December 2021 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on December 10th, 2021:

Asset	Nov 2021	Dec 2021	Change
Checking	6,321	2,622	-3,699
Money Market	137,673	142,171	4,498
Savings Bonds	192,796	193,418	622
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	32,071	32,162	91
Brokerage	300,317	322,474	22,157
401k	425,069	424,511	-558
Roth IRA	257,814	255,927	-1,887
SEP IRA	1,208,324	1,190,098	-18,226
529 Savings	182,704	182,307	-397
Total Assets	$2,743,089	$2,745,690	$2,601
			0.09%

The S&P 500 continues to hit all-time highs, rising 1.41% (+25.45% YTD) since the last update:

(chart courtesy of nasdaq.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for November dropped to 4.2%, the lowest number during the COVID-19 pandemic. A smaller-than-expected 210,000 jobs were added, but positive signs of a job recovery continue. Oil prices dropped to the $71 level, which translates to a local regular unleaded gasoline price of $3.29 at my last fill-up. Inflation numbers continue to be high, with the CPI data for November up 6.8% over the past year. Hopefully higher energy prices and supply chain issues will continue to improve over the coming months.

On the financial front, my assets have once again hit an all-time high, surpassing the previous high from November 2021. It has been a typical month of 401k transactions, a Vanguard VTI brokerage purchase, and a distribution from my S Corp. I'm still planning on a January 2022 Series I savings bond purchase while the interest rates are so attractive.

As for the non-financial, I'm still holding out hope for a somewhat normal Christmas season. Hopefully the emergence of the Omicron variant won't make for a repeat of the winter of 2020-2021. Fingers crossed. :|