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Employers plan to hire just 3.9% more college grads in 2023 than they did in 2022, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers spring job outlook.
Graduates can benefit from casting a wide net: Apply to a lot of jobs and be open to jobs in other industries that might be looking for your skill set.
In a tight job market, you may also need to work on your interviewing game to land that first job.

A graduating student of the City College of New York wears a message on his cap during the College’s commencement ceremony in the Harlem section of Manhattan.
Mike Segar | Reuters

This was adapted from CNBC’s Work It newsletter on LinkedIn about all things work — from how to land the job to how to succeed in your career. Click here to subscribe.
It’s almost time for the class of 2023 to take the stage, toss their hats in the air and, eventually, enter the workforce.

As if having the distinction of being the first graduating class to have been affected by Covid for all four years of their college life wasn’t enough, now they’re also graduating into a tough job market. With daily headlines about layoffs and the possibility of a recession, many employers are scaling back plans to hire new grads.
Employers plan to hire just 3.9% more college grads in 2023 than they did in 2022, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers spring job outlook. That’s down sharply from a projection of a 14.7% hiring increase when employers were surveyed in the fall.
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Some of this is due to companies that really ramped up hiring in the past few years as the economy started to recover from the pandemic, and then started to back off amid an uncertain economic outlook.
“Some industries that planned large increases in the past are cutting back on their college hires,” said Shawn VanDerziel, the executive director of NACE. “This is especially true for technology companies, which are laying off employees after hiring in large numbers during the pandemic.”

The tech industry has experienced the most layoffs of any sector — accounting for nearly 40%, of all layoffs according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas — and they’re also seeing some of the most dramatic declines in hiring new grads.

Arrows pointing outwards

Source: NACE

Employers in the information industry said in the fall that they expected to hire 87% more graduates than they did a year earlier. Now, they are projecting a 17% decrease in hiring. Computer electronics manufacturers are expecting to increase hiring by about 19.1%, down from an expectation of a 41% increase in the fall.
Regardless of what you majored in or what industry you are targeting, there are a few things that you can do to find that first job after college despite the tough job market.

1. Apply across different industries and locations

A lot of grads have a specific idea of what type of job they want after graduation. But you can benefit from casting a wide net: Apply to a lot of jobs and be open to jobs in other industries that might be looking for your skill set.
“Despite these shifts, this market is promising for graduates,” VanDerziel said. “And there is still ample opportunity for tech graduates to use their skills in other industries.
“For example, our Winter 2023 Salary Survey report found that two-thirds of responding employers — across industries — are planning to hire computer sciences majors from the current class. They are still in high demand,” he added.
Landing a job may come down to a numbers game.
“College seniors should be interviewing with as many companies that they can and not worry about the industry or location,” LaSalle Network CEO Tom Gimbel told CNBC.

So, how do you cast a wide net and find jobs in other industries?
Gorick Ng, a Harvard career advisor and author of “The Unspoken Rules,” recommends starting with a sector or industry (education, health care, government, insurance, etc.) or geography (Texas, New York, Colorado, etc.). Search for one of those terms plus “fastest-growing companies” or “largest companies” or “hiring” — that will help you make a list of potential employers.
Ng has also complied a list of 800 employers that have a dedicated hiring program for college students, with links to each company’s careers page. You can check it out here.

2. Figure out what skills you have that are transferrable

Everyone has transferrable skills — you just have to figure out what they are and how they would apply to other industries.
Online learning site Coursera scoured data from a variety of places such as the World Economic Forum, LinkedIn and Glassdoor, and came up with a list of the most in-demand high-income skills that are transferrable across a variety of career paths. They offer a list of those skills and then some of the jobs — and pay — you can expect to get if you have these skills. Many of the jobs have salaries of $100,000 or more.
The most in-demand high-income skills are:

Data analysis
Software development
User experience
Web development
Project management
Account management
Content creation and management

So, if you have some of those skills, you might look to see what industries are seeking them. And, if you don’t have any of them, and you find yourself without a job this summer, you might consider doing some training to get a new skill.
That way, when you’re in an interview and the person asks: “What have you been doing this summer?,” you can impress them by saying that you were building out your skill set while looking for a job.

3. Work your network

When you are applying for jobs, “Don’t just aimlessly click ‘submit’ on those job applications — it’s a surefire way of throwing your resume onto a big pile that will never get looked at,” Ng said.
Instead, Ng says, reach out to people directly. That is one of the best ways to make a connection at a company — and get an interview.
Here are a few of his tips for finding them:

Begin with your first-degree network (the people you already know — they’re labeled as 1st connections on LinkedIn). Then, try your second-degree network (people you don’t yet know but could get an introduction to because you have at least one mutual friend). Only when you’ve exhausted both of those options should you go to the third-degree network option — the cold call.
Look up companies on LinkedIn and click “employees” to call up a list of people who work there and then filter the list for first- or second-degree contacts and so on. After that, you can clear the filter and look at everyone at the company, focusing on people who work in the department you are applying to as well as the leadership team — people with chief, director or vice president in their title. You can also go to a company’s “team” or “leadership” page.

