So Close

[boarder42]

Round numbers are fun... anyone else start trying to scratch up extra pennies when you get close to the next round number.  Not a bad thing but i'm 5.5k from an even 200k in my wife and i's combined retirement accounts.  and i cant help but trying to throw every dollar i can scrounge up in there to get there faster... just 401k savings is over 3k per month so we will be there if the market stays flat or increases by Nov. 1.  but I can't help but try to get there faster..

[Deepsouth]

Best thing is to try and not think about it.  Send the money in every month and have a hobby and check it every quarter or six months. 

[boarder42]

nah i like to look ... i check it all the time its fun. 

plus the way it affects me is a positive towards retirement.

[Gone Fishing]

I thought this thread may be a question for me:)

Yep, round numbers are fun, even the market thinks so!

Glad I don't own individual stocks as I would probably check them every hour or so!  I went several years, only checking once or twice a month or so when I made purchases.  Never used to check the 401(k) much at all because it was on auto.  But now I check almost every day as I am coming down to the wire. It's a lot of fun when most of the news is good and you are advancing towards the goal almost every day!  When things turn south I tend not to check as much, only when I am buying.

[trailrated]

The OCD struggle is real... I have transfered $.67 to my savings to have it end in .00

[Eric]

I have spreadsheets which I update twice a year or so.  A few weeks back, we were thisclose to hitting a round number, which happens to be half way to our FIRE number.  I updated those spreadsheets everyday for 3 straight days until it happened.  It's a great feeling!

[Cheddar Stacker]

I thought this thread may be a question for me:)

Yeah, I noticed that as well and thought for a second it was your journal.

I agree with the OP, and with trailrated here, the OCD on this stuff can be intense. For me I'm hoping it's just still the newlywed phase of this and I will learn to be more relaxed about updating spreadsheets and tracking the market. Round numbers are certainly fun, and I'm currently hitting a few big ones myself.

I hope you reach the 200 mark soon boarder42.

[Lis]

The OCD struggle is real... I have transfered $.67 to my savings to have it end in .00

Guilty of this as well!

On a sour note, I've also had $618.34 (made up number here, but you get the gist) to go towards student loans and only paid $600 because hey, round numbers! Where that $18 ended up going I don't remember, but probably not towards something good. I did eventually get over that :)

[boarder42]

yeah i just like looking at the market all ours is basically on auto pilot its just fun to dig in and look at.

[Cheddar Stacker]

The OCD struggle is real... I have transfered $.67 to my savings to have it end in .00

Guilty of this as well!

On a sour note, I've also had $618.34 (made up number here, but you get the gist) to go towards student loans and only paid $600 because hey, round numbers! Where that $18 ended up going I don't remember, but probably not towards something good. I did eventually get over that :)

Lis, do you pump exactly $40 worth of gas? I used to do that when I first started driving a lot even though I was paying with a credit card. Crazy.

[trailrated]

The OCD struggle is real... I have transfered $.67 to my savings to have it end in .00

Guilty of this as well!

On a sour note, I've also had $618.34 (made up number here, but you get the gist) to go towards student loans and only paid $600 because hey, round numbers! Where that $18 ended up going I don't remember, but probably not towards something good. I did eventually get over that :)

Lis, do you pump exactly $40 worth of gas? I used to do that when I first started driving a lot even though I was paying with a credit card. Crazy.

Ahahahahahaha guilty of this as well. Makes no sense at all but is somehow a bit satisfying.

[NV Teacher]

The OCD struggle is real... I have transfered $.67 to my savings to have it end in .00

I've done just about the same thing.  I thought I was the only crazy one.  Good to know I'm not the only one.

[Lis]

The OCD struggle is real... I have transfered $.67 to my savings to have it end in .00

Guilty of this as well!

On a sour note, I've also had $618.34 (made up number here, but you get the gist) to go towards student loans and only paid $600 because hey, round numbers! Where that $18 ended up going I don't remember, but probably not towards something good. I did eventually get over that :)

Lis, do you pump exactly $40 worth of gas? I used to do that when I first started driving a lot even though I was paying with a credit card. Crazy.

Ahahahahahaha guilty of this as well. Makes no sense at all but is somehow a bit satisfying.

Lol I used to make it a game for myself... once the pump would stop automatically I would try to top it off and get it closest to the nearest dollar (double points if it ends in a 0 or a 5). Now I just top it off a few times and am on my way.

[boarder42]

you shouldnt top off gas.  why are you doing this... you're just releasing more vapors into the air ... and you're getting less gas in your tank than is pumped.

STOP NOW

[Gone Fishing]

Lis, do you pump exactly $40 worth of gas? I used to do that when I first started driving a lot even though I was paying with a credit card. Crazy.

It's a lot harder than it used to be, with gas over $3 a gallon, that penny meter runs a lot faster.  Shoot, with the digital pumps it is just a blur, you have to watch the dime column and time it just right and it is moving pretty fast on it's own accord.  If you miss it by less than $.05, you might as well forget it, because it is pretty much impossible to dispense less than $.05 of gas at a time.  I don't even try anymore...

[forestbound]

The OCD struggle is real... I have transfered $.67 to my savings to have it end in .00

Guilty of this as well!

On a sour note, I've also had $618.34 (made up number here, but you get the gist) to go towards student loans and only paid $600 because hey, round numbers! Where that $18 ended up going I don't remember, but probably not towards something good. I did eventually get over that :)

Lis, do you pump exactly $40 worth of gas? I used to do that when I first started driving a lot even though I was paying with a credit card. Crazy.

Ahahahahahaha guilty of this as well. Makes no sense at all but is somehow a bit satisfying.

Lol I used to make it a game for myself... once the pump would stop automatically I would try to top it off and get it closest to the nearest dollar (double points if it ends in a 0 or a 5). Now I just top it off a few times and am on my way.

I too am guilty of this. I need to stop, but I get discounts on gas at the grocery store and it's a way for me to know which credit card line item is for gas when I see it's ends in 0. I need to just write it down. We need a Mustachian Support Group for those of us who suffer. OCDers unite!

[PloddingInsight]

I keep my main emergency savings account at a multiple of $1000.00.  Whenever interest is credited to it, I have to move the interest payment to my checking account!

Then I see the nice round number result and a wave of good feelings washes over me.

[arebelspy]

I have spreadsheets which I update twice a year or so.  A few weeks back, we were thisclose to hitting a round number, which happens to be half way to our FIRE number.  I updated those spreadsheets everyday for 3 straight days until it happened.  It's a great feeling!

Hah.  I normally don't care about this stuff, but I may be hitting 1MM right around my 30th birthday, and I normally update later in the month than my birthday falls, but you can bet that if I don't hit it the month before, but am close, I'll be updating early that month.  ;)