Picking up Nickels

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

February 2018 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on February 12th, 2018:


Asset Jan
2018
Feb
2018
Change
Checking 404 576 172
Money Market 79,939 61,208 -18,731
Savings Bonds 137,823 148,086 10,263
Treasury Bills 0 0 0
CDs 42,019 42,137 118
Brokerage 159,943 156,823 -3,120
401k 173,848 166,226 -7,622
Roth IRA 150,431 144,552 -5,879
SEP IRA 742,200 713,238 -28,962
529 Savings 173,166 171,017 -2,149



Total Assets $1,659,773 $1,603,863 -$55,910
   
 
-3.37%


A bit of reality finally set in and the S&P 500 actually went down since the last update (the first time since October 2016!), falling 4.03% during that time:

(chart courtesy of nasdaq.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for January remained flat for the fourth month in a row at 4.1%, with a strong 200,000 jobs created. The stock market has been a bit volatile of late, with worries that the strong job market and the tax cut passed last year could start to drive inflation and rising interest rates. Oil prices fell a bit to the $59 level (down from $63).

On the financial front, my only move of note was to max out my 2018 I Bond purchase in late January. I'm also due to make my final 2017 SEP IRA contribution before my S Corp tax returns are due next month. One cool milestone is that my oldest child had a part time job in 2018 and will be able to make a modest 2017 Roth IRA contribution. He's looking at 40+ years of tax-free compound interest when all is said and done.

As for the non-financial, the next piece of the puzzle is finishing up 2017 business and personal tax returns and waiting for the warmer weather to arrive.