April 2012 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on April 10th, 2012:

Asset	Mar 2012	Apr 2012	Change
Checking	1,511	2,605	1,094
Money Market	44,474	44,165	-309
Savings Bonds	62,934	65,932	2,998
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	67,440	67,691	251
Brokerage	101,501	97,926	-3,575
401k	102,954	101,988	-966
Roth IRA	57,856	56,813	-1,043
SEP IRA	306,412	303,121	-3,291
529 Savings	62,727	63,101	374
Total Assets	$807,809	$803,342	-$4,467
			(-0.55%)

The S&P 500 has been on a bumpy ride of late, down 0.91% since the last update:

(chart courtesy of msn.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for March fell to 8.2%, although sentiment was poor due to a slowdown in hiring. Oil prices are down to around $102 per barrel, although some believe the price could double if Iran decides to do some saber rattling.

There isn't much new to report on the financial front. I have received my personal Federal tax refund in the form of paper Series I Savings Bonds plus a small cash balance. I'm also going to be keeping an eye out for the March 2012 CPI-U release on Friday so we will know the variable rate portion of the second six month period for Series I Savings Bonds purchased through April 2012. My guess is that that number will be quite tame, resulting in a composite rate far below the 3.06% in place for the first six month period. I plan on adding a more detailed post on the state of I Bonds when the numbers come out later this week.

As for all things non-financial, I am very pleased to say that I have renewed my contract with my largest client and will be in their employ for another year. With the financial certainty of having that revenue in place, I'm looking forward to replacing some of my aging computer equipment this year. On a more personal note, I'm also at the eight week point since I had my arm surgery. I am very pleased to be doing little things I've always taken for granted with my repaired arm, such as brushing my teeth and holding a fork. Now I just need to be able to pick up things weighing more than five pounds. :p