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While the overall price of travel is up 16% from this time in 2019, per the NerdWallet Travel Price Index, the latest figures from the consumer price index show airfares are down 13.4% since last year.
Americans are eager to travel this summer despite higher costs.
If now is not the best time money-wise to take the leap, there are two ways you can stretch your travel budget.

Marko Klaric / EyeEm | EyeEm | Getty Images

Americans are eager to travel this summer despite inflation-strapped budgets.
“They’re booking flights, hotels, rental cars, vacation homes,” said Hopper economist Hayley Berg. “They are also exhibiting deal-seeking behavior.”

The overall price of travel is up 16% from this time in 2019, according to the NerdWallet Travel Price Index.
But that still feels like a deal, considering some recent easing in prices as inflation cools. Airfares are down 13.4% since last year, according to the latest figures from the consumer price index. Car rental prices peaked in July 2021, according to NerdWallet, and have been consistently declining. Rates in May are down 12.4% year over year.
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Nearly 85% of American adults intend to travel this summer, according to a survey conducted by The Vacationer. Moreover, more than 60% of adults intend to travel for the July 4 weekend.
International travel is particularly popular this summer, primarily due to pent-up demand, as this is the first summer without Covid-related travel restrictions, Berg said.

‘Deal-seeking behavior’ limits inflation effect

Americans are being extra savvy with their dollars this year. More than nine in 10 adults, 92%, say they look for ways to save on travel, according to a recent NerdWallet survey of 2,000 American adults.
“What’s been challenging about inflation is there’s just not a ton of variability in your choices a day,” said NerdWallet travel expert Sally French. “You might be able to go for the organic eggs or the regular eggs.”
“With travel, people do have those options: It’s possible to travel cheaply.”

These workers take ‘hush trips.’ Here’s how they’re hiding them from the boss

Hopper users are applying price-watching features, booking their flights when they are on sale and coming back to check the price of their trips and hotels 30% to 50% more than they did pre-pandemic, according to Berg.
“Despite that period of planning getting smaller, they’re checking prices more,” she said. “That tells us that there definitely is price sensitivity, but we’ve not seen a slowdown in demand.”
“I do think it’s the deal-seeking behavior that’s enabling a lot of this travel,” Berg added.

Two ways to stretch your travel budget

If now is not the best time money-wise for you to take the leap, here are two things to consider:

Vacation in late summer, early fall. For international trips, consider going in September or October, where you could save roughly half the price compared with the summer high season, said Berg. “Travel prices always decline dramatically in the fall because it’s an off-peak,” said Robert Frick, a corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.However, if that’s not realistic for families or students for whom the academic year is starting, Berg suggests considering the end of August and flying mid-week. “You’re going to save about $50 a ticket on international flights, anywhere from $150 to $200 per ticket just by buying on those less-popular days,” she said. You can also save on hotel nightly rates if you check in on a Monday and out on a Thursday or skip that Saturday-night stay.

Leverage credit card benefits. Cash prices have gone up for hotel rooms, but points rates haven’t caught up yet, so this is a good time to take advantage of any rewards balances you have accrued, said French. “Don’t save them,” she said. “Spend them now because typically, they’ll be more valuable this year than even other years.”Now may also be a smart time to consider a credit card with valuable travel benefits, even if it carries an annual fee. “It can be a turn off to see a credit card that has any $100 annual fee, but the reality is, a lot of these credit cards offer benefits that can save you money in the long run,” French said. Some of these credit cards with airline or hotel brands offer free checked bags, free hotel room nights, travel insurance and even TSA PreCheck.

If you’re still not seeing prices that work, consider shelving that bucket-list trip until next year. Frick sees travel at its peak this year as people are getting over a “claustrophobia hangover” from the pandemic lockdowns. He expects prices to be significantly lower next year as demand wanes. More

Diamond prices are down 18% from their all-time highs in February 2022, and are lower 6.5% year-to-date, according to one Global Rough Diamond Price Index.
And market watchers predict their value will dive further.
Diamonds, alongside other jewelry, saw elevated prices during the Covid-19 pandemic which culminated in a peak early last year.

