The View | The great money delusion is that we never quite have enough

Do you have enough money? When John Paul Getty, at the time the richest man in the world, was asked this question he said that he could never have enough. His famous remark has now been worked into a new film about the kidnapping of his grandson, whose release was dependent on cash from Getty who claimed he lacked enough money to pay.

Fortunately, most people never experience hostage situations but they often feel like hostage victims as they face demands for money from all sides. Banks want loan repayments; utility bills make a regular and unwelcome appearance and then there’s everything else. Even stepping out of your front door is usually a prelude to yet more demands on the wallet.

Anxiety over money is one of the biggest causes of mental stress and it’s a kind of stress that is more likely to affect those with way more money than ordinary folk. Maybe it’s a case of the more money you have, the more you are likely to think about it. That’s not to say that people who are seriously short of funds don’t worry about money but they tend to be thinking about survival rather than where the next million is coming from.

Logically money should only be a worry where what’s coming in is exceeded by how much is pouring out. However it does not quite work like that. When the very rich are borrowing money their borrowings are usually described as shrewd leveraging for investment purposes, when those of lesser means resort to borrowing they are sternly reminded to live within their means. Advice of this kind is not however given when borrowings are on a herculean scale, such as the perpetual debts of the United States government, administering one of the world’s richest countries.

Thus an imbalance between in and outflows of money is not necessarily a problem. What is generally a far bigger cause for concern are monetary comparisons. Thus Mr W gets very anxious when he learns that Mr Z has earned that more than him and has a flashy new Italian sports car to prove it.

Some people describe this as being a case of mere envy but many individuals see money as a way of measuring achievement. It is, if you like, the ultimate quantifier.