June 2012 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on June 11th, 2012:

Asset	May 2012	Jun 2012	Change
Checking	1,419	1,902	483
Money Market	44,998	44,416	-582
Savings Bonds	66,143	66,361	218
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	67,945	68,202	257
Brokerage	94,616	93,348	-1,268
401k	100,961	96,449	-4,512
Roth IRA	56,834	54,424	-2,410
SEP IRA	303,612	295,450	-8,162
529 Savings	64,141	63,680	-461
Total Assets	$800,669	$784,232	-$16,437
			-2.05%

The downward trend for S&P 500 has picked up steam, dropping by 3.61% since the last update:

(chart courtesy of msn.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for May rose to 8.2% (the first increase since June 2011) and things are not looking good for the U.S. economy as hiring is slowing and constant reminders of the ongoing fiscal woes in Europe certainly aren't helping things. Oil prices have fallen quite a bit from $96 to around $83, and I have seen local gasoline prices follow suit, falling from about $3.85 to $3.59 during that time.

On the financial front, the only event of note would be the impending death watch for the 5 year CD @5.55% APY I opened at E-Loan (remember when they had competitive rates?) in August 2007. I had already pre-allocated this cash earlier this year when I maxed out my Series I savings bond limits and increased my contributions to the young Frugalson's 529 college savings accounts. As a result, this cash will be sitting in a money market account for now and will likely be used for Roth IRA contributions, future savings bonds purchases, home improvement projects, etc.

And as for an arm surgery update, I will be hitting the four month post-surgery mark this week. I feel quite good for the most part, but I still have to be careful about how much weight I pick up with my injured arm for at least the next two months. While my work around the yard and weight lifting routines have been compromised a bit, I'm very happy to be able to do all the things my arm allows me to do and look forward to being able to do more in the coming weeks and months.