What I know for sure is that when I left my marriage and became divorced both my living space and my income dropped to a third of what it'd been--well below $70,000. I accepted a small amount of alimony for two years to get my feet under me, but that ended last April. And I am so much happier now than I ever was when I was married. My family and friends all see it. Although sadness does occasionally creep in it has more to do with wanting to be in a healthy relationship than my financial picture. So while I partially agree that there out outside things that can influence our happiness, mine has little to do with money.