My answer will be a little different than the other answers because I am not “very poor” or even poor for that matter, but I can tell you what it’s like to go from wealthy to struggling.

My husband has a prestigious job which requires a certain license, I’m omitting for privacy. He has his own business utilizing this license. Up until 2 years ago, things were financially wonderful. We traveled the world first class. Would spend Valentines at the Eiffel Tower, Chinese New Year in China, St. Patrick’s in Ireland etc. Sometimes we would travel to some exotic country by ourselves, come home and repack then take off the next day to some other exotic locale with our kids and Nannies. All first class of course. Shopping- ridiculous… almost every weekend we would head to the designer stores and drop thousands. My closet is the size of a bedroom and looks like a Chanel / Louis Vuitton/ Hermès/ Louboutin/ Prada/ YSL/ Gucci boutique. Surprises were always fun too- one time we were supposed to leave for Hawaii the next Morning but I was upset with my husband and threatening not to go. His response was coming home with a very expensive bottle of wine and a green box. The wine was great but the $45,000 rose gold Rolex inside it was better. It is my 4th Rolex and my favorite. We bought our dream 6000 square foot house and redid everything exactly how we wanted it. My credit card bill would be anywhere between $17,000 to $50,000 a month, which he would happily pay. We laughed at how ridiculous it was. We had 3 nanny/ housekeepers and 2 private chefs… don’t forget the Driver. Cars- let’s see..: 3 Maserati’s , Ferrari ($400K), Bentley, Escalade, BMW, Mercedes, Range Rover, Limo, Customised Mercedes Limo bus, 2 extremely nice boats etc. We were treated as VIP’s everywhere we went because everyone knew we were big spenders and big tippers. That all being said, on a scale of 1–10 I would have rated my happiness at a 2 or 3. You see my husband is a complete Narcissist and living with him is indescribable.

Now that things which I can’t describe have hit his business and it has taken a major downfall, things have changed drastically financially. The man who used to drop $4000 on bottle service in Dubai bitches at me if I spend $4 on Starbucks to the point that if I do treat myself, I have to hide it. Cars have been sold, staff has been let go shopping and traveling stopped. The party ended. If I had to rate my happiness now after the money is gone on a scale of 1–10, I would say it’s a 2 or 3- Exactly the same as before. You see as cliche as it is , money doesn’t buy happiness. I’m no less happy than I was before. Do I miss it? Everyday. It atleast gave me something to look forward to but it didn’t bring me happiness. Crying in a Maserati over a miserable marriage is not any less miserable than crying in regular car. If you want happiness, invest in good people in your life. Money comes and money goes.