“You are looking for people who satisfy four [the following four] criteria,” Ng said.

They have something in common with you.
They are senior enough that they can make hiring decisions.
They are at an organization that is growing — and therefore hiring.
There is some indication they are invested in young people (community service work, etc.)

“The idea is to find people who can see you as a younger version of themselves — same school, same major, same extracurriculars, same hometown, same upbringing, same identity (e.g, first-generation college student), same prior work experiences,” Ng said.
So when you find their LinkedIn page, you’re looking for “anything in their history that you can relate to,” Ng said. “The more commonalities, the better.”
Beyond searching via LinkedIn or Google, Ng says you can also dig up spreadsheet of club or sport members or even browse the alumni directory at your school.
Now that’s casting a wide net!

4. Learn how to sell yourself

In a tight job market like this, you may need to work on your interviewing game to land that first job.
Career coach Natalie Fisher, who has helped hundreds of people land six-figure jobs, said you have to go beyond statements like “I’m a great communicator” or “I have great organizational skills” and instead offer specific examples of how you are those things.
Here are three things job seekers shouldn’t say, and what to communicate instead to help you get hired:

Don’t say: “I’m an excellent communicator.”Instead, show them how you were able to achieve X result thanks to your Y skill.
Don’t say: “I have strong organizational skills.”Instead, be very specific about what past managers and leaders have said they were impressed about in your work.
Don’t say: “I have great networking skills.”Instead, explain how you have a few close friends who you have stayed in touch with — whether it was in your major, an internship or whatever — and explain how you have always tried to make them feel valued and seen. Then, explain how you will use those skills to build lasting relationships with clients, your team, etc. in this role.

So, while it’s a tough job market out there for the class of 2023, there are job opportunities. There are things you can do to be smart over the summer to find companies that are hiring college grads, build your skills, network and hone your talking points to impress the hiring manager at your next job interview.
And, a tough job market is like New York, New York, as Frank Sinatra described it: If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere! More

Preferred stocks can be a great source of portfolio income. Yet a current dip in prices presents significant potential for capital appreciation, as well.
Risk-reward characteristics for this small investment universe have improved markedly since March, when fear stemming from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank pushed overall preferred prices down to rarely seen levels.

Vgajic | E+ | Getty Images

Seldom does an investment possess the combined virtues of manageable risk, rock-bottom prices and good prospects for growth, all with high dividend yields.
These are the current characteristics of preferred stocks, a kind of bond-stock hybrid investment that trades like stocks but pays interest like bonds — only much more of it. About two-thirds of preferred shares are issued by the banking sector, so most investments in preferred stock funds are in those in banks, primarily large ones.

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Preferred stocks are a great source of portfolio income. Yet a current dip in prices presents significant potential for capital appreciation, as well.
Risk-reward characteristics for this small investment universe (totaling less than $1 trillion) have improved markedly since March, when fear stemming from the failure of two regional banks, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, pushed overall preferred prices down to rarely seen levels.
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What many investors feared would be a national banking crisis hasn’t materialized and probably won’t because regulators have intervened to restore stability in regional banks. And contrary to early fears, large banks haven’t materially been affected. Yet preferred prices generally remain depressed, creating opportunity for investors who don’t mind wading in when the water is still a bit muddy.
Peering into the swirl of market conditions, investors capable of seeing clear discounts instead of faux risk can position for potential growth while getting yields far superior to those of bonds — in many cases, 7% to 8% from preferred shares and 6% to 7% from funds. Dividends are fairly reliable because corporate boards are loathe to cut them, for fear of discouraging investment.

The recent dip in preferred share values can be seen in the price of iShares Preferred and Income Securities (PFF), a passively managed exchange traded fund yoked to the ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index. Typically, this fund trades between about $40 a share and the mid-$30s. At the peak of the equity market in January 2022, it was trading at $39. In the ensuing weeks, as the Federal Reserve got into its rate hike cycle, PFF dipped to $34.
Then in March, headline-driven fears tamped this ETF down to about $30 a share for only the third time since banks started issuing preferred shares in the early 1980s. As April 19, shares of PFF still hadn’t bobbed up much, hovering a bit over $31.

Prices are likely to rise as fears abate, and longer-term prospects are historically sanguine, given the likelihood of overall equity market growth by next year. Data from preferred-fund manager Cohen & Steers, shows that preferred stocks have risen an average of 29.7% over the six-month periods after market troughs since 2009.
But for now, preferred shares languish in doldrums sustained by lingering fear that resists countervailing information. The problems at the failed banks weren’t the result of any systemic risk present in the broader industry, but simply of poor financial management.
Moreover, the federal government isn’t likely to let banks fail, and least of all in the year before a presidential election year. In the case of the two regional banks, a strengthened federal safety net came into play, with broadened guarantees on deposits and a new Federal Reserve program that lets banks borrow against bond holdings at par.
The current pricing window not only increases prospects for capital gains as fears abate, but also reduces risk, sustaining dividends. Preferred shares are such a reliable source of yield that many institutional investors hold them perennially for income alone as a higher-yielding alternative to bonds. And dividends on many preferred issues are the tax-friendly qualified variety.

