Until recently, I haven’t checked my net worth in four months. This is not intentional, because I usually checked at least three times a week since 2012 Empower’s free app. The only reason I stopped is because I can’t log in anymore.
One day, I was suddenly locked out of the app. I’m trying to log in on my laptop. Same result. The password I haven’t changed is no longer working. I don’t think it’s a big deal. I just reset it. Except that every time I complete the reset process, I receive an email confirming the changes and immediately warn that the new password does not work and that I will be locked for 24 hours after two attempts. After five rounds of this circus in a month, I gave up.
Although I appreciate the severity of Empower’s security, I feel frustrated. Life is very busy. Summer is coming. I took my family to Honolulu for five weeks. Once my kids started school on August 27, I finally decided it was time to call the Hotline service hotline (1-877-216-4014, for anyone who found themselves wearing my shoes).
After 7 minutes of call, I came back. Support delegates explained that Empower migrated the dashboard to a new system, with some accounts like me stuck in the loop. All I had to do was unregister and re-register my existing Social Security number and postal code, and Voilà-I went back to all existing linked accounts.
No big desire to check my net worth
What surprised me the most was not the four months of repairing it. That’s where I don’t have a strong desire to fix it right away. If I really wanted to, I could have called the hotline service hotline right away.
It’s not that my net worth will disappear, it’s just because I’m not looking at it. I already know the rough numbers in my mind – my equity exposure, bond allocation, real estate value and more. Also, when the market pushes the market in April 2025, I don’t have the desire to see the loss. Sometimes, it doesn’t seem like the best way to stay calm.
It reminds me of social media: the less time you spend scrolling X, Instagram, or Facebook, the happier you tend to be. Check your net worth frequently may be the same type of mental junk food, so I try to stay away. Unless you receive a lot of financial surprises, your net worth doesn’t change much every day.
That is to say, more than four on vacation taught me something valuable. have The real benefits Do not check your net worth regularly.
Five benefits of checking your net worth from irregularities
These are the five most prominent ones.
1. Reduce stress and anxiety
When the market drops, staring at your net worth every day is like poking a bruise, which only makes the pain worse.
In March and April, the S&P 500 fell sharply, and bonds didn’t help much. If I were logged in every morning, I would watch thousands of paper losses pile up. Instead, by not logging in, I avoided the daily sting.
It’s like weighing yourself every day when you try to lose weight. If you fluctuate up and down, that’s frustrating. However, if you check it only once a month, you are more likely to see a real trend and are less likely to quit.
No regular checks on your net worth can protect your mental health. You still know your position roughly, but you are not constantly reminding yourself of volatility beyond your control.
2. Focus more on what is actually important
When I didn’t check my net worth, I noticed my energy went elsewhere: my kids, writing, and visiting parents in Honolulu time. I wasn’t distracted by green or red numbers on the screen, but I was there. Of course, I still sometimes check my investment account from time to time.
Whenever you check your financial situation, you consume some limited daily attention. If you check three times a week like I usually do, there are more than 150 psychological interruptions per year. Multiply it by decades and you will realize how much headspace you have given up.
By not checking, I was forced to focus on me Can Control: Research new articles, be with your family and stay healthy. Finally, isn’t this why we need to build wealth first?
3. Helps break your money addiction
Frankly speaking, tracking net worth can be addictive. Seeing your portfolio rise is a real dopamine hit. That’s why some of us love gambling. But like all addictions, there are costs.
When your mood is closely related to the rise or fall of the market, you can control your happiness. That’s very dangerous. Unfortunately, when the stock market corrects stocks, I always love it even more because I am responsible for the financial situation of my family. When finances develop, I can’t help but feel a failure because it doesn’t better protect our primary sources of freedom.
By taking four months off, I broke that cycle. I rediscovered that I could go for weeks without knowing my “score” and life was pretty good. My relationships are not suffering. My cash flow is not dry. The world is not over.
4. Preventing the knees – reactions that may lose money
One of the greatest dangers of constantly checking your financial situation is tempting unnecessary repairs. You’ll see your portfolio drop and suddenly want to sell (or buy dipping sauce). You’ll see a 333% rise in the first day of popular IPOs, and you want to buy at the top due to the strong FOMO.
As the saying goes, “Time in the market is more powerful than timed.” The less you check your net worth and portfolio, the less temptation to trade.
This excessive activity often leads to poor long-term returns. The best investors are usually those who build distributions and then ignore them to a large extent.
By not looking for four months often, I gave myself a natural period of “calmness”. I don’t want to make huge investment decisions. My portfolio allocation is largely intact, which is exactly how compounding works best.
Imagine a farmer. If you dig out seeds every week to check them, they will never grow. Sometimes, the best thing is to bury things and let nature do things.
5. An opportunity to test financial independence
The ultimate goal of financial independence is to not have to worry about money all the time. You want to spend money in the background so you can spend time doing what you really like. If you need to track your net worth every day just to feel safe, then you are not really free.
During the four-month break, I felt unfamiliar with my life that was constantly measured. My bill is still paid. My investment is still growing (or shrinking). Life is accelerating. Our money takes care of our family as expected. The less time I spend managing money, the more money I feel.
If you want to know if you are indeed financially safe, try not to check your net worth for at least a quarter of the time. If you find yourself panic, you may be overly dependent on external verification. However, if you find yourself relaxing, you may be in good health.
The test is powerful. It shows you whether you have built a fortress firmly enough that you can walk away without fear. That is true independence.
Reach balance when tracking wealth
After a few months, when you finally look at your net worth, you may be pleasantly surprised to see that wealth is growing bigger than you expected. It’s like seeing someone else’s children after summer vacation. Their growth feels dramatic because you don’t watch them tall every day. On the other hand, parents usually rarely notice this change.
Four months later, I returned to keep track of my net worth closely. The old habits died hard, and I still believe that it is valuable to focus on things, especially for someone like me who wrote about making a living in personal finance.
I’m glad to finally update the amount of three private venture capital funds, which have a capital call worth $60,000 during these four months. I also recorded the additional $100,000 I invested Fundraising Innovation Fund This year. Private funds are tracked manually in the Empower dashboard.
This break tells me that balance is key. For most people, checking once or twice a month is ideal. It allows you to notify you without letting the numbers dominate.
Personally, my goal is to narrow down from three times a week to just once a week. A practical trick? move Empower Application Put it down on your home screen and bury it on the third or fourth page of your phone so you won’t get used to it.
Don’t let your net worth control you
If you are in debt or struggle to save milestones, you can check your motivation more frequently. If you are retired or financially independent, you can afford less checks. It is important to ensure You can control the numbers, not the other way around.
I never planned a four-month break to check my net worth. However, due to stubborn login issues coupled with my own disinterest, I had the unexpected opportunity to experience life without my usual financial dashboard. Do you know? It is liberating.
If you are the one who refreshes your portfolio every day, try to step back. Go for a week, a month or even four months without checking.
You may find, like me, that the less you check, the more you actually enjoy wealth.
Reader, how often do you check your net worth? Do you think there is a strong correlation between frequency and results? After all, people who are addicted to certain things often get better.
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