March 2011 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on March 10th, 2011:

Asset	Feb 2011	Mar 2011	Change
Checking	650	838	188
Money Market	42,319	43,066	747
Savings Bonds	36,743	36,808	65
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	96,936	97,312	376
Brokerage	106,659	102,781	-3,878
401k	102,674	100,727	-1,947
Roth IRA	51,453	50,882	-571
SEP IRA	250,363	249,317	-1,046
529 Savings	52,653	52,800	147
Total Assets	$740,450	$734,531	-$5,919
			(-0.80%)

The S&P 500 has trended down 2.02% since the last update as worry from political unrest in the Middle East, rising oil prices, and now a 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunamis that hit Japan create fear and uncertainty:

(chart courtesy of msn.com)

The unemployment rate for February continued a slow decline as it fell to 8.9%. Oil prices have spiked during that time, gaining from about $87 per barrel to $101 per barrel and I've seen the cost for gasoline at one local station rise at a lesser rate from $3.15 to $3.43. I'm sure $4 per gallon gasoline isn't far away, but could we actually see it hit $5 during the summer driving season?

On the financial front, there's not too much to report. With rising food, oil, and other commodity prices, I'm looking toward a potential I Bond purchase again this spring, although that will likely happen in May 2011 at the earliest with the current 0% fixed and 0.74% composite rates available until then.

On the work front, I've been keeping busier than I have in quite some time. My contract with my largest client is up soon, and having a bunch of work to do is definitely a good sign. I've got my 2010 federal and state tax extensions filed for my S Corp, which should give me a bit more time to fully fund my 2010 SEP IRA contributions. My personal returns are in the works, and hopefully the tax bite won't be too bad considering the reduction in business revenue I've experienced over the past couple of years.