By Lauren Schwahn, NerdWallet

Work takes up a big chunk of our lives. In an ideal world, all of the time and energy we spend working would be met with riches and endless satisfaction.

But in reality? Burnout and job fears are rising. Between a slew of layoffs, a government shutdown, a changing economy and a shift toward artificial intelligence, it’s no wonder people are feeling uncertain.

Trust me, I get it. I’m a writer. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never worried about being replaced by AI.

So how do we overcome these work-related challenges? I asked career coaches for their advice.

Protect your time

As a full-time employee and parent of two young kids, I know how quickly the day can disappear — and how hard it is to feel like you’re making progress on an endless list of tasks. Structure helps.

Using your time intentionally is a “superpower,” says Ally Meyers, a certified executive and positive psychology coach in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Meyers encourages time blocking, a method where you carve out chunks of time in your day for specific tasks, such as deep work on a project or responding to emails.

Prioritizing tasks can be tough when everything feels urgent. Start by setting some goals, Meyers suggests.

“Keep three top of mind as you work your way through the week, and have those be your non-negotiables,” she says.

Time blocking is also a useful tool for practicing self-care and avoiding burnout.

“We talk a lot about time management for our calendars, time management, for work. But what about time management for ourselves, just as people and humans, to decompress or release?” says Crystal Barrow, executive career and leadership coach in Stamford, Connecticut.

Make space for the things that recharge you. Go for a 20-minute walk each morning or attend a weekly yoga class. Mark yourself as unavailable on your calendar, and turn off notifications during that window.

“Take care of yourself, because if not, then ultimately you won’t be able to deliver in the way that you want to” or that your employer expects you to, Barrow says.

Turn fear into a plan

It’s normal to worry about what could go wrong in our careers, such as a layoff or getting passed over for a promotion. Planning for those what-ifs can help you feel more in control.

That might involve beefing up an emergency fund or polishing your resume.

Barrow recommends keeping a results “go bag,” a running digital file that includes your professional wins, metrics or outcomes, and positive feedback. Just don’t store it on your work computer.

“When layoffs, promotions, or new opportunities come up, you already have proof of your impact instead of scrambling to remember what you’ve done,” she says.

And if the rise of AI technology makes you feel uneasy? Start by embracing it. Learn the landscape and explore tools that could help you be more effective in your current or future role, says Brian Pulliam, a tech career coach and founder of Refactor Coaching in the Seattle area.

Think of AI like an intern, he says.

“If I had access to an intern who I trusted to go do this stuff as long as I could review it at the end, what would I delegate to it?” Pulliam says. Maybe you’d pick a marketing plan or a research topic.

Whenever you’re about to do something, ask yourself, “Is this something AI can help with?” Pulliam says.

Take small steps before big leaps

If you’re feeling stuck or unhappy at work, you may be considering quitting your job. But it’s important to regulate your emotions before making a drastic decision, Meyers says, especially in a tough job market.

“Often, we make a jump thinking that our circumstance is going to be different elsewhere,” Meyers says. “But really, it may be the way that we’re working, and it may be the environment that we are in, not necessarily the job itself.”

Reflect on what’s missing or causing you stress. Then, think about whether you can bridge the gap by building skills or having candid conversations with your team, Meyers says.

But staying put isn’t always the right move. If you decide it’s time for a change, look for low-stakes ways to make the transition.

For example, Pulliam — with a mortgage and family to support — started coaching clients part-time before leaving his job in the tech industry.

“You can learn about new fields, and talk with humans, and do some stuff on the side, and see how you like it,” he says.

Make yourself visible

Whether you’re trying to land a new job or prove your worth to your current employer, getting noticed is key.

“Communicate one visible win each week, and make sure the right people see it so you are seen, heard and valued,” Barrow says.

Making your accomplishments known can boost motivation and get you the recognition you deserve.

“If no one knows about them, then how can you get credit for it? How can you ask for the promotion or the raise?” Barrow says.

Know your audience, she adds, and communicate in a way that resonates with them. Your manager might prefer coffee chats, quick one-on-ones or status update emails, for example.

This approach can help you crush interviews, too.

Sharing lots of details about what you’re good at, and what sets you apart will make you “way more memorable than the average applicant,” Pulliam says.

Tap into your network

Professional organizations, alumni groups and other networks can connect you to mentors, job leads and career development tools.

Personally, I lean on networks for skill-building. Co-workers have sent informative webinars and online journalism courses my way.

For others, building relationships might lead to a new job.

“The last three jobs I got — Microsoft, Zillow and Coinbase — are all because of people,” Pulliam says. “It’s not because I was some brilliant person that nobody had heard of. No, I knew somebody there that helped me get in, in all three cases.”

The best way to stand out in this job market is to talk to people, Pulliam says.

You can find simple ways to build your network.

“Connect with mutual colleagues on LinkedIn. Talk to humans and see if you can have a person let you in the side door of a building through a referral of some kind,” Pulliam says.

For all the talk about automation, there’s still power in human connections.

