Cash & Savings: $84,644 (5.97%)
Foreign Currency: $33,129 (0.62%)
US Brokerage: $151,032 (1.66%)
Overseas Brokerage: $102,853 (1.26%)
401(k): $69,383 (2.09%)
IRA: $95,007 (-3.08%)
Roth IRA: $24,597 (-5.73%)
Total Assets: $560,645 (1.01%)

I'm a fan of George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series and I use the motto of the Stark's family as the title of this month's entry becuase there are no better words to describe what is about to come. Watching how the whole debate ceiling fiasco unfolds, unfortunately, proves my macro economics/political view is correct, i.e. the ever heated bipartisanship in this country is bring everyone down, well, at least for the 98% of the population whom in some way rely on the government for basic services.

This month I moved a matured CD into CapitalOne because it offers the best rate of 1.10% (sadly) and a bonus of 10% of the interest if the balance is over $10,000. That's really not a lot of money but given the sad state of the debt ceiling debate it's better to keep more cash on hand than investing in any stocks. Today's (8/2) big drop of the stock market verified my fear that nothing is safe other than cash and precious metal.

The private loan that I made won't be returned until 2-3 months later due to my friend's financial strain at his company. His partners are all gone but it appears that things are improving and I hope he can turn it around soon, not for the money I lend him, but as a friend wishing the best of him.