Money!

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Here, here Sarevok. Having money means you can basically do anything you want. There are places I'd love to visit but don't have the money, loads of clothes I want but don't have the money, people I'd like to treat but don't have the money. I want a new car but don't have the money. I'd like to be able to afford a mortgage. Other bits and bobs I'd love to be able to do and have but I can't, because I'm skinto.

Money doesn't buy happiness? Total bollocks.

 

Is there anybody here who think they have 'enough' money? Or does everyone here think if they had 'just a bit more' then they'd be happy?

 

The difference is that some people do honestly need more money to be able to afford things that some other people take for granted. For example, a nice car and a mortgage. Other people take for granted their 200,000 mortgage and their 15,000 car and just want extra money for more little luxuries.

 

Nobody "needs" a nice car!

 

But they need a place to live. And some peoplke just can't afford, or get, a mortgage. In which case they have to rent, which is just dead money. With just a little more, they'd be able to afford a mortgage . Once that happens, you feel a little happier in yourself as you know you're not wasting your money.

 

*raises hand* Mostly thanks to Mom's life insurance at the moment, but it should last me more than long enough to finish college and get a good job. I just don't need a lot, because I don't eat much, I have fun with games I already have, and TBH I wouldn't ever leave the house if I didn't have to.

 

This question reminds me of the halfling in Gullykin village. He asks: Who is more the fool: the man who sits idle in his old chair enjoying the sunshine, or the man who labors long for a fine new chair that he might sit in some day?

I have enough money and am quite happy sitting in the chair I have.

 

It is simply a matter of moral opinion (another person's morality is another person's...). And like some other things, eveyone has an opinion. If you enjoy your belief in that rot, then I welcome you to it. This is like those pointless threads about whether or not there is a God, or if religion is good or bad, or abortion, or sexual preference. The debate over such matters is pointless, and if your desire is to worship, money or Rand, or Fransico, or whomever, then I welcome you to your belief - quite undistrubed.

 

Join the club, but where's the priority of needs? I'll grant you the Mortgage is a biggie, as a home of your own is something you will need if you want more out of life. Clothes are a necessity, but where is the line between covering your nakedness and dressing to be fancy or impress someone. If I split the arse out of my two pair of good pants, then I need more of them. At this point I'd simply like a couple extra pair so that I don't have to do laundry as often if my social calendar picks up...

There's a difference between hapiness and pleasure. I derive pleasure from a vacation, I used to derive pleasure from getting drunk or high, but did they make me happy? I was happy on my last vacation (where I actually went somewhere) not by where I was or what I did, but because of who I spent my time with.

Being in a period of financial hardship, I can say no, I don't have enough. While more money could allieviate some of the stress I feel, it will buy pleasure, but not true hapiness. But it will give me the opportunity to find hapiness by allowing me to date and to socialize more to cultivate friendships...

I'll give you that one, but the happiness comes from the satisfaction of doing something wise, not from the money itself. It is an enabler at best.

 

Um, in times of inflated house prices, renting is not dead money - it's a smart option. Too many landlords with multiple investment properties bought at stupid high prices with crippling mortgages, all competing for the same pool of quality tenants. Where I live, there's never been a better time to be a renter (so long as you save the money you are saving on mortgage interest and don't blow it all on gadgets and beer).

 

When you rent something, the money is dead. I.e. you are seeing nothing for your money. At least with an expensive mortgage the house will actually be yours at the end of it. Money on renting is going nowhere so it's dead money.

 

Nonsense. You don't get 'nothing' for your money. You get somewhere to live. You get a landlord to fix stuff when they break. You get to move to a different house whenever you feel like a change. You get to use all your spare cash for other things.

And at certain times in the economic cycle (like now) it can be miles and miles and miles cheaper to rent. If I didn't already have a house and a mortgage, I'd be renting for sure right now. Granted, it is usually better to try and buy a house, but not right now it isn't (unless economic conditions are dramatically different where you are, which I don't think they are - unlike the USA where you get a tax deduction for your residential mortgage interest).

 

Fair points.

It's just, you could rent a house for 20 years or get a mortgage over 20 years or whatever the time-frames are. After 20 years mortgage, you'll be well on your way to fully owning a property that will probably be worth more than what you paid for it by then. After 20 years renting a house you've spent thousands and thousands of pounds and don't have anything tangible for your money. You don't even get to decorate the property how you want it.

 

Yes, you are mostly right. I just wanted to point out that renting isn't always a dead end. But one of the main benefits of a mortgage is that it forces you to save money whereas many renters will not be disciplined enough to save up the extra money that they are not paying on their mortgage.

 

Quick points:

• Renting property is dead money because you don't get anything permanent from it when you could have otherwise by buying.
• Interest on a mortgage is also dead money, because you get squat from paying it.
• In this case, it's not a matter of dead money vs. no dead money, but which option is less dead money.
• Sometimes dead money is worth it. Like renting while you look for a good buy instead of taking a desperation buy that wasn't worth it. Or not paying off (as a whole) a mortgage that you could because you're getting more interest on the money in the bank than you're paying on the mortgage. (I have a really good rate. )

 

Surely that could only happen in the USA, where the tax deductibility of mortgage interest makes it more likely. In NZ, mortgages are paid from post tax earnings whereas deposit interest is taxed at your marginal rate so, in effect, your deposit interest would have to be more than 39% higher than your mortgage interest for there to be any benefit (which would be extremely unlikely - except for shonky deals from here today, gone tomorrow finance companies).

 

Well, it does require a very low rate like I've got and tying up money in a CD, but that money would be tied up anyway if you just paid off the mortgage.

 

People have often said that "you can't buy happyness". I believe this to be true. For example, if you won several million dollors what would you do with it? You would probably quit your job, buy a REALY expensive house, a car probably worth more than the house and never have to want for anything again. People who have everything want nothing, and if you want nothing, what is there to life?

 

If I won a million dollars, I'd be dead within a couple years because I'd have a big hous with a ton of computers and play several videogames at once, not venturing out except to spend money and die of a heart attack...

 

If I won a million dollars, I probably wouldn't change my life too much. After paying off the house, the remainder would not be enough for me and my family to live the rest of our lives without working, so I might as well carry on working for a while, go on a nicer holiday each year, maybe have a nicer car, and probably retire 10 years earlier than planned.