Though preferred shares have bond-like characteristics, they’re not a true form of corporate debt. Banks like to issue them because unlike bonds, they don’t count as debt toward required capital ratios. They don’t appreciate as much as common shares, and their owners rank behind bondholders (but ahead of common stockholders) for claims on assets if an issuer goes belly-up.
Here are some points for investors to keep in mind:

Stick with funds when possible. Assessing duration risk, credit risk and the specific dynamics of preferred share issues can be quite complicated and often requires information largely inaccessible to most retail investors. So, most individuals are better off avoiding direct investment and sticking with funds.
Those who do choose to invest directly should spend the time to learn about these investments and choose carefully. A common pitfall is to focus on yield alone and overlook duration risk — shares’ sensitivity to interest rates, which affects how long it takes investors to be reimbursed for their purchases. Duration is critical to real returns.
Minimize the call risk common in passively managed funds. Actively managed funds are usually preferable, as managers can avoid or trade out of callable shares trading at a negative yield-to-call that populate indexes. Callable status contractually gives issuers the option to call or buy back shares for the original issue price (uniformly $25 for retail shares), regardless of whether current holders paid more on the open market. If these investors haven’t owned shares long enough to collect sufficient yield, a status known as negative yield to call, they could be in for a close haircut if shares are called. With passively managed funds — those that track indexes — investors can’t avoid exposure to callable shares trading at a negative yield-to-call, and this hamstrings fund performance. The higher fees of active management are less relevant because yields are after fees; some of these funds have dividend yields over 8%.
Go pro. Investors can reduce risk by owning funds that hold less-volatile institutional preferred shares. Even some funds that are wholly institutional are accessible to individual investors. These are harder to find, but they’re around. ETF and mutual fund examples include Principal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active ETF (PREF), First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF (FPE), PIMCO Preferred and Capital Securities Fund Institutional Class (PFINX) and Cohen & Steers Preferred Securities and Income Fund, Inc. Class I (CPXIX).

Owning common stocks is about waiting for shares to rise, and buying bonds is a guarantee of low (and probably soon-declining) yield. By contrast, while the current pricing window remains open, investing in preferred stocks is about collecting substantial income while positioning for likely price appreciation in the coming months.
—   By Dave Sheaff Gilreath, chief investment officer and co-founder, and Edward “JR” Humphreys II, senior portfolio manager, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors and its institutional arm, Innovative Portfolios More

With uncertainty around the Federal Reserve’s future moves and the direction of interest rates, certificates of deposit ladders may capture higher yields while offering flexibility.
However, many CDs still aren’t beating inflation and investors need a diversified portfolio for long-term retirement savings, experts say.

JGI/Jamie Grill

After years of relatively low yields, certificates of deposit, or CDs, have recently shelled out higher rates, following a series of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
While there’s uncertainty around the Fed’s future moves and the direction of interest rates, experts say CD ladders may capture higher yields while offering flexibility.

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“It’s always a tried and true strategy,” said Ken Tumin, founder and editor of DepositAccounts.com, a website that tracks the most competitive options for savings. “You don’t have to worry about trying to guess where interest rates are headed.”
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Typically, a CD ladder involves splitting equal amounts of cash among multiple CDs with different maturity dates. As the shorter terms expire, you can invest the proceeds into longer-maturity CDs.
“A CD ladder gives someone an opportunity to harvest a variety of yields over varying timelines,” said Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick. “And if you’re searching for the highest yields, that can be quite rewarding.”
For example, investors may purchase five CDs, with maturities ranging from one to five years, freeing up 20% of their original investment every year.

A CD ladder gives someone an opportunity to harvest a variety of yields over varying timelines.

Mark Hamrick
Bankrate senior economic analyst

Alternatively, you may build a ladder with shorter-term CDs, such as three-month to one-year terms, which provides more flexibility.
While shorter-term ladders offer faster access to cash without a penalty, the trade-off may be missing the opportunity to lock in higher rates for longer-term CDs, Tumin said.
Of course, the decision ultimately hinges on your goals and how soon you’ll need access to the money, he said.

How ‘inverted yield curve’ affects short-term CDs

Typically, investors can expect higher yields from longer-maturity CDs than from shorter-term CDs.
But currently, the opposite is true because of the inverted yield curve, with long-term government bonds paying lower yields than shorter-term bonds, Tumin said.
As of April 25, top one-year certificates of deposit were paying an average of 5.17%, according to DepositAccounts. These rates are the highest 1% average. By contrast, most five-year CDs are paying well below 5% on average.

