| We like to think that money will make us freer. We think it'll give us the power to say no to stuff we don't want to do. To live how we want to live. To take the risks we want to take. But will it? How has that worked for most people in history? This is the paradox of wealth. Once we have it, instead of becoming free, we become obsessed with wanting to preserve our money, with not wanting to lose it…with wanting more of it. When Seneca said that slavery resides beneath marble and gold, he wasn't just talking about the time and cost and upkeep of nice stuff. He was talking about how easily we become prisoners of the status quo. That's why he would often experiment with what it was like to be poor—dressing in rags, going without food. He wanted to be able to say, "Is this what you feared?" He wanted to remind himself that losing what he had wasn't so bad. It's good that he practiced this because Seneca did lose much of what he had when he left Nero's service (should he have gotten it in the first place is a different moral question discussed in James Romm's excellent book Dying Every Day). One ancient historian noted that Nero had trouble poisoning his former advisor because the meager, natural diet that Seneca reverted to presented few opportunities. The Stoics remind you that the point of financial security is to feel secure. The point of plenty is to realize that you have enough. You can't fear losing what you had—there was a time you didn't have it and you survived. And besides, no one can ever take from you what you learned in order to get it. P.S. Enough. It's such a simple idea, but one that's so easy to let slip. Like everything that requires discipline, you have to practice knowing when you've had enough to be good at it, you have to make it a habit. The Wealthy Stoic: A Daily Stoic Guide To Being Rich, Free, and Happy will help you do just that (and so much more!). Sign up now to gain freedom from your finances and live a truly wealthy life—one where you never have to question whether or not you have enough again. *** | 
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