Have you ever found yourself obsessively checking your investments—whether it’s your 401(k), IRA, or self-directed account—multiple times a day, thinking you’re being a responsible investor?
I mean, why wouldn’t you want to stay “updated” on your financial situation? Especially when you’re just starting out and are all hyped up about growing those future millions, right?
Well, let me tell you—it might be doing you more harm than good. Here’s why.
Table of Contents
- Market Fluctuations Cause Anxiety
- Making Emotional Decisions
- Wasting Your Time
- Costing You Money
- Neglecting the Bigger Picture
- Scenario: Luke’s Costly Mistake
- Conclusion
1. Market Fluctuations Cause Anxiety
If you don’t fully understand how the market works, daily fluctuations can mess with your emotions. One day your investments are up, and you feel like a financial genius. The next day they drop, and you start questioning all your life choices.
The stock market is like that one unpredictable friend—sometimes up, sometimes down, but generally reliable in the long run. Instead of stressing over every dip, remind yourself that corrections are normal. Investing is a marathon, not a sprint.
Plus, constantly checking your investments reinforces short-term thinking. Imagine looking at your weight every hour when trying to get fit—you’d probably get discouraged, even if you were making progress over time. The same principle applies here.
2. Making Emotional Decisions
Picture this: You check your account, see red numbers, and immediately think, “I need to do something!” So, you sell in a panic. A week later, the market bounces back, and you regret everything.
Or worse, you see a stock skyrocketing and decide to buy at its peak, thinking you’re jumping on the next big thing. Spoiler alert: it drops the next day.
Emotional investing can be one of the biggest wealth destroyers. The best investors—think Warren Buffett—stay calm during downturns and see them as opportunities rather than reasons to panic. Checking less often helps keep impulsive decisions at bay.
3. Wasting Your Time
Checking your investments 10 times a day won’t make your money grow faster. It’s like watching a pot of water, hoping it’ll boil quicker—it just doesn’t work that way.
Think about all the time you could be using to make more money, enjoy life, or spend time with loved ones instead of staring at stock charts like they owe you something. Wealth is built by smart actions, not by refreshing your portfolio every 30 minutes.
If you spent the same energy learning a new skill, side hustling, or simply enjoying life, you’d probably be much better off financially and mentally.
4. Costing You Money
When you act on emotions, you often make costly mistakes. Selling at the wrong time, frequently trading, or reacting to short-term market noise can rack up fees and taxes faster than you think.
Many brokerage accounts charge fees for excessive trading, and if you’re dealing with retirement accounts, early withdrawals can mean hefty penalties. Not to mention, if you sell low and buy high repeatedly, you’re actively losing money rather than building wealth. Check this study to see what your likelihood of losing money is.
Investing is about patience. The fewer unnecessary trades you make, the better off your portfolio (and your wallet) will be.
5. Neglecting the Bigger Picture
The stock market isn’t a casino (even though it sometimes feels like it). Your investments should align with your long-term financial goals—whether that’s retirement, buying a house, or funding your kid’s college education.
Micromanaging your portfolio can make you lose sight of the bigger picture. The goal is long-term wealth, not daily wins and losses. Instead of chasing short-term gains, focus on overall financial health, like maintaining an emergency fund, paying down debt, and consistently investing over time.
Scenario: Luke’s Costly Mistake
Meet Luke, a 30-year-old engineer who recently started investing. Like many beginners, he was glued to his investment app, checking his portfolio every few hours. One day, he saw the market take a massive 10% dive. Panic set in.
“Oh no, I just lost thousands of dollars!” he thought. In his panic, he sold off a chunk of his stocks—only to realize later that because it was in his retirement account, he had to pay a penalty fee for the early withdrawal.
What Luke failed to consider was that the market moves in cycles. Fast forward six months: the market not only recovered but soared 20% above his original baseline loss. If he had just waited and trusted his investment strategy, he would have seen a significant gain instead of locking in losses and paying fees.
Worse, Luke actually had an emergency fund sitting in his savings account that he could have used instead of pulling from his investments. If he had used that instead, he could have avoided both the penalties and the regret of selling low.
Lesson learned? Don’t let short-term market movements trick you into making long-term mistakes. Stick to your investment plan and trust the process.
Conclusion
While it’s natural to be excited about your investments, checking them daily can be more harmful than helpful. The stock market is unpredictable in the short term, and constantly watching it can lead to stress, impulsive decisions, wasted time, and lost money.
Instead, adopt a long-term mindset, review your portfolio periodically, and focus on your overall financial goals. Investing is like baking—set the timer and step away. If you keep opening the oven, you’ll ruin the results.
So, resist the urge to obsess over daily movements, trust your strategy, and let your investments do their thing. If you really need a dopamine hit, check once a quarter—or better yet, focus on growing your income and enjoying life instead of worrying about every little market swing.
Now I’d like to hear from you:
Which of the ones I talk about above you’re having the easiest and hardest time with?
Is there anything I missed or you would like to add?
Either way make sure to comment down below and make sure to check out our blog http://financebysean.com/ to read more about related stuff about finance like this!
