August 2026 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on August 17th, 2026:

Asset	Jul 2026	Aug 2026	Change
Checking	2,778	461	-2,317
Money Market	105,926	84,188	-21,738
Savings Bonds	268,249	269,050	801
Treasurys	136,000	146,000	10,000
CDs	75,387	75,624	237
Brokerage	532,265	557,267	25,002
401k	687,240	706,686	19,446
Roth IRA	446,973	457,515	10,542
IRA	1,787,039	1,802,389	15,350
529 Savings	155,525	156,058	533
Total Assets	$4,197,382	$4,255,238	$57,856
			1.38%

The S&P 500 continues to move higher, rising 2.24% (+13.14% YTD) since the last update even with the quagmire in Iran:

(chart courtesy of cnbc.com)

On the jobs front, the monthly employment rate for July fell to 4.1%, with an unexpected 23,000 jobs lost along with downward revisions for May and June. Oil prices rose to the $85 level (up 20% from $71), with that price reflected in a local unleaded regular gasoline price of $3.99 (up from $3.60) at my last fill-up.

On the financial front, 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 3.694% -> 3.838%, 4 week 3.721% -> 3.686%, and 8 week 3.681% -> 3.747%. The CD/Treasury ladder in my Fidelity Cash Management account also got another rung with a 5 year T-Note (CUSIP 91282CRA1) at a 4.408% yield to maturity and I'm considering the 30 year TIPS (CUSIP 912810US5) auction this week with a potential real yield of 3%+ in my IRA.

As for the non-financial, we just returned from a nice family beach vacation on Cape Cod. Unfortunately that means summer is almost over and it's about time for school to start again. We also have a destination wedding coming up that I expect will be a grand affair, but I'm probably underestimating how grand it will end up being and will try my best to look like I belong there. :)