CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger breaks down financial tips and money moves to make as we mark the halfway point of 2025 – from reviewing insurance accounts to your retirement savings.

Washington

CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger recommends that individuals use the midpoint of the year as an opportunity to review their finances. She highlights the importance of examining spending habits, especially recurring subscriptions, which can accumulate to significant amounts annually. Schlesinger suggests using tools and apps to track and manage these expenses, potentially freeing up funds that can be redirected toward paying down debt or increasing savings.

She also advises that even small increases in retirement contributions can have a substantial long-term impact. The segment notes that while the job market remains solid, higher interest rates continue to put pressure on those with debt, making it even more important to take control of personal finances through regular reviews and adjustments.

Try these mid-year money moves for your finances

In today's Money Watch, we're about halfway through 2025, which means it's a great time to take mid-year money moves. If your ambitious financial New Year's goals are collecting dust, along with that abandoned gym membership, CBS News business analyst, Jill Schlesinger, is here to help. Good morning, Jill. Good morning. So before we get to the mid-year finances, we got a bit of news. Today's job report was better than expected. Were we expecting a bad job report? Not bad. We were expecting a deceleration in job creation, so slowing down. But we didn't get that. 147,000 jobs created in the month of June. We've been averaging about 150,000 jobs a month for the last three months. That about matches where we've been for the last 12 months. Unemployment rate went down by one tick. And to be clear, this just tells you that the job market remains solid. Good news for Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, because with the job market solid, they can basically look at the inflation report that's coming out soon and say, hey, if inflation is gonna be ticking up because of those tariffs, we can keep rates higher. But overall, better than expected jobs report, a solid jobs report. There is no actual reason for the Fed to cut interest rates based on this. I was gonna say, that's the thing. And that's the weird thing. Because the president has been pushing Fed chair Powell to do that. Right. Why? So, you know, because it's better to have lower interest rates, it is better for the housing market, but there is no reason to cut rates if the market can continue to create jobs. That's really the issue. So, all right. So now, when we look back and we get back to our segment, the one thing that I will tell you is that these higher interest rates have put a lot of pressure on people. And that is for real. That if you have debt, if you have thought like on January 1st, I wanna pay down my debt, it has been hard to do so. Well, we're talking about personal finance. Here we are mid-year. You're talking about ways to save money, but also find money. What did you discover? Well, I mean, the funniest thing is that a lot of this is within our power. So, I'd love for everybody to look at how you've spent money in the first six months of the year. Now, if you're not one of these people who's nutty and has an app and keeps track of every single dollar, pull up your credit card statements, pull up your bank statements, look at that Apple or Google Pay subscription number, look at what you're spending. See if you can scrape together a little bit of extra money. You can probably, I think most of us could understand that those subscriptions do pile up. The average American has about $1,000 a year worth of subscriptions. Can you free yourself up? Not the Paramount Plus one, just to be clear. But if you can free up a little bit of money and then say, okay, let me take that money. I can use it to help pay down my debt. I can use it to increase my savings. This is the moment where you can take some control. Well, there's always oftentimes that you sign up for things on a trial basis and then totally forget you signed up for them and they just keep charging you. That's exactly right. And so these auto renews can really be pernicious. You may want to check out some of these subscription saving services. There's Rocket Money. There is Pocket Guard, Bobby. There's one other one, Subby for Android users. These can help you track your subscriptions. And one last thing before we finish up here, if you have found some money, a great way to make sure you capture it is to increase the amount of money you're putting into your retirement. Just one extra percentage point, two percentage points. It will help you so much get that discipline that you are so seeking. So just a little bit today, it pays off enormously in the future. Love that advice. Jill Schlesinger, as always my friend, thank you very much. I appreciate it. If you have a money related question for Jill, send an email to askjillatcbsnews.com and she could answer it in an upcoming segment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv will do "anything" to advance EU accession talks. Zelenskyy spoke alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine will do 'anything' to advance EU accession talks: Zelenskyy

President Donald Trump said Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals.

Global Tariffs

Trump: Letters telling countries their tariff rate going out Friday

Indonesian rescuers on Thursday (July 3) temporarily halted a search for 30 people still missing after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the island of Bali with the loss of six lives, the national search and rescue agency said.

Gilimanuk

Indonesia suspends search for 30 missing after ferry sinks near Bali

After marathon debate sessions in the Senate and House, President Donald Trump’s budget bill passed in the House. Republicans secured the biggest win of Trump’s presidency.

Trump’s landmark ‘big, beautiful bill’ narrowly passes U.S. House

Florida says the first group of migrant detainees have arrived at the new immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz." CBS News correspondent Shanelle Kaul has more.

Ochopee

First group of detainees arrive at "Alligator Alcatraz," Florida says

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday (July 3) that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that he plans to hold a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. CBS News White House reporter Willie James Inman has more.

