October 2009 Financial Asset Roundup

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

Asset	Sep 2009	Oct 2009	Change
Checking	474	297	-177
Money Market	30,857	27,971	-2,886
Savings Bonds	20,612	20,695	83
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	120,680	130,605	9,925
Brokerage	86,601	78,851	-7,750
401k	80,130	82,936	2,806
Roth IRA	32,405	33,314	909
SEP IRA	184,252	188,409	4,157
529 Savings	38,799	39,735	936
Total Assets	$594,810	$602,813	$8,003
			(1.35%)

The S&P 500 index continues to hover around yearly highs as it has risen 2.62% since the last update:

(chart courtesy of msn.com)

Is the recession over? A bunch of economists seem to think so, although we're looking at a slow recovery. In other shocking news, unemployment hit a new 26 year high of 9.8%.

Crude oil has risen to around $74 per barrel as hope for an economic recovery (and a rise in demand for energy) continues. It has certainly been nice to see gasoline dip below $2.50 per gallon, but that could change soon if this run on oil continues.

As for money moves, my driveway paving project is finished (yay!) and paid for (boo!). I ended up rolling my Penfed 6% APY CD that matured last month into a HSBC 2.00% APY 12 month CD and last week opened a ING Direct 2.10% APY 12 month CD in anticipation of my E-Loan 4.36% APY 12 month CD maturing later this month. I also took advantage of the buoyant stock market and sold my position in computer maker Hewlett Packard Company (HPQ) as it recently rose to a 52 week high.

And finally, as I struggled to tally my assets with the newly upgraded Fidelity Full View (a Fidelity-branded Yodlee clone) this morning, it finally dawned on me that my financial assets have exceeded the $600k level and finally eclipsed my previous peak from December 2007. I still have a way to go to recover from the $36k worth of SEP IRA contributions I've made since then, but hitting $600k in assets is still a nice psychological barrier to break through.