You still need a ‘diversified portfolio’

While CD rates have recently been higher, Hamrick pointed out that many still aren’t beating inflation.
Annual inflation rose by 5% in March, down from 6% in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in April.
“Over the long term, one needs to have a diversified portfolio, particularly when saving for retirement,” Hamrick said. More

With National College Decision Day just days away, affordability remains a major concern.
To bridge the gap, some schools are offering substantial financial aid packages, according to The Princeton Review.
The average scholarship given to students with need was more than $57,000, according to the publication’s 2023 list of best private colleges for financial aid.

98% say financial aid is necessary to pay for college

Tuition and fees plus room and board, books and other expenses for a four-year private college averaged $57,570 in the 2022-23 academic year; at four-year, in-state public colleges, it was more than $27,940, according to the College Board, which tracks trends in college pricing and student aid.

Arrows pointing outwards

Most college-bound students and their parents now say affordability and dealing with the debt burden that often goes hand in hand with a college diploma is their top concern, even over getting into their first-choice school, according to The Princeton Review’s 2023 College Hopes & Worries survey.
A whopping 98% of families said financial aid would be necessary to pay for college, and 82% said it was “extremely” or “very” necessary, The Princeton Review found.
In fact, though college has been getting more expensive, few students and their parents pay the full amount.

Top 5 private colleges for financial aid

Among the top five schools, the average scholarship grant awarded in 2022-23 to students with need was more than $57,000.  

Rockefeller Hall at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York
Education Images | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

1. Vassar CollegeLocation: Poughkeepsie, New YorkSticker price: $81,360Average need-based scholarship: $58,722Total out-of-pocket cost: $22,638
2. Princeton UniversityLocation: Princeton, New JerseySticker price: $79,090Average need-based scholarship: $62,844Total out-of-pocket cost: $16,246
3. Yale UniversityLocation: New Haven, ConnecticutSticker price: $83,880Average need-based scholarship: $61,067Total out-of-pocket cost: $22,813
4. Pomona CollegeLocation: Pomona, CaliforniaSticker price: $82,700Average need-based scholarship: $51,856Total out-of-pocket cost: $30,844
5. Vanderbilt UniversityLocation: Nashville, TennesseeSticker price: $68,980Average need-based scholarship: $54,417Total out-of-pocket cost: $14,563

Top 5 public colleges for financial aid

Among the five schools on this list, the average scholarship grant awarded in 2022-23 to students with need was roughly $17,000.  

University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Win McNamee | Getty Images

1. University of VirginiaLocation: Charlottesville, VirginiaSticker price (in-state): $36,806Average need-based scholarship: $26,662Total out-of-pocket cost: $10,144
2. University of North Carolina at Chapel HillLocation: Chapel Hill, North CarolinaSticker price (in-state): $22,014Average need-based scholarship: $15,704Total out-of-pocket cost: $6,310
3. Truman State UniversityLocation: Kirksville, MissouriSticker price (in-state): $18,949Average need-based scholarship: $9,576Total out-of-pocket cost: $9,373
4. New College of FloridaLocation: Sarasota, FloridaSticker price (in-state): $17,207Average need-based scholarship: $13,540Total out-of-pocket cost: $3,667
5. City University of New York — Hunter CollegeLocation: Manhattan, New York CitySticker price (in-state): $23,447Average need-based scholarship: $8,892Total out-of-pocket cost: $14,555
Correction: Student-fee calculations at the University of Virginia, New College of Florida and UNC at Chapel Hill have been updated in the public colleges list.
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A hiring slowdown may affect the market for teen jobs this summer, according to a new report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
However, teens who want to find work should be able to find positions in certain key sectors, experts predict.

Anastasija Vujic | Istock | Getty Images

As the pace of hiring declines, teens in the market for summer jobs may also face a slightly slower market this year.
However, those who want to work should be able to find opportunities, according to a new report.

Teens are poised to see a gain of 1.1 million jobs this year, the lowest level since 2011, predicts Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement and business and executive coaching firm. That is down slightly from last year, when employers added more than 1.2 million teen jobs in May, June and July, according to the firm.
Like candidates in the broader market, teens may also be reluctant to take available jobs, Challenger’s report suggests.

Where teens can find summer jobs

However, the good news is there may be plenty of opportunities available in sectors that are having a tough time hiring, experts note.
Teens may have hiring success in places like amusement parks, pools, restaurants and summer entertainment venues, as older workers prioritize remote or hybrid roles, according to Challenger’s research.

Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, reports the job search engine company is anticipating a similar trend.

