On today's episode of Wealth!, Host Brad Smith breaks down some of the top stories impacting your personal finances, covering key areas like your portfolio, taxes, housing costs, and savings accounts.

Stocks (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC) are declining following the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which met expectations but dampened hopes for aggressive interest rate cuts. This data suggests the Federal Reserve is more likely to implement a 25-basis-point cut rather than the 50-basis-point reduction investors were looking for.

Shark Investments managing director Eric Lynch points out that most investors have grown accustomed to low interest rates, unlike the current environment. "There was a pretty good hope that the Fed could cut 50 basis points next week," he explains. However, with services inflation remaining high and core CPI still elevated, Lynch notes, "The Fed can't cut with impunity," leaving many investors disappointed.

Rental prices are climbing nationwide, as a new Redfin report revealed the largest annual jump in rents since April 2022. This trend aligns with the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which showed a persistent elevation in shelter costs.

Tuesday's presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump covered a wide range of national issues, but tax policy received little attention. Gordon Law Tax Attorney and CPA Andrew Gordon highlights a key difference in their tax policies: the future of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which took effect in 2018. This act aimed to reduce taxes for Americans, particularly benefiting small businesses through the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction. As the act approaches its expiration date, Trump proposes to maintain it and introduce new deductions — while Harris plans to allow the act to expire in 2025.

As the presidential election lies less than two months away, Wall Street is expecting markets to be wrought with more volatility (^VIX). BlackRock US head of thematic and active equity ETFs Jay Jacobs lays out his tips for investors to navigate market uncertainty: "In two areas I would say, one, a lot of investors are still just trying to lock in yield right now. An ETF like BINC (BINC), which is managed by Rick Rieder at BlackRock, is really trying to capture high yield bonds (^TYX, ^TNX, ^FVX), emerging market bonds, collateralized loan obligations and really lock in some of those yields that can be, you know, five, six, almost 7%."

All eyes are on the Federal Reserve as it kicks off its interest rate easing cycle at its September meeting. Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick notes that the higher interest environment is a "tremendous opportunity to prioritize savings." As the Fed will likely initiate a 25-basis-point cut, he believes this is good news since bond yields will come down at a slower pace than if the Fed were to move forward with a 50-basis-point cut. Hamrick also encourages Americans to take advantage of a high-yield savings account to take advantage of a 5% annual yield.

This post was written by Melanie Riehl