Hannah Hammond recounts growing up with persistent financial scarcity and making it her life mission to eliminate any lack of money. She used work and building a business (notably rental properties/passive income) as a coping mechanism for severe anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. After achieving enough passive income to be financially free, she realized money did not cure her internal struggles—money provides freedom and capacity to pursue fulfillment, but is not a substitute for mental health.
Chapters
It was always a lack of money. That was the conversation in my childhood, we don't have money. No, we can't have that. You know, it was just fighting every day about money. Right? So my life mission was to have zero lack of money for as long as I live, for the rest of my life. And that's what I dedicated everything to. But you know, internally I struggled a lot with anxiety and depression and self worth. I had a very, very dark many, many years and you know, to the point that I just didn't want to live for a long time and was trying not to like kill myself. So. But the problem, what happened was once I like, work was my coping mechanism, business was my outlet. I'm like, if I just put my nose to the grindstone and build this business, yeah. Then I'm not going to be jumping off a bridge because I'm focused and I'm progressing. Right. Like, happiness is progression. And so the problem was when I achieved financial freedom where I had enough rental properties to not technically have to work ever again if I didn't want to. Like, just like the rich dad principles, build up your passive income to pay for your life. I wasn't filthy rich by any means, but I had enough passive income to live a life that was much better than a life I ever thought I could. And I got there and I was still just as depressed and miserable as I was as a younger girl. And so that's when I was like, okay, it's not just money. Like, money doesn't buy happiness, but money is a requirement in order to have the freedom and the ability to do the things that really do fulfill you and that do make you your best self and allow you to make the impact that you want to have and things like that.