After a year when so many lost so much money to the few who continue to make so much, Yeoh Siew Hoon's got money on her mind.

I was being stretched by my trainer the other day when I blurted out – probably a knee-jerk reaction to pain, "I wish I could win the lottery.""Yeah," he said, bending me even further. "I don't need $30 million, I just need $3 million."

I'd have been contented with $1 million myself but I know better than to argue with someone who's not only physically stronger but also has got my body in a stranglehold.

"I'd still want to work," he said. "$3 million would be enough for me to buy a big house, go on holidays but I'd still need to make money."

And he went on with his fantasy, completely forgetting I was flat out on the floor, one leg in the air, the other with knee bent over the other – I could hear my bones creaking.

"Oh, sorry, got carried away," he said. "Was that good?"

Yes, baby, as good for me as it was for you …

I've been thinking about money lately and perhaps I am not alone.
After a year when so many lost so much to the few who continue to make so much, it's not surprising that money's on our minds.

Of course, if you're lucky enough to work for Goldman Sachs, it will end up in your pocket as well. The news that Goldman Sachs is due to award its employees US$23 billion in bonuses – the biggest in its history – is as baffling to me as my dog insisting on getting as far away from me to do his business. Today, he did it on the steepest slope he could find.
I put it down to consideration on his part, which is more than I can say about those folks at Goldman Sachs.

Thing is, money does strange things to us. In Singapore, people queue for hours if they think it will save them money. We fight when there is no money. We fight when there is money. Some families fight till only the lawyers are left with the money.

We give our money to total strangers to keep for us, and they lock it away. And we trust them with every cent. When we go to see them, they don't have time for us. We have to wait in line for someone who is keeping our money to speak to us. When we call them on the phone, we have to listen to a voice telling us ten buttons to push before we can find out what's happening with our money.

We believe them when they advertise things like, "I was looking for a bank and I found a partner". Forget that. I'd rather "I was looking for a partner and I found a bank".

I don't know of anyone in my circle who's ever won a big prize in a lottery – or perhaps they haven't told me – but I know someone in Cardiff whose housekeeper won the British lottery, several million pounds. She still insists on cleaning my friend's house. "What would I do with my time?" she said.

This month, I heard a rumour that the Prime Minister of Bhutan may be visiting Singapore on a private visit – his is the kingdom that measures how well it's doing by Gross National Happiness, and he wants to share his formula with the world.

Well, he's come to the right place. In January, three academics launched a book, The Wellbeing of Singaporeans, with a study that showed that those who made more money were generally less satisfied with their lives.

Their study, based on a poll of 1,000 people, aged 20 to 69, conducted in 2006, showed that people who have a university or postgraduate qualification and earn $5,000 or more a month were the most dissatisfied with their achievements and enjoy life the least.

Indeed, it is the Singaporeans earning less than $2,000 a month who enjoy life the most.

Commenting on the findings, one of the academics said: "The higher the household income, the more a Singaporean feels that he or she has not achieved much in life."

So you see, my dear trainer, money ain't the route to happiness. I will tell him that the next time he has me in a stranglehold.

Yeoh Siew Hoon, one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, writes a regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry for 4Hoteliers.com.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her other writings can be found at www.thetransitcafe.com

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This article also appears in Asian Correspondent