Even as more Americans tap, swipe or scan to pay, most still carry at least a little cash — and financial planners say that's a good idea. Americans keep $67 in their wallet, on average, according to a recent Federal Reserve survey on how people use their money. While cash remains widely carried, usage has been slipping: in 2024, 83% of consumers said they used it at least once in the past 30 days — down from 87% in 2023, according to the Federal Reserve. Still, financial planners tell CNBC Make It that it's worth keeping some on hand — particularly for situations when digital payments fall short. The amount of cash you should have on hand depends on your routine, says Christopher Rand, a certified financial planner in San Diego. He recommends keeping enough to handle a typical expense if something goes wrong — whether that's gas, food, parking or a tip — but not so much that you'd lose sleep if it went missing. "A good gut check is: If I lost my phone and needed a cab home, would I be covered? Other planners emphasize the value of cash when tech fails altogether. "When Hurricane Sandy hit the NYC area, ATMs were out, internet was down in many areas, and cash was king," she says. Some people only start carrying cash after a mishap. Brett Anderson, a CFP in Minnesota, says he used to carry less than $5 — until his credit card was declined due to suspected fraud. "It's truly inconvenient and embarrassing, depending on who you're with," he says. As a "financial advisor, your real friends will never let you forget if your credit card gets declined, and they take financial advice from you, I'm just saying." You probably don't need a lot of cash, and certainly shouldn't carry more than you'd be upset to lose or have stolen. "Having large amounts of cash in your wallet makes you more susceptible to losing the funds." says Tipiwa Walker, a CFP based in California. But having about $50 can be a smart backup for tips, low-dollar purchases or tech hiccups — even if you rarely use it, financial pros say. Carrying cash isn't about "replacing digital tools, but having just enough cash to handle those moments when tech fails or feels like overkill," says Caro.Want to boost your confidence, income and career success? Topics include earning passive income online, mastering communication and public speaking skills, acing your job interview, and practical strategies to grow your wealth. Use coupon code MEMORIAL to purchase any course at a discount of 30% off the regular course price (plus tax). Get Make It newsletters delivered to your inbox Learn more about the world of CNBC Make It

Warren Buffett is stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of this year — but he may not actually stop working. Instead of sitting at home, the 94-year-old plans to spend his post-CEO days regularly going into Berkshire Hathaway's Omaha, Nebraska, headquarters to keep contributing his investment ideas and decision-making skills, he told the Wall Street Journal on May 14. "I'm not going to sit at home and watch soap operas," said Buffett. Before Berkshire Hathaway's most recent annual shareholders' meeting, on May 3, Buffett hadn't publicly announced plans to retire. Internally, he'd decided to "remain CEO as long as I thought I was more useful than anybody else ... And it surprised me, you know, how long it went," he said. In May 2021, Buffett named his eventual successor as Greg Abel, the company's vice-chairman of non-insurance operations. Recently, he compared his energy levels to Abel's, and decided that his successor had surpassed him in terms of ability to be the company's CEO, he told the Journal. "He just was so much more effective at getting things done, making changes in management where they were needed, helping people that needed help someplace, but just all kinds of ways." DON'T MISS: 8 online classes to boost your confidence and pay—30% off Memorial Day sale But even as Buffett occasionally loses his balance or has trouble recalling a person's name, as the Journal reported, his ability to make smart decisions in turbulent markets hasn't faltered, he said. "I will be useful here if there's a panic in the market because I don't get fearful when things go down in price or everybody else gets scared," said Buffett. A small but quickly growing number Americans are choosing to work past the age of 75, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "My friend Warren Buffett still comes into the office six days a week," Gates, 69, told CNBC Make It in September 2024. "So, I hope my health allows me to be like Warren." Sinegal, 89, stepped down from his own CEO role in 2012 — and still goes into the office some Tuesdays, The Wall Street Journal reported on April 16. He always viewed running Costco as more of a hobby than a job, and wanted to continue that sense of enjoyment even after leaving the CEO role, he told the Journal. Sinegal's sentiment echoes a notable piece of advice that Buffett wrote in his 2022 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders: Job seekers should look for a role that "they would select, if they had no need for money." The mindset is good for your career, and helps you live a longer, happier life, Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway's most recent shareholders' meeting. "I think a happy person lives longer than somebody that's doing things they don't really admire that much in life," said Buffett. Topics include earning passive income online, mastering communication and public speaking skills, acing your job interview, and practical strategies to grow your wealth.

Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 Jony Ive and Tim Cook look at an iPhone. Jony Ive's deal with OpenAI should cause major shockwaves at Apple, especially after a design-team brain drain and struggles in artificial intelligence. Also: Apple plans Meta-like smart glasses for late next year, and Trump threatens a 25% smartphone tariff. Looking ahead to WWDC, we have the latest details on the company's operating system redesign plan and what's likely to be its biggest AI announcement. Last week in Power On: Apple's $100 billion-a-year App Store will never be the same.

Largely due to President Donald Trump's changing tariff policies, markets have been on a rollercoaster ride since April. Although the S&P 500 has largely rebounded from last month's lows, some families who have been diligently saving for future college costs may still see their 529 college savings plan balance hasn't fully recovered. "With a little planning, making withdrawals can be something to celebrate, not just something to fear," said Smitha Walling, Head of Vanguard's Education Savings Group. Here's a look at other stories impacting the financial advisor business. For parents worried about their 529 account's recent performance, Mary Morris, CEO of Commonwealth Savers, advises starting with a look at the asset allocation. "What you need to think about is assessing your risk appetite," she said. Generally, 529 plans offer age-based portfolios, which start off with more equity exposure early on in a child's life and then become more conservative as college nears. By the time high school graduation is around the corner, families likely have very little invested in stocks and more in investments like bonds and cash. That can help blunt their losses but also mute gains. If the market volatility is still too much to bear, consider adjusting your allocation. "One strategy is to start de-risking a portion of their portfolio and reallocate a portion into cash equivalent, which will provide a protection of principle while also proving a competitive return and peace of mind," said Richard Polimeni, head of education savings at ‎Merrill Lynch. Still, financial experts strongly caution against shifting your entire 529 balance to cash. "The worst thing an investor can do in a down market is panic and sell investments prematurely and lock in losses," Polimeni said. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, only 10% of investors liquidated their entire 529 accounts, and 20% switched to less risky assets, according to an earlier survey by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. For those who must make a hefty withdrawal for tuition payments now due, "consider whether it's better to use the funds now or let the funds continue to grow and those returns compound," said Vanguard's Walling. Polimeni suggests using income or savings outside the 529 to cover immediate college expenses, and requesting a reimbursement later to give the account a chance to recover from the recent market rout. You can get reimbursed from your 529 plan for any eligible out-of-pocket expenses within the same calendar year. However, if you're thinking of taking out private student loans or a personal loan that starts incurring significant interest immediately, you may want to spend 529 funds first in that case, and defer that borrowing until later. "Markets go up and down, but students' goals remain the same," said Chris McGee, chair of the College Savings Foundation. Roughly 42% of students are pivoting to technical and career training or credentialing, or are opting to enroll in a local and less-expensive community college or in-state public school, according to a recent survey of 1,000 high schoolers by the College Savings Foundation. As a result of those shifting education choices, 69% of students are expecting to live at home during their studies, the highest percentage in three years. Despite those adjustments, some recent changes have helped make 529 plans even more worthwhile: As of 2024, families can roll over unused 529 funds to the account beneficiary's Roth individual retirement account, without triggering income taxes or penalties, so long as they meet certain requirements. Restrictions have also loosened to allow 529 plan funds to be used for continuing education classes, apprenticeship programs and student loan payments. For grandparents, there is also a new "loophole," which allows them to fund a grandchild's college without impacting that student's financial aid eligibility. In part because of the new changes, more parents are utilizing a 529 college savings plan. In 2024, the number of 529 plan accounts increased to 17 million, up more than 3% percent from the year before, according to Investment Company Institute. Total investments in 529s rose to $525 billion as of December, up 11% from a year earlier, while the average 529 plan account balance hit a record of $30,961, data from the College Savings Plans Network, a network of state-administered college savings programs, also showed. "The industry is coming off its best year ever in terms of new inflows," said Polimeni. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Sunday said Tokyo aims to advance tariff talks with the United States, with the goal of achieving an outcome during the Group of Seven summit next month. Japan's top tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa held a third round of Japan-U.S. talks in Washington on Friday. Speaking to reporters in Kyoto, Ishiba said there has been progress in negotiations, pointing to discussions on trade expansion, non-tariff measures and economic security. "We will continue to further refine our discussions with the G-7 summit in mind," he said. Ishiba on Friday held a 45-minute phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss security, diplomacy, and tariffs, and said they exchanged hope for an in-person meeting at the G-7 summit. On Sunday, Ishiba expressed Japan's willingness to cooperate in shipbuilding. He said the U.S. has shown interest in the possibility of repairing U.S. warships in Japan and that Japan would like to assist. He said Japan has an advantage in icebreakers, such as those used on Arctic trade routes, which could become an area of cooperation with the U.S. Speaking to reporters at Haneda Airport following his return from Washington, Akazawa said an agreement will be reached only when all elements are settled as a package, meaning that until everything is agreed upon, nothing is agreed upon. "Therefore, I won't comment on how far we've progressed," he said. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Marc Faber, a longtime investor who says his nickname is "Dr. Doom" (not to be confused with this Dr. Doom), has been buying gold for decades and telling other people to stock up for just as long. "My sense is that a debt crisis is inevitable," he said, adding that he buys gold regularly, with the metal comprising 25% of his overall portfolio. Faber's clients also hold a significant portion of their wealth in gold, but the scramble to own more of the metal that's helped drive prices higher this year is spreading to more everyday investors. Some of what these buyers are worried about—which, among Faber's clients range from hyperinflation to the start of World War III—are unlikely. But forecasters don't expect the heightened demand from nervous buyers to end anytime soon. Gold bugs having been popping up in the US and abroad. Global demand for gold bars climbed to 257 metric tons in the first quarter of 2025, up 13% in a year, according to the World Gold Council. This year, Google search interest for "gold bars" has spiked on market-moving events, like the announcement of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and Moody's downgrading the US debt. Demand for gold has been so hot, the company rolled out a prepper bar, a gold bar that can be broken off into pieces, making it easier to trade in the event of a crisis. More clients who have invested in gold have also been requesting that the gold be sent to them, Rose said, estimating that the number of the firm's clients who insist on holding physical gold has risen to 70%, up from 20% in past years. Most of Genesis's clients are off-the-grid types who desire to be self-sufficient in the event of a collapse, Rose said. But not all of them are as extreme. More everyday people have come to him over the years, with fears about the dollar, inflation, and volatility in risk assets like stocks. These are just general people looking for a hedge," he said of their interest in gold. On the subreddit r/preppers, where membership has soared 354% since 2020, according to historical subreddit data, questions about stocks up on gold regularly flow in from users. Cash is always king, until it collapses, then that's where gold and silver step in," one user wrote. It's been a good time to own gold. Analysts say that some of the worries driving gold demand could be overstated. While the risk of a US recession is elevated, Wall Street forecasters don't expect the economy to enter a serious downturn. Goldman Sachs recently lowered its recession outlook from 45% to 35%, while Barclays recently removed its forecast for a mild recession. But those worries will likely ease, especially if policymakers amend the bill to appease investors in the bond market, Michael Brown, a senior research strategist at Pepperstone, told BI this week. "There's a lot of fearmongering going on in the markets right now." Still, Boutrous thinks the demand for gold will remain strong as long as people feel uncertain about the economy. Even when trade agreements get hammered out, he believes investors will still be jittery as they wait to see the impact of tariffs on the economy. Where Big Tech secrets go public — unfiltered in your inbox weekly.