Oh, my friends, I am overwhelmed with feelings of envy.
Let me make this perfectly clear — I am very happy where I am. My husband, my grandkids, my own two kids. I couldn’t ask for more.
Yet here I am, asking for more.
I think I watch too many TV shows where there are actors making $20,000 an episode, the CEO of Ceasar’s Palace and the Vice President of Food and Beverage at Ceasar’s judging Hell’s Kitchen finalists, Gosford Park where the really rich do nothing but eat and languish while the servants have a world of their own, restaurants that serve exquisite meals that make unique appetizers at $30 a hit, people who vacation in Hawaii then the Alps then France and barely feel the breeze on their hair.
I am suffering from rich people envy.
I will never be in that world. Point blank. I will never have the money to stay at an exquisite resort in the Rockies or have a beach front apartment in Honolulu or have a cocktail at the top of the Eifel Tower. And in some realms that is okay.
I have taken the slow road through life. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, I have worked all my life in order to have a comfortable place to call home, send my kids to school, pay for their sports and their pizzas and some of their college. I tried starting my own business, which didn’t take off as I thought it would. So backwards the finances went, until I found a job at a catalog distributor.
I will never be able to take off for the weekend to New York City or dine at Guy Savoy’s in Caesar’s Palace. Most of those things don’t matter to most of us. And it doesn’t matter to me most of the time.
But now and then I feel a bit melancholy that I never became a money maker in life. That I never became a vice president or executive director of anything. I never became a famous author or consultant. I never have been able to live in the top third income bracket.
Yet I am okay where I am today.
Maybe it’s because the road in front of me is shorter than the road behind me, and you can’t change your past. I suppose if I were to do my life again I’d change a little bit here or there, but I would still go bowling with friends where I met my husband and driven my kids to school every day just so I could have a conversation with them.
Would you change any part of your life? Just a smidge?
Do you ever suffer from “money envy”?
Sometimes I’m ashamed that I envy the money life. Why be envious of a life you will never have? Your family never had? Would I trade anything I have today for that golden ring?
I think a lot of this insecurity comes because I’m almost old enough to retire, and my past was never on the money path. It’s easy to look back and think I should have done this or that and it would have made a difference.
But that’s not true.
I may not be an executive of a company, but I’ve worked hard and well in all my jobs, traveled to Cancun and Las Vegas with my husband, I go camping and on ski weekends and I’m blessed to have both of my kids in the same state. I may not vacation in the Bahamas but camping in Sturgeon Bay is just as rewarding.
I think we all suffer from money envy from time to time. It’s what we do with that envy that counts. Acknowledge it, thank it, and get on with your life. You can’t change your choices, so embrace the ones you’ve made.
You’ve made them for a reason.
Humoring the Goddess 
That’s so true. I realize these things all the time when I’m not whining. I am here right now, so the past doesn’t really matter. Money or not. I have grandkids and a decent job and am able to breathe and walk so the world is really wonderful.
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I used to envy rich people when I was young. They are not happier than we are, believe you me. I have noticed that very often. They act like they are happy but why do they drink too much, take drugs, have beautyoperations again and again and again ?????And look at all the rich and famous !!! divorces, alcoholism, drugs, suicide…..
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I read a story about Steve Jobs, and he died an unhappy man, All his money did not help him. 😊
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Oh never stop! You are like me — if you had a chance to do your life over again you wouldn’t…except for your deep loss. Those kind of selections we have no choice about. Nothing I did would change the fact that I lost my brother too soon, or other dark spots in my life. Your choices got you a wonderful, loving wife, and you wouldn’t trade that for all the money in the world. I wonder if millionaires are as satisfied as we are.
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It often sounds like whining..like I’m not grateful for what I have. Like the previous comment, maybe I should just wish for a little extra. Enough to take my husband or grandkids (or both!) somewhere new. Or to be able to buy a car that was made before 2005. It’s all a moot point, though, for I love my family and my past times and, as I said, if I had to do it again this way I would.
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Thanks my friend. I do have a good life like many of us. There have been many ups and downs, losses and gains. I feel like I was whining in this post…you said it best. Maybe just a little extra. I plan to work on my house and property a little at a time till I retire. There won’t be a lot of money but a lot of effort!
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Sounds like you have a wonderful life. You can’t buy the things that really matter. I don’t have to be wealthy, but I do want to be financially independent and yes occasionally I do wish I had a little extra, so I could take a special vacation. Of course, my husband would want to hang out at home and work on our property 🙂
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I appreciate your honesty, and for articulating for what most of us feel. However, I believe that if media were to portray more accurately the price for money-making, the envy would be replaced by pity and relief. Maybe. Until then, attitude of gratitude works like a remedy for me 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
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Funny I never had a chance to experience money envy, to busy doing what I was doing, and all the money in the world couldn’t help my circumstances, I’m more envious of others having good health,..
… Oh shit … sorry Claudia best I stop……
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I agree with you on both points. It seems in my life I’ve always been behind the eight ball when it came to getting ahead. Pay big taxes, next year the law changes. Move into a bigger house, run a business through it, pay more in capital gains. I think I envy the rich for a multitude of reasons. But you are right — I wouldn’t want their problems, either.
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I’m not envious of the mega-wealthy life (I suspect it can be more complicated than we know) but I would like to see less economic inequality in our world.
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