Has money taken over in the UK?
The Great British Pound has become a sigil to the UK, with the huge importance it holds on the people within and outside of the Great Britain. It holds a significant value in its rising and significantly falling in its value to the rest of the world. As the population of the UK turn their heads evermore to the income, savings, spending and investment of the country as a whole, and as individuals, in an aim to battle with the current cost of living crisis that the UK faces.
In many senses, money is the most important part of life for many people, with money dictating everyones life, and whether they are able to live it to the best of their abilities, however, growing concern from the UK leads people to believe that money is a commodity used by the Government, as an aim to dictate the UK's population, as well as fill their own pockets.
'Money makes the world go around'
The common belief that money makes the world go around, is constantly becoming more factual that opinionated. The Average total debt per UK household in December 2021 was just over £63,500 coming from the national statistics from the end of 2021 which just shows how much money is being needed by each individual within the UK. These statistics back up the fact that the UK really is facing money difficulty with a rise in inflation, as well as the fall in interest rates on saving a rise in interest rates on lending (loans).
The rise in homelessness in the UK can be shown by Shelter's detailed analysis of official homelessness figures and responses to a Freedom of Information request shows that one in 208 people in England are without a home. Just as money makes the world go around, it is required to be able to put a roof over your head, as well as food in your belly.
The problems that come from the current cost of living crisis verge past this difficulty, with the cost of houses on a huge rise, due to increasing populations creating increasing demand, sellers of houses, as well as companies selling newly built houses, are able to charge a more premium price to consumers.
How does money shape people's upbringing?
Peoples’ upbringings can be effected by many things. For example, the people around them, family, friends, the area they are raised in, the school they attend, and how generous their parents are with their money for the children.
The main difference that all these factors face, apart from the people, is how much money families have. Some will be raised in a wealthy area, either in the city or surrounded by fields in the countryside. Whereas some will be raised in council houses, on the less fortunate side of town. Some will attend private school whereas others will attend public schools. And how often parents say yes or no to a child asking for gifts whilst they are growing up, has a great effect on how they behave when they grow to be adults. The effect money has on people’s upbringings tends to be who they know and how spoilt they get. Attending a private school will most likely put you in groups with people of similar status on the money situation, which benefits peoples a lot in the long run, as the saying goes, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know! On top of that being spoilt when you're younger sets you in line to expect a lot more when you're older, which can either lead to aspiring to be able to spoil yourself, or still depending on parents when it comes to your early 20s.
Money has a great power over people’s upbringing, and most likely produces different adults, where theorists argue that a person's nature cannot be altered by money. It does, however, give them more power and options to act per their nature. It gives them the tools and means to express themselves. It gives them the courage and confidence to express their true self.
Does money buy happiness?
Few people will tell you that money doesn’t buy happiness, and from experience them few people tend to be multi-millionaires. Do they know the real value of money?
The fact of it all is that to be able to do everything you want to do in life, or buy anything you want to buy, you need money, and I imagine a lot. In a six-month experiment, taken by the journal PNAS, people who received cash transfers of $10,000 generally reported feeling happier than people who did not receive the payment.
A recent experiment suggests that money can indeed buy happiness. However, from my point of view, money is needed by almost everyone but does not necessarily make everyone happy. What about someone to share all your money with? And family and friends to share said luxuries?