Are you happier now or when you were half your current age?

[OneUmberJoker]

Now more money more freedom

Definitely now, by a country mile. Estranged from abusive parents, and lots of therapy.

Definitely then. I wish I could go back, I really do.

Then - mid 20’s, just got married, was having the time of our lives!
Everything is good now, but I miss being young. Getting out of a deep chair without groaning is a distant memory…😁

Exactly half my age was a really fun year doing a masters with a great bunch of friends. But generally now is really good.

Now. Lots of therapy as per pp

Now. I didn't really feel happy in myself until my mid to late 30s.

Both were pretty meh to be honest but I wouldn't go back.

Now - lots of mistakes made in my twenties - much more confident and secure now

About the same, overall, I reckon. There were things which were definitely better back then...I was young, for a start!! But there are also things which are definitely better now... e.g. I'm much less insecure than I was at that age.

Swings and roundabouts, really. Life is never perfect, but I guess that means we always have something to work towards!

Now I’d say I had more fun and more money when I was half this age but I’m a lot more content now.

Definitely now, about to turn 60; I'm happy in my own skin, care less what other people think, have boundaries in place, and more money.

I don't hesitate to say no to stuff I don't want to do. I've stepped back from my elderly dad, who made me anxious and wrecked my confidence, I always felt anxious going to see my parents but made myself go because I thought I had to, now I put myself first. It's very liberating.

About the same, I was 33 with a toddler and was pretty happy ,though quite anxious.

Now, at 67 , and 5 kids later,I'm a lot calmer but that's come with experience ( and
antidepressants).

If I could go back I would stop at 3 kids as no.4 and no.5 are autistic and learning disabled and it's been a nightmare to be honest.

But all left home now so I do enjoy the peace and quiet

Now. A million times over.

I'm richer now than I could have even imagined then.
I'm in better shape now than I could even have imaged then.
I'm happier than I ever thought possible.
I'm more secure than I could ever have hoped for.
I have the self-confidence I could only have dreamed of back then.

Life gets better with each passing year.

Now. Happily married, rather rich, awesome DC. Much nicer person all round.

I was much hotter 20 years ago, though. And utterly insane.

Interesting question. My first instinct was that I was happier then -- late 20s, my whole life ahead of me, lots of big dreams and the energy to carry them out.

But having said that...I understand myself so much better now. I'm much more content and at peace. I'm proud of what I've accomplished (and am still accomplishing). Life really hasn't been easy at times, and some things haven't turned out like I hoped... but I think overall I'm happier now.

Now, without a doubt.

Now definitely, I had a fairly unsettled 20s, had a few relationships that possibly shouldn’t have happened, had a good job and a small house but was definitely drifting a bit but I had a good bunch of friends that I saw once a month or so. Now been married for a long time, settled in a nice town, two young just-about-adult DC, a more rewarding job, various hobbies, more friends but still very close to the previous ones, still in good health but dealing with a lot of elderly parent stuff.

Whilst I’m very happy now, at half my age I was about to give birth to my first child so I was very happy then as well

God, now. I was 28 back then and my first marriage had just hit a wall. Couldn’t see a way out. These days I’m content and often really happy, though I do spend a lot of time thinking about death.

Definitely then.

I think I’m equally happy but I wouldn’t choose to go back to new babies and sleepless nights. We are lucky in that we have never struggled financially so despite the fact our kids are grown, we’re just as comfortably off as we always were.

I guess being 50 something versus 20 something is always going to be less good. We are on the bit where ageing, illnesses and deaths await us all, and several friends have recently been diagnosed with various cancers. But we have a really good life at the moment.

Happier now, at 30 I was in a miserable relationship with no money
I’m now in a good marriage, two adult children still living at home, great job, comfortable home, good health, good lifestyle, savings…

About the same just in different ways.
Then, more money and freedom, very few worries but those I did have were pretty major. Worked too hard.
Now, less money and freedom, feel quite stressed by cost of living, aging parents requiring care and my DH having incurable cancer, but find it all easier to cope with in some ways. I'm more resilient having lived through a lot of ups and downs in the intervening years.
I would go back in a heartbeat to change some of my choices for a different outcome.

I'm nostalgic about then (first year of uni, so it was very exciting, and I met my best friend) but when I think about it properly, I was struggling badly from an eating disorder and had very low self-esteem. SO, probably now.

Currently 44.

I had more money and more freedom when I was 22 so I would love to go back to being 22 🙂