[malandrew]

The other piece of advice I always here is that as soon as you have the money, put it away in some safe financial instrument (after you've paid any outstanding debts) for at about a year and keep living your life on exactly the same income you had before you became rich.

[jonnathanson]

This is a good idea. But even this strategy isn't foolproof, in so far as someone can just start buying things on debt in anticipation of getting access to their money.

Best way to save your money and not go crazy with it? Take responsibility for something. Have something to keep you occupied and engaged every day. Something that depends on your time, care, and attention. That something could be a job you find meaningful and challenging. It could be a child and a family. It could be a big project that you now have the ability to pursue, having come into financial freedom. The point is: have something to focus on other than material.

(Hell, this might even be another company, in which case, even more money flows in. Not the worst problem to have).

We're all familiar with the old saying "A fool and his money are soon parted." Well, in the case of the very smart who happen to come into money, I'd warn "A bored or unhappy person and his money are soon parted."

Money can indeed be a ticket to freedom. But too many people conflate "freedom" with "freedom from responsibility." That line of thinking is dangerous. It leads to boredom and idleness at best, and recklessness at worst.

[lifeisstillgood]

That sounds an excellent idea - plus, to be fair, it kinda solves the "what if I go crazy and spend it" - if the right amount is tied up in trust funds for your children (enough to do something, not enough to do nothing) then you can consider the rest risk-potential and worry less (one hopes)

In general however, people who win lotteries tend to go back to their norm of happiness within a year. By the time you are 18 you are either a happy person or not. Sorry.

[jcbrand]

> By the time you are 18 you are either a happy person or not. Sorry.

I agreed with everything until your last sentence, which I can tell from personal experience is not true :)

[run4yourlives]

The quantifier of 18 is not really accurate, although I agree with the general sentiment.

For many (most?) people, 18 is simply the start of the journey. That journey may be short or it may take decades, but the idea that you are somehow static after a certain age is certainly something coming from a very young mind.

[lifeisstillgood]

perhaps it was phrased wrongly - certainly there are convincing studies that one gets happier (by whatever metrics) as one progresses through the decades.

However if we have happy as a spectrum, I contend people are placed by the end of childhood on a point on that spectrum - some lucky ones far to the right, others not. One can move up the spectrum, but not everyone ends up crowded to the right - we can easily imagine two people, one in left 2nd std dev, one in the right. THey both get happier as they get older, but the person on the far left of the bell curve just never gets to be as happy as the other was in their twenties.

I colloquially would say one is a happy person. The other not.