Welcome to The Stoic Ledger, a daily money meditation from one of the Stoic sages.

31/365: Epictetus on anchors

We amass fortunes, not only stored as invisible dollars in a bank account, but as visible possessions.

Stacks and stacks of things that surround us, suffocate us, weigh us down.

In this short note from Epictetus, we are reminded to be mindful of the weight of our wealth. How has it manifested? How free are we really?

As wealth increases, life complexity increases in stride. More resources, more moving pieces, more management, more headaches. Less freedom.

The free are those that can move and change at once — with no material anchors pulling at each tired step.