Poll:How often do you check your financial holdings?

[Dtail]

LAst week, I went out to eat and used my CC to pay for the meal including the tip. At first, only the meal portion of the total charge appeared in the website as a "pending" charge. There was a note about pending charges which said that tips may not be reflected in the total charge for a few days. A few days later, the final amount was shown which included the tip.

My CC charges for restaurants always show this way. Once the tip is posted, I match it up with my charge copy and then throw it out.

 

[RonBoyd]

Interesting poll. I was a bit surprised by the number of folks who check this daily or weekly given the vast number of posts of this forum promoting a passive investment strategy using broad index tracking ETF's or mutual funds.

I don't know about the others but I checked "Daily" because of the daily e-mails I get from Personal Capital. I, of course, look at them. On the other hand, I have not made a single change in our investment portfolio in several years -- except to withdrawal required amounts.

 

[CoolRich59]

I don’t worry about my investments levels so much, but I tend to keep a careful eye on credit cards, checking and savings accounts, and any transfers and other transactions in my investment accounts, etc. This is keeping an eye out for fraud or errors. Statements are reconciled monthly and I have email alerts set up to notify me of any transaction, etc.

I’m very much the same. I have a Chase Sapphire Visa and it seems that the card gets hacked once a year, if not more often. So, I check for new charges pretty much every day.

I also have have an alert set to notify me if the card is used at a gas station. Hackers like to try newly stolen card card numbers at gas stations. Plus, we almost always fill up at Costco, so I use the Costco card for gas. This way, a notification of a gas station charge on the Chase card immediately lets me know the card’s been hacked.

 

[KB]

I check my credit union account daily since I have had my Visa card compromised/hacked maybe 6 or 8 times times in the last 15 years.

I check my brokerage account at Vanguard monthly when I do my net worth update. But I recently inherited a large chunk of money that I added to my VG account, so I check it more often. Once I get a better idea of the dividends and capital gains on my account, I'll check it less often. Then I will adjust my AA on January 1 and let my account sit for the year.

 

[Walt34]

Interesting poll. I was a bit surprised by the number of folks who check this daily or weekly given the vast number of posts of this forum promoting a passive investment strategy using broad index tracking ETF's or mutual funds.

That's the inconsistency. While I do seem to look at things weekly or every other week, I only actually DO anything at most once a year.

 

[audreyh1]

That's exactly how it worked for me in three of the case. The other one was a notification in the PC e-mail. In all cases, the CC bank took care of it. (But let's not talk about the extreme inconvenience of switching all of your "auto" accounts to a new number/expiration. <chuckle>)

Speaking of that, we still have a checking account that except for about 4-5 handwritten checks a year is used to automatically pay our bills -- and auto deposit income. I am more interested in PC tracking those transactions than I am in the CCs and portfolio items. We keep a balance of around $2-4,000 in the account but would not want any of the "auto" payments to "bounce" if there was a "surprise" withdrawal.

I have a couple of rarely used credit cards for those autopay accounts, so they haven’t been affected when I have to change cards.

 

[FreeBear]

Equities? A serious look annually. We are 100% passive. I know of no statistical or academic argument for any other strategy.

My hero! Also don't touch anything except to cash out for expenses every 6-12 months and rebalance at the same time if needed.

Yes. I tell the students in my Adult-Ed investing class that investing is boring. If you're not bored, you're doing it wrong.

I get worried about what they are teaching the HS students here. Too much talk about stock picking and beating the market over a short term of a class semester. Need to think about the long haul, ala Jack Bogle. Maybe play with Firecalc or other simulator after learning about bonds, equities and compound interest. "OK class, today we going to calculate how much you need to invest to retire at 50 instead of when your folks plan to retire..."

 

[FreeBear]

I’m very much the same. I have a Chase Sapphire Visa and it seems that the card gets hacked once a year, if not more often. So, I check for new charges pretty much every day.

I check my credit union account daily since I have had my Visa card compromised/hacked maybe 6 or 8 times times in the last 15 years.

Wow! Seems like some folks get hacked every few years!

Maybe I'm just lucky... My primary card is churned heavily for cash back, bravely handed over to the clutches of creepy gas stations, hole in the wall restaurants, and fly by night websites. It has been hacked only twice in a couple of decades. My backup card gets little use and has never been hacked.

I tend to be a creature of habit though, and it's the same charges from the same places. Heck, it's often that way even on vacation!

