March 2014 Financial Asset Roundup

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

Asset	Feb 2014	Mar 2014	Change
Checking	1,558	2,680	1,122
Money Market	51,657	52,883	1,226
Savings Bonds	81,833	81,945	112
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	62,142	62,300	158
Brokerage	113,865	118,830	4,965
401k	132,566	136,735	4,169
Roth IRA	85,903	89,245	3,342
SEP IRA	422,228	444,793	22,565
529 Savings	99,250	102,349	3,099
Total Assets	$1,051,002	$1,091,760	$40,758
			3.88%

The S&P 500 has recovered nicely, rising 4.30% since the last update:

(chart courtesy of msn.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for February rose slightly from 6.6% to 6.7%. Oddly enough, the report was actually stronger than expected due to the number of new jobs being created. Oil prices were somewhat flat, rising slightly to around $101 over the past month.

On the financial front, the very cooperative stock market has helped boost my asset levels to a new all-time high. I've also made my final 2013 SEP IRA contribution for my S Corp and am awaiting the March CPI-U numbers due next month to help me evaluate a potential Series I Savings Bond purchase.

As for the rest, my 2013 business and personal tax returns are finally complete. Unfortunately the number of exemptions on Mrs. Frugalson's W-4 form were a bit on the high side and she ended up underpaying her Federal income tax by a good amount last year. The 2013 tax year was her first full year on the job since rejoining the workforce, so we ended up being caught a bit off guard. As a result, we owe a pretty good amount of Federal income tax for 2013. :( So, we'll write the Feds a nice check next month and I've already had her fill out a new W-4 form to prevent this from happening again next year (and help us avoid paying an underpayment penalty!). I'll also probably end up taking a distribution from my S Corp to help cover the cost. Good times. :p