20 people share the biggest realizations they had as they got wealthy

Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 30, 2021. It has since been updated.

It's no secret that money makes things a whole lot easier in our world. As best as we try not to let material wealth dictate our happiness and purpose in life, to live in our current society without coming up with ways to make money would be extremely hard—if not impossible. However, people who've known what it's like to be rich at least once in their lives often say that having money brings its own fair share of problems. Reddit user u/SheelahSchimek1980 wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding wealth once and for all when they turned to the r/AskReddit community with this question: "What are some things you realized as you got wealthier?"

Here are 20 of the top responses to the Reddit user's query:

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"Technically I am much wealthier than I was 5 years ago. I've learned the phrase 'More money more problems' is for people with no control over their spending." — msb41

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"Everything has gotten so much easier now that I have money. I can afford to live in a decent place so I'm not stuck with awful roommates and/or dealing with a slumlord. Decent food and other creature comforts are easier to obtain. Heck, I've even taken vacations. So many problems can simply be avoided by spending a little more money on something of a higher quality or buying some before I need it.
Plus, stress is also much lower since my bank account isn't always on the brink of going into the negative. A while back my insurance suddenly stopped working and I had to pay $200 for medication instead of $8. Ten years ago that would have given me a panic attack because I'd have to skip meals to make rent but now it's just a minor annoyance that I can fix down the line.
The terrible thing is, I'm not that wealthy. I make just over $70k a year which makes me thoroughly middle class. Just by being above the poverty line, I find that life gets so much easier." — BW_Bird

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"Fortune and luck are not ignorable... they matter more than a lot of people are willing to admit, perhaps for ego reasons, or perhaps they've simply fooled themselves.
Also, the cushion of safety and ability to have most of what you need provides a lot of dignity that can't be ignored either." — ZookeepergameNo4680 

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"I realized how being poor makes you poor. Everything costs more when you’re poor. Paying 6 or 12 months at a time on car insurance is way cheaper than month to month. So, when I was poor I spent more on that because I couldn’t save or plan ahead.
Buying things in bulk is cheaper, eg: Sam’s Club. But when you’re poor, you’re not buying a toothpaste multipack. Too much upfront. When you’re poor, you’ll buy a $50 pair of boots every year. When you have a financial cushion, you’ll buy a $300 pair of boots that last ten years +." — foodzillavsgothra 

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"Wealth changes relationships and not in a good way. I lost friends because they found out I had wealth and felt that they were entitled to it and I was a bad person because I wouldn't pick up the check for everyone at a restaurant. They never expected this before but now they did." — agreeingstorm9

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"I realized more once I lost my wealth. I realized that my happiness was not related to all of the material objects I had collected. I was obsessed with my watch collection and could afford more drugs. Somehow these things became more important than my beautiful family. I lost everything. Wife and kids gone, money gone, career gone. I was in such a dark hole for a long time. I’ve been sober for 6 months now and slowly things became more clear. I was able to help people again through my passion, photography. I’ve been working on a project to shine some light on addicts and the homeless in Chicago. Helping others and being proud of my work has been a lifesaver. My sons are still not back in my life but besides that, all of the pain was worth it. I’ve never had inner peace before. It’s priceless and all of the money in the world can’t buy it." — Adoptedwuss

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"I realized how freeing money can be. Before findom, I was broke in college but now I don’t really think money or about the price of things I just think about what I want if that makes sense? I can afford to take risks and explore the world and I’m not trapped in this endless cycle of working just to pay bills." — katiesummers716 

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