I wonder if other folks get out more and are therefore more exposed to hacking...

 

[cranberryjoe]

I download my credit card transactions and investment prices daily into Moneydance. I make sure I recognize and categorize each expense, and monitor that my autopays are happening. Nearly everything is on autopilot: bill payments and transfers are scheduled, investments are Boglehead-style 3 fund lazy portfolio, so I almost never actually *do* anything. Just observe.

Moneydance shows me my total net worth, so I watch it daily for amusement. With the recent stock market volatility it has been hovering around a nice round number. On good days it's above that round number, on bad days it's below.

On the first day of each quarter I save a snapshot of my account balances from Moneydance into a spreadsheet. At that time, or whenever I feel my total net worth is substantially larger or smaller than usual, I check my asset allocation, and rebalance if any of my triggers have been hit.

 

[mystang52]

I don’t worry about my investments levels so much, but I tend to keep a careful eye on credit cards, checking and savings accounts, and any transfers and other transactions in my investment accounts, etc. This is keeping an eye out for fraud or errors. Statements are reconciled monthly and I have email alerts set up to notify me of any transaction, etc.

I'm in this same boat. Check my credit cards' activity daily, as well as my bank accounts. Takes all of 3 minutes or so.

 

[cranberryjoe]

Wow! Seems like some folks get hacked every few years!

Maybe I'm just lucky... My primary card is churned heavily for cash back, bravely handed over to the clutches of creepy gas stations, hole in the wall restaurants, and fly by night websites. It has been hacked only twice in a couple of decades. My backup card gets little use and has never been hacked.

I tend to be a creature of habit though, and it's the same charges from the same places. Heck, it's often that way even on vacation!

I wonder if other folks get out more and are therefore more exposed to hacking...

I seem to have a card compromised about once every 5 years or so. I too am a creature of habit, buying mostly from the same local places and same online sites, although that hasn't always been true.

The very first time I had a card compromised was in the early days of Internet commerce. I bought a bunch of computer components from a bunch of online shops looking for the best price for each part (this was pre-Newegg and when Amazon still sold mostly books). I had a problem with one of the shops that sent the wrong product and didn't want to exchange it for the one I ordered and paid for. He stopped returning my calls so I left a scathing review at an online rating site. A week later my card started showing charges at porn sites. No proof it was him because I used that card at half a dozen other sites, but it was pretty suspicious.

I was a victim of the Home Depot hack a few years back.

Most recently, my main card that I've used for gas and groceries for the last 15 years or so was finally compromised for the first time. We went on two road trips this fall, filling up at several out-of-town gas stations. My guess is one of the pumps had a skimmer.

 

[cranberryjoe]

I do that too...but I also log in and check because I want to catch stuff before it happens if possible. For example, if I logged into Vanguard and saw a pending transaction that wasn't mine I could try to do something then rather than finding out after the fact.

Or, the time I saw pending Amex transactions that showed someone using a card hundreds of miles away I was able to call Amex and immediately get that card number cancelled and get a replacement card (yes, I know I wouldn't be responsible for the charges but I feel it is better to solve things early to avoid potential future problems).

In my experience with a few compromised cards over the years, it's relatively painless if it's caught early: old card is cancelled, new card sent, I never see the unauthorized charge on my statement.

But if there were multiple unauthorized charges, I have had to fill out an affidavit that I didn't make those charges and sign in the presence of a notary. Meanwhile the charges showed up on my statement and were reversed only after the card company received and approved the affidavit.

I'd rather not go through that process again, so the sooner I can catch any unauthorized charge that the CC company misses, the better.

 

[brett]

We review our investments quarterly-accounts are managed by an adviser. . Accounts are reviewed from a tax perspective in late Nov. in order to make any timely tax advantage decisions.

HISA accounts monthly, sometimes more often.

Credit cards once a week or so.

 

[wannabefire]

I am not retired. Planning on 3-5 years to get off the hamster wheel

I review Net Worth in Personal Capital at least weekly. I enter the values of each account into a spreadsheet monthly and subtotal by these categories below. I've only been tracking this way for about a year, but intend to keep this spreadsheet trend over time.

