Who Owns Market Briefs

September 8, 2026

Why Is Everything So Expensive? Why Prices May Never Come Back Down

By Cierra Seay

Official inflation is 3.4% and prices are up 32% since 2020, but rent (41%), gas (47%), car insurance (64%) and ground beef (79%) all outran the 28% median wage.
The Federal Reserve targets 2% inflation on purpose. Rising prices push extra dollars to investors and shrink the real cost of a $40 trillion national debt.
Investors who simply owned the S&P 500 gained about 150% over the same six years, and the Fed's September 16 decision will show whether it protects the dollar or the economy first.

September 7, 2026

The U.S. Housing Market Just Flipped: Renting a Home Now Beats Buying One

By Kalbir Talwar

The US is in a buyer's market in 41 of the 50 largest metro areas, but prices sit near record highs and mortgage rates are close to 7%.
The same median house costs 27% more than it did in 2021 while the monthly payment costs 90% more, and incomes rose a little more than 10%.
A 2008-style crash is not showing up in the data, so the pressure is landing on buyers instead of prices.

September 4, 2026

An Interest Rate Hike in 2026? The Fed Just Broke Its Own Script

By Nate Gregory

The Federal Reserve spent a year signaling cheaper money, and its new chairman just warned that an interest rate hike may be coming instead.
The Fed is stuck between high inflation and a weak job market, and fixing one makes the other worse.
Higher rates also reprice roughly a third of America's $40 trillion national debt this year, which is why Washington wants cuts so badly.

September 3, 2026

5 Passive Income Ideas That Pay You Whether You Work or Not

By Jackson Moreland

School teaches one formula: work, earn, spend. Stop working and the money stops, so the wheel never ends.
Five assets pay you without your labor - dividends, rent, interest, royalties, and the things you already own.
$80,000 a year of cash flow takes about $1 million invested at 8%, or roughly 20 years of $1,000 a month.

September 2, 2026

The Best Way to Invest 10k: Three Options To Transform 10K into 10 Million

By Kalbir Talwar

Passive investing in stocks or real estate targets around 10% a year, and time in the market matters more than the price you get in at.
Active investing means putting your time in alongside your money, which raises the target to roughly 20% a year and raises the risk of losing it all.
Investing in yourself has no ceiling, because a new skill can create a new income that no market return can match.

September 1, 2026

The Tax Write Offs the Rich Are Using in 2026 While the IRS Shrinks

By Milena Thomas

The 2026 tax brackets landed lower than they were headed, and the standard deduction jumped from a planned $8,350 to $16,100 for single filers.
New write offs for overtime, tips, seniors and car loan interest are live now, and most of them are written to expire in 2028.
About a third of IRS auditors have been fired, and four assets do most of the work for people who want income without a matching tax bill.

August 31, 2026

America Is Running Out of Debt Buyers. Treasury Bills Are the Government's Fix

By Nate Gregory

The government took in about $5 trillion in taxes in 2025 and spent about $7 trillion, and the national debt is now over $40 trillion.
Investors, banks, and foreign countries are all lending less to the U.S., so starting September 9 the government plans to sell more short-term treasury bills and use that cash to buy back its long-term debt.
Government interest rates set the floor for your mortgage, your car loan, and your credit card, and short-term Treasury ETFs like SGOV are one way investors are playing it.

August 23, 2026

How to Get the Most From Your Guideline 401k

By Nate Gregory

Guideline is a company that provides low-cost 401k plans, popular with small businesses and their employees.
A "Guideline 401k" follows the same core rules as any 401k: tax-advantaged growth, contribution limits, and often an employer match.
The biggest results come from capturing the full match, choosing low-cost funds, and picking Roth or traditional to fit your situation.

August 23, 2026

Principal 401k: What to Know About Your Plan

By Cierra Seay

Principal is one of many companies that manage workplace 401k plans, so a "Principal 401k" is simply a 401k where Principal is the provider.
The rules of a 401k are the same no matter who runs it: pre-tax or Roth contributions, tax-advantaged growth, and often an employer match.
The biggest wins come from grabbing the full match, picking low-cost funds, and knowing whether Roth or traditional fits you.

August 23, 2026

What a Tariff Dividend Means for Your Money

By Jackson Moreland

A "tariff dividend" is the idea of taking money the government collects from tariffs and paying some of it back to citizens.
To judge the idea, you first need to know what a tariff is: a tax on imported goods, usually paid by the companies bringing them in.
Tariffs ripple through prices, businesses, and your investments, so the smart move is understanding those ripples, not just the headline.

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The dollar is losing value.

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