By coinnews 
00:00 Speaker A
Some of the biggest firms on Wall Street are raising their expectations of a recession in the next 12 months. While it’s far from certain that it’s in the cards, we are bringing you some steps you can take today to prepare just in case. Joining me is Jean Chatzky, CEO of hermoney.com and host of the podcast, Her Money with Jean Chatzky. And Jean, we should say here, a lot of these folks are not predicting a recession. They’re just raising the chances that it could happen. Most of them are predicting a slowdown from the growth where we are right now. What should people be looking out for? Uh, what signs that could signal a slowdown or even a recession is coming?
00:59 Jean Chatzky
We’ll keep an eye on unemployment. Unemployment is likely to start ticking up if if there is a recession. We’ll look at consumer spending. Consumers often lose confidence. We’re starting to see declining consumer confidence already. If we see a slowdown in consumer spending, that can, uh, be another sign that we are headed into recession. But the the tricky part about a recession is that we could be in one already and not know it, uh, simply because the data lags. And so for individual investors, the thing to keep an eye on is your own finances. You want to focus on controlling the things that you can control, making sure that your job is shored up as much as possible. And if you feel that it’s tenuous, making sure that you are taking steps right now in in terms of, uh, brushing up your LinkedIn, brushing up your resume. You want to make sure that you’re keeping a little bit of extra powder dry in terms of savings in case you need it in an emergency. You’re not going to be able to control the roller coaster markets, but you are going to be able to keep an a lid on your own wallet, at least to some degree.
03:01 Speaker A
And speaking of controlling things you can control, Jean, you know, it’s a good reminder what you were saying about your LinkedIn. Also that we’re not at the, you know, the job market is not necessarily weak right now, but it’s not at the height it was a couple of years ago. So if someone’s preparing to leave a job voluntarily, they should probably have another one lined up.
03:33 Jean Chatzky
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we we stop and think, oh my gosh, a recession. I’m never going to be able to get a job. No. Hiring happens continually. It just happens a little more slowly in a recession, which means it may take you a little bit longer to get that next job. And so Julie, exactly what you’re saying is what I would say. Don’t quit the job until you’ve got the next one lined up. Now is not the time to do that.