How much money it takes to be happy in South Africa

[chrisc]

It’s not what you take home each month, but what you do with it
And of course cutting your cloth according to your income

People I know who live beyond their means are never happy
Then there are those who, however hard they seem to work, can never make it
Some people seem to continually make bad decisions, either due to poor advice or not thinking ahead

Having sufficient an income, being able to manage comfortably, is satisfying

 

[Harmonic]

So don't buy that?

Why put yourself through misery intentionally? Just because you can afford something doesn't mean you must. It's no different to those spending obscene amounts on cars...

I fully agree, you'd be silly to intentionally do it to yourself (I only learn't this after intentionally doing it to myself). That said, I can count on more than two hands, the amount of people I know who have done it to themselves

 

[Harmonic]

Any stress will impact on your ability to love and be loved, including financial ones. Living within your means drastically reduces at least one major stress...

To a point yes, but to be honest mindset and the way you approach solving the problem can absolutely bridge that gap. Why must I be angry at my wife because the balance is lower than what I hoped for, as an example?

My ability to emotionally be there for someone is not really dependent on any external factors, other than those I allow it to be

 

[chrisc]

I have had employees who seemed to have no financial sense at all. They were totally driven by thoughts of what they should “have“ whether or not they really needed it

Attempts to make them see sense lasted about 10 mins

 

[Alton Turner Blackwood]

Sad thing is, you can blow through a bar a year very easily without even being luxurious.

Only retards would be able to.

In order to earn in excess of 1 bar, you had to have worked for some time already.

At that stage an outside observer would correctly assume the subject knows how the monetary system works.

 

[Pak Fa Fui]

Agreed 100%. It was a fictitious/semi reality based example

So you lied

 

[Harmonic]

So you lied

No, I was thinking after tax. Pre tax money doesn't exist

 

[SAguy]

Only retards would be able to.

In order to earn in excess of 1 bar, you had to have worked for some time already.

At that stage an outside observer would correctly assume the subject knows how the monetary system works.

R83k before tax is really easy to blow through, without being "retarded". After tax and pension you're lucky to walk away with half of that.

 

[RedViking]

Absolutely! I lost both my parents when I was 16, and as an side, there was no inheritance or extended family to rely upon. I know full well what it means to struggle having being homeless for a period of time in my life. I've literally begged for food at certain points. Anyways 14 years later, I've managed to pick myself up and that is no longer the case.

I have first hand experience of how money doesn't make one happy. All I used to tell myself is "if I had more money my problems would go away". Turns out, your problems don't go away, although they may morph and change into different facets.

As best as I know, to love and to be loved is the most successful path to happiness

I hear what you say but don't think you are completely honest with yourself. Obviously money is not the definition of happiness. But without money, no matter how much love you have, things will just start to fall apart. As an individual you might be able to be satisfied and be completely happy and homeless, but when you have wife and kids or have to take care of your family, telling them you love them and even trying to show it.... just is not good enough. Now we can all go heavy and philosophical on the topic, but in reality, in a world which is built on wealth and money, relationships just don't last when you can't provide anymore. Maybe being rich does not make one happier, but there is point when not having enough does reach a level of unhappiness. There is obviously also the opposite, money and wealth can also separate families. They key is to find a balance and make the best of the situation you are in, having a lot, or having a little but enough.


I am not talking about fixing problems here. You can be the wealthiest individual on this planet, but have more problems than a lower class family barely making it each month. Especially if you do dumb stuff like buying twitter.

 

[Harmonic]

I hear what you say but don't think you are completely honest with yourself. Obviously money is not the definition of happiness. But without money, no matter how much love you have, things will just start to fall apart. As an individual you might be able to be satisfied and be completely happy and homeless, but when you have wife and kids or have to take care of your family, telling them you love them and even trying to show it.... just is not good enough. Now we can all go heavy and philosophical on the topic, but in reality, in a world which is built on wealth and money, relationships just don't last when you can't provide anymore. Maybe being rich does not make one happier, but there is point when not having enough does reach a level of unhappiness. There is obviously also the opposite, money and wealth can also separate families. They key is to find a balance and make the best of the situation you are in, having a lot, or having a little but enough.


I am not talking about fixing problems here. You can be the wealthiest individual on this planet, but have more problems than a lower class family barely making it each month. Especially if you do dumb stuff like buying twitter.

I absolutely agree with where you're coming from. Maybe another way to phrase it is to say, in some cases, people put a bit too much value on money. It becomes the center of a problem, and not just a symptom. For example, if you think money will solve all your problems, I would say you're not seeing the trees from the forest

 

[Corelli]

Nope, my wife and I are childless (by choice)

Having a kid is far cheaper than going to an old age home with Dementia. Expect 20k per month or there about.

Ofcourse you would probs only survive 5 years if lucky.

But the odd thing is.....you will never be remembered...ever.

