Avoid Daily Investment Checking to Prevent Big Mistakes

Does watching TV news or checking business news sites give you cold sweats as you ponder how your investments are doing? Are you logging into your financial site every day but still feel your money slipping away? Just ignore your money, J.D. at Get Rich Slowly says—stocks pay off in the long term, not day-to-day, and worrying about it is the easiest way to make a money-losing mistake:

In Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes, the authors note that it’s dangerous to watch your investments every day. When you pay close attention, you tend to become emotionally invested in even small movements. You lose sight of the long-term and make decisions based on short-term events. Peek in every month or so, but don’t constantly check your investments.

Sound advice, and a good way to avoid letting money stress spill over into other areas of your life as well. For more reassurance that you can make money when the market sky looks grim, see what our readers recommend as recession-safe investments.