The Stoic Treadmill

Two ideas have been bouncing around my head of late. One is that the financial independence community can be somewhat close minded. As previously discussed, there is much hemming and hawing over luxury spending. Even when it can be afforded. FI people, as a group, don’t like big purchases. Second, every once in a while we hear these stories of so-called paupers dying and leaving millions to their families or some charity or another. The common reaction is always shock. Who knew she had so much money sitting around? Although disparate as these thoughts sound, I’m starting to think that there is a common thread. A sort of reverse hedonic treadmill. A stoic treadmill.

For those of you not familiar with the term:

Definition: Hedonic Treadmill: The tendency of a person to remain at a relatively stable level of happiness despite a change in fortune or the achievement of major goals. According to the hedonic treadmill model, as a person makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem, which results in no permanent gain in happiness.

To take the concept a step further, as our expectations and desires rise, we continuously have to run faster to maintain the same levels of happiness.

We have all seen the hedonic treadmill at work. One luxury purchase leads to momentary happiness that spurs further spending to recreate the brief euphoria. And the treadmill becomes faster and faster.

But for some of us, the opposite actually occurs.

Post FI Frugality

My first sprint on the stoic treadmill occurred shortly after the realization of financial freedom. After calculating my numbers over and over, I realized that I truly had enough. I could quit my job immediately, and should be able to financially sustain for a lifetime.

So you would think that this would lead to a loosening of the reigns and an immediate decrease in anxiety. Ironically, however, it didn’t. Instead, I doubled down. For some inexplicable reason, after winning the game, I ravenously reevaluated my spending and even cut the fat further. I canceled my life insurance policy. I started to charge my car at the dealership instead of at home. There were even plans to fire the nanny and jettison our second car.

Why the heck was I doing this?

Spending, for better or worse, is an addiction. We sometimes fail to realize that financial independence and frugality can be addictive also. In a mad attempt to jump off the hedonic treadmill, I transferred my addiction and dashed on to the stoic treadmill.

And began to run at full speed.

But just as hedonism fails to make us happier, the same with stoicism.

Your Mind On Stealth

We all love the concept of stealth wealth. It is our superpower. And it’s not just for wealth anymore. The idea is that it is better not to be too showy, to be too forthright with your accomplishments financially or otherwise. People don’t tend to understand and develop expectations once they know how much you have.

The practice of stealth, however, changes the neural connections in the brain (trust me, I’m a doctor!). The dopamine hit that comes with purchasing can and does learn to change masters.

Suddenly, good and warm feelings become associated with refraining. With stealth. The stoic treadmill revs into overdrive. The more dopamine we get, the faster we try to run on the treadmill, the more stealth we practice.

We downsize our houses. Buy used cars. Move to low-cost of living neighborhoods. Take advantage of freebies.

But does this make us happy?

Are We Better Off?

Few would argue that financial independence is not better than being poor or dependent on our W2 income. But, I think we are at risk for being victims of a mindless transfer of addictions.

The stoic treadmill can also rob us of enjoyment, fulfillment, or the ease of basking in our accomplishments.

After all, you can only run on any type of treadmill for so long. Eventually, the legs get tired, the knees give out, and you fall on your face.