‘Money can buy some happiness’

Money can’t buy you happiness. But my goodness it is nice to have some.

I have never had much money, from when I was growing up to when I was a penniless student to when I finally started earning money. Writers don’t earn a lot and I have never really placed that much importance in being rich. Only a delusional writer expects to be rich, and only a few lucky ones actually get there. I just want to be comfortable and happy.

But, as we often hear, money can’t buy you happiness; I agree with that — mostly. The best things in life are free; I agree with that, too — mostly. Love is free, family is free, good friends are free, a walk in the park is free.

But you know what? Most people who say money isn’t important, I think, have never had serious money troubles because money can buy certain happiness. Having regular holidays, being able to afford to go out with my friends, and being able to take a cab home when it’s raining — all of this makes me happy.

I don’t think it’s liberating when you declare to others that you don’t care about money — I think it has the potential to be quite hurtful actually.

When you have no money, it’s hard to not have it on your mind all the time. I have had stress-induced eczema, migraines and sleepless nights over various money issues in my life. To say “money doesn’t matter” doesn’t help — it doesn’t stop the phone calls asking for overdue payments, it doesn’t stop you having to go around the supermarket with a calculator and it doesn’t stop the guilt over every single purchase.

For most people, there’s nothing liberating about not having money. It’s actually really horrible. It’s rotten for your self esteem to have to go hungry for a day, to beg the bank not to charge you for going over your overdraft or to ask people for money. I have had to do all these things at some point. But by telling you this, I’m not for a minute suggesting that I have had a tough life, I am just saying it’s easy for people who have never really had money troubles to say that money isn’t important to them.

I remember a couple of years ago, I had a freelance job that paid really well. I had a bank balance healthier than it’s ever been and, for the first time in my life, I didn’t need to worry about cash. I still remember the thrill of picking up a pair of shorts and some trainers in adidas and taking them to the till — I realised, when I pulled out my bank card, that I had no idea how much they cost. I had forgotten to look. It was the best I have ever felt about money. The simple pleasure of having enough cash to not need to calculate whether I could afford every single purchase was such a rush.

Now I have a job, I’m getting to that point again. I’m not rich and I probably never will be, but I have some breathing space. I don’t need to worry about what I’ll do if I have to go to hospital or what I’ll eat at the end of the month — I know I can afford to look after myself.

I say all this because I see so many people rant about how evil money is and how we shouldn’t covet it. But, from my point of view, I can understand why people “sell their soul” and take that high paying job they may not love. If I had a family to support, may be I had done the same.

There’s nothing noble in shunning money, it’s just another way to live your life. I don’t think we should judge people who value it highly. For people such as me, money can go some way to buying me happiness. No more migraines and no more unpleasant conversations with bank managers demanding money I don’t have, is the kind of happiness a bigger bank balance buys.