{"id":123981,"date":"2021-12-14T17:48:03","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T17:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=123981"},"modified":"2021-12-14T17:48:03","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T17:48:03","slug":"year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/","title":{"rendered":"Year-end bonuses are back! Here\u2019s what to do with yours"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Nearly twice as many employers are offering year-end bonuses this year, compared to last year, according to a report.<\/li>\n<li>Here\u2019s how to make the most of that money.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Employers are feeling particularly generous this season.<\/p>\n<p>After a year of unprecedented workloads\u00a0amid a job market that&#x27;s increasingly competitive across nearly every industry, twice as many employers are offering their employees year-end bonuses, compared to last year.<\/p>\n<p>Google said it will give all employees, even interns, a one-time cash bonus of $1,600, while Tyson Foods said it is paying hourly workers at its meatpacking plants between $300 and $700 each this holiday, in addition to offering raises and more flexible work schedules.<\/p>\n<p>Almost a quarter of all companies, or 23%, said they are offering a bonus based on company performance, up from last year&#x27;s 12%, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas, marking the highest percentage since the job placement firm began tracking performance bonuses in 2015.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More from Personal Finance:<\/strong><br \/>Here are some tips to avoid inflation\u2019s sting<br \/>Here&#x27;s an investment option to protect against inflation<br \/>You need at least $1 million saved to retire in these cities<\/p>\n<p>Many companies also said they are increasing the size of bonuses. Roughly 17% said bonuses will be bigger than they were last year, notching another recent high.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;We typically tend to see bonuses go up at times when the labor market is really tight and that is clearly what we are seeing right now,&quot; said Andy Challenger, senior vice president at Challenger, Gray and Christmas. &quot;Employees are in the driver&#x27;s seat.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>For workers facing higher prices heading into the holidays, these bonuses come at a particularly good time, Challenger added. &quot;Having some extra money in the bank account is so valuable.&quot; \u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>How to make the most of your bonus<\/h2>\n<p>In a challenging time, a one-time cash infusion can have a big impact on your financial standing, depending on how it&#x27;s used.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of the amount, Shelly-Ann Eweka, senior director of financial planning at TIAA, recommends splitting the payout into three categories to focus on debt repayment, savings and, yes, even some discretionary spending.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Pay down debt.<\/strong> Start by tackling your financial &quot;red flags,&quot; she said, including high-interest credit card debt and payments that cause you stress.<\/p>\n<p>Under ordinary circumstances credit card debt is particularly\u00a0hard to pay down, especially with the average annual percentage rate at more than 16%.<\/p>\n<p>And card balances have been slowly ticking higher after\u00a0Americans paid off a record $83 billion in credit card debt in 2020, helped by government stimulus\u00a0checks and fewer opportunities for discretionary purchases.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That makes this a good time to chip away at those balances again, which are now around\u00a0$5,525, on average.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Savings.<\/strong> Some money should also be put toward an emergency fund or longer-term savings account, Eweka advised.<\/p>\n<p>For added impact, workers with a 401(k) plan could boost their savings rate at least enough to get the full employer match. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&quot;If you aren&#x27;t getting the match, that is the No. 1 priority,&quot; Eweka said.<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise, if you are on track to reach your retirement goals and your consumer debt is under control, parents may want to consider a contribution to a 529 college savings plan because of the many tax advantages, Eweka added.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Spending.<\/strong> Naturally, most people may want to splurge at least a little, and that&#x27;s understandable. But rather than blow it on an impulse buy, &quot;be strategic,&quot; Eweka said.<\/p>\n<p>Whether that&#x27;s taking a class, investing in a personal trainer or exercise equipment, buying a few key pieces for a new work wardrobe or supporting a charity that&#x27;s meaningful to you, &quot;it should be used to move you ahead,&quot; she said. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/12\/13\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nearly twice as many employers are offering year-end bonuses this year, compared to last year, according to a report. Here\u2019s how to make the most [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":123980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Year-end bonuses are back! Here\u2019s what to do with yours - Fin2me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Year-end bonuses are back! Here\u2019s what to do with yours - Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nearly twice as many employers are offering year-end bonuses this year, compared to last year, according to a report. Here\u2019s how to make the most [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-14T17:48:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Year-end-bonuses-are-back-Heres-what-to-do-with-yours.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/\",\"name\":\"Year-end bonuses are back! Here\u2019s what to do with yours - Fin2me\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-14T17:48:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-14T17:48:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ad0e9920e03d3b41c7ad02a18375d76a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Business\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/category\/business\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Year-end bonuses are back! Here\u2019s what to do with yours\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/\",\"name\":\"Fin2me\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ad0e9920e03d3b41c7ad02a18375d76a\",\"name\":\"Mark\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39b72719fb75a2d3c7d7695026648602?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39b72719fb75a2d3c7d7695026648602?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Year-end bonuses are back! Here\u2019s what to do with yours - Fin2me","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Year-end bonuses are back! Here\u2019s what to do with yours - Fin2me","og_description":"Nearly twice as many employers are offering year-end bonuses this year, compared to last year, according to a report. Here\u2019s how to make the most [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/","og_site_name":"Fin2me","article_published_time":"2021-12-14T17:48:03+00:00","author":"Mark","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Year-end-bonuses-are-back-Heres-what-to-do-with-yours.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/","url":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/","name":"Year-end bonuses are back! Here\u2019s what to do with yours - Fin2me","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-12-14T17:48:03+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-14T17:48:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ad0e9920e03d3b41c7ad02a18375d76a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/year-end-bonuses-are-back-heres-what-to-do-with-yours\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Business","item":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/category\/business\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Year-end bonuses are back! Here\u2019s what to do with yours"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/","name":"Fin2me","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ad0e9920e03d3b41c7ad02a18375d76a","name":"Mark","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39b72719fb75a2d3c7d7695026648602?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39b72719fb75a2d3c7d7695026648602?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123981"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}