Matt Hartman

Volatile week, solid jobs: +165,000 payrolls in October, unemployment 4.1% (BLS). One sector's rout isn't a reason to scrap the plan—stay diversified so no single theme owns your outcome. bls.gov/news.release/empsit.…

Big day. Nasdaq is down about 5% and the S&P about 4% as AI and chip stocks reverse Wednesday's bounce. The VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, spiked above 28 earlier — traders pricing in wider swings. Election weeks do this. After the last two midterms, the S&P moved more than 2% the next session, once up and once down. Whipsaws around votes are normal; your plan shouldn't change with them. Stay on your target mix and let the noise settle. finance.yahoo.com/markets/li…

Wednesday the Dow jumped 3% after a choppy week. Tempting to chase it, but one big day doesn't change a plan. If stocks ran past your target mix, trim back to it. Meanwhile layoffs stay low: 189K jobless claims last week, fewest since mid-July. dol.gov/ui/data.pdf

Futures fell as much as 2.5% overnight, then flipped to gains of 1%+ by morning. Sell at 2 a.m. and you lock in a loss the market erased by breakfast. Have a plan, rebalance on a schedule, and let the headlines pass. investing.com/news/stock-mar…

Choppy market? This is when the boring part of a portfolio earns its keep. The 10-year Treasury yielded 4.94% on 10/30, so bonds pay you to hold steady. If stocks drifted off your target mix, rebalancing lets you trim and add without guessing. fred.stlouisfed.org/series/D…

Rough October for stocks, and this week could stay bumpy. Best defense against a panic sale? Keep 3-6 months of expenses in cash so you never have to sell low. That cash isn't idle either: 3-month T-bills yielded 4.00% on Oct 29. fred.stlouisfed.org/series/D…

People keep asking: is this 1999? Nasdaq peaked at 5,048.62 in March 2000 and took until Oct 2002 to bottom, down 78%. This month's high-to-low drop is about 8%. Very different scale, same lesson: don't let one hot sector run your whole portfolio. indexes.nasdaqomx.com/index/…

Wages and salaries rose 3.1% over the past year, per this morning's Employment Cost Index. Prices rose 3.7% (Sept CPI). That gap is a quiet pay cut. If raise talks are coming up, bring both numbers. bls.gov/eci/

The Fed's favorite inflation gauge is still running warm: PCE prices up 3.6% from a year ago in September, and real take-home pay slipped 0.3% on the month. If your budget feels tight, it's not you. Make sure your savings yield and next raise beat 3.6%. bea.gov/news/2026/personal-i…

Fed decision lands at 1 pm Central today. Why they're likely holding, not cutting: prices were up 3.7% over the past year as of September (BLS CPI). Quick gut check: if your savings account pays less than that, your cash is quietly losing ground. fred.stlouisfed.org/series/C…

This is my dog at 3:30 in the morning when he hears a noise outside. ... youtube.com/shorts/9wwImkb6c… via @YouTube

Gas is averaging $4.28 a gallon nationally (EIA, week of 10/19), up from $3.02 a year ago. If your budget still assumes last year's price, bump the fuel line now so it doesn't quietly eat into your savings. fred.stlouisfed.org/series/G…

Fed decides rates Wednesday, but if you're house hunting, the 10-year Treasury matters more. It slipped to 4.96% Thursday from 5.13% the day before. Mortgage rates track it, so ask your lender whether a rate lock comes with a float-down option. fred.stlouisfed.org/series/D…

The Fed meets next Tuesday and Wednesday, and its key rate sits at 3.75% to 4% right now. If you carry a credit card balance, that rate flows straight into your APR, so paying it down now beats waiting to see what they do. fred.stlouisfed.org/series/D…

Fewer people filed for unemployment last week: 194,000 initial claims, down 6,000 and the lowest since July. Layoffs are still rare. If your job feels secure, that's the best time to build your emergency fund, not after the pink slip. fred.stlouisfed.org/series/I…

Fewer people filed for unemployment last week: 194,000 initial claims, down 6,000 and the lowest since July. Layoffs are still rare. If your job feels secure, that's the best time to build your emergency fund, not after the pink slip. fred.stlouisfed.org/series/I…

Quick reality check on your cash: a 1-year Treasury yielded 4.51% at yesterday's close. If your emergency fund is parked in a savings account paying 0.5%, that's real money left on the table. Worth comparing high-yield savings or T-bills. home.treasury.gov/resource-c…

Builders are pulling back. Housing starts fell to a 1.221M annual pace in September, down 7.4% from a year ago (Census). Fewer new homes means tight inventory sticks around. If you're house hunting, get preapproved early and be ready to move. census.gov/construction/nrc/…