Picking up Nickels

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

May 2015 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on May 11th, 2015:


Asset Apr
2015
May
2015
Change
Checking 2,131 1,526 -605
Money Market 66,492 63,565 -2,927
Savings Bonds 94,826 94,969 143
Treasury Bills 0 0 0
CDs 35,836 45,933 10,097
Brokerage 136,752 138,232 1,480
401k 142,051 143,888 1,837
Roth IRA 105,070 105,245 175
SEP IRA 512,800 516,345 3,545
529 Savings 122,183 122,599 416



Total Assets $1,218,141 $1,232,302 $14,161
   
 
1.16%


The S&P 500 was nearly flat, rising 0.16% since the last update and continuing to stay near all time highs:

(chart courtesy of yahoo.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for April fell to 5.4% with 223,000 new jobs created. Oil prices rose from about $53 to almost $60, a fairly significant increase given recent price trends.

On the financial front, my assets have hit an all time high once again, rising above the previous high from April. That was in spite of a relatively flat S&P 500 however, since my SEP IRA balance was bolstered by my first 2015 SEP IRA contribution. However, I also put some cash to work in a Penfed 1.31% APY 1 year CD, mainly as a placeholder due to a lack of better options. The current 0% fixed rate I Bonds earning a 0% composite rate for the first six months certainly aren't an appealing "investment", that's for sure.

As for the non-financial, I am very pleased to be working under a new contract extension with my largest client! Hopefully everyone will continue to be happy and healthy and the current taste of Summer weather we're experiencing will carry us over until the young Frugalsons finish their current school year.