Cash & Savings: $44,819 ==> $53,763 (19.96%)
Foreign Currency: $39,625 ==> $39,690 (0.16%)
US Brokerage: $296,068 ==> $303,577 (2.54%)
Overseas Brokerage: $247,942 ==> $251,943 (1.61%)
Retirement Accounts: $308,215==> $312,383 (1.35%)
Business Investment: $65,000 ==> $65,000 (0%)
Charitable Account: $11,774 ==> $11,900 (1.07%)
Total: $1,013,443 ==> $1,038,256 (2.45%)

Yes, it finally happened...after months of speculation I finally joined the millions of Americans who got laid off at least once in their career. In the consulting industry that I am in, you need to maintain a high billability by being on a client project as much as possible, unfortunately, there wasn't that much to do in the last six months so I got laid off for the first time in my career.

Clearly that isn't something I enjoy, especially when planning a wedding. In April I paid $3,700 to book vendors and venues for my wedding and also paid off the remaining payment of the engagement ring and wedding bands.

It did come as a surprise to me that my total asset increased by 2.45% after losing my job and made so many big payments. A few things were at play though: 1) I still got paid for the first half of April; 2) stock market appreciation and dividends; 3) I asked a friend to pay a $5,000 personal loan back to me; 4) I received a tax refund of close of $10,000.

Other strategies I deployed were: 1) cut my cable bill by $9 by using just one TV; 2) lower utility bill by using less power; 3) stopped contribution to my investment accounts; 4) paid off a few credit card bills using the cash back bonuses I accumulated; 5) sped up medical reimbursement; 6) sold one stock to boost my cash position and formed a strategy to sell a few more stocks that will only lead to little capital gains but increase my cash position by a potentially $17,000 (it will be throughout the year since my current cash position is very strong).

If there is time later this month I will talk about how I deal with job loss and the pressure from my fiance and the wedding.