Lauren Schwahn writes for NerdWallet. Email: lschwahn@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @lauren_schwahn.

The article Surviving Burnout, Job Fears and More: 5 Tips From Career Coaches originally appeared on NerdWallet.

This fall, multiple appliances in my home announced they were done: A water line inside my washer broke, my dryer began requiring multiple cycles to dry a load, and my hair straightener stopped getting hot enough to do its job.

The only silver lining? Solid holiday sales start in October and get really good in November.

As a personal finance expert, I came up with a shopping strategy: I would select the appliances I wanted to buy before the October sales began, track the prices through Black Friday and buy as soon as those prices dipped to their lowest point.

I estimate leveraging holiday sales to buy my household necessities could save me several hundred dollars.

Samantha Gordon, the deals editor at Consumer Reports, confirmed the logic of my strategy.

“My biggest piece of advice for anybody is to never buy anything not on sale,” she says. And in November, she adds, “Everything goes on sale.”

With some planning, you can leverage the season’s discounts for your own needs.

Make your list early

Research exactly which products you want before the sales start so you can make an informed decision when the discounts begin, Gordon says.

She suggests tracking prices now so you know what constitutes an actual discount versus simply an advertised sale.

“You want to know what the price is on an average day,” Gordon says, adding that price-tracking tools, such as Keepa, CamelCamelCamel.com and PayPal Honey, can help you.

Andrea Woroch, a money-saving expert who shares budgeting tips on her website, has been doing just that. Like me, she has a list of household products — including a vacuum and new fridge — that she hopes to buy during the holiday sales.

“Set a sale alert for an item you want to track so you don’t miss a limited-time, early deal,” she suggests. Shopping apps like Karma and CamelCamelCamel will send a price drop alert right to your inbox.

If you plan to shop at a specific store, Woroch says to sign up for free loyalty programs. That may get you free shipping, rewards for purchases and extra coupons.

Consider everyday household items

Big-ticket items aren’t the only things marked down this time of year. Everyday essentials, such as paper products and makeup, also go on sale.

Trae Bodge, a shopping expert at TrueTrae.com who is based in the New York area, takes advantage of those discounts. During the October sales, she bought brow gel, pretzels, a new fireplace screen and an inflatable travel mattress.

Bodge estimates she saved between 10% to 30% on each item, and stacked that savings with cash back through a browser extension.

Avoid frenzied buying

Of course, all these discounts can also translate into wayward buys.

While it can be a good idea to buy a discounted item for next year now, Woroch cautions against overspending.

“Just make sure you can afford the purchase when you buy it. You don’t want to add to your spending load so much that you can’t pay off your card,” she says, because that can lead to interest charges.

In some cases, 0% financing deals may also be available during sales events, allowing you to spread out payments without interest accruing, she adds.

The washer and dryer set will be my biggest purchase, which is why I’ve taken time to plan for it.

Lock in seasonal savings

October was good, but I’m holding out for Black Friday sales: The hair appliance I plan to purchase — a Beachwaver rotating curling iron — normally retails for $99, but dipped to just under $70 right before the October sales hit.

I was tempted to hit “buy” until I checked the price history on CamelCamelCamel.com. I saw that last Black Friday, the price went all the way down to $49. So I’m waiting, hoping the low price repeats itself again this year. If it does, I’ll save about $50.

For our washer and dryer combo, I selected the LG ThinQ model after combing through online reviews. While it’s currently marked down about $500, I expect an even better deal during the Black Friday sales.

Research shows that appliance prices typically dip during Black Friday, with deals announced ahead of time. So I’m keeping my eye out and will make my purchase when I see sales roll out. It’s a bit of a gamble — because I could save $500 now — but I’m hopeful.

The bottom line? Using seasonal sales to buy necessities can save you cash, which we can all use right now.

Kimberly Palmer writes for NerdWallet. Email: kpalmer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kimberlypalmer.

The article How a Personal Finance Expert Leverages Holiday Sales for Household Necessities originally appeared on NerdWallet.

A few weeks ago, I was about to pay the HVAC technician who had repaired my home’s heat pump. Out of habit, I pulled a credit card from my wallet — I figured I’d earn rewards on this pricey transaction — but then the tech warned me that his company assesses a 3% surcharge on credit card payments. Thankful for the heads-up, I wrote him a check instead.

Credit card surcharges aren’t new, but they’re becoming more common. According to J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Merchant Services Satisfaction Study, “34% of merchants are adding surcharges for customer purchases made using credit cards.” Compare that number to just a year before, when 20% of merchants reported assessing surcharges, per a 2024 State of the Industry Report from CMSPI, a payments consultancy firm.

Surcharging at restaurants, in particular, can at times feel like the rule, not the exception. One Reddit thread from August 2025 pointedly asked: “Since when did 3% CC [credit card] fees at restaurants become the new normal?” In other words, why now?

Several factors are at play, but a short version is that it’s simply become more expensive, over time, for businesses to accept credit cards, and surcharges help offset those costs.

