How Often Should You Check Your Net Worth?

Once a month.

Why not daily?

Your shares moved 1%. Your super ticked up because contributions cleared. Your offset account changed because you paid an electricity bill.

None of that tells you whether your financial position is improving. It's normal ups and downs of life and the markets.

Checking every day mostly means watching numbers bounce around and feeling things about it. Personal finance works best when you are realistic about the data and keep emotions out.

Why not yearly?

A single annual snapshot tells you what changed, not when or why.

If you weren't were you hoped to be, you won't know until the year is done. This leaves you flying blind and missing opportunities to make meaningful changes.

Monthly works

By the end of a month, a pay cycle has landed, loan repayments have gone out, and super contributions have settled. Enough has happened to be worth recording.

In Australia especially, super, home loans, and most recurring bills run on monthly cycles. A monthly snapshot captures all of it in one place.

What it actually involves

Ten minutes. Update each asset and liability with a current value, note whether the total went up or down from last month (and by how much!), and you're done.

Pick a consistent day (the first of the month is a common choice) and use that day's values each time. Don't try to time it around market movements.

The goal is a record of direction over time, not a precise balance on any single afternoon.

Perch is built around this. Each month you log a snapshot: your assets & liabilities and over time you can see exactly which way your net worth is heading.