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  • 💪 5 Financial Fitness Moves, 7.6M Unfilled Jobs + Your Habit Tracker - Sept 23, 2025

💪 5 Financial Fitness Moves, 7.6M Unfilled Jobs + Your Habit Tracker - Sept 23, 2025

Simple tips for financial stability, millions of trade jobs unfilled, a handy habit tracking tool, and more to fuel your week ...

September 23, 2025

Ladder Internships

Hey there, Career Champions! 😉 With the softening job market and inflation still doing cartwheels, now’s a perfect time to buff up your financial resilience. Let’s get savvy about savings, slay debt, and invest with guts (and a plan).

On today’s agenda:

💪 5 moves for financial fitness

🔁 Habit tracker

🔧 7.6M unfilled trade jobs

🎓 Ambitious internships

🧠 How to boost your money IQ

WEEKLY GOODY
The Handy Habit Tracker
Master your week by making good habits stick.
Only available to subscribers

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

💪 5 Moves for Financial Fitness in Unsteady Times 

Job security feels a little like Jell-O these days—wobbly at best, with paychecks feeling like they’ve got more exits than entries. But despite the rising living costs, inflation, and headlines about layoffs, here’s the good news: you don’t have to predict the future to be financially resilient, you just need to start preparing now.

🛑 What’s really at risk?

  • Emergency savings can vanish faster than expected if expenses climb 

  • Job displacement is a reality across industries—not just “at-risk” roles 

  • Inflation keeps eroding the value of every hard-earned dollar 

  • Living costs (housing, groceries, childcare) are climbing with no sign of slowing

🏋️‍♂️ 5 moves for stronger finances:

  • Emergency fund first – Aim for 3–6 months of expenses tucked away 

  • Cut sneaky costs – Subscriptions you forgot, lunches that add up—see where money leaks 

  • Diversify income – Side hustles, freelance gigs, or passive income streams

  • Pay off debt strategically – Tackle high-interest debt like it’s your arch-nemesis 

  • Invest smart – Slow and steady beats risky all-or-nothing bets

When layoffs loom or markets dip, a solid financial cushion and a plan will help you keep thriving. The earlier you start, the stronger you stand.

TODAY’S TASK
⏰ Focus Sprint Strategy – Block 25 minutes for deep work, then take a 5-minute break. Repeat to boost focus and energy.

TOGETHER WITH LADDER INTERNSHIPS

🎓 Start-up Internships for Ambitious High School Students

Ladder Internships is a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! Start-ups that provide internships range across a variety of industries, from tech/deep tech and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average, raising seven figures in funding. Interns work closely with their manager at the start-up on real-world projects and present their work to the company. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.

Ladder's programs for high schoolers include the Startup Internship Program, CEO Internship Program, and Combination Program. In the Combination Program, students intern with a start-up CEO for 8 weeks and complete an independent research paper with guidance from a PhD mentor over 15 weeks. Ladder's University Program allows college students, including those on gap years, to intern at high-growth start-ups.

THE WORK PULSE

🔒 Firewall for H-1B Abuse - DOL

  • What’s unfolding: The Department of Labor has launched Project Firewall to investigate H-1B visa misuse, enforce back wages, and penalize employers who sideline U.S. workers.

  • Why it matters: This could shift hiring practices in tech and other sectors. Professionals should keep skills sharp and know their rights as scrutiny rises.

🔧 7.6M Trade Jobs Unfilled - Yahoo

  • What’s unfolding: Mike Rowe highlights 7.6 million trade jobs sitting vacant across the U.S., from plumbing to electrical work.

  • Why it matters: With demand high and competition low, these fields could offer strong pay and stability. Consider training, apprenticeships, or transferable skills.

📉 Fed Cuts Rates - CNBC

  • What’s unfolding: The Federal Reserve cut rates for the first time in a year as job growth slows and economic uncertainty rises.

  • Why it matters: Lower rates mean cheaper loans but weaker returns on savings. Working pros should rebalance debt, investments, and cash reserves.

JOB BOARD

CAREER GROWTH

🧠  Boost Your Money IQ for Career Wins

Understanding money isn’t just for finance gurus—it’s a foundational skill that powers career success.

This guide to Improving Financial Literacy for Career Success walks you through essential concepts like budgeting, investing, credit scores and salary negotiations, all in accessible tips that you can start applying today. Whether you want to sharpen decision-making, protect yourself against unexpected costs, or make better choices about benefits and compensation, this guide helps you build the confidence and knowledge to make your money work for you.

Time to level up your money skills.

WEEKLY GOODY

🔁  Master Your Week with Our Habit Tracker 

Big goals are built on small, consistent actions—but until habits stick, we all need a nudge. That’s where our Habit Tracker comes in. Just list the behaviors you want to strengthen, keep the sheet visible during your day, and tick off your wins as you go. It’s a simple, satisfying way to turn effort into momentum and momentum into results.

✨  Ready to take control of your routine?

Download link available to email subscribers

BREAKROOM

SMART READS

⚙️ Future-Proof AI Engineering Skills 

🛍️ Top Careers in the Retail Industry

✈️ Move & Work Abroad: Beginner’s Guide

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📬 Missed the previous issue on ‘Fall Networking Season’? Read it »