Diamond rings and bracelets on display in a show window in Antwerp, Belgium. (Photo by Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images)
Yuriko Nakao | Getty Images News | Getty Images

“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” as the old song goes.
But they’re not an investor’s favorite currently, with the precious gems losing some significant value over the last few months.

Diamond prices are down 18% from their all-time highs in February 2022, and are lower 6.5% year-to-date, according to one Global Rough Diamond Price Index. And their value is about to dive further, market watchers predict.
“A slightly better-than-average-quality 1-carat natural diamond was $6,700 a year ago, today this same diamond is selling for $5,300,” Paul Zimnisky, the CEO of Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics, told CNBC.
Diamonds, alongside other jewelry, saw elevated prices during the Covid-19 pandemic which culminated in a peak early last year.
“Consumers were ready to spend,” management consulting firm Bain & Company said in a report dated February last year. “They were flush with cash from buoyant capital markets and economic stimulus programs, and eager to spend it on meaningful gifts for their loved ones,” they said.

A diamond necklace in a Harrods department store in London.
Leon Neal | Afp | Getty Images

When people could not travel or eat out, all of that excess money went into luxury goods and jewelry, said CEO of Angara Jewelry Ankur Daga.

And when the economy started opening up again, diamond prices started moderating, and slid into a “steep decline,” he added.
Continued competition from man-made diamonds, a slower Chinese economic recovery and an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop are also drivers of a lackluster market, according to industry experts.

A ‘perfect substitute?’

An increasing amount of consumers are turning to lab-grown diamonds, said Edahn.
“The share of lab grown diamond sales versus natural diamonds is rising. In 2020, they were just 2.4%. In 2023 to date they are already up to 9.3%,” he said.
Lab-grown diamonds are made in a controlled environment using extreme pressure and heat that recreates how natural diamonds are forged hundreds of kilometers in the Earth’s mantle.
They are chemically, physically and optically identical to natural diamonds, and are deemed to be a “perfect substitute,” Daga said. But more importantly for most — they are a lot cheaper.
And more people are turning to them for their choice of engagement rings.
“Lab is indistinguishable over mined diamond, and if I can get a bigger diamond for the same price, why not?” said 29-year-old Singaporean Jonathan Lok, who proposed to his fiancée with a 0.76 carat lab-grown diamond ring late last year.
He added that his fiancée had specified for a smaller diamond, and did not want him to spend an exorbitant amount on the ring.

Colorless lab-grown diamonds at the Diam Concept laboratory in Paris, France, on March 16, 2023. Lab grown diamonds are made in a controlled environment using extreme pressure and heat that recreates how natural diamonds are forged hundreds of kilometers in the earth’s mantle.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Prices of lab-grown diamonds have been “nosediving,” said Edahn Golan, the CEO of Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data, with prices sinking 59% in the last three years.
“Three years ago, you would be able to buy a lab grown equivalent 20% to 30% off of the natural price. Now it’s anywhere between 75% and 90% off natural prices,” Daga said, attributing the cheaper prices to machines becoming more efficient in producing more man-made diamonds.
The lab-grown diamond industry, which is energy-intensive, have also been seeing soaring energy costs taper off from its peak.
In the bear case scenario, he expects natural diamond prices to record a drop of between 20% to 25% from current prices in the next 12 months, which would mark a 40% drop off the February peak. And Daga is not alone.
“There is room for continued price declines, and that is a very likely scenario, especially since retailer margins for lab grown diamonds are especially high, around 60% compared with 34% for natural diamonds,” said Golan.
However, even so, the plunge could eventually hit a “natural floor” due to labor costs.
“Labor costs have been going up still, and labor is still a very critical part of producing the diamond. So there is a natural floor somewhere,” Daga said, adding that a flatline will follow after a 25% drop.

