A healthy lifestyle requires 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week. Financial fitness takes much less time, and you can do it sitting down.
I asked newsletter readers recently about their financial fitness routine and the responses suggest that there are two ways go to – a daily routine and a weekly regimen.
The daily workout is a run though all your bank, credit card and investment accounts online to track recent developments and check for suspicious transactions. “I check everything (investments, credit cards, bank accounts) everyday,” one retired reader wrote in an e-mail in which she said the process takes 15 minutes. Another reader said he averages five to 30 minutes per day, while yet another said just five minutes does the job.
The weekly routine typically takes as little as 15 to 30 minutes and covers paying bills and other banking tasks, plus monitoring investments and, in some cases, household budgets. One reader said she spends about two hours per week on her finances, but that includes time for reading and research.
Some people prefer a monthly routine, including the reader who said she and her fiancé hold a “Finance Friday” every month where they compare their expenses and investment results and share plans for the next month. “My fiancé was a little reluctant to do this in the beginning, but he has since enjoyed it and we’ve been doing this together for over two years,” she wrote. “This helped us plan for big life changes like getting engaged, moving in together and now planning a wedding.”
One thing that emerged in the financial routines people shared is that some love the process of managing their investments and banking – it’s basically a hobby. Personal finance hobbyists often have a spreadsheet where they daily or weekly enter their bills and other expenses, plus investment results.
The exact frequency, length and intensity of your own financial routine is less important than just having a process that keeps you on top of how much you’re spending, saving and investing. One last point is that financial fitness isn’t about financial perfection. It’s knowing where you stand and finding ways, even incremental ones, to stay on track and improve where possible.
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Rob’s personal finance reading list
The first year of retirement
A financial planner says you need to log 12 months of retirement to truly know what your income needs are in your post-working years. Be sure to differentiate between recurring costs and splurges to celebrate retirement.
Thermostat throwdown
An advice columnist tackles a question from someone whose boyfriend refuses to turn on the air conditioning, “no matter how sweltering the day.” Loosen up, buddy.
Come to our wedding – here’s the cost of admission
Weddings are so expensive that couples are asking their guests to pay to attend. A sure sign you’re overspending on a wedding is that you need to sell tickets – am I wrong?
Hungry for savings on food?
What I like about this list of ways to save on groceries is the specific savings available from buying in bulk.
Podcast fans
Subscribe to Stress Test on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Reader comment
In a recent newsletter, I included a question from a reader asking about financial planners who offer their services on a sliding scale for disabled people who cannot work. I invited planners to reach out if they offer this kind of service and received this reply:
“I do offer discounted packages for clients with disabilities and can offer further discounts based on income levels. For more details, you can check out my website at divergentfp.ca. Warm Regards, Drew Adamick CFP.”
Note: CFP stands for certified financial planner, a key financial planning designation
Do you have a question or comment for me? Send it my way. Sorry I can’t answer every one personally. Questions and answers are edited for length and clarity.
We want to hear from you
Are you under the age of 45? Do you live and work in Canada? What are your financial struggles, successes, dreams and frustrations? We’re looking for people to share their story in our Paycheque Project series, which looks at how much people earn and spend each month. We’d especially love to hear from millennials or Gen Zs who live in British Columbia, the Prairies and in Northern Canada. E-mail Globe editor Roma Luciw at rluciw@globeandmail.com with your story and you could be featured in a profile.
Tools and guides
All about the ‘bank investigator scam,’ where criminals try to manipulate you into sending them money by claiming your bank accounts has been compromised.
In the social sphere
Social Media: A Reddit discussion on whether it makes sense to buy a condo in Toronto.
Listen: Estate planning expert David Edey invited me onto his podcast recently to talk about a survey of Carrick on Money readers about their expectations for receiving an inheritance. Here’s our conversation.
Money-Free Zone: Six minutes of 70s era funk at its finest are there for the taking in Darkest Light, by the Lafayette Afro Rock Band. There’s a killer sax riff, but for me the guitar makes this song.
More PF from The Globe
- The moment where low mortgage rates and low real estate prices meet is coming
- Worried about an Air Canada pilot strike? Be careful about cancelling or rebooking your flights
- This is why your kid couldn’t find a summer job
- Household debt burden on the wane as Canadians curb their borrowing
- I meal plan to save money. Here’s how I spend $8 a day on groceries
- How long will you live? Retirement saving is about more than crunching numbers
