"Do ya feel lucky? Do ya, punk?" "Well, no I don't."
If you enjoy it - and volatility doesn't cloud your judgment - then more power to you. I have a number of friends, stalwart yeomen of stout heart and strong mind, who love nothing better than to track their money. It's their natural hobby; if investing had not been invented already, they would have invented it. They happily spend hours each day at it, and reap rewards commensurate with the effort. You sound like their kindred.
But as for me, well, I'm the guy Clint Eastwood was thinking of when he said "A man's gotta know his limitations". That's the real, unexpurgated Mdlerth: just an ordinary guy subject to ordinary impulses. The constant ups and downs of markets would eventually wear down my resistance, and I'd be day trading my way into bankruptcy. Before you knew it, I would end up either on welfare, on Valium, or on the news.
So my money and I maintain a cordial but limited relationship. I don't bother it much, and it seldom bothers me.
I use Personal Capital as a spending tracker, budget, etc. It is linked to my checking account, savings, investments, retirement, etc. and is MUCH easier to access and more user-friendly than my actual online banking, so I use this instead of my online bank. So, I'm on it almost every day... Not to check my home value and net worth, but I see all of that every time I log in.
And I check my investments online EVERY single day. I don't let the ebbs and flows of the market influence my decision to hold onto good investments. I don't get spooked and sell (though if I have cash, I will use downswings as a time to buy). I just enjoy checking my stocks and reading the pertinent news articles, financial statements, etc. You may dislike this and consider it another task. I enjoy it, thus it's not another task for me.
If you enjoy it - and volatility doesn't cloud your judgment - then more power to you. I have a number of friends, stalwart yeomen of stout heart and strong mind, who love nothing better than to track their money. It's their natural hobby; if investing had not been invented already, they would have invented it. They happily spend hours each day at it, and reap rewards commensurate with the effort. You sound like their kindred.
But as for me, well, I'm the guy Clint Eastwood was thinking of when he said "A man's gotta know his limitations". That's the real, unexpurgated Mdlerth: just an ordinary guy subject to ordinary impulses. The constant ups and downs of markets would eventually wear down my resistance, and I'd be day trading my way into bankruptcy. Before you knew it, I would end up either on welfare, on Valium, or on the news.
So my money and I maintain a cordial but limited relationship. I don't bother it much, and it seldom bothers me.