Hospitality and recreation are areas poised to have labor shortages and hiring challenges, she noted. That goes particularly for neighborhood parks and pools, which may have trouble hiring lifeguards and be forced to reduce their operating hours as they did last year, she said.
Meanwhile, increased demand for airline, cruises and other travel, as well as restaurant dining and summer camps, point to greater hiring need in those areas.
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“Job seekers looking for summer jobs are generally positive about their prospects,” Pollak said.
“They expect high pay and flexibility, and are also perk shopping as they browse job postings,” she said.
While June is typically the most popular month for teen hiring, according to Challenger, the firm recommends that those who are looking for summer work start earlier than that.
Among Challenger’s other tips include creating a resume that shows off extracurricular activities, practicing answering questions ahead of a job interview and staying professional online when it comes to social media. More

If you’ve just been laid off from your company, you’ll want to quickly apply for jobless benefits and think about how to get new health insurance.
You’ll also want a plan for your retirement savings.

Okrasyuk | Istock | Getty Images

1. File for jobless benefits and other aid

Apply for unemployment benefits as soon as possible after a layoff, said Michele Evermore, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation.
“As soon as you leave your job, you should be on your way to the unemployment insurance office,” Evermore said.
In some states, it can take weeks for your claim to be approved, so the sooner you file, the better.
While most states have a one-week waiting period before they can start paying you benefits, you don’t have to wait to request the relief, Evermore said.

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Apply with your state unemployment office. You can typically submit an application online or over the phone.
There are other resources, too, for people struggling financially due to job loss, Evermore said.
“Unemployment insurance isn’t the only program in the world,” Evermore said, adding that out-of-work people can also try applying for food stamps and other aid.

2. Weigh health insurance options

Job losses often also mean losing your health insurance.
“As overwhelming as it may be, it’s important to look for coverage quickly” after a layoff, said Caitlin Donovan, a spokesperson for the National Patient Advocate Foundation, a nonprofit that helps individuals access and pay for health care.  
Your first step should be to speak with someone in your company’s human resources department to understand when your coverage technically ends.

As overwhelming as it may be, it’s important to look for coverage quickly.

Caitlin Donovan
spokesperson for the National Patient Advocate Foundation

“There’s no blanket rule here: For some, coverage may end immediately; for others, it may go until the end of the month,” Donovan said. “Either way, you should immediately start planning to transition to a new plan.” 
Navigating the health insurance landscape on your own can be stressful and confusing.
There are resources you can turn to for help. If you have a diagnosed condition, including cancer, lupus or diabetes, you may be able to get support deciding on and enrolling in a plan with the National Patient Advocate Foundation, Donovan said. You can also consult with a local health-care “navigator.” 
Generally, newly laid off and uninsured people will have three routes to health coverage from which to pick: COBRA, the Affordable Care Act subsidized marketplace or a public plan such as Medicaid or Medicare.

COBRA gives those who have left a company the option of staying on their former employer’s insurance plan, although it’s typically very expensive. That’s because people have to pay not only the part of their premium they were responsible for while working, but the portion their former employer had covered, as well.
Medicaid typically involves no or low monthly premiums, and marketplace plans can come with generous subsidies.

3. Protect your retirement savings

Many people save for their retirement through their job. If you had access to a 401(k) plan at your former employer, you’ll need to decide what to do with that account.
You may not want to do anything, said Rita Assaf, vice president of retirement leadership at Fidelity.
Most employers allow you to keep your plan with them after you leave, Assaf said. (However, if you have less than $5,000 in the account, the money may be sent to an individual retirement account for you, she added.)
However, you won’t be able to continue contributing to a plan at a former employer. And you may be limited in how much you can take as a loan or withdraw from the account.

Another option is to roll over the account into an IRA, which can be opened at a bank or brokerage firm. This would allow you to continue saving. You may also be able to withdraw money from this account if you’re under 59½ without any penalties, Assaf said, if you use it for a first-time home purchase or higher-education expenses.
“Make sure to research fees and expenses when choosing an IRA provider, if you do, though, as they can really vary,” Assaf said.
If you’re hopping to another job right away, you may have the option to roll your old 401(k) plan into one with your new employer. Having just one savings retirement account may feel more manageable.
“It’s important to note that not all employers will accept a rollover from a previous employer’s plan, so you should check with your new employer before making any decisions,” Assaf said.
What you don’t want to do, if at all possible, is to cash out the account, she said. You’ll likely be dinged with taxes and penalties, and could set yourself back on your retirement goals. More

Only eight U.S. states require high school students to take a semester of personal finance education before graduation, while 10 more are set to implement similar requirements soon.
Parents can step in and help by engaging in financial education at home with their children.
Here are 10 steps parents can take with kids ages 5 and up to improve youngsters’ familiarity with important financial concepts and habits.

Learning about money is the foundation of financial literacy and the key to achieving financial security. Yet financial education isn’t part of the curriculum in most U.S. schools.  
Only eight states have fully implemented a requirement for all high school students to take one semester-long personal finance course before graduation, according to Next Gen Personal Finance’s 2023 State of Financial Education report. Ten other states are in the process of implementing this requirement. 

“When you ask people, very few people will say that financial education is a bad thing,” said Laura Levine, president and CEO of Jumpstart Coalition, a non-profit financial literacy organization. “But when it comes to implementing it into the school system, it’s a matter of priorities.”

