My grandmother and grandfather lived through Japanese colonization and the Korean War. My grandfather pulled all his teeth out (except 4) to escape fighting for

My grandmother and grandfather lived through Japanese colonization and the Korean War. My grandfather pulled all his teeth out (except 4) to escape fighting for the Japanese army. By today's American standards, they grew up in extreme poverty while by Korean standards for the time, they lived well middle class. My grandparents raised me and throughout my childhood, I was chided for using too much toilet paper, leaving the refrigerator open too long, etc. They were also hoarders like collecting tons of paper napkins, salt/ketchup packets, forks, etc. Even to this day, I can't throw out ketchup packets I'll never use. I loved helping my grandpa pick up plastic bottles and cans until my mother told me it was shameful and I became embarrassed. My grandpa cannot speak and write English well despite living in NYC for over 20 years. He didn't work much. However he was able to give $10k to each of his grandchildren. I don't know how he had the money considering how frugal he was and how poor he seemed! He picked weeds off the streets to turn them into Korean rice cakes or pickled them into Korean side dishes or made his own fruit wine. That's how frugal he is. However, when my grandmother passed away my grandfather shared his biggest regrets with me and they have stayed with me to this day. My grandfather is the most stoic man I know. I've known him for 20+ years and I have rarely seen him upset. His biggest regret was that he didn't take care of his wife better. He said he wished he could have bought a nice home for them to retire and die in instead of the senior apartment they rented. He also said he wished he could have seen his son again before he passed away in an auto accident- and that he missed his son every day. That not being able to support and see her son before he passed was my grandmother's biggest regret. It had been 30+ years. When my grandmother passed away, my multimillionaire uncle despaired that he had been a terrible son, and that he wished he could have spent more time with his mom. When my grandmother passed away, I had been building my own business and I wish I could have been a better granddaughter. Despite my uncle's millions and his kind heart, he seems a little alone and sad, with an adult son who never leaves his room, and he is still always working. I also know another multimillionaire who started as a pizza delivery boy. He has everything he could possibly want except adult children who have no motivations in life. I don't know if this helps at all but what I've taken away is that you need to cover your basic needs but don't sacrifice things that are important to you for money. My relatives sacrificed their health and their relationships. I hope to never repeat their mistakes. Money or greed has caused much sorrow in my life, in those of the people I love, whether friends and family. People need to chill and focus less on $ if they can. I feel like I've seen both sides and they can be equally dark.