Trump speaks with Putin, plans call with Zelenskyy

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez reports on a lawsuit from lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia alleging he suffered “torture and mistreatment” after he was wrongfully deported and held in El Salvador’s notorious mega prison.

Tecoluca

Kilmar Abrego Garcia claims he was tortured in El Salvadoran prison

The Kremlin welcomed the development, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov claiming it proves Western arsenals are being depleted and predicting that less aid will hasten the end of the conflict.

U.S. pauses military aid to Ukraine over depleted weapons stockpile

Two contractors employed by UG Solutions spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity as they were revealing their employers’ internal operations.

Jerusalem

U.S. contractors say live ammo used at Gaza aid distribution site

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for hours on the House floor about potential impacts of President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" that Republicans are looking to pass before July 4. Following debate, the House is set for a final vote on the massive budget bill.

House debates Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' ahead of final vote

CBS News political contributor Caroline Polisi joins "CBS Mornings" to break down the jury's verdict in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal trial and the judge's decision to deny bail for the music mogul ahead of his sentencing.

Manhattan

Sean "Diddy" Combs denied bail after split verdict

Liverpool soccer player Diogo Jota has died aged 28, just weeks after marrying his childhood sweetheart. The footballer passed away in a car crash in northern Spain.

Madrid

Liverpool soccer player dies in car crash 10 days after wedding

The Pentagon said that U.S. strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran's nuclear program by up to two years, suggesting the U.S. military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.

Tehran

Iran Strikes

Iran nuclear program degraded by up to two years: Pentagon

Days before his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama announced the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a non-profit he founded, will have the sole authority to recognize his future reincarnation, but China insists it will choose the successor of the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Lhasa

China rejects Dalai Lama’s succession plan

The U.S. Congress inched towards approving President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, despite attempts by Democrats to stop it. The bill is Trump’s signature legislation which includes massive spending increases on the military and immigration enforcement while slashing social programs.

Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill nears approval

Sean (Diddy) Combs was found guilty on prostitution-related charges, but was acquitted on more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking giving him a maximum sentence of 20 years. But the courtroom victory was subdued following a judge’s ruling to deny him bail.

New York

Diddy denied bail, avoids life in prison

President Trump says Israel has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, but it remains unclear if Hamas will accept the terms. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Debora Patta has more.

Trump says Israel has agreed to Gaza ceasefire conditions

Bryan Kohberger changed his plea to guilty Wednesday for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. CBS News national correspondent Carter Evans has more on the case.

Boise

New details revealed as Kohberger pleads guilty for 2022 Idaho murders

The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a state abortion law that was adopted in 1849 in a 4-3 landmark decision. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul reports.

Madison

Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down 176-year-old state abortion ban

Macron and Putin held regular discussions around the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Macron visiting Putin in Russia in February 2022, but dialogue eventually stalled.

Paris

Macron held 'substantial' phone call with Putin

President Trump toured “Alligator Alcatraz,” a migrant detention center he teamed up with Ron DeSantis to build in the Everglades.

Everglades

Protesters gather around ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ as President Trump visits

Jurors in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal criminal trial said they have reached a verdict on four of the five counts, but they cannot reach a verdict on Count 1, which is racketeering conspiracy. The judge has instructed the jury to keep deliberating. Deliberations will resume Wednesday (July 2).

Jury reaches partial verdict in Sean "Diddy" Combs case

The U.S. Senate passed the Republicans' reconciliation bill on Tuesday (July 1) after more than 24 hours of marathon voting on amendments. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote.

U.S. Senate passes Trump's "big, beautiful bill"

The new order does not rescind existing sanctions on ousted longtime President Bashar al-Assad, his top aides, officials and family members who are accused of having committed war crimes and human rights violations against Syrian civilians.

Trump signs executive order lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria

Former criminology graduate student Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to killing four Idaho college students in 2022, a move that would spare him the death penalty under a deal with prosecutors, ABC News reported on Monday (June 30).

Moscow

Suspect in murders of four Idaho college students to plead guilty

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, adding to mounting pressure on a government fighting for survival on multiple fronts.

Bangkok

Thai court suspends PM from duty pending case seeking her dismissal

Israeli strikes killed at least 60 people across Gaza on June 30 in some of the heaviest attacks in weeks as Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Israel strikes pound Gaza, killing 60, ahead of U.S. talks

U.S. President Donald Trump says he's not planning to extend the pause on global tariffs set to expire on July 9. Brian Schwartz, reporter for the Wall Street Journal, joins CBS News to discuss.

Trump says he's not planning to extend July 9 global tariff deadline

The jury has informed the judge in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial that they have concerns about one juror's ability to follow the court's instructions. Deliberations in the trial are underway.

Jury in Sean "Diddy" Combs trial sends note to judge

Jury deliberations are set to begin in the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking and racketeering trial. CBS News' Katrina Kaufman has the latest updates.