The practice, though, is changing the math for users of rewards credit cards. While it used to be a no-brainer to pick up the tab with a card that earns a flat 2% back, now that same decision on a bill with a 3% surcharge could result in a loss.

“We’re approaching a tipping point where consumers are actively saying they won’t pay the surcharge,” says Don Apgar, director of the merchant payments practice at Javelin Strategy & Research.

In the moment — stuck in the restaurant booth when the check arrives — you don’t exactly have much of a choice. But you do have longer-term options.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s best credit cards for restaurants

Why surcharges exist

The payment processing company Stripe defines a surcharge as “an additional fee that a business may add to a transaction when a customer pays with a credit card,” meant to recoup “the costs that the business incurs for processing credit card payments.” These costs to businesses, known as interchange fees, totaled more than $160 billion in 2022, according to Stripe.

Interchange fees are set by the payment networks that credit cards run on: Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. The rewards that your credit card earns — cash back, points or miles — are largely funded by those interchange fees. As such, merchants generally pay more in interchange fees to accept rewards cards as a payment method. Apgar estimates that 75% of the credit cards that consumers pay with today earn rewards.

It’s become a flashpoint in the payments industry, pitting credit card companies against merchants. The former argue they’re providing an essential service and that interchange fees are simply the cost of doing business, while the latter argue that those costs are spiraling out of control.

Lawmakers, too, are paying attention. In 2022, the Credit Card Competition Act was introduced in Congress. It aims to create more competition in the credit card payment network market, which supporters argue would lead to lower interchange costs for merchants. The bill hasn’t passed, but supporters continue to push for it every year.

Why they’re ‘becoming de facto’

So for now, merchants are leaning on surcharges to defray interchange fees, when they can. Some states ban surcharging outright, while others allow it as long as merchants abide by certain rules.

For example, businesses must tell their customers — through written or verbal notices — if they impose a surcharge for credit card payments. And in general, surcharges cannot exceed the limit set by the payment network that the card runs on. (You may have encountered such language on a restaurant bill: “Non-cash adjustments are not greater than our cost of acceptance.”)

It’s a patchwork system that can be hard to follow for both customers and merchants. And on top of that, rewards credit cards are getting even more generous for consumers — and thus more expensive for businesses to accept.

“U.S. cardholders have an insatiable appetite for rewards and benefits,” says John Cabell, managing director of payments intelligence at J.D. Power. “We continue to see an upward spiral for rewards, cash back percentages [and] the number of rewards categories.”

Cabell also believes the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the surcharging trend. “Since the pandemic, additional fees and charges have become more commonplace,” he says. For instance, some restaurants that remained open during the pandemic tacked on a COVID-related surcharge to make up for the extra costs required to operate safely.

Today, restaurants may be more inclined to surcharge with the recent memory that their patrons were willing to pay extra fees before.

“Surcharging was few and far between … but now it’s becoming de facto,” Apgar says.

What are your options?

‘Do the math’

When faced with a surcharge, you could opt to pay the bill with cash, check or debit card, instead of credit. You won’t be alone. J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Merchant Services Satisfaction Study found that “41% of credit card users … decided not to use a card payment method at a large or small business because of a surcharge.”

If you insist on paying with a credit card, try to use one whose rewards outweigh the surcharge. And remember, it’s not always about the percentages. To come out ahead on a restaurant tab with a 3% surcharge, a card that earns 3% cash back on dining would cover you — but so might a card that earns 2 points back per $1 at restaurants, depending on how much those points are worth. For that matter, so might a card with a large welcome bonus that you’re trying to snag.

“You have to do the math to figure out if it’s worth it based on the type of rewards and benefits you’re pursuing,” Cabell says.

Stack rewards

Use a card that earns bonus rewards on dining, then “stack” those savings with a cash-back app or card-linked offer.

Chain restaurants and local eateries alike are often featured in both.

Flag improper charges

If you suspect a restaurant is illegally surcharging, you can dispute the charge by filing a complaint with the card issuer, who will escalate it to the payment network and then the payment processor for that particular merchant.

You could also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau or your state’s attorney general. To recover a surcharge, you could ask for a refund from the restaurant, or go to small claims court. However, Cabell warns that it could “take a real effort for a very small amount of money.”

Go next door

If you see a sign on the door or menu mentioning a “non-cash service fee” or a “discount for all cash purchases,” you could walk out and take your business elsewhere.

That’s cold comfort to, say, foodies who love trying out the latest trendy spots, surcharges be darned. In that case, it may help to keep in mind that rewards are only one benefit of paying with a credit card. You’ll also get stronger fraud protections, easier budget tracking and opportunities for credit-building. Depending on the card and the purchase, you may also get insurance coverage or extended warranties.

Whether it’s worth paying a surcharge for those benefits is up to you.

Jae Bratton writes for NerdWallet. Email: jbratton@nerdwallet.com.

The article Restaurant Surcharges Are Changing the Math for Credit Card Rewards originally appeared on NerdWallet.