Haul trucks driving down Jwaneng Diamond Mine in Jwaneng, Botswana, on May 11, 2023.
Monirul Bhuiyan | Afp | Getty Images

The middle-market stage of diamond production involves the cutting and polishing of the diamond before fashioning it into jewelry, which is the “most complex” and extensive portion of the value chain, according to Bain & Company.

Sanctions on Russian diamonds

Additionally, diamond market watchers are not expecting sanctions on the world’s leading producer, Russia, to lead to severe price spikes.
Earlier in May, the G7 economies convened a discussion on imposing sanctions on Russian diamonds, with the United Kingdom taking the lead in sanctioning Russia’s state-owned company Alrosa.
“The Russians have ramped up diamond sales in recent months in an attempt to claw back market share lost last year following the disruption in trading,” Zimnisky stated.
Russia is the world’s largest producers of diamond, followed by Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Diamond Registry.
According to Edahn, Russia will face no issues selling its diamonds despite the sanctions, especially if the larger buyers continue to take a shine to Moscow’s prized stones.
“Countries like India, UAE, and even the EU, didn’t place sanctions on rough diamond imports. So again, no real shortages,” he said.
India is the world’s top diamond importer, with the U.S. coming in second, followed by Hong Kong, Belgium and the UAE. More

The recent tax season was relatively smooth compared with 2022, but national taxpayer advocate Erin Collins still sees room for growth.
The backlog of original paper returns dropped significantly, refunds arrived more quickly and customer service improved, according to Collins’ report.
However, the agency has lingering problems, including a pileup of amended returns and taxpayer correspondence.

D3sign | Moment | Getty Images

The recent tax season was relatively smooth compared with last year’s. But national taxpayer advocate Erin Collins still sees room for improvement as the IRS rolls out funding plan changes.
“Overall, the difference between the 2022 filing season and the 2023 filing season was like night and day,” Collins wrote in her midyear report to Congress. This year, taxpayer experience “vastly improved” compared with 2022, she said.

As of April 22, the backlog of original paper returns dropped from 13.3 million to 2.6 million, refunds generally arrived more quickly and customer service improved on key phone lines, according to the report.
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However, the agency has lingering problems, including a pileup of amended returns and taxpayer correspondence, Collins wrote. The reduction of amended returns — which require manual processing — declined by only 6% from April 2022 to April 2023.
Many amended business return delays are because of the so-called employee retention credit, a complicated pandemic-era tax break the IRS is targeting for inaccurate and fraudulent claims. As of March 3, more than 866,000 companies claimed and received the credit, totaling over $152.6 billion, according to the latest IRS Data Book.

Focus on service and technology

Collins also shared recommendations related to the IRS’ Inflation Reduction Act spending, emphasizing the need for improved taxpayer service and technology. 

“To achieve and sustain transformational improvement over the longer term, the IRS must focus like a laser beam on IT,” she wrote, citing the importance of “robust online accounts,” e-filing for all returns, faster relief for identity fraud victims and modernizing agency systems.  
Prior to recent funding cuts, the original $79.6 billion plan allocated only $3.2 billion for taxpayer service and $4.8 billion for business systems modernization. The remaining funding was earmarked for enforcement and operations support.

If they can fix their IT and the service piece, we’ll need less on the enforcement side.

Erin Collins
National taxpayer advocate

“If they can fix their IT and the service piece, we’ll need less on the enforcement side,” Collins said in early June, speaking at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ annual conference.
Although the debt ceiling deal slashed $21.4 billion of IRS funding from the original $79.6 billion, the White House said they didn’t expect the budget cuts to fundamentally change the IRS’ plans. 
Still, there are funding concerns, depending on budget priorities for future administrations.
“With adequate funding, leadership prioritization and appropriate oversight from Congress, I believe the IRS will make considerable progress in the next three to five years in helping taxpayers comply with their tax obligations as painlessly as possible,” Collins wrote in the midyear report. More

The Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of June on President Joe Biden’s $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan.
Two lawsuits have challenged the legality of the plan, which was not approved by Congress, and would be among the most expensive executive actions in U.S. history.