Tax Deferred
His IRA
His 401k
Her IRA
Her 401k
Total Tax Deferred

Taxable
Investment Account A
Investment Account B
Money Market
Total Taxable Investment Accounts

Subtotal Retirement Assets
Calc for 2%
Calc for 3%
Calc for 4%

Other
Bank Accounts
Credit Cards
HSA
Home Value (zillow est)
Total Other
Grand Total Net Worth

I use the 2,3 & 4% calcs of Retirement Assets as a bit of a barometer against my Retirement Budget Spend.

I also check credit card transactions weekly and have alerts for any transaction >$100 and any "card not present" transactions.

 

[TwoByFour]

You guys are scaring me. I have my CC on auto-pay and only check the bill maybe once every 6 months. They send me an email every month of how much they withdrew from my bank to pay the bill and I look to see if it looks grossly out of whack. But whenever I do check the charges I never find anything amiss. The only time I ever had a possible fraud it was the bank that initiated it - they found something wrong and canceled my old card and gave me a new one.

 

[arch57]

I check several times a week and track my investments in a running Excel sheet that allows me to do YTD, since retirement, since market highs and lows, etc. type comparisons. Even though we’re very “comfortable” I get good intellectual stimulation playing with the numbers.

 

[Karl]

Every month I check and track investments - more for unexpected withdrawals than market changes. Also checking accounts and charge cards. Taking advantage of travel perks with numerous cc - too many. Track certain expenses - mainly travel (our biggest expenditure) and capital purchases (PC, Bike or car). Adjust allocation every April when I do taxes unless market is hot (took some profits in Sept).

 

[jasg]

I have a spreadsheet that updates whenever I look at it but if the market is down, I never look.

I login to to my account once a month to tweak the spreadsheet.

 

[HadEnuff]

I check nearly everyday. My good reasons are;

1. to make sure it's still there

2. to evaluate how the balance fluctuates (or doesn't) in the face of market volatility. This helps me assess whether I'm properly allocated vis a vis my risk tolerance.

my other reasons? I don't know...I still find it hard to believe that I'm "there"...I like to pinch myself to make sure I don't wake up and find it was a dream.

 

[sgstaley]

I have been checking mine too often lately. I am invested in the FAANG stocks. They have been in a bloodbath lately.

 

[Jeb-NY]

I check my asset allocation %s to see if they have drifted to far from my targets any time the market makes a big move or when I'm logged into VG doing other things but I almost never question individual funds in my portfolio unless I'm rebalancing. Currently feeling pretty good because I pulled a bunch of money out of stocks this past Summer/Fall to rebalance and dumped it into a CD ladder that will be reinvested for rebalancing as they come due or used for RMD.

 

[Jollyquick]

That's the inconsistency. While I do seem to look at things weekly or every other week, I only actually DO anything at most once a year.

Same here. We tend to be market voyeurs, we enjoy watching but rarely participate in the emotional drama

JQ

 

[DEC-1982]

That's the inconsistency. While I do seem to look at things weekly or every other week, I only actually DO anything at most once a year.

Likewise, except I have been DOing something 2 times a year, which should drop to 1 time a year from 2019.

Same here. We tend to be market voyeurs, we enjoy watching but rarely participate in the emotional drama

JQ

Yep.

 

[Archman]

Weekly, I figure out how much I made or lose on my investments on a spreadsheet.

Everyday, I watch Fox Business News.

Daily, I receive a portfolio summary from Morningstar.

 

[Archman]

I seem to have a card compromised about once every 5 years or so. I too am a creature of habit, buying mostly from the same local places and same online sites, although that hasn't always been true.

The very first time I had a card compromised was in the early days of Internet commerce. I bought a bunch of computer components from a bunch of online shops looking for the best price for each part (this was pre-Newegg and when Amazon still sold mostly books). I had a problem with one of the shops that sent the wrong product and didn't want to exchange it for the one I ordered and paid for. He stopped returning my calls so I left a scathing review at an online rating site. A week later my card started showing charges at porn sites. No proof it was him because I used that card at half a dozen other sites, but it was pretty suspicious.

I was a victim of the Home Depot hack a few years back.

Most recently, my main card that I've used for gas and groceries for the last 15 years or so was finally compromised for the first time. We went on two road trips this fall, filling up at several out-of-town gas stations. My guess is one of the pumps had a skimmer.

I use a virtual credit card when I buy online. Bank of America has ShopSafe in which gives you a virtual card with its own account number and security code. You can set the spending limits and expiration dates. CitiCard has a similar program.