As part of its National Financial Literacy Month efforts, CNBC will be featuring stories throughout the month dedicated to helping people manage, grow and protect their money so they can truly live ambitiously.

That means parents and other adults may need to step in to teach children basic money concepts. 
Here are 10 money lessons that financial experts say may help improve their knowledge from an early age through high school graduation and beyond:  

Ages 5-9

1. Have frequent “money talks.” Start to introduce some basic concepts — such as what money is used for, how we earn it and how much items cost — when children are in kindergarten, or even earlier.
“Money is a practical tool in life, so don’t let it be a mysterious concept,” said Jennifer Seitz, director of education at Greenlight, a banking and investing app for kids and teens. “At an early age, kids are developing their ability to focus and prioritize, as well as understand trade-offs you’re making to choose one thing instead of another.”

Choose a “money word,” like earn, spend, or save, and explain how it works in your daily life as you go to your job, buy groceries or put some money away for a memorable family outing. 

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images

Our daily lives often consist of “money moments” that we may take for granted but should be talking about out loud with our children. Tell them how you’re picking the best price or why you’re using a coupon at the grocery store. Explain how you’re saving up for a fun treat. 
Making “money talks” part of everyday conversations will help make it easier to talk about finances with your kids, spouse and other adults, too. And, “not shying away from conversations, when they are interested, will help kids establish a positive money mindset,” Seitz said 
2. Discuss needs versus wants. Ask a child what they need and what they want to help them learn. 
At the supermarket, explain how you should think about using money responsibly by spending money on needs first, then wants. So, for example, you put eggs, milk and bread in your cart before picking up candy, a toy or stickers. Let your child know that there should always be a plan for how money is used. Buying items on a whim is a luxury when you may have extra money. 

Ages 10-14

3. Discuss ways to earn money. Help your child come up with ways to make money so that they can start saving toward their goal.
If you have the ability, give your kid an allowance or pay them for doing certain chores around the house. “Allow them to earn money and pay for extras,” Seitz said. “Chores teach kids life skills.” 
Designate how much a chore is worth so they know how much of your money can be allotted for a goal they’ve chosen. 

Jgi/jamie Grill | Tetra Images | Getty Images

4. Follow a budget for favorite grocery items. Go grocery shopping with a specific budget for the items your household needs — and include some of your child’s favorite or most-used items. 
Send your child or children to a specific aisle to grab a handful of items — including some of their favorites. Tell them to keep the items under the budgeted amount, and look at the “unit price” to make sure you are getting the most cost-effective items to get the best deal. 
Help build their confidence and give them a sense of financial responsibility by having them live within their means.
5. Choose a charity and give.  Once your child starts making a little bit of money, teach them the importance of helping others through charitable giving. Have them choose the charity. Giving can be in the form of money, food, clothes, or spending time with others.

Ages 15-17

6. Help your teen buy stock, not just brands. Teens may be more interested in brands than their parents, so introduce them to the idea of owning stock in a company they love. 
Open an investment account so they can learn the ins and outs of owning stock at an early age. You can give your teen hands-on experience with investing by purchasing a fractional share of a company, a mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund for as little as $1. 
“The secret to building wealth isn’t so secret — it’s investing,” Seitz said. “The longer investments are earning returns, the more money they can earn.” 

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7. Encourage your teen to save and invest. Encourage teens to start flexing their savings muscles by working a summer job and setting up a savings account or a retirement account. 
“Offer to match their savings as a parent or godparent, up to a certain percentage – much like most employers when it comes to defined contribution retirement plans,” said Deri Freeman, a certified financial planner at Prudential Financial in the Washington, D.C., area. “This will incentivize them to save for long-term goals and help them build the habit of saving early on.”
Just make sure they are putting money in cash savings for a “rainy day,” as well as investing their money, too. 
One of the best places for a teen to put their earned income is a Roth individual retirement account, which offers tax-free savings. An adult has to open a custodial account for a minor. The adult controls the account until the child reaches the age of majority, when the young adult takes it over.  

The secret to building wealth isn’t so secret — it’s investing.

Jennifer Seitz
director of education at Greenlight

Adult children (ages 18 and over)

8. Create a budget. Go over their monthly expenses and income. Even if you are paying for most of their expenses, have them set a spending budget for incidentals. 
Ensure they include saving as part of the bills they must cover. Starting the discipline now of saving a little bit of money will help to encourage that “rainy day” fund in the future. 
9. Explain how taxes work. Once your child is old enough to get a job with a paycheck, they need to understand the impact of having taxes withheld from their pay. If you’re single with no dependents making a minimum wage of $15 an hour in New York City, your take-home pay is just about $13.69 an hour. Figure out the tax hit with an online calculator.

