March 2020 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on March 10th, 2020:

Asset	Feb 2020	Mar 2020	Change
Checking	2,347	2,093	-254
Money Market	60,075	45,005	-15,070
Savings Bonds	161,762	162,007	245
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	80,046	95,263	15,217
Brokerage	194,292	171,277	-23,015
401k	246,180	215,748	-30,432
Roth IRA	183,394	166,075	-17,319
SEP IRA	901,934	815,967	-85,967
529 Savings	187,811	185,174	-2,637
Total Assets	$2,017,841	$1,858,609	-$159,232
			-7.89%

What a difference a month makes.

Fear over the spreading Coronavirus pandemic combined with an ill-timed oil price war has taken the market out to the woodshed, with the S&P 500 dropping 14.02% since the last update:

(chart courtesy of nasdaq.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for February fell to 3.5%, with 273,000 new jobs created. The price war between OPEC and Russia has helped oil prices drop by about 34% to the $33 level. The Federal Reserve also made their first emergency rate cut since the financial crisis in 2008, signaling that a recession may be on our doorstep.

On the financial front, our 2019 personal tax returns spit out a MAGI that allowed maximum Roth IRA contributions for Mrs. Frugalson and myself (Done!). I also moved some cash into a Alliant 1.85% APY 12 month CD once the Federal Reserve announced their rate cut last week since I think we're headed to another extended period of low deposit rates.

As for the non-financial, I'm very concerned about the seriousness of the Coronavirus. With the way it seems to spread, I'm particularly worried about elderly family members. That being said, caution does not mean panic. Be well everyone!