stock market addiction?

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

I've run the retirement numbers, massaged them, met them and have several different types of income streams going. So life is good and investing has been good to us.

It has been fun to learn about all the different types of investments and humbling to find a little learning curve with each of them. Fortunately there is some overlap in thinking with many of them.

Although I am doing it, I am finding it hard to give up more and more control over the day to day stuff by increasing the index holdings and even planning to turn over about 8% to a long term family proven broker who has been blowing my yields out of the water without churning the holdings or over committing to a tiny handful of holdings.

I am trying to decide if the fun i get from the stock market is a somewhat controlled gambling addiction or just a diversion and a chance to feel some usefulness and enhanced self worth after the empty nest plus kill some hours when I had nothing more significant to do.

I have gambled in Vegas and on cruises, and had a betting strategy but I had set limits to lose daily and always held some of the winnings aiming to buy a few meals and a show rather than to break the casino. I always did roulette knowing if I won it was just luck as the odds were against me. Back when chips were 25 cents i'd do $100 per day. Lost interest when it went to $1 a chip as it seemed i'd tap out before getting a small winning run.

Investing or gambling in the stock market seemed that the odds were with me especially if I went longer term and measured net worth only in depreciating dollars.

I did a search for stock market addiction here and found no previous thread pop up so wondered if anyone else has pondered on this?

I will probably always do some direct trading and investing just to keep my mind sharper than a blunt crayon and give me a topic to chat about with my buddies.

My social life has not totally returned pre corvid days yet as some of the social venues closed forever and others have not fully opened yet to what I did there. So maybe I am just a little bored and anxious about filling time as the planned travel is not going per expectations.

 

[Lsbcal]

So the question is are you an addict? Does not sound like it although you did not say how much time you spend and how much entertainment value you get out of investing. For most people on this forum I don't think we can call it gambling as they have well diversified portfolios with moderate risk.

I personally like to control my investments and I do have an overall strategy rather then an ad hoc one. Most of my decision making is around controlling the AA to tailor risk.

 

[easysurfer]

If I was a gambler, which I'm not, I wouldn't gamble on the market but something else.

Like wager sunflower seeds or something .

 

[Koolau]

I'm certain that some folks do treat the stock market as a casino. I knew a couple of people who only "invested" in high-fliers and stock tips. They loved to brag about their winners, but never mentioned their losers. But as long as you view the stock market as an efficient way to invest in businesses, there is much less chance of addiction. YMMV

 

[RobbieB]

I treat equities as a good investment. An ownership in companies that have employees that provide useful and needed services and products.

 

[JoshTrent]

To me, it doesn't seem like you have an addiction. With my idle time, I tend to do the things I am drawn towards & easily that are easily accessible - especially during COVID. It's simple to just hop online and check the holdings.. That's when (for me) the questions/thoughts arise and I double check everything. If I'm not careful, I find myself second guessing as well.

Fortunately, having a plan to follow provides the safety of not changing the strategy mid-game. In my experience, changing the strategy mid-game (without proper due diligence) is the fools errand.

I too enjoy the Casino - Craps specifically. I enjoy it for a number of reasons, but I have a strict strategy to follow. Over the long run (15+ years) this strategy has kept my P&L within +/- 5% of my allotment. I don't play to kill the House, but I'm not going to lose the House either. If I were to count the number of free drinks I've had during that time and acquaintances I've made, I am way in the black!

I'm sure that I have come across gambling addicts. I don't know for certain though.. whether the guy who just lost $10k & pulls out another $10k - has a problem or is just FI doing his thing. I try not to judge.

I understand that Craps is a game of chance. The Stock Market is a place where due diligence & calculation can make one successful. A lot of folks say that "playing the market" is "gambling". I disagree with that. I am a firm believer in the adage.. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

 

[SecondCor521]

There are other, and I think healthier, ways to address the needs you mentioned in the OP: to feel useful, to have fun, to maintain control over one's environment, and to learn.

It may be that, in your gut, you think that playing with your investments beats the market. If so, then the way you're living seems reasonable - you're meeting several important human needs and making headway by doing so.

It also may be that, by posting, you're doubting whether that's true. If so, then perhaps there are better things to do with your time.

I have sort of an opposite approach - I tend to be more or less an EMH-type person, so everything I have is pretty much on autopilot now and I spend my time doing other stuff I enjoy.

I'm not judging. Just my 2 cents since you asked.

 

[target2019]

Individual decisions can hang around. I took advantage of many hours of isolation by simplifying accounts and choices. Market activity grows less and less interesting.

If OP gives up 8% to a managed option he may then find another 10% to "play" with. Just taking what the market yields is boring, and I am ok with that. It takes some time to find equilibrium.

 

[athena53]

I'm not a casino gambler and I don't buy lottery tickets but I enjoy being in the stock market. I'm a numbers person and I track IRR of individual investments in my portfolio, which probably has too many moving parts. I'm working on simplifying it by periodically weeding out under-performers. I love the "I just got $XX,000 in free money" feeling on a good day in the market and I've learned to live with the drops without panicking.

I think it's possible to enjoy the market without being addicted- I have for decades and it's paid off in a very comfortable retirement. As for addiction- there are a lot of general questions that determine addiction to anything: whether it interferes with your day-to-day life or relationships, whether you feel remorse, whether you can walk away from it for a few days (would you panic if you were in an area with no access to market info for a week?). There are also definitely aspects of investing which are more gambling than others-buying penny stocks, chasing hot tips, buying on margin. Those might be red flags. I just sold a local company stock that went public 6 months ago at a 50 loss but my initial investment was only $2,000.

 

[ownyourfuture]

I could have been considered a stock market addict from 1999-2002
I'd see a stock trading at $50, down $25 from the previous close of $75
Do a little research and see that it was $200 a year earlier and think, wow, what a bargain, anyone selling must be really stupid.

A week later it would be $25
I called it the TTCAFKS (trying to catch a falling knife syndrome)
It was one of the most important investing lessons I've ever learned.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

Ty for the replies. I'm trying to pull away from the market, but i must spend 2-3 hours daily now with a minimum of 15 minutes a day but I was doing 8-12 hours a day at one time do short interval trading. Part of the time now is just parking money that came available from fixed income and dividends. Some of the holding have the max i want in them.

I'm still thinking on the tax, generational, and annual distribution stuff as well.

I've added new activities to my week that are getting me out more as well.
I've started jogging again and have a new dance instructor to specifically review west coast swing. Plus I have started walking to and from the grocery store. Nice to get out and see neighbors again.

I know I am not totally addicted to the market but it can affect my mood as today I am almost giddy as a key holding is up nice. Partly I realized I am wasting a bit of my life with nose in charts and financials when more doesn't change my day to day life. In a way I am sharing my observation about myself so others might share or question if it affects them similarly.

 

[steelyman]

Partly I realized I am wasting a bit of my life with nose in charts and financials when more doesn't change my day to day life. In a way I am sharing my observation about myself so others might share or question if it affects them similarly.

That’s one of the reasons why people gravitate to passive/index investing, I think. It helps you pay attention to the rest of your life.