Picking up Nickels

Friday, November 11, 2016

November 2016 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on November 10th, 2016:


Asset Oct
2016
Nov
2016
Change
Checking 1,244 1,529 285
Money Market 82,260 82,686 426
Savings Bonds 109,663 109,745 82
Treasury Bills 0 0 0
CDs 39,555 39,666 111
Brokerage 123,083 126,233 3,150
401k 131,906 130,210 -1,696
Roth IRA 111,871 112,082 211
SEP IRA 560,487 565,452 4,965
529 Savings 143,297 143,590 293



Total Assets $1,303,366 $1,311,193 $7,827
   
 
0.60%


Despite some volatility courtesy of the US Presidential election, the S&P 500 is up 1.44% since the last update:

(chart courtesy of google.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for October dropped to 4.9% with 161,000 new jobs created. Oil prices have dropped to the $44 level, which was reflected in my recent heating oil delivery priced at $1.95 per gallon.

On the financial front, this month is the time to make my Series I savings bond purchase. After maxing out my 2016 limit in a couple of weeks I will probably follow that up with another purchase in early 2017 due to the attractive 2.76% composite rate for the first six months. I also typically make Roth IRA contributions for myself and Mrs. Frugalson by now, but I have decided to hold off on contributing until our 2016 personal income tax returns are complete. While it is a nice problem to have, I do have to keep an eye on the Roth IRA contribution limits since my wife returned to the workforce a few years ago.

On the non-financial front, the biggest thing on my mind are the plans for our country that our new President will move forward with. As of now, his potential impact the economy, taxes, the stock market, inflation, interest rates, our freedoms, etc. are a great unknown. My hope is that the great success I've been fortunate to have since I began this blog 10+ years ago will continue.