May 2022 Financial Asset Roundup

Here are my current financial assets as of the market close on May 10th, 2022:

Asset	Apr 2022	May 2022	Change
Checking	3,479	3,663	184
Money Market	124,878	126,622	1,744
Savings Bonds	206,628	209,183	2,555
Treasury Bills	0	0	0
CDs	42,560	42,660	100
Brokerage	271,210	247,872	-23,338
401k	411,228	375,454	-35,774
Roth IRA	245,031	224,246	-20,785
SEP IRA	1,110,568	1,023,206	-87,362
529 Savings	168,949	164,921	-4,028
Total Assets	$2,584,531	$2,417,827	-$166,704
			-6.45%

The S&P 500 has been in for a rough ride, falling 9.33% (-16.05% YTD) since the last update:

(chart courtesy of nasdaq.com)

On the jobs front, the unemployment rate for April remained at the pandemic low of 3.6%, with 428,000 new jobs added. The Federal Reserve announced the second rate hike (0.5%) of the year, the largest in 22 years. Oil prices rose to the $104 level (from $98), which translates to a local regular unleaded gasoline price of $4.39 (and likely a new normal) at my last fill-up. Fortunately there was a positive sign that inflation may have peaked as the April 2022 US inflation numbers slowed for the first time since August.

On the financial front, I did the usual 401k transactions and a Vanguard VTI brokerage purchase. I also received a portion of my 2021 Federal tax refund in the form of Series I savings bonds (with the current 9.62% rate), and wished I sent a larger 2021 estimated tax payment in January.

As for the non-financial, we're still on a high after watching the eldest Frugalson child graduate from college. Just a little bit of time left for summer fun before joining the real world. :)