The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Within two weeks, the Supreme Court justices should break for their summer recess. And yet there’s been no ruling on President Joe Biden’s sweeping student loan forgiveness plan.
For many borrowers, it’s been an anxious wait.

“Waiting to hear whether or not it will pass is nerve-wracking at best, debilitating at worst,” said Richelle Brooks, 35, a single mother in Los Angeles whose monthly student loan payment was as high as $1,200 at one point. “We’re all staying tied to our phones each week.”
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However, legal experts said it makes sense that this ruling is taking time.
“Given all the moving pieces — and given the case’s significance — I’m not surprised to see it come so late in the term,” said Steven Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Northeastern University law professor Dan Urman agreed. “The more complicated, difficult cases tend to take longer,” he said.

Justices considering ‘several thorny issues’

There’s no precedent for the kind of sweeping debt forgiveness the Biden administration is trying to carry out. And at an estimated cost of $400 billion, the policy would be among the most expensive executive actions in U.S. history.
As a result, Biden’s plan “raises several thorny issues,” Schwinn said.
“This case is a little tricky — trickier than we might think at first glance,” he said.

There is the core issue of whether or not Biden has the power to forgive so much student debt without authorization from Congress.
Administration officials insist that he’s acting within the law, pointing out that the Heroes Act of 2003 grants the U.S. secretary of education the authority to make changes to the federal student loan system during national emergencies. The country was operating under an emergency declaration due to Covid-19 when the president rolled out his plan to cancel up to $20,000 in debt for borrowers.
Yet the plaintiffs trying to block forgiveness say the president is incorrectly using the law, which they argue allows only for narrow applications of relief and not the kind of across-the-board loan cancellation the president wants to deliver. Around 37 million people would benefit from Biden’s program.

Plaintiffs left some justices unconvinced

The justices also have to consider if the plaintiffs against the Biden administration have successfully shown they’d be harmed by the president’s policy, which is typically a requirement to gain the right to sue. The need to prove so-called legal standing is designed to prevent people from suing against different policies and programs simply because they disagree with them.
Two legal challenges against the program made it to the high court: one brought by six GOP-led states — Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina — and another backed by the Job Creators Network Foundation, a conservative advocacy organization.
The states argue that a reduction in loan business for the companies in their states that service federal student loans would hurt their bottom line. Meanwhile, the complaint by the Job Creators Network Foundation centers on two student loan borrowers who would be partially or fully excluded from the aid.

[Justice] Barrett was vocally and deeply uncomfortable about ruling that any of the plaintiffs had standing.

Jed Shugerman
law professor at Fordham University and Boston University

Before the justices considered these challenges during oral arguments at the end of February, most legal experts expected the conservative justices to side with the plaintiffs.
However, several pundits changed their tune afterward.
Conservative justice Amy Coney Barrett seemed especially unconvinced that the plaintiffs proved injury, said Jed Shugerman, a law professor at Fordham University and Boston University.
“Barrett was vocally and deeply uncomfortable about ruling that any of the plaintiffs had standing,” Shugerman said.
At least one or two other conservative justices also seemed conflicted over the question of standing, Shugerman said, adding more reason to why the deliberation is taking time.

Decision still expected before end of term

In high-profile cases that attract a lot of political attention such as Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, the justices also tend to write lengthier decisions that try to show they arrived at their conclusion through legal rather than partisan reasoning, Shugerman said. And longer opinions take more time to write.
Still, anxious borrowers can take some relief in knowing the high court is most likely to announce their ruling by early July, Schwinn said: “It’ll almost surely come before the end of the term.”

Shugerman said the same: “The justices preserve July and August for getting out of town.”
Still, there is a small possibility that the court wants to hear another round of oral arguments before it issues its decision, he added. In that case, borrowers would have to wait until October, when the justices begin their next session, or later for their answer. More

Economists are predicting another strong summer for teen employment in 2023. 
Average hourly wages for teen workers grew much faster than average wages among all workers over the last year.
Teens are more likely to have a paying job over the summer and while in school compared with just a few years ago.

