Joe's Black Dog

Joe's Black Dog
Joe's Black Dog by Marjorie Weiss

01 December 2013

Money mania

by David Wilson
Money, The Age, 20 November, 2013

'Excessive desire for money robs people of their humanity, according to the famously frugal Pope ...

Addiction to money is widespread, according to personal finance expert Jim Miller. Sufferers rashly prioritise money over options they value more: time with family, exploring their true passions, even having a family, Miller says. Spurred by the belief that money fixes all worries, in their acquisitive zeal they "stomp on their passions and values", he says ... 

Psychologist and business ethics expert Robert Giacalone classes it as a strain of materialism: excessive love of income and possessions. According to Giacalone, a materialist view is linked with two traits: an inclination to use others for personal gain and a thirst for obtaining status symbols. 

The obsession achieves nothing, Giacalone says, adding that material values are linked to afflictions ranging from anxiety and depression to headaches.'