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Plus: Why we need to go back in time to find our focus.
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HerMoney Podcast Episode 355: Why a Recession Shouldn't Hold Back Your Career
HerMoney is made possible by Edelman Financial Engines
 
This Week in Your Wallet:
WFH + Fired From Home = WTH?   

Layoffs stink. And while we don’t need scientific data to tell us this, research shows losing a job is one of the most gut-wrenching experiences faced by adults today. But being laid off when you’re a remote worker who only ever exchanged more than a few digital pleasantries with your colleagues? Yeah. That’s right up there with the worst.

Reporter Emma Goldberg talked with recently dismissed remote WFH employees about navigating this challenging (and grief-filled) life event without more traditional farewell lunches and not-so-happy hours at local pubs. “Many remote workers don’t even have their colleagues’ phone numbers, and they don’t know who to go to for comfort or information,” she explains. Beth Anstandig, a psychotherapist in the Bay Area, told The New York Times she is watching her clients grapple with this stressful period. “I hear that people are not sleeping, or sleeping two hours at a time on their couches,” she says. “They’re in tears during our meetings together.”

But corporate America take note: It doesn’t have to be this way. Companies can take a page from Nokia’s playbook. When the business restructured in 2011, writes Goldberg, it gave the 18,000 people impacted about a year of advance notice. Among options offered to workers, she says, was assistance finding new positions in and outside the organization, plus training or help launching their own business. Everyone — including today’s often isolated remote workers — could use help like that.

‘Workaholic’ Men Cut More Job Hours in 2022

The hustle culture may be losing some of its steam as Americans take a step back from the rise-and-grind mentality so many saw as a recipe for career success in decades past, The Wall Street Journal reports. While U.S. workers in general have been cutting back on hours since 2019, the top 10% of high-earning (and college-educated) men scaled back the most on their own, new research shows, clocking an average of 77 fewer hours in 2022 than their counterparts in 2019 – which equates to a 3% reduction in hours. During the same time period, the same group of female earners cut back time at work by 29 hours, which is about half an hour less work, or a 1% reduction. Granted, the percentage numbers aren’t huge. But when you look at them as vacation days (based on an 8-hour day), it’s almost 10 more vacation days for men, and almost 4 for women. And, when you multiply these hours or days not worked by the top earners across America, the productivity — or lack of it — adds up. The drop, the paper’s Courtney Vinopal writes, “may help explain why the U.S. job market is even tighter than what would be expected given the current levels of unemployment and labor-force participation.”

Taxes 2023: Fewer Backlogs, Smaller Refunds  

As I write this, it’s the last day of January that makes it officially tax time. Sure, most people have until April 18 to file federal and state income taxes, unless you request an extension or were among those impacted by natural disasters. But you’re not going to want to wait that long, writes Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary. She spoke with Erin M. Collins, National Taxpayer Advocate, who said that although the agency’s backlog has been substantially cleared, the IRS will likely still struggle with customer service.  So, what can you do to get the tax help you need? First, get familiar with IRS.gov, which is surprisingly helpful when it comes to  everything from tracking your refund to learning about what to do if you can’t pay your tax bill. Also, file electronically. And by all means, don’t call the IRS on a Monday or after a long holiday weekend.  

And if you’re anticipating a refund, be aware it may be significantly smaller this year, Why? A couple of important tax credits, which were beefed up during the pandemic, have reverted to previously smaller levels. The child tax credit provided up to $3,600 per child in 2021, but just $2,000 in 2022. The earned income tax credit worth about $1,500 in 2021 returned about one-third that much last year. The child and dependent care tax credit, too, was a shadow of its 2021 self.  What to do about that?  Arguably file your taxes sooner rather than later.  That way you’ll at least know not to go spending money you won’t have.

What Happens When a Miser Marries a Spender?

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, here’s an unexpected look at how money opposites are making it work. When it comes to matters of the heart, we know opposites attract. But a funny thing can happen after a miser marries a big spender: their money styles merge. The Wall Street Journal’s Julia Carpenter explores how spouses who are money opposites can change over time. “Couples who communicate about the differences in their financial beliefs are better able to make decisions together, as tedious as that practice may initially feel,” psychotherapist Matt Lundquist told Carpenter. For example, he notes, some of his clients who take regular weekend trips make it a habit to use the drive time to review budgets and check in on progress toward long-term goals. It makes sense. Often, the more we can open up and communicate our needs, hopes and dreams about money and everything else, the better we understand each other and the stronger our relationships can become.

Have a great week!

Jean


P.S. If the recession fears on every newscast have you feeling stressed, now may be the perfect time to take more control of your finances. Thankfully, we have a solution: HerMoney’s 8-week money makeover program, FinanceFixx, can give you the tools you need to make 2023 your best financial year ever.

 
 
 
 
HerMoney is not a client, agent, representative or affiliate of EFE. Edelman Financial Engines (“EFE”) is a sponsor of the "HerMoney with Jean Chatzky Podcast,” created by HerMoney Media. Inc. (“HerMoney”) and provides cash compensation to HerMoney Media. HerMoney receives a sponsorship fee from Edelman Financial Engines depending on the number of podcast downloads, as measured by the end of the calendar year. The sponsorship fee is paid on a quarterly basis each year. In turn, HerMoney also provides promotional deliverables regarding EFE on the HerMoney podcast, newsletter, and social media channels. Due to this sponsorship arrangement, HerMoney has an incentive to endorse EFE and its services.

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