More than half of Tal Thompson’s 46 employees are teenagers.
The owner of the Art Factory in Midlothian, Virginia, said this summer, more than ever, she’s been inundated with applications from high school and college students looking for work.

The pay for jobs at the studio and coffee shop, which hosts art classes, summer camps, birthday parties and other events, start at $12 an hour, Virginia’s state minimum wage.
“This year, the resumes flooded in,” Thompson said.
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Job opportunities and wages rise for teens

Economists are predicting another strong summer for teen employment in 2023. Already, teens make up 18% of all summer hires this year, up from 15% a year ago, according to data from payroll platform Gusto.
“The market for teens is hotter than it’s ever been,” said Luke Pardue, an economist at Gusto.

Their wages are also rising. Average hourly wages for teen workers grew much faster than average wages among all workers over the last year, notching a 9% gain among 15- to 19- year-olds, compared with a 6% decline for workers age 25 and older, according to Gusto’s New Hires Pay Index.

The strong labor market and increased demand for low-wage work have also contributed to a rise in labor force participation.
Now, teens are more likely to have a paying job over the summer and while in school compared with just a few years ago. In 2022, 37% of teens between ages 16 and 19 were part of the workforce, up from 35% in 2019, figures from the U.S. Department of Labor show.

‘If they earn it and burn it, that’s a big problem’

The ability to find employment and earn more money should come as a “wake-up call” for every young adult with a paycheck, cautioned Gregg Murset, a certified financial planner and CEO of BusyKid, a savings app for kids and families.
“This is a perfect opportunity,” he said, to practice a “balanced financial approach.”
“If they earn it and burn it, that’s a big problem.”

Murset advises his own teenagers to stash some of their summer earnings in a high-yield savings account or Roth individual retirement account and start investing, even if that means buying fractional shares of companies that are meaningful to them, such as Netflix, Nike, Amazon or Apple.
Also, teach teens to keep track of their balance and their investment portfolio on their phone and laptop, he added. As all transactions become increasingly cashless, “let them have a digital experience.”
Finally, “find a charity they think is important,” Murset said, and donate a portion of their income to that cause.
“This is exactly what we should be doing as adults,” he said. “Letting kids experience that exact scenario in their own ecosystem is super important.”
Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. More

The IRS is weighing guidance for small businesses that wrongly claimed the employee retention tax credit, according to the national taxpayer advocate.
As of June 14, there were roughly 537,000 unprocessed Form 941-Xs, which businesses must file for amended returns to claim the employee retention credit for 2020 or 2021.
If you wrongly claimed the employee retention credit, you may be subject to an IRS penalty, according to Debra Estrem, managing director of private wealth controversy at Deloitte Tax.

Erin M. Collins, National Taxpayer Advocate.
Source: IRS

After a flood of business returns with a pandemic-era tax credit, the IRS is weighing guidance for those who wrongly claimed the tax break.
The employee retention credit was created to support small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. There’s still time to amend returns and claim the credit, which is worth up to $5,000 per employee for 2020 or $28,000 per employee in 2021.

Experts say the opportunity has sparked a wave of specialist firms falsely promising business owners they qualify for the complicated tax break.
“I do think people were duped,” said National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins, speaking at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ annual conference this month. People claimed the credit and may have already received a refund, she added.
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The IRS warned business owners about “third parties” promoting the employee retention credit in October and recently renewed its warning by adding the issue to its annual list of Dirty Dozen tax scams for 2023.
As of March 3, just over 866,000 companies claimed and received employee retention credits totaling over $152.6 billion, according to the latest IRS Data Book.

IRS working on ERC credit guidance

Currently, there’s a backlog of Form 941-Xs, known as the adjusted employer’s quarterly federal tax return, which businesses must use to amend returns to claim the employee retention credit for 2020 or 2021. As of June 14, there were roughly 537,000 unprocessed Form 941-Xs, according to the IRS.
Collins said the IRS is working on guidance for filers who may have wrongly claimed the credit.
“I think now there’s a bit of buyer’s remorse,” she told CNBC in early June, noting that ineligible filers should start thinking about “ways to undo this” if they realize they don’t qualify. 