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Explain to your older teen or 20-something that they must fill out a W4 form to figure out how much tax to withhold from their paycheck. Also, remind them that if they are freelancing or a contractor and get a 1099 form, they’ll need to pay estimated taxes on their own so they’ll need to save some of their pay just for that.
10. Help your young adult get a credit card and use it responsibly. In addition to getting a handle on earning, budgeting, spending, saving and investing, young adults need to understand borrowing or using credit and managing debt responsibly.
“Encourage them to open a credit card (maybe with a parent as a joint owner) and work on building their credit by paying off the balance each month,” Freeman said. “This will help them build a strong credit history for future financial endeavors.”
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Electric vehicles have a higher sticker price than traditional gasoline-powered cars, on average.
But EVs may be a better financial deal for consumers over the long haul. That’s because maintenance, repair and fuel costs tend to be lower than those for gas cars.
The average owner might save more than $6,000 over an EV’s lifespan relative to a traditional car, Consumer Reports found. There are many caveats, though.
Automakers such as Ford and Tesla cut EV prices in 2023. Prices are poised to keep falling as battery technology improves.

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Sales of electric cars are poised for a boom, spurred by factors such as federal policy, technological advances and environmental concerns.
To that point, 41% of Americans are at least somewhat likely to buy an electric vehicle as their next car, according to a recent poll from the University of Chicago and The Associated Press.

Yet, many consumers view high cost as a deterrent — 60% cited it as a “major reason” they wouldn’t purchase an electric vehicle, or EV.
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Most new EVs are luxury models with an average sale price of more than $61,000 — roughly $12,000 more than the auto industry average, according to Consumer Reports.
But upfront cost doesn’t tell the whole story.
In many cases, electric vehicles can be a better financial deal for buyers over the long haul relative to their gasoline-only counterparts, after accounting for recurring costs such as maintenance, repair and fuel, i.e., gasoline or electricity.

Those costs tend to be lower for EVs and may therefore outweigh an initially higher sticker price over a multiyear ownership period, experts said.

EVs might save you $6,000 or more, but ‘it depends’

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The typical EV owner saves $6,000 to $10,000 over the life of most such vehicles compared with a gasoline-only model, according to a Consumer Reports study from 2020. The study compared vehicles of similar size and segment — luxury, for example — and defined a car’s life as 200,000 miles.
Since that study was published, many EVs have gotten cheaper and conventional vehicles more expensive, said Chris Harto, senior transportation and energy policy analyst at Consumer Reports.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed in August, extended a federal tax credit for new EVs through 2032. That tax incentive — which is worth up to $7,500 and carries some qualification restrictions — aims to make EVs more affordable.
When comparing similar cars on total cost during ownership, “battery electric vehicles tend to come out ahead of [internal combustion engine] vehicles, on average,” said Debapriya Chakraborty, an economist and assistant professional researcher at the Electric Vehicle Research Center at the University of California, Davis.

However, there are many caveats that could change that outcome for an individual buyer, she said.
These include regional electricity and gasoline prices; the availability of home vs. public charging, the latter of which is typically more expensive; and the range of the electric vehicle.
“Yes, EVs are [generally] a better deal, if you include all the [financial] incentives you could potentially get and primarily charge at home,” said Maxwell Woody, a research assistant at the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems.
But there are many variables that could change the calculus, he added.
Consumers can use various online calculators, such as one from the U.S. Energy Department or the UC Davis Electric Vehicle Research Center, to estimate their total EV ownership costs and carbon emissions based on various car models and travel habits.

How regional factors can affect total EV cost

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To illustrate the caveats, Woody — who is conducting a study of regional lifecycle costs of gasoline versus electric vehicles — offered an example of hypothetical car buyers in Chicago and Houston.
He compared the total lifetime cost in each city for a small electric sport utility vehicle with a 300-mile range and a $48,000 suggested retail price to that of a small gas-powered SUV with a $31,000 price tag.
In Chicago, an average buyer would come out ahead with the electric over 15 years. They would pay about $84,000 total, versus $87,000 for the gas car, Woody said.
In Houston, the opposite is true: An average buyer would pay about $82,000 for the gas vehicle and $85,000 for the EV over the same time period.
Here’s why: Buyers in Chicago can get an extra $4,000 incentive from the state, making EVs less expensive at the time of purchase, Woody said. Chicago also has relatively inexpensive electricity, so the EV is also much less costly to operate, he added.
On the other hand, Houston has among the lowest gas prices in the country, reducing the overall fuel-cost savings reaped from an EV when compared with a traditional car. Texas also doesn’t offer an additional tax incentive to EV buyers.
The analysis accounts for cooler weather in Chicago, which generally makes EVs less efficient, Woody said.

Cost savings aren’t the only factor driving EV sales

A charging station for electric and hybrid cars using solar panels to generate electricity.
Artur Debat | Moment | Getty Images

EV sales accounted for 5.8% of the nearly 14 million new cars sold in the U.S. last year, according to Kelley Blue Book data. That was up from 3.1% the year before.
Globally, about 13% of new cars sold in 2022 were electric, and EVs are “surging in popularity,” according to the International Energy Agency.  
Potential lifecycle cost savings isn’t the only factor driving purchases, though.
Thirty-five percent of Americans say reducing their personal impact on climate change is a major reason they would buy an electric car — the No. 2 reason behind saving money on gasoline, at 46%, according to the University of Chicago-Associated Press poll.
There are several types of EVs: for example, all-electric vehicles, which run only on battery power, and plug-in hybrid electrics, which have both battery and gasoline engines.

