‘’We just wanna make the world dance, forget about the price tag’’ Yes that’s fine for you to say Jessie J whilst you sing to a thousand people who paid £38.50 each plus postage to hear you ironically sing ‘’we don’t want your money’’.

If the money doesn’t matter, why do ‘celebrities’ accept such high pay cheques? I’m sure it takes more skill to remove a cancerous tumour than it does to stand in a recording studio and be auto tuned. (No offence Jessie, just an example).

I’m not going to go off on a tangent of the whole ‘nurses should have footballer’s wages’ agenda because that’s a well beaten track, and although I wholeheartedly agree it’s been debated time and time again and to be frank is quite unrealistic in our economic state.

Simply put, money does matter, at least to most people. You could argue back that most celebrities do give massive sums of money to charities and good causes, such as singer Elton John who has his own charity Elton John Aids Foundation (EJAH) and has raised over 43 million dollars for many charities across the globe.

This is all lovely and fine when you think of the good that money is doing for the people who benefit from the charities, however if you had ridiculous amounts of money, would you feel obliged or even guilty if you didn’t give at least a six figure sum to some form of charity?

So, the big question is does money equal happiness? Ask a man on the street with a cup for spare change and a hungry looking dog, and then a rich businessman with a 10 bedroom mansion and the answer may surprise you.

‘’Money isn’t everything… but it ranks right up there with oxygen.’’ Rita Davenport makes a good point, obviously money is how we survive in the world. Without money we simply cannot survive in today’s society. The obvious components of water, food and shelter come into the equation in terms of poverty and homelessness, however that man sitting with the dog on the high street may be a lot happier with the love he gives and receives compared to the rich man with the empty mansion.

Be honest with yourself, has there been at least a few occasions when you wanted something material so badly you would go to any length to get it? For example a new phone when you were young or a new dress for a party, and it’s so frustrating when you can’t have what you want so badly.

I don’t come from a well off family. Averagely working class, we could afford things but nothing luxury, so I know what it’s like to not have what you want. I wasn’t a spoilt child, I just wanted to be like my friends who unfortunately were a lot wealthier than I was. New phones, clothes, school trips and money for going out were things I constantly rattled on at my parents for. Now I’m older I realise how frustrating this must have been for them.

Looking back, I was really happy growing up, apart from the usual things that everyone goes through, like deaths in the family and other bad experiences. I was as normal as possible (for me), had a good education at a state school, lovely family and friends and I honestly wouldn’t change it for all the money in the world. Obviously I wondered what It would be like to have a swimming pool and a massive TV and gates at the end of my drive, and sometimes I got angry at my parents for not being able to afford to buy me things, but judging by the experiences of my friends who do have those things, I’d choose my 3 bed semi and living off the pay cheque lifestyle any day.

One particular friend had the most beautiful luxurious house, all the toys and gadgets he wanted, had cleaners, cooks and drivers to do everything for him, however he rarely saw his dad for more than a day at a time and his mum lived thousands of miles away in Mauritius with her new husband.

You can imagine he wasn’t the happiest of people. He had everything he wanted materially, however he ‘’never had the real family experience’’ and feels he’s missed out massively. He feels if his family didn’t have the money they did, his parents might still be together because of the way money changes people.

I’m not saying everyone who has money is selfish and abandoning, on the contrary they’re no different at all, they just might shop at Waitrose whilst others shop at Asda.

Money can definitely make you happy. In the current economic situation, there are lots of people who are falling into debt, constantly worrying about what could happen if things get really bad. The sense of security is reassuring; however having money definitely doesn’t guarantee you happiness.

As cliché as it sounds, a new car or a new dress can never give you what love can, or hope or achievement. The feelings we naturally have as human beings are far greater than anything material possessions can give us. A hug from your mum after not seeing her for two months is far warmer than any fur coat. Personally I’d rather have a night in on the sofa with my cat and Hugh Grant on the TV than dinner at a posh restaurant.

One thing men also need to understand is that most girls don’t go for a man just for his money. We’re not that shallow. It may be attractive at first to flash the cash because we know you’re trying to impress us and it’s flattering, however a cheeky chat up line and a compliment does the trick just as well!

People also have different definitions of happiness. Everyone is different, and some might aspire to be independent and wealthy, whereas others desire to be surrounded by people who love them and don’t care for much else. The important thing is that you don’t have to have excess amounts of money to be happy. Contrary to belief, money can’t buy you love.