The biggest thing is to come forward first.

Rosemary Sereti
Managing director of Deloitte Tax

“The biggest thing is to come forward first,” said Rosemary Sereti, managing director of Deloitte Tax and a former IRS senior executive, when speaking to CNBC about employee retention credit mistakes. “Once [the IRS] comes to you, it’s a little too late.” 
Of course, the current backlog of Form 941-Xs also includes a lot of “legitimate claims” for the employee retention credit, which have been delayed as the IRS reviews the filings, Collins said. The IRS website says the agency is working on the inventory at two sites with “trained staff” to review possible Covid-19 credits.

Possible IRS penalty wrongly claiming ERC

If you wrongly claimed the employee retention credit, you may be subject to an IRS penalty, according to Debra Estrem, managing director of private wealth controversy at Deloitte Tax, who also worked at the IRS Office of the Chief Counsel.
She said you may be subject to the “erroneous claim for refund or credit penalty,” which is typically 20% of the excess amount claimed. But the type of penalty depends on whether the error occurred on the original filing or an amended return.    More

From the start of the year through the end of May, companies announced plans to cut 417,500 jobs, up 315% from the same period last year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
WARN notices can help workers scope out if layoffs are underway.
There are other ways to tell if layoffs are coming, and some ‘will send shivers down your spine,’ said career advisor Suzy Welch.

Daniel Grill | Tetra Images | Getty Images

The start of the year was plagued by waves of layoffs: through the end of May, companies announced plans to cut 417,500 jobs, up 315% from the same period last year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Big names like Disney, Google, Lyft and Meta were among those announcing cuts.
Figuring out if your company might be next isn’t easy, but there are some clues to watch for, experts say.

“There are signs that will send shivers down your spine,” said Suzy Welch, a career advisor and CNBC contributor.
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The state of layoffs

The tech industry has led layoff headlines, with more than 206,000 workers losing their jobs so far in 2023, according to Layoffs.fyi, a survey that keeps score of tech roles in the industry.
But every industry except for four — education, government, industrial manufacturing and utilities — has seen an increase in layoffs this year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas data.
Retailers laid off 45,168 workers through May, while financial firms announced 36,937 cuts, the firm found. The media industry slashed 17,436, its highest year-to-date tally on record.

Overall layoffs declined to 1.6 million in April from 1.8 million in March, according to the latest figures from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS), a measure that also serves as a recession indicator.
“When the involuntary rate goes up, we are looking at more recessionary times,” said economist José Fernández, an associate professor at University of Louisville. “But if the voluntary rate is going up, it’s saying that workers have more demand, so they’re out there trying to get a better opportunity for themselves.”
Amazon, Dropbox and Lyft had the biggest layoffs in the tech industry for April. Google and Facebook parent Meta Platforms are responsible for the most tech layoffs since the pandemic, according to Layoffs.fyi.

Look at WARN notices in your state

So-called WARN notices can help workers figure out if layoffs are coming, Vivian Tu, a former trader turned influencer who goes by “Your Rich BFF,” said in a March Instagram video.
WARN notices get their name from the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988, a labor-protection law that requires companies with 100 or more employees to provide a 60 calendar-day notice of planned closings and layoffs.
In her video, Tu suggests searching for WARN notices in your state and others where your company does business to find the state government website that lists companies letting go of employees.
However, sometimes companies can avoid releasing these notices by spreading out the layoffs, said Susan Houseman, director of research for the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
“So maybe you’re going to lay off 75, say you lay off 40 one month and 26 the next to avoid WARN notice,” she said.

The law also protects employers by providing exceptions, such as unforeseen circumstances where the company could not have given a two-month notice to employees.
“All of a sudden something happens, demand for your product does a sudden nose[dive], and you just have to lay off workers, and you don’t have time to give them a 60-day notice,” Houseman said.
She clarified that this exception is not a solution for companies undergoing bankruptcies, because “you can’t have anticipated the bankruptcy 60 days out and declined to give notice.”
“Unless there’s rigorous enforcement of this, there certainly can be circumstances where companies should have given notice and didn’t,” Houseman said.

