*

Shutdown impacts travel, fraud reporting, small business

loans

*

AI tools like ChatGPT used by 13% of retail investors for

stock

picking

*

Arabica coffee prices doubled due to tariffs, affecting

U.S.

coffee costs

By Lauren Young

NEW YORK, Oct 3 (Reuters) - This was originally

published in the On The Money newsletter, where we share U.S.

personal finance tips and insights every other week. Sign

up here to receive it for free.

It will come as no surprise that the ripple effects of the U.S.

government shutdown will be felt far and wide. Here is what the

shutdown means for you.

The shutdown is expected to impact domestic as well as

international travel, fraud reporting to the FTC and small

business loans.

Experts say the shutdown will curtail the IPO market's momentum,

too. And a key worry is how the closure will shut off the flow

of key economic data - including the all-important September

jobs report - at a moment of uncertainty among policymakers and

investors about the health of the U.S. employment market, the

trajectory of inflation and the strength of consumer spending

and business investment.

It's a fast-moving story. Follow Reuters for the latest updates.

HAVE YOU USED AI FOR PERSONAL FINANCE ADVICE?

Have you used artificial intelligence to make any money

decisions, big or small? I have not, but I am intrigued.

As ChatGPT nears its third birthday, at least one in 10 retail

investors is using a chatbot to pick stocks, fueling growth in

the robo-advisory market, reports broker eToro.

About half of retail investors say they would use AI tools such

as ChatGPT or Google's Gemini to pick or alter investments in

their portfolio. And 13% of them already use these tools,

reports eToro, which polled 11,000 retail investors across the

world.

Stock picking using ChatGPT requires some financial knowledge,

and its adopters say there is a high risk of getting it wrong

before getting it right.

That said, AI is extremely helpful for creating projections. I

asked Microsoft Copilot how much money I need to save for

college in a 529 College Savings plan per week for a baby born

today to reach a $1 million goal by the time they are 18.

(College is expensive, people!)

The answer: Assuming a 6% average annual return, I need to save

approximately $604.63 per week.

Voila! Have you used AI for financial advice? If so, how? Share

your thoughts or email me via my bio.

READ, WATCH, LISTEN

Investors look past AI hype to opportunities from government

spending

How and why disruptions to the global supply chain matter

Attention, workers 50 and older: Your 401(k) rules are about

to change

Global currency trading closing in on $10 trillion a day

What it's like to retire in America after age 75

Affluent Americans up donations by 30% during past decade,

as fewer give

The best ideas from longtime personal-finance reporter,

Jonathan Clements

US government faces brain drain as 154,000 federal workers

exit This week

Inside ETFs: Can you outsmart volatility with buffer funds?

42% of young adults say they couldn't afford to keep an

inherited home

What to know about Trump's newest round of tariffs

US auto bankruptcies show rising credit pain in low-income

households

The risks of defanging the Fed

WHY YOUR CUP OF COFFEE COSTS SO MUCH

Coffee is one of the key items keeping food prices in the U.S.

persistently high.

Prices for arabica coffee, the mild variety mostly used by

chains such as Starbucks ( SBUX ) and Dunkin Donuts, have roughly doubled

on the Intercontinental Exchange in New York since the Trump

administration applied a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports at the

end of July, including green coffee.

That stalled shipments from Brazil, a country that historically

supplied a third of all coffee used in the U.S.

As a result, roasted coffee prices at grocery stores in the U.S.

rose 20.9% in August from a year ago, according to Bureau of

Labor Statistics data.

I am reconsidering my coffee purchases, although it is hard to

resist popping into our local coffee shop. Are you altering your

coffee habits, based on prices? Tell me how - or why via the

email address in my bio.