The opportunity cost is what I can do instead. The opportunity cost of investing is just a 3% return really. So much that we do in life is just throwing the money away though. You should just go to work, invest all your money, then when you are 65 you will be able to live off your savings.

I spent 20 years of my adult life on a cold and calculating lifestyle (as you described), I can’t say that I was unhappy, but one morning I woke up and realized that everything that had been acquired was lost due to circumstances beyond my control.

So?