More ways to scope out layoffs

WARN notices are not the only red flags that can signal pending layoffs. Welch offers three more ways to investigate:

Pretend you are an investor and follow news on your company. “Sometimes the earliest canary in the coal mine are the industry media,” Welch said. Monitor your company online by reading what industry analysts and other experts are saying on different platforms about its finances and prospects. Subscribe to newsletters, blogs and outlets that cover your industry to keep a closer look at trends in your sector.
Pay attention to your company’s financial health. Workers can know how their company is doing financially by paying attention to earnings reports and guidance, and movements in its share price. “You have to have the discipline to take a look at what the markets are saying about your company and which way the stock price is going,” Welch said.
Watch your boss for clues. A trusting relationship with your supervisor can positively impact your work life on several fronts. You could hear of an incoming layoff earliest from them, as they will know before you. “Your boss is a human being. A boss will share that information with members of the team that they really trust,” Welch said.Of course, cost cutting is another sign to watch out for. Some examples include the cancellation of annual or regular events, or programs, projects and perks.”Anything that signals resource cuts that are not people, companies generally will try to cut projects, programs and events before they start cutting staff. You can be concerned that they are coming for people next,” Welch said. More

Since the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates, credit card APRs have soared.
The average credit card now charges 20.69%, which is a record.
Experts often recommend moving your balance from a high-rate credit card to one with a no-interest offer to reduce the amount you’re paying.

The Federal Reserve may have paused its aggressive interest rate hikes for now, but that offers little relief for anyone with credit card debt.
The central bank raised interest rates 10 times since last year — the fastest pace of tightening since the early 1980s — and that has caused credit card rates to hit an all-time high.

“Even though the Fed has hit the pause button on its rate-hiking campaign, the cumulative effect is significant,” said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.
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Since most credit cards have a variable rate, there’s a direct connection to the Fed’s benchmark. As the federal funds rate rose, the prime rate did, as well, and credit card rates followed suit.
The average credit card now charges a record 20.69%, nearly five percentage points higher than the beginning of last year, according to Rossman.
“While the skip means interest rates may not rise again this month, the high credit card interest rates consumers are currently seeing are going nowhere anytime soon,” said Michele Raneri, vice president and head of U.S. research and consulting at TransUnion.

Tackling credit card debt ‘is an urgent priority’

Sky-high APRs make credit cards one of the most expensive ways to borrow money from month to month and yet, many Americans continue to take on ever-increasing amounts of debt. While balances are higher, nearly half of credit card holders carry credit card debt from month to month, according to a Bankrate report.
“Paying down high-cost, variable-rate debt is an urgent priority for households,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.
Experts often recommend moving that balance from a high-rate credit card to one with a no-interest or low-interest balance transfer offer to reduce the amount of interest you’re paying.

Balance transfers are ‘the best weapon’

“My top tip is to sign up for a 0% balance transfer card. These allow you to avoid interest for up to 21 months,” Rossman said.
While the offers may be a little harder to find than they were one year ago, “the good news is that you can still get balance transfer credit cards, assuming you have good credit, and they can save you a ton of money,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.”They are still about the best weapon you can have in your arsenal.”
To make the most of a balance transfer, aggressively pay down the balance during the introductory period. 
Otherwise, there could be a catch: If you don’t pay the balance off during the initial period, the remaining balance will have a new annual percentage rate applied to it, which is generally about 23%, on average, slightly higher than the rates for new credit.
Further, there can be limits on how much you can transfer as well as fees attached. Most cards have a one-time balance transfer fee, which is usually about 3% of the tab, but there can be an annual fee as well.
One late payment can negate your no-interest offer.
For more on balance transfer credit cards, check out CNBC Select’s recent ranking on the best balance transfer credit cards. More