Windfall Postscript

[KingM]

You probably remember the initial windfall thread.

 

Now that we've mostly dealt with the thing, I've found it surprisingly stressful. Don't get me wrong, it's not like finding out you have a financial hole to plug; I've been there and that's real and scary stress. But still, you'd think the net result of a windfall (it turned out a bit more than I originally thought) would increase your net happiness.

 

Maybe it has something to do with upsetting a state of equilibrium. We'd worked pretty hard to get in a solvent financial position where we knew what bills would be, how much we would save, how we would pay for our current and future expenses. This upsets that balance. Even though the effect is positive, the unexpected nature leads to an unsettled feeling.

[Mejane]

I think this is true for a lot of people. Look at lottery winners; they often report they were happier before the big win.

[The Girls' Mom]

I totally understand that. The decisions to be made with unexpected money are stressful because you want to be sure you are doing the right thing. We went through it a few years ago. We actually went AGAINST the advice of our CPA, and I'm glad we did, but it was incredibly stressful.

[kalanamak]

You probably remember the initial windfall thread.

 

Now that we've mostly dealt with the thing, I've found it surprisingly stressful.

\

 

Just a thought: "Money doesn't change a person--it makes him more like he is."

 

As I climbed out of hand-to-mouth living, I reflected on this, and thought about what it was I wanted to be.

[Mama Geek]

Another interesting thing from some experience is that once the debt is paid off it becomes much more difficult to wisely invest money. It isn't just a matter of getting an unexpected windfall.