lot of greed and ingratitude.<BR/><BR/>Beyond the bare necessities, enough food, a safe place to live, clothing, access to good health care and a few little luxeries here and there to make life fun-I don't think that money can buy happiness.<BR/><BR/>I have an Aunt who has a dollar less than God and is miserable as hell. She has been poor as a child, has been a millionaire for half of her life. She always a very discontent person, in both situations.<BR/><BR/> Unfortunately for my family, who have been in really bad shape financially at times, the Only thing she has been Always been willling to consistently share is her misery ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14028331.post-1170788390369486352007-02-06T18:59:00.000+00:002007-02-06T18:59:00.000+00:00gosh - how do you manage bela? I spend 10k a year ...gosh - how do you manage bela? I spend 10k a year on basics - utilities, council tax, insurance, season ticket, obscenely high service charge etc. That's before food, although it does include a subscription to the Economist. And it goes up without fail every year.GreatSheElephanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589100964804729527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14028331.post-1170781421551495922007-02-06T17:03:00.000+00:002007-02-06T17:03:00.000+00:00Hi Bela! I've been away and so I'm catching up he...Hi Bela! I've been away and so I'm catching up here. You've picked another good guest.<BR/><BR/>I need a good slap. I'm afraid I tend to spend money as if I had it.TLPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02837578489728318423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14028331.post-1170521914635621482007-02-03T16:58:00.000+00:002007-02-03T16:58:00.000+00:00GSE, I have tried to convey that to my widowed mot...GSE, I have tried to convey that to my widowed mother, who is on a pretty OK annual pension, some of it state, some of it from my father's employment with John Lewis. She gets around £9,000 a year, but of course her mortgage is paid off. She keeps starting to fret about money (despite managing to SAVE £100 a month and fill her wardrobe with new clothes and accessories every week - I'm not sure what she's saving for aged 77!), and I keep saying, better £9,000 a year that no one will ever, ever take away than a fluctuating income that depends on you being healthy enough to go out and earn it! Roll on - er - 67 in my case...<BR/><BR/>As a freelancer myself, I had a couple of good years a while back, and I definitely now know the amount which makes me feel contented. It's not £10,000, but it's well below $100,000 (what's that, around £50,000?). For me personally, it was having the money to pay all my bills on time, PLUS an extra £20 a week to spend on food above the basics including a daily cappuccino out, PLUS an extra £50 every three weeks or so for a haircut or a posh dinner out with my partner or an iPod shuffle or 3 for 2 books in Books Etc or some treat or other, PLUS the knowledge that when I needed a plumber or a car repair or a new computer - say twice a year some disaster like that - I had the £500-700 spare to pay for it. That to me is a luxurious lifestyle, because money becomes simply not an issue. Beyond that, several more tens of thousands definitely wouldn't have made much difference unless it leapt up to the kind of band which would mean I could live somewhere wonderful like Covent Garden or Marylebone, i.e. £150,000 a year or something, which I will never earn so it's not worth thinking about. I'm back on a normal income now for a freelance editor, but it was interesting to find that out. I'm not sure I would have believed that otherwise.Luluhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08166733963939080151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14028331.post-1170477900504555452007-02-03T04:45:00.000+00:002007-02-03T04:45:00.000+00:00I hate waste and try not to be swayed by ads, etc....I hate waste and try not to be swayed by ads, etc. There's nothing wrong with a little retail therapy - the odd lipstick or book or whatever, but nothing more than that.<BR/><BR/>GSE, I don't even earn £10,000 a year (before tax) these days (and my income has <I>never</I> been over £12,000). I am proof that it is possible to live on very little money, in London. You're absolutely right: as far as freelancers as concerned, the lack of job security is the main impediment to happiness.Belahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16935284724145788208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14028331.post-1170458003427114382007-02-02T23:13:00.000+00:002007-02-02T23:13:00.000+00:00I have a drawer full of paper about downshifting a...I have a drawer full of paper about downshifting and I am scared to do it. I love my big(gish) salary and being solvent, and I remember too well how miserable it used to be on the breadline -- sometimes not even the money for a stamp; sometimes having to have the phone cut off. Yet my life today is full of the kind of stupid stresses you have just delineated so well, Urban Chick. Good on you!!Sapphire Stockinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15722005950078191847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14028331.post-1170447969730820852007-02-02T20:26:00.000+00:002007-02-02T20:26:00.000+00:00£10k? Presumably not in London though.Rather than ...£10k? Presumably not in London though.<BR/><BR/>Rather than money itself, I think what does add to happiness is knowing there will always be enough. As a freelancer I'm not blessed with that knowledge and it makes me very nervous indeed.GreatSheElephanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589100964804729527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14028331.post-1170445985648112242007-02-02T19:53:00.000+00:002007-02-02T19:53:00.000+00:00lulu: you're right - it is a constant battle and t...lulu: you're right - it is a constant battle and the ambition to live a simpler life runs contrary to messages emanating from the business sector, government and so on<BR/><BR/>ww: in fact, the most recently publicised research over here put that income level at a paltry £10,000 per annum ($19,000??) - amazing, eh?Urban Chickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04692332227897168182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14028331.post-1170440101981047192007-02-02T18:15:00.000+00:002007-02-02T18:15:00.000+00:00Yay! I love Urban Chick! You are so right about ...Yay! I love Urban Chick! <BR/><BR/>You are so right about this. <BR/><BR/>A few years ago I read a summary of research on income and other predictors of happiness. In a nutshell, it stated that beyond about $100,000/year (in the U.S., and I'm sure this varies by region), income no longer increases happiness. My DH and I discovered that we had all the other ingredients that DID increase it (e.g., good health, family connections, etc.) except one: we weren't involved in charitable service (what the rich call philanthropy). Giving one's riches and/or time seems to increase one's sense of well-being. So we added that to the mix. <BR/><BR/>I don't know who first said it, but the idea that "money doesn't solve your problems, it just makes your problems more expensive" is spot-on. (Unless your problem is stark poverty, in which case money is handy-dandy.)<BR/><BR/>As someone who studies the psychological, behavioral, and health-related effects of mass media exposure on children and adolescents, I can tell you that at least ONE of the reasons we keep buying into the notion that acquisition of objects will make us happy is that it's shoved down our throats from every magazine, billboard, and bus flying past. Our discontent is profitable for marketers. But does all that profit make THEM happy? Apparently not. ;-)WinterWheathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07580631955480019168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14028331.post-1170424254718430982007-02-02T13:50:00.000+00:002007-02-02T13:50:00.000+00:00I think more and more people are going to start th...I think more and more people are going to start thinking this way. Every now and again I get disgusted by everyone else's, and my own, throwaway tendencies. And I think this is the right way to feel. But this attitude faces a daily barrage from manufacturers, advertisers and salespeople (like Bela with her specs, see recent post). And the waters are also muddied by our being somehow made responsible by the government for the 'National Economy', which apparently thrives better when we Spend - you know how, after every Christmas, it was either a Bumper Christmas for the Economy, or we somehow failed by being mean that year and now it's our fault if small shops go out of business, the pound sinks, shares fall, etc etc. And what about all those people who overspend and then simply go bankrupt and get free of their debts, with no social stigma and only 2 years of not being allowed credit? How are we expected to make sense of these contradictory messages? But it's one of the most important questions of our time, isn't it? So we have to try...Luluhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08166733963939080151noreply@blogger.com