Put your Money where your Mouth is!

You know? The other day I was thinking about Pink Floyd's super famous song "Money" and, more specifically about its lyrics, its words, its message. It is undeniably a really good tune (but by no means my favorite of theirs) and it is one of the first songs most people get to listen from the British combo (along with "Another Brick in the Wall", of course). 

Anyway, it is the message we're discussing here:

"Money, get away"... "Money, get back"... "Money, it's a crime..." and so on, and so forth...

Basically a condemnation of money for being the root of all the evils of our ugly world. Hmmm... quite funny coming from a bunch of millionaires who probably live in some mansion in the French Riviera  and who would easily charge their fans between 50 to 100€ for a concert ticket and who would not hesitate to report them if they found out said fans were downloading their songs for free. Don't get me wrong, I love the Floyd, but a group  of philanthropic hippies these guys were not (Roger Waters even admitted in an interview that he was inspired to write The Wall after he spat at an enthusiastic fan in a gig and was disgusted by his repulsive behavior, but that is a completely different story!)

The thing is that I've always found the Rock Stars' hypocrysy about good deeds and especially about trying to pretend how little they care about money quite annoying; especially if they don't practice what they preach, they talk the talk but not walk the walk, etc. I mean, I'd rather have an artist (but also other types of professionals such as cooks, painters, etc.) who unabashedly admits he's only in it for the money than someone trying to convince me about artistic integrity and whatnot when his/her actions show otherwise. I just don't buy that BS, sorry.

That is not to say that true artistic integrity does not exist and that there are not people who have other much more important motivations than CASH in their careers and lives. Quite a few bands/individuals have risked much of their time, energy and investments in setting up record labels so as to help new, up-and-coming artists make their music (or whatever creation) available, and many have agreed to lower their fees so as to keep down the price tickets; all of it, out of pure altruism. So, of course, kudos to them!

Whatever, the issue I wanted to be discussed in this very post is MONEY; that is, how important money is in our lives.
I'll talk about myself, and expect you to do the same (as usual, in the comments box): I LOVE my job, but I really doubt I would do it for free. I've always thought that if you can make a living out of something you genuinely enjoy doing, then you're a lucky person. But of course, getting some money in exchange for that job which you love is an ESSENTIAL part of the equation; I mean, how could one live, otherwise?

The thing is that I reckon the money that I get for my job is pretty reasonable; sure, my job is a decently-paid one (especially when compared to most jobs in our country), and such pay would allow one to live comfortably (it pays the bills, for sure!), provided that person has some minimal money-management skills. In relation to this, I have to say that I wouldn't call myself a materialist; I'm not obsessed with money or whatever: I only see money as the vehicle for obtaining some goods, services or (more importantly, in my case) experiences/memories. Duh! you will say; EVERYONE uses money to buy things or experiences! Right, but what I mean is that I'm not that concerned about how much money I have in my bank account or about NOT SPENDING money (and consequently, saving it!) or about setting some private pension plan or saving it for a rainy day and stuff. 

The truth is that I'm a lousy saver: probably, having a job for a life has made me relax about having to amass some savings to fall back on if needed; it is quite complicated for me to set a budget and stick to it. Furthermore, I don't have kids, and things would be different if I had. On the other hand, I live on my own and all the expenses to meet (rent, utility bills, groceries, petrol, phone, internet), I have to do so myself. Periodically, some unexpected expense (municipal taxes, car repairs, car/house insurance, goddamned fines...) will come up, rendering the chance of saving some money a quite improbable one.
After paying bills and meeting my de rigueur expenses, there comes enjoyment; what a miserable life would it be if one could not treat him/herself after a long, hard work week, right? I'm not a capricious man and have little concern for cars or designer brands or expensive clothes but, I do have some interests and most of them are not free: I love music, and not just listening to it, but POSSESSING it, that is, buying vinyl records. I feel bad if I spend too much money on records (I try not to spend more than 5% of my monthly income on that), but sometimes I just give in to my record buying impulses. 
Eating out (and washing down a nice meal with an equally nice wine) is another of my personal pleasures, and I love doing it once a week at least (I hate being ripped off, though). So is craft beer (which is not exactly cheap). I also enjoy travelling a lot, and travelling can be a costly activity (I usually rely on others who are much better at finding travel bargains than me!).
I guess that, based on the previously stated, I'm more of a spender than a saver. I don't know, I don't really throw money away or spend money like water, but if with a decent pay, I  can barely make ends meet, then a saver I'm definitely not.

What about you guys/girls. What is your attitude towards money? How much money is enough money? (not a specific amount, but more of a description) Can you live on your income? Do you make do with what you have or would more money make a considerable difference?

Have your say!