Picking up Nickels

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

February 2014 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on February 10th, 2014:


Asset Jan
2014
Feb
2014
Change
Checking 3,032 1,558 -1,474
Money Market 47,747 51,657 3,910
Savings Bonds 81,745 81,833 88
Treasury Bills 0 0 0
CDs 61,966 62,142 176
Brokerage 116,254 113,865 -2,389
401k 135,832 132,566 -3,266
Roth IRA 87,627 85,903 -1,724
SEP IRA 430,055 422,228 -7,827
529 Savings 98,669 99,250 581



Total Assets $1,062,927 $1,051,002 -$11,925
   
 
-1.12%


The S&P 500 has pulled back 2.31% since the last update:

(chart courtesy of msn.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for January fell one again from 6.7% to 6.6%, which is the lowest number in more than five years. Unfortunately, this has once again been characterized as a disappointing number due to the amount of people dropping out of the workforce. Oil prices rose to around the $100 level over the past month, which helped contribute to my $3.75 per gallon heating oil delivery a couple of weeks ago.

On the financial front, I'm moving into a quiet period as I work on my S Corp and personal 2013 income tax returns. I'll be making my final 2013 SEP IRA contribution soon since my S Corp returns are due next month, and I'll also be keeping an eye on the monthly CPI-U numbers when an eye toward a Series I Savings Bond purchase.

As for the non-financial, I'm getting quite sick of the cold and snowy weather during this fine winter season. I'm certainly tired of ruining the impeller belt on my trusty Ariens snow blower that I bought for a nicely discounted price nearly seven years ago. I've burned up four of them over the past few years during slushy conditions despite trying to be diligent about keeping the snow blower chute clear and unclogged. While annoying, fortunately it's a cheap fix (less than $10). :(