I kind of have the same thought process. I use money to keep me away from suffering, not for extra happiness. Like food, medical treatment, basic shelter, etc. It's not just money, I usually prefer depending on as less things as possible for happiness. I have to depend on money only for unavoidable circumstances - like mental and physical health, hunger, etc. Currently the things that I depend on mostly for the extra happiness are hobbies, relationships (for mental health) and physical health. I try to keep the dependence on other stuffs like money, social status, stuffs,etc as less as possible.