There are direct-to-consumer savings, and broader societal benefits, to purchasing an EV.

Ingrid Malmgren
policy director of Plug In America

Since they don’t burn fossil fuels, fully electric cars don’t emit planet-warming greenhouse gases from their tailpipes.
Some emissions are created when electric cars are built and charged, if the electricity comes from dirtier sources such as burning coal instead of clean sources such as wind and solar. However, electric cars have a much lower overall climate impact even when factoring in those life-cycle emissions, according to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“Electric vehicles are the key technology to decarbonize road transport,” the International Energy Agency said.
Just 1.6 million of the 270 million passenger cars and trucks on U.S. roads are electric — amounting to less than 1% of all vehicles, according to the World Economic Forum.

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The Biden administration on April 12 proposed auto emissions rules expected to dramatically boost EV sales. The rules set more stringent pollution standards for cars and trucks, which would essentially force the auto industry to sell many more EVs to meet the requirements. The White House estimates as many as 67% of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. will be electric by 2032.
The standards come as the world’s top climate scientists said in a March report that a major course correction is needed to avert the worst impacts of climate change, such as more severe floods, droughts and wildfires.
Transportation is the largest annual source of greenhouse gas pollution in the U.S., accounting for 28% of total national emissions in 2021, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.  
“There are direct-to-consumer savings, and broader societal benefits, to purchasing an EV,” said Ingrid Malmgren, policy director of Plug In America.

Why battery and range matter for buyers

Battery size, which influences the range of an EV, can make a big difference in ownership cost, since the battery is generally the most expensive part of the car, said Woody of the University of Michigan. More range typically means a higher price tag.
Today, EVs with a roughly 200-mile range generally have a sticker price comparable to or lower than a gasoline-powered car, even without tax incentives or other lifetime savings, Woody said.
Consumers who buy an EV with a 300-mile range may need a federal tax break to achieve sticker-price parity with gas-only cars, while those with a 400-mile range are generally still more expensive upfront even with tax incentives, Woody said.
To that point, an all-electric vehicle with a range of 200 miles has among the lowest lifecycle ownership costs of all types of passenger vehicles, according to a 2021 report issued by Argonne, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory.
Such a vehicle costs consumers 45.3 cents per mile over a 15-year ownership period, beaten out only by hybrid electric vehicles, according to Argonne. That compares with 48 cents per mile for gasoline-only cars. However, a 300-mile-range all-electric vehicle ranked last, at 51.8 cents per mile, due to relatively high battery costs.  

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The report accounts for factors including maintenance, repair, taxes, fees and insurance. It doesn’t account for tax incentives, however.
Total ownership costs for all-electric vehicles are expected to keep dropping as battery technology improves and to be broadly cost-competitive with other car models in about five years, Argonne said.  
Many automakers, including Tesla and Ford, dropped prices on their EVs in 2023. And current price trends signal that EVs with a $25,000 sticker price aren’t far off.
The price of the average new car rose almost 5% in 2022 to $49,507, while the price of the average EV fell 0.6% to $61,448 — which is high but now lower than the average luxury car, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Fuel and maintenance costs

Switching to an all-electric vehicle would yield average fuel savings of 55% for consumers nationwide, according to a University of Michigan study published in January.
More than 90% of households would also reduce the greenhouse gases they generate, the study found.
The largest cost reductions would occur in the South and West, the study said. A small share of households, 0.1%, in Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan and Rhode Island, would see their energy costs rise by switching to an all-electric car.
Fuel cost reductions brought by the adoption of all-electric cars “are significant enough that more than double the American households (i.e. over 80%) would have low [transportation] energy burdens,” relative to 33% today, the report said. Lower-income households wouldn’t benefit as much as those with higher incomes, it found.

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Residential charging is more cost-effective than public charging, the study found. Such a dynamic may reduce savings and convenience for renters who can’t install a charging station at home, for example, said Chakraborty of the University of California.
Electric cars also have fewer moving parts, meaning they generally require less maintenance, said Malmgren of Plug In America. EVs often come with longer warranty periods than gas-powered cars; by law they must carry eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty periods, with more consumer-friendly rules in California, she said.
“There are fewer things to break,” Malmgren said. “You’re not replacing brake pads, transmissions, belts, hoses, fluids.”
“They’re just way easier to maintain,” she said.
Between fuel and maintenance, the average electric SUV owner saves $1,700 a year in fuel and maintenance costs, according to Harto of Consumer Reports. That assumes a $3.50 per gallon gasoline price, a rough ballpark of current prices, he said. More