Keeping daily tabs on your accounts are good for the financial soul ;) Not everyone enjoys doing it these days – esp with some in particular (*cough* 401ks, *cough* mutual funds) – but I find it important to do, even if only once a week instead.

It’s just crazy the amount of things that could happen w/out our knowledge! ID theft, incorrect transactions, wrong tip amounts, it goes on and on…and while some can let it be for a while, I personally don’t like taking the chance. As Broke Grad Student recently pointed out – the quicker you can find an issue, the quicker you can get it resolved. This is especially easy to do if you use programs like Mint or Yodlee, or if you have 99% of your accounts @ one bank like i do ;) Much faster to check!

Plus, if i’m being honest here, I get a quick thrill watching bills get paid or small deposits hitting the account every now and then ;) It’s satisfying even when i see the money go out and to the right spot! Because I know it’s all working correctly, ya know? I swear it kills me when i pay a bill and it takes 3 or 4 extra days to clear when usually it should only be 2 or so.

Even checking my 401(k) every day pleases me. When that market gets moving all over the place – up 300 here, down 250 there – I’m all over it! It’s not that i’m a fan of losing money on some of the days (or all really during this economy), but i find it fascinating the way it all “works”. Like, you could lay on your cough and do absolutely nothing for 24 hours, yet the world continues to work and change your net worth without a care in the world – and you can’t do anything about it! haha…

As I mentioned to a fellow reader the other day – You really just gotta follow what you’re comfortable with. If you get excited to check it each day (like i do) then awesome. But if you find yourself getting pissed off, or feeling sad or anything when your accounts are down, then it’s probably better to check it once a week or every other day. As long as you’re keeping an active eye on it, you’re that much better off ;)