Money makes the world go round

Jane Austen might have been the queen of romance fiction in the 18th century but even she believed that a "large income" was the best recipe for happiness.

The Beatles sang "All you need is Love" during the hippie era but then they didn't just survive on love. When they released the hit song in 1967, they had already made their millions.

For celebutante Paris Hilton, money and happiness seem to come in one package. The Hilton heiress once famously declared: "I get half a million just to show up at parties. My life is, like, really, really fun."

Given the current gloomy global economy, many people have found that money does indeed help give the world a spin.

As a recent survey by global market research company Ipsos showed, more people today believe that money can make them happy. The survey was conducted among 20,000 people in 24 countries.

When given a list of factors for improving their well-being and quality of life, 89 per cent chose a stronger economy in their country as the very or somewhat important factor.

Only 56 per cent put finding a romantic partner high on their happiness stakes, while 49 per cent listed meditation or prayer.

Although Malaysia was not a part of the survey, the findings are something that Malaysians can relate to.

Many if not all of us are always complaining about our "low-paying" jobs and how we would be much happier if we had more money.

Rudy Teo, 30, is one who believes that money can buy happiness, to a certain extent.

"I can understand that some people may disagree, but they probably have never felt hardship and the need for money," he says.

He shares that for three years, he was really depressed as he had no savings in his bank. Now that he has managed to save up some money and put a downpayment on an apartment and a car he feels more cheerful.

"I can safely say that money has bought me some level of happiness. Not at the level of probably seeing a son being born but it does make me pretty happy," he says.

He says that he became resolved to pursue this "happiness" after seeing his sister slogging hard but somehow managed to stay happy despite the suffering at work.

"It was because she was earning good money. So, I told myself that I need to do that too," he says, confessing that he would do anything for a big paycheck, although not anything illegal.

Online entrepreneur and Internet marketing coach Suthan Mookaiah, 26, points out that it is not happiness that money can buy but experiences that can make you feel on top of the world.

Having grown up in a rough neighbourhood, Suthan was exposed to all sorts of bad hats such as motorcycle thieves and alcoholics when he was younger.

"I could have easily turned out like one of them," he shares.

Now a millionaire, Suthan has moved into a "better" neighbourhood, which offers him peace of mind. He admits that he hated being poor when he was younger.

"I don't agree with people who say that money is not important at all. You need a bit of money. You might not need RM20 million (S$8.1 million) but you would need at least some savings to stay happy," he says.

Tan Bee Li, 25, agrees, saying that you need money to be able to do certain things, especially leisure pursuits.

She does not mind spending money on activities such as rock climbing, dance classes and martial arts classes, adding: "I look forward to these activities and they make me happy."

Tan admits that she would be worried if she was without financial security. She, however, has no ambitions of becoming filthy rich, as money is "never enough".

"I would not be concerned as long as I can save and enjoy the leisure activities," she says, describing money as just an enabler for her in attaining happiness.