How often do you calculate your net worth?

David1961 said:
Thanks for all the replies so far. A question for the folks who track their net worth daily. How do you avoid getting carried away by the daily fluctuations? You could conceivably gain or lose thousands in a day.
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Closing my eyes to fluctuations doesn't seem like something I'd want to do. That just doesn't mesh with the scientist/engineer part of me. Besides, it's good practice. If I can watch my net worth go down overnight by more than I spend in a year, frequently, and then back up, then when the market plummets as in 2008-2009 I can perhaps watch my net worth go down 10x what I spend in a year with greater equanimity.
 
I set up a spreadsheet in Excel to consolidate quarterly statements, and while I was at it, realized it was pretty simple to include a column that updates asset prices & net worth every time the workbook is opened.

I try not to look at it daily (cuz the swings can drive you nuts) so I keep up either quarterly or monthly.
 
David1961 said:
Thanks for all the replies so far. A question for the folks who track their net worth daily. How do you avoid getting carried away by the daily fluctuations? You could conceivably gain or lose thousands in a day.
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So?

I don't make investment decisions on just a day's results (see Day trading - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia :LOL: ).

I also don't worry about gaining a few pounds while on vacation, nor losing a few pounds if I'm ill.

Since you asked...

PS: The only time I get worried is if a certain unnamed poster starts going "Whee!"... :dance:
 
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Just calculated it and it improved my day. Thanks for the reminder.. ha
 
On the first of every month. I wait for the interest & dividend stats for my funds, CDs & IBonds then I do it.
 
I usually update my spreadsheet when I have any reason to login to Vanguard, and I don't need much of a reason to login. It usually ranges from a week to a month. If I have time I'll login to my other accounts and update balances, especially if I know there's been a decent change. At least once a year, or if there's been a major change, I'll save a copy so I can compare over time.

I used to do it almost daily when fluctuations when I had stock options through work, because fluctuations were bigger. I guess I just looked at the changes analytically more than emotionally. Maybe a better way to put it is that I viewed it as information, but rarely took action just because it went up or down. Now the fluctuations don't bother me, probably because I'm mostly in indices so there's not much I'd do in response to good or bad news. It helps that I'm still above where I want to be.
 
Since I use Microsoft Money, a net worth figure is available every time I open the program to enter data. I don't have it check anything on-line so it's accuracy is dependent on when I receive statements and update manually. It's really only completely up to date about once a year (when I update my savings bonds current values) but it's pretty close once a quarter when I receive all my quarterly statements and enter them in (keep in mind that there is about a 3 week lag, which means it is never truly current and I don't care).
 
I update a spreadsheet at the end of each quarter.
 
Once a month on the 4th (to be sure that the big 1st of the month bills are out of account to avoid distortions). I tend to eyeball the investments more frequently though.
 
I update my accounts once every month and I look at my net worth (which is calculated automatically by my software) whenever I'm having a "down" day. It always brings me a nice feeling inside to know that in many ways, things aren't as bad as they may seem.

As for the monthly fluctuations in value, well, I can't say I don't feel sad when things go down, but I'm compensated when things go up and as long as there are more "ups" for the year than "downs," I'm content.
 
Only once a quarter unless I think I am going to bump up against a re-balance band or if I think I might have unrealized losses I need to book. With the market up so much since '09, the chance of unrealized losses is low right now. I banked a ton of them in '08 and '09 so my basis is low.
 
I do a net worth report in January when I do the taxes. Sometimes, during the year, I'll update it if there have been significant changes in our situation.
 
From 4/15/2010 forward I just check on the 15th and the last day of the month. This has saved my sanity.

Checking each day was brutal during the great recession.

I have a notebook with all the numbers from 10/28/2002 to 4/15/2010 and those are daily numbers. Before I retired I had just my 401k with 90% of my savings along with a small taxable account and Roth both at Vanguard. Each morning when I went to work the 1st thing I'd do is check my 401k's performance for the prior day. There were many days before I retired that my 401k would increase by $8-10k for the prior day, those were great days. Then there were days where it decreased by $8-10k for the prior day, those were hard days. I don't want to even think about 2008-2009, I'm still traumatized by that time period.

Yes checking just twice a month saved my sanity.
 
I record my net worth (taxable, sheltered, property) and get an annuity quote (tracking annuitization hurdle) quarterly. I also summarize wages (none any more), income and taxes (federal, state & local) annually. Enough to meet my needs...
 
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I update a spreadsheet weekly for the investment accounts. Things like checking, savings and CD's get updated when the statement arrives.
 
I update a spreadsheet about every month and have been doing so for the last 10 years. It's nice to generate charts and graphs to see how things progess over time. Dollar cost averaging into weak markets over the last 10 years has paid off nicely.
 
I track investments on a homemade spreadsheet whenever I log into my accounts, however I only "count" net worth Jan 1st of each year with a personal annual statement that i print. Been doing it for 15 years. As the portfolio gets bigger, then the swings get larger $-wise...but that is the way it has to be.

I am probably over-documenting because I plan on using it to teach my kids and grand kids.
 
Have been Calculating net worth every quarter since 1994, started right after I read Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez. I did try every month for awhile, but found it to be TMI a little too often. Plan to FiRe in December 2013 at age 59 and feel very good with how things have worked out
 
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