How much do we need money?

Yesterday's trip was very much on a whim. I had on me only my clothes, keys, phone and about 4 lei or whatever in my pocket. And I felt free... Free to go wherever I desired.

So here comes my question: do we really need a plethora of objects to make us happy? I've always been surrounded by an immense quantity of objects. Now, I desire simplicity. As little a material burden as possible. My father heartily disagrees on this view. To him, everything comes down to money in the end. He IS right, to an extent. In today's world, one can do very little without money. Money is not evil, in and of itself. It only becomes evil in light of an ill usage. But then, what about monastics? They took upon themselves a voluntary vow of poverty - not a blade of grass belongs to them personally.

I'm tempted by such a life, such a view... Hippy counterculture meets the One Most High. Monastics are much happier than we will ever be, in our shrinking world filled with superfluous objects.

So I come again to my question. How much do we really need money? Perhaps there is no universal answer. For people like my father, money will always play a central role. For others, they are just something that is all right if they have them, and ideal if they don't.

As for me... I change my mind too often to give a personal opinion. But I think, in the here and now, that we should not completely rely on the world for anything. There are better things than things themselves - joy, peace and love are some of them. And you cannot buy someone's love, no matter how much you are willing to pay for it.