January 2009 Financial Asset Roundup

Happy New Year! (I think).

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on January 9th, 2009:

Asset	Dec 2008	Jan 2009	Change
Checking	622	713	91
Money Market	20,679	37,252	16,573
Savings Bonds	15,024	15,071	47
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	118,639	103,328	-15,311
Brokerage	86,704	76,554	-10,150
401k	61,309	62,272	963
Roth IRA	20,784	26,193	5,409
SEP IRA	129,481	131,376	1,895
529 Savings	30,846	31,534	688
Total Assets	$484,088	$484,293	$205
			(0.04%)

With volatility continuing to rule, the S&P 500 index has pretty been pretty flat with "only" a 0.99% drop since the last update:

(chart courtesy of msn.com)

We've thankfully turned the page on 2008. Economic turmoil has continued (like the unemployment rate rising to 7.2%) and our new President will be sworn in next week and his first priority will be pushing through his economic stimulus plan. Oil prices are falling back below $40 per barrel despite further unrest in the Gaza Strip.

Moneywise, I used $10k from my brokerage account to fund 2008 Roth IRA contributions for myself and Mrs. Frugalson and am about to start working on making my 2008 SEP IRA contributions. I decided not to renew my E-Loan 3.61% APY 6 month CD last month due to continuing rate drops and will leave my cash in my E*Trade Complete Savings account earning 3.01% APY until a better opportunity presents itself. At this point, I'm starting work on my 2008 personal and business tax returns and (with my largest contract up in the Spring) I am planning on being extra conservative with my S Corp cash for at least the first quarter of 2009.