Up-to-date information helps you make informed decisions.

I’ve known more than a couple of people in my life who only paid any mind to the state of their finances when they’re already in a bad place. For example, they went to the grocery store to buy some snacks, only to find their account completely tapped. It’s easy to just let your money sit in the background of your life, and if you have a certain amount saved up, it’s not a terrible thing to do. That said, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to keep regular tabs on what’s going on in your checking and savings accounts, just in case.

When you get into a routine of paying your bills and making regular purchases, it can be easy to assume that your books will just stay balanced on their own. The thing is, despite one’s best efforts, sooner or later something will throw your finances off, even if only a little bit. For instance, let’s say you have regular recurring expenses like food, utilities, and so forth. You think you’ve got your spending down to a science, but then you go to check your account and you’re out a few hundred dollars. Where did the money go? Little things outside of your recurring expenses can sneak up on you, including, but not limited to, repair fees, entertainment costs like eating out or going to the movies, or the occasional impulse purchase of some random tchotchke off Amazon.

Now, I’m not saying you need to keep an itemized list of everywhere your money is coming and going, merely to check your financial standings once every week or so. If you keep a regular eye on where your money is going, you may be able to catch excessive or unnecessary expenditures before they get out of control. You’ll be glad you have a handle on those things before they get ahead of you, because I guarantee you’ll feel awful if they do.