July 2018 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on July 10th, 2018:

Asset	Jun 2018	Jul 2018	Change
Checking	407	1,014	607
Money Market	56,940	67,940	11,000
Savings Bonds	154,179	154,493	314
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	42,598	42,714	116
Brokerage	159,460	157,276	-2,184
401k	176,656	173,999	-2,657
Roth IRA	155,591	154,880	-711
SEP IRA	762,361	768,710	6,349
529 Savings	176,657	177,398	741
Total Assets	$1,684,849	$1,698,424	$13,575
			0.81%

The market has continued to rise since the last update, with the S&P 500 up 0.43% during that time:

(chart courtesy of nasdaq.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for June rose back to 4.0%, with a strong 213,000 jobs created. Oil prices have risen to the $73 level (down from $66), a trend that may continue since the USA walked away from the Iran nuclear deal.

On the financial front, my assets have once again hit another all-time high, breaking the previous high from June 2018. I did take a distribution from my S Corp since the last update, which bolstered my cash reserves a bit. I also have a Penfed 1.46% APY 15 month CD maturing later this month, although I will initially sit on the proceeds for a while since I have some large expenditures heading my way. The first will be an initial college tuition payment for my oldest, who will be starting school in September. Although I have plenty of cash sitting in a 529 account to cover the bill, I will be paying for a portion of it out of pocket to qualify for the American Opportunity Tax Credit since it survived the tax "reform" passed in 2017. To go along with that, Mrs. Frugalson and I will also be helping our child purchase a car for commuting to college. While that is a large expense, commuter school tuition plus transportation costs is still dwarfed by tuition, room, and board at an expensive private school. Scary stuff.

As for the non-financial, we're in the process on getting quotes from contractors to replace the ageing roof on our house. That should help chew up whatever may be left of the proceeds from that maturing Penfed CD, but I'm hoping it will be the last roof I ever have to buy for this house. :)