I don't have statements per se, but I do have simple monthly excel spreadsheets that I programmed that go back over 20 years that used my monthly/quarterly statements. On or about the 15th of each month, I have faithfully updated the values/worth of all my bank, mutual fund, IRA, etc accounts, assets, and liabilities. And I have many comments (son born, going to school, addition put on house, etc) that clearly help explain why balances went up or down. It takes about an hour, but it is time well spent. I have balance sheets, cash flows, net worth, etc. But most importantly, over that time, I also included the levels that the Dow, S&P 500, NAS, prime rate, and 10 year interest rates were. The latter has provided a perspective and context to let me know objectively how I was doing relative to benchmarks. It also has allowed me to see what happens to my financials (individually and collectively) when for example, interest rates rise or the stock market takes a tumble. Because I have the data, I often plot relationships such as the S&P 500 and my IRA account value. There is no doubt in my mind that spending this hour per month has kept me focused and allowed me to KNOW realistically when I could retire (I did on Dec 2012, age 58), and still pay cash for every small and large expense including home additions/renovations, private college educations for my kids, cars, European vacations, etc.