Thats the joy of kids, you keep being remembered.

 

[SauRoNZA]

It’s not what you take home each month, but what you do with it
And of course cutting your cloth according to your income

People I know who live beyond their means are never happy
Then there are those who, however hard they seem to work, can never make it
Some people seem to continually make bad decisions, either due to poor advice or not thinking ahead

Having sufficient an income, being able to manage comfortably, is satisfying

Too true.

It’s not about what you earn, it’s about what you spend.

 

[zerocool2009]

I hear what you say but don't think you are completely honest with yourself. Obviously money is not the definition of happiness. But without money, no matter how much love you have, things will just start to fall apart. As an individual you might be able to be satisfied and be completely happy and homeless, but when you have wife and kids or have to take care of your family, telling them you love them and even trying to show it.... just is not good enough. Now we can all go heavy and philosophical on the topic, but in reality, in a world which is built on wealth and money, relationships just don't last when you can't provide anymore. Maybe being rich does not make one happier, but there is point when not having enough does reach a level of unhappiness. There is obviously also the opposite, money and wealth can also separate families. They key is to find a balance and make the best of the situation you are in, having a lot, or having a little but enough.


I am not talking about fixing problems here. You can be the wealthiest individual on this planet, but have more problems than a lower class family barely making it each month. Especially if you do dumb stuff like buying twitter.

Look at Brett Keble. His monthly expenses was R5 000 000 a month. Was he happy?

 

[Corelli]

I hear what you say but don't think you are completely honest with yourself. Obviously money is not the definition of happiness. But without money, no matter how much love you have, things will just start to fall apart. As an individual you might be able to be satisfied and be completely happy and homeless, but when you have wife and kids or have to take care of your family, telling them you love them and even trying to show it.... just is not good enough. Now we can all go heavy and philosophical on the topic, but in reality, in a world which is built on wealth and money, relationships just don't last when you can't provide anymore. Maybe being rich does not make one happier, but there is point when not having enough does reach a level of unhappiness. There is obviously also the opposite, money and wealth can also separate families. They key is to find a balance and make the best of the situation you are in, having a lot, or having a little but enough.


I am not talking about fixing problems here. You can be the wealthiest individual on this planet, but have more problems than a lower class family barely making it each month. Especially if you do dumb stuff like buying twitter.

I could relate to Tom Hanks having biscuits with ketchup and mustard. Did that with bread before. Just bread and Jam for about 6 months, nothing more. Ran out of Jam for a week so just Tomato Sauce.

Strange that my parents were very rich, but they would never spend money on their kids. When I was small we had to eat pronutro with powdered milk for 4 months, because my dad was working and eatting out and so my mom, yet we stayed in a 8 bedroom mansion in Bishopscourt.

But well, the King is dead, long live the King. I can relate to that too.

 

[Harmonic]

Having a kid is far cheaper than going to an old age home with Dementia. Expect 20k per month or there about.

Ofcourse you would probs only survive 5 years if lucky.

But the odd thing is.....you will never be remembered...ever.

Thats the joy of kids, you keep being remembered.

We're clearly optimizing for different metrics...

It's quite funny, a mate of mine recently had a baby (super high performing man, CEO of a business worth a coupled hundred million ZAR)... Anyway, I asked him how scary is it (having a living being you have to look after). His response, he was scared shitless until he realized, many crack smoking parents have raised a child. How hard can it actually be keeping the kid alive?

Personally, if I had children, I would never want to burden them with the responsibility of looking after me. Especially not because it's "cheaper"

 

[Harmonic]

Look at Brett Keble. His monthly expenses was R5 000 000 a month. Was he happy?

Nope. And that's sort of the point

 

[RedViking]

I absolutely agree with where you're coming from. Maybe another way to phrase it is to say, in some cases, people put a bit too much value on money. It becomes the center of a problem, and not just a symptom. For example, if you think money will solve all your problems, I would say you're not seeing the trees from the forest

Yeah definitely. I learned that the hard way.

 

[Sads-1-zn]

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[TStringList]

Very easily. Bond 52k, groceries 15k, car 10k, medical 6k, petrol 5k etc

Living the upper middle class dream

Not sure if sarcasm or not but 83k per month is plenty. And 52k bond what why?

 

[TStringList]

I could relate to Tom Hanks having biscuits with ketchup and mustard. Did that with bread before. Just bread and Jam for about 6 months, nothing more. Ran out of Jam for a week so just Tomato Sauce.

Strange that my parents were very rich, but they would never spend money on their kids. When I was small we had to eat pronutro with powdered milk for 4 months, because my dad was working and eatting out and so my mom, yet we stayed in a 8 bedroom mansion in Bishopscourt.

But well, the King is dead, long live the King. I can relate to that too.

Damn that sucks. I'm sure you can't stand to see Pronutro anymore.