August 2025 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on August 11th, 2025:

Asset	Jul 2025	Aug 2025	Change
Checking	231	2,894	2,663
Money Market	64,580	67,320	2,740
Savings Bonds	259,724	260,289	565
Treasurys	136,000	136,000	0
CDs	62,063	62,248	185
Brokerage	698,339	720,824	22,485
401k	530,369	534,222	3,853
Roth IRA	366,843	365,651	-1,192
IRA	1,643,312	1,642,417	-895
529 Savings	174,627	175,532	905
Total Assets	$3,936,088	$3,967,397	$31,309
			+0.80%

The S&P 500 has been treading water, rising 0.23% (+8.36% YTD) since the last update:

(chart courtesy of cnbc.com)

I continue to be confused about how the stock market is as strong as it is. The most recent red flag was having the POTUS fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) after a disappointing July jobs report. I'm certainly concerned that someone unqualified will be appointed to head the BLS because they will willingly report or spin the data to fit the rosy outlook the POTUS is looking for. And if our government is unable to accept economic bad news even if it's accurate, then how can anyone trust our official employment or inflation data?

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for July rose to 4.2%, with a disappointing 73,000 new jobs created along with May and June numbers being revised downward.. Oil prices have been somewhat flat at the $63 level with that price reflected in a local unleaded regular gasoline price of $2.89 at my last fill-up.

On the financial front, my assets have once again hit another all-time high, surpassing the previous high from July 2025! I again skipped my usual Fidelity 401k transaction (FSKAX) and Vanguard VTI purchase in my taxable brokerage account because I am not comfortable adding to our equity holdings at this time. I did take an S Corp distribution and my T-Bill holdings automatically rolled into new ones: 13 week 4.325% -> 4.268%, 4 week 4.129% -> 4.303%, and 8 week 4.312% -> 4.379%.

As for the non-financial, we're trying to squeeze in a little more summer before the school year starts. We bought some new recreational kayaks that we're enjoying and we'll be squeezing in a relaxing weekend getaway while we still can. We're also about ready to agree to have some work done on the house, which will hopefully be done before the weather gets too cold.