I used to have money. When I got divorced I decided I would let my wife have it all. It was mostly hers to begin with, so it wasn't some great act of generosity. She walked away with somewhere around $2MM in liquidity. I walked away with about $10,000.
It's really made very little difference. Money makes some things easier, but I wouldn't associate that with happy. They are two separate things. There was a time when I thought money would make me happy, and I think there was a time where maybe it did, but there was a realization that my "happiness" wasn't my own. I don't even know if that makes sense to anyone but me, but that's the only way I can articulate it. I was happy because I thought I should be happy with all the stuff and "freedom", but at the end of the day I didn't really care about those things.
Now I'm in this place, this awkward state, where money can't buy any of the things I want. It's a confusing place to be because the world doesn't really operate that way. I wish money made me happy. That would make everything much easier.
It's really made very little difference. Money makes some things easier, but I wouldn't associate that with happy. They are two separate things. There was a time when I thought money would make me happy, and I think there was a time where maybe it did, but there was a realization that my "happiness" wasn't my own. I don't even know if that makes sense to anyone but me, but that's the only way I can articulate it. I was happy because I thought I should be happy with all the stuff and "freedom", but at the end of the day I didn't really care about those things.
Now I'm in this place, this awkward state, where money can't buy any of the things I want. It's a confusing place to be because the world doesn't really operate that way. I wish money made me happy. That would make everything much easier.