I think it's the lump-sumness of the spending that's getting you down. I mean, $500,000 means that you can live a $50,000/annum lifestyle for a decade without ever having to worry about diminished hours or intolerable bosses. If you happen to like where you work, and keep your job, that's even more comfort.

If you were guaranteed fifty thousand dollars a year for the next ten years before you even had to consider work, how would you live them?