How much time per day (or week) do you spend on financial 'stuff'?

[BBQ-Nut]

Just curious....

How much time per day or week do you spend on financial 'stuff' like checking your accounts, AA, financial blogs, this forum, other financial forums, watching the talking heads on TV, calculators, selling/buying assets, estimating taxes, etc

1 hr per day?

1 hr per week?

All day long every day?


I'm probably in the 1-2 hrs per day.


But now that I'm FIREd - maybe more...not sure yet.

 

[mickeyd]

I have never given it any thought actually, but I enjoy reading about financial matters and I am interested in financial-related TV shows that I may view from time to time. I seldom do any checking or trading in my personal investment accounts no matter what I read or view. Just trying to get a little smarter each and every day so as to keep up with this wise group of folks. 1-2 hours/day is probably close for me also.

 

[Bigdawg]

Good question. Depends on the day/weather/etc... Probably an hour a day or less on financials, accounts, etrade, etc... Maybe 30 minutes per day on financial talking heads and another one hour on news. Outside working in the garage/walking the Great Dane at least 2-3 hours per day. Watching ESPN 2 hours per day. Reading for an hour per day. At least 2-3 hours bothering the DW daily. an hour for a workout 5-6 days per week.

 

[Midpack]

How much time per day or week do you spend on financial 'stuff' like

• checking your accounts, AA - quarterly at a minumum, maybe 2-3 times per year beyond quarterly
• financial blogs - rarely
• this forum - WAY too often
• other financial forums - occasionally
• watching the talking heads on TV - almost never, waste of time IMO
• calculators - occasionally, none regularly
• selling/buying assets - less than an hour/year
• estimating taxes - about 1-2 hours/year
  [*]reading online financial articles - 1-2 hours/week

I spend very little time managing financial stuff other than this forum. Online tools and my own spreadsheets make managing very time efficient.

 

[REWahoo]

How much time per day or week do you spend on financial 'stuff' like checking your accounts...

~ 5 minutes/day

AA...

~10 minutes/month

financial blogs...

~ 10 minutes/month

this forum...

I'm taking the 5th on this one.

other financial forums...

~ 30 minutes/month

watching the talking heads on TV...

Zero

calculators...

~ 30 minutes/month

selling/buying assets...

~ one hour/year

estimating taxes...

~ two hours/year

 

[chilkoot]

Maybe a few minutes a day spent paying bills, checking accounts etc. another 30-60 minutes on this forum (I'll list them separately because time spent here is often addressing non-financial topics).

 

[steelyman]

Good answer. Forget those vomiting heads.

You just keep thinkin', Butch. That's what you're good at.

 

[rodi]

My answers align with Rewahoo.

the checking accounts is just the one step update with quicken, so I can reconcile everything. Easy peasy and less than 10 minutes a day.

I tend to run a calculator "what if" scenario when someone mentions a scenario here and it triggers curiousity. I also run all the calcs at the end of the year just to gut check and plan.

 

[jguild2120]

I spend 1 hour at the end of month each putting together our financial report for my wife and I to review. I might buy a WSJ several times a week. On occasion, I check in with this forum and the Bogle forum.

I have been a Buy and Hold type of guy for the last 40 years. In general, I feel that spending time watching financial stuff is nonproductive; it's a time waister, it's boring. In addition, I've seen so many market corrections in my life time that it's almost a non event to me. It's just background noise. The market is going to do what it's going to do and my eye balls won't change that. But, that's just me. Obviously, others will have a different perspective.

 

[SJ1_]

Just curious....

How much time per day or week do you spend on financial 'stuff' like checking your accounts, AA, financial blogs, this forum, other financial forums, watching the talking heads on TV, calculators, selling/buying assets, estimating taxes, etc

1 hr per day?

1 hr per week?

All day long every day?


I'm probably in the 1-2 hrs per day.


But now that I'm FIREd - maybe more...not sure yet.

prob. about 3-6 hours a week. Love doing it

 

[kimcdougc]

Probably in the 6 hours a week range. Check this forum out everyday.

