August 2018 Financial Asset Roundup

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

Asset	Jul 2018	Aug 2018	Change
Checking	1,014	1,083	69
Money Market	67,940	83,286	15,346
Savings Bonds	154,493	154,824	331
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	42,714	29,590	-13,124
Brokerage	157,276	161,653	4,377
401k	173,999	172,685	-1,314
Roth IRA	154,880	154,952	72
SEP IRA	768,710	776,046	7,336
529 Savings	177,398	177,101	-297
Total Assets	$1,698,424	$1,711,220	$12,796
			0.75%

The market has continued its inexplicable climb, with the S&P 500 up 1.41% since the last update:

(chart courtesy of nasdaq.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for July fell to 3.9%, with 157,000 jobs created. Oil prices have dropped to the $67 level (down from $73).

On the financial front, my assets have once again hit another all-time high, breaking the previous high from July 2018. However, we have done some major spending since the last update. First up was our initial foray into Fall semester college tuition for my oldest child. We paid $4,000 out of pocket (to qualify for the American Opportunity Tax Credit) with the remaining balance being covered by a scholarship and our trusty 529 account. The Bank of Mom and Dad also purchased a safe and reliable used car for the daily commute since our newly minted college student will be living at home. I did take an additional distribution from my S Corp to help defray our newfound college-related expenses. Next up is paying for the new roof we just had installed.

As for the non-financial, we're going to sneak off for a quick vacation before school starts after Labor Day. It's hard to believe that the summer is almost over!