Now that I've gotten serious and invested in the stock market...

[Fitzy]

How do I stop torturing myself by checking my account daily?

:-D

It's like checking the fridge, finding it dessert-free, checking 30 minutes later and hoping for cake that's not there.

I hope to have my cake and eat it, too!  Soon, fingers crossed.

[Roland of Gilead]

It can't be done.  It is addicting to check.  The only way I can manage to avoid checking my portfolio is if the internet goes out (and one time I drove to McDonalds to use their free internet so I could check up)

Yes I have a problem.  That is the first step toward recovery right?

[dragoncar]

What's your AA?  If this is your first time investing in the stock market, I hope it's not 100% equities unless you know your risk tolerance is high (many people have been mistaken about this).

That said, I have a relatively low-volatility AA and I still check a couple times a day (usually in the morning and then after the markets close).  So I can't really help you out there!

[zurich78]

Actually, I experienced this too.  So you know what I did?

I saved some extra money, lots call it 'fun' money, and I have a separate account where I'm going to pick stocks and play the market.  I'm expecting to lose this money, but if any of my 'hunches' pan out, then I'll be dancing like I do in Vegas.

[Roland of Gilead]

Actually, I experienced this too.  So you know what I did?

I saved some extra money, lots call it 'fun' money, and I have a separate account where I'm going to pick stocks and play the market.  I'm expecting to lose this money, but if any of my 'hunches' pan out, then I'll be dancing like I do in Vegas.

I did this too and it has worked out well but it compounds the problem where now I check the market every hour instead of every day.

[samburger]

Some wise person (on this forum maybe? Or bogleheads?) said that it's not so bad for a new investor to check obsessively: you'll only develop a tolerance for the fluctuations of the market if you actually see it fluctuate.

Since I know my gut DEFINITELY can't tolerate risk as well as my brain can, I'm trying to use my constant checking to toughen up. I'm 24 with 100% equities, so I have many a market downturn ahead of me that I'll need to weather.

[Eric]

Some wise person (on this forum maybe? Or bogleheads?) said that it's not so bad for a new investor to check obsessively: you'll only develop a tolerance for the fluctuations of the market if you actually see it fluctuate.

That's an interesting way to think about it.  I'm not obsessing over my daily investment balance, I'm just flexing my fluctuation tolerance muscles!

[bikebum]

When I start something new, I tend to obsess a little for a while. Usually the urge goes away and I'm onto something else.

[DollarBill]

I use to do this when I was in debt. Now that I'm debt free I look at investing as just gravy on the potatoes :). I pulled out of the market to pay off everything because I didn't want to gamble when I had debt. I will say I missed out on about $40K but I feel safe....and it's a good feeling.

[NewStachian]

I obsess as well, but I never sell. I've been putting money in since 2003 and have only sold occasionally to reallocate. I recently dumped everything in my IRA's to go to a simpler, lower cost model, but that was planned and I didn't leave the market for more than a day (luckily the market dropped that day so it worked out for me. Also, the non-retirement account is waiting for my retirement, so I can drop below the 15% income tax bracket and get free cost basis reset)

I read an article on how the 2008 crash and subsequent market recovery increased the wealth disparity by huge factors. Of course it did... Some people paniced and sold at a 40% loss and stayed out. I did some math on my personal accounts. I watched my portfolio drop 35% (like 80k at the time), shrugged, kept my allocations rolling and saw a ~4.0x gain in the subsequent 5 years. The stock positions are up ~9% since 2003 (which includes the crash of 2008, but obviously not the 1999-2000 crash) and the overall account has grown on average 19% a year overall, and 24% a year for the last 3, including the money I've been shoveling in.

So obsess all you want, update your FIRE tracker, blah blah, but don't depart from your course. Stay in, dollar-cost-average, and don't panic.

[El Gringo]

I check obsessively, too. But like others have said, I've found it educational. I don't make decisions based on daily fluctuations, but it's helped me understand the market more. When I see it go up, it feels good, and when I see it go down, it feels good (more shares I can buy!) If you have a stoic or perpetually optimistic attitude, then there's nothing wrong with it. It's only when you have a low tolerance for volatility that it becomes a problem.

[Jamesqf]

Oh, you can do better than 'obsessive' daily checks.  Just write (or find: search on e.g. "Conky stock market'') a Conky script to continually update & display your net worth.

[FIreDrill]

Most of my Investments are in total market index funds but I also check the DJI on a daily bases.  When the market dips down a bit I find myself hoping it will stay down until my 401k contributions hit lol.  I'm hoping that eventually I can resist checking on a daily basis but right now It's been fun to see my balance go up fairly rapidly with the amount of money I'm contributing to the 401k.  Should max it out this year. :)

[lizfish]

I think I check once a week. It was almost every day. Been buying funds for just over 4 months. It goes up, it goes down. I'm on a regular investment program so every 23rd it auto buys whatever money I have in the account. I thought I would be more nervy, and maybe I will when I have more than 6k in there, but right now it's fine.

Congrats on putting your toe in the investment pool. Happy 'staching!

[Roland of Gilead]

I seem to remember some web connected ball a number of years back that would turn red when the market was down >2%, yellow when down 1%, off when flat, blue when up 1% and green when up 2+%.

Maybe I am just remembering a dream and I just gave away a great shark tank idea.

[dragoncar]

I seem to remember some web connected ball a number of years back that would turn red when the market was down >2%, yellow when down 1%, off when flat, blue when up 1% and green when up 2+%.

Maybe I am just remembering a dream and I just gave away a great shark tank idea.

http://www.newscenter.philips.com/main/standard/news/press/2013/20130514-philips-announces-the-next-phase-of-its-connected-lighting-journey-and-upgrades-philips-hue-making-it-even-smarter.wpd#.U1GNd1VdV7c

[pachnik]

It could be just the novelty since you are a new investor? 

I don't have internet access to my RRSP account.  The company sends me statements every quarter and every month when i make a deposit they send me a confirmation with the new balance.  So I guess i get updates on a monthly or so basis.  For me this is enough. 

Regarding non-registered investment accounts, I am not doing internet banking right now and will be getting my balance every quarter in a statement.  But before that I was checking my balance every day. 

[marty998]

I don't have internet access to my RRSP account.  The company sends me statements every quarter and every month when i make a deposit they send me a confirmation with the new balance.  So I guess i get updates on a monthly or so basis.  For me this is enough. 

How much do you think it costs for the RRSP company to send you (and hundreds of thousands of others) paper statements? And the costs to employ their printing and admin staff for the work?

If everyone switches to online statements I would guess you could see a noticeable reduction in the fees you are charged. Plus it's beneficial to the environment.