 

[Independent]

checking your accounts, AA,
1.5 hours per quarter - I do a net worth statement once per quarter

financial blogs,
none

this forum, other financial forums,
45 minutes/day - mostly curiosity on what other people do - includes following links which may be to financial blogs

watching the talking heads on TV,
none

calculators,
none

selling/buying assets,
trivial

estimating taxes,
30 minutes each time I make a taxable withdrawal - about 4 times per year

recording actual expenses, balancing checkbook
2 hours per month

producing annual expense summary
8 hours, once per year (includes analysis and projections)

= 40 hours per year on my stuff
+ lots of time I hang around here

 

[FIREd]

Checking my accounts: 1 minute a day (1 click in Quicken)
AA: 5 minutes a month
financial blogs: 10 minutes a day
this forum: I used to spend several hours a day on here but I've cut way back since retiring from the moderator job (maybe 30 minute a day?).
other financial forums: 5 minutes a day
watching the talking heads: 0 minutes a day
calculators: 30 minutes a year at the most?
Selling/buying assets: 5 minutes a month
estimating taxes: 2 hours per year
reading financial articles: 30 minutes a day

So we are talking 1-2 hours a day? sounds like a lot.

 

[Spanky]

I would say about two hours a day - updating account values and reading blogs and financial news. The bottom line is way too much time.

 

[audreyh1]

Maybe an hour a week as long as it's not tax time or the end of the year.

 

[frayne]

Track my portfolio on Morningstar and usually click on it once per day after markets are closed. So about 30 seconds or less a day. Fortunately I have better things to do with my time.

 

[splitwdw]

I listen to the financial channel while getting ready for work, listen to financial channel on satellite radio on my way to work, check my brokerage account on my mobile, check the markets when I get home from work, turn on the tv and listen to the financial channel while I'm doing other things, I log in here a couple of times a day and make up a financial report every Friday. Sounds like a lot but when I'm listening, I'm doing other things. I guess about 2 to 3 hours a day I'm listening.
On the topic of other forums, have to say I've gone and looked/read other forums that people on here have mentioned. I haven't registered on any of them because they seem a little too serious. I like this forum, there's lots of information, people don't get too upset and there's always the "ignore" button. I don't think I've ever "laughed out loud" so much as I have on this forum.

 

[Walt34]

My answers are pretty much like REWahoo's. Way too much time here but outside of that perhaps 20-30 minutes a month.

 

[Ronstar]

Checking my accounts: 20 minutes a week


AA: 5 minutes a month


financial blogs: none


this forum: 1-2 hours a day


other financial forums: none


watching the talking heads: none


calculators: none


Selling/buying assets: 1 hour per month


estimating taxes: 2 hours per year


reading financial articles: 30 minutes a week



Sent from my iPhone .using Early Retirement .//82339)

 

[aaronc879]

It can vary a lot but i'd say nearly 4 hours most days. That includes following my brokerage account closely on days the market is open and reading a lot of financial articles online. Also check this forum a couple dozen times a day, most days.

 

[Rick_Head]

I read business news (not opinion, don't do TV) maybe an hour or two a day. Check our NW when something interesting happens (maybe once a month). Check AA every year or so. Why estimate taxes, they happen (just like that other stuff). Other than keeping up with business news and doing our taxes, I'd guess it's about 1 hr/wk (and that might be generous).

Usually make about 12 trades/year. Strange how those fees add up.

 

[Car-Guy]

How much time per day or week do you spend on financial 'stuff' like

• checking your accounts, AA - quarterly at a minumum, maybe 2-3 times per year beyond quarterly
• financial blogs - rarely
• this forum - WAY too often
• other financial forums - occasionally
• watching the talking heads on TV - almost never, waste of time IMO
• calculators - occasionally, none regularly
• selling/buying assets - less than an hour/year
• estimating taxes - about 1-2 hours/year
• reading online financial articles - 1-2 hours/week

I spend very little time managing financial stuff other than this forum. Online tools and my own spreadsheets make managing very time efficient.

Pretty close to the same here.

 

[jfn111]

Way to much time per day. I tend to "hide" in my office so I have CNBC going in the background and read a number of different forums.

 

[MBAustin]

checking your accounts, AA - 3-4 times per year (although DH does pull together a monthly summary)
financial blogs - rarely
this forum - at least 30 minutes/day
other financial forums - very occasionally
watching the talking heads on TV - never, waste of time IMHO
calculators - rarely
selling/buying assets - less than an hour/year
estimating taxes - about 1 hour/quarter
reading financial articles (WSJ & Kiplinger in print, others online) - 3-4 hours/week

 

[HFWR]

Good answer. Forget those vomiting heads.

You just keep thinkin', Butch. That's what you're good at.

Hell, the fall will probably kill you...


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