November 2013 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on November 11th, 2013:

Asset	Oct 2013	Nov 2013	Change
Checking	2,271	1,380	-891
Money Market	41,284	52,374	11,090
Savings Bonds	81,399	81,519	120
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	75,758	59,726	-16,032
Brokerage	103,576	107,465	3,889
401k	128,549	131,342	2,793
Roth IRA	77,329	84,676	7,347
SEP IRA	393,551	415,116	21,565
529 Savings	92,238	94,531	2,293
Total Assets	$995,955	$1,028,129	$32,174
			3.23%

The S&P 500 is up 3.61% since the last update, closing yesterday within a fraction of its all-time high:

(chart courtesy of msn.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for October rose slightly to 7.3% but more jobs were created than expected (surprising since a large number of federal workers were furloughed due to the government shutdown). Oil prices have continued to pull back from $102 to around $95 over the past month, and I've seen local gasoline prices start to fall to slightly above $3 per gallon.

On the financial front, my asset levels have surpassed the all-time high I reached last month. Even better, I have finally hit the $1m asset milestone! I've certainly come a long way over the past seven years since I started this blog in August 2006, and seeing my assets more than double during that time is a testament to my approach of saving, investing, and "staying the course". I did add some new money to my investments though, with full 2013 Roth IRA contributions for Mrs. Frugalson and myself plus an initial 2013 SEP IRA contribution from my S Corp.

The other big happening around here is that I've chosen an HVAC contractor to install central air conditioning in my home. It should hopefully be completed before the next update, which means we will be ready for any heat waves that may hit the Northeast in December. :p

Alliant Credit Union: $10 new member bonus, $50 high rate checking bonus, and $100 auto loan bonus through 12/31/13

Although I've known of Alliant Credit Union for several years now, I never found a compelling reason to join until I was interested in the very competitive 1.49% APR auto loan rate they were offering when I bought my new car. My experience with Alliant has been excellent so far and I wanted to share some of the new member/new account bonus offers that they are offering through the end of 2013. Alliant sports a pretty comprehensive path to membership eligibility, with a $10 tax-deductible donation to Foster Care to Success being the route I took. Please note that even if you join via a $10 donation, Alliant provides all new members with a complimentary $5 deposit to your savings account to offset that cost a bit.

As for the new bonuses, first up is a $10 referral bonus that new customers receive when they join Alliant through an email link from an existing member. Here's how it works:

To qualify for your $10 bonus (I also will get a $10 bonus), click on one of the links below to join Alliant Credit Union:

Alliant Credit Union referral link #1
Alliant Credit Union referral link #2

Once you join Alliant, you are eligible for two additional bonus offers:

1. Open a Free High Rate Checking Account and receive a $50 Bonus
2. Take out an Alliant Auto Loan (purchase or refinance) and receive a $100 Bonus

All offers are valid through 12/31/2013.