bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Naomi Ng

Naomi Ng, 17,  Diocesan Girls' School
They say love makes the world go round. But in fact, it's money that does. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and we need to eat. Even oxygen costs sometimes - scuba divers must buy expensive oxygen tanks, and people with asthma invest in inhalers.
Whether we live  in an affluent city like Hong Kong, or in a developing nation surviving on less than US$2 a day, we all need money. Without it, we can't  fulfil our basic needs for food, shelter and clothing.  
Collins Dictionary states that happiness is an emotion of joy, satisfaction or contentment. Would you feel happy or content if all your bare necessities were stripped away? Imagine yourself penniless, begging for a scrap of food. I highly doubt it. You may still be loved by family and supported by friends without money, but that's not enough to make you happy. 
While we do not need a massive amount of money to be happy, it is only when our basic needs such as food are met that we can dwell on our  emotions. Money may not buy happiness, but it sure is essential to happiness.
Alvin Yuen, 18, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Money is not essential to happiness. It is important to understand what money actually is. 
The value of money only stems from what society decides it is worth.
Money is worth nothing until society attaches value to it, so it is possible for money to be valueless. 
If money could be worth nothing, we can assume it would not always affect us, or our happiness. 
I cannot deny money is important in everyday life, but it is ridiculous to say such a trivial man-made invention is essential for happiness. 
You do not have to have money to pursue happiness. Happiness can be achieved in ways that do not require money. 
Rekindling a long-lost friendship is an example of something that can make people happy without the need for money. People were happy before money was invented, and so happiness can exist without it.
Money can affect our happiness because it is effective as a tool. It allows us to do and get the things we want. But it cannot buy everything, and certainly  not happiness.



Is money essential to happiness?