You may get an end-of-year bonus, but it probably won’t be fatter than last year.

Nearly two-thirds of companies surveyed by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said they plan to give out bonuses this year, about the same percentage of last year.

For many of those workers, the bonus will also be about the same as last year.

Only 8 percent of the approximately 100 human resources professionals surveyed said they were giving higher bonuses than a year ago, and 16 percent said they planned to decrease them.

Still, any bonus is better than no bonus. One-fourth of the companies surveyed said they never give bonuses, while 12 percent said they awarded bonuses last year but wouldn’t do so this year.

The stagnant state of bonuses is in keeping with the general employment malaise. The unemployment rate has stayed about the same for months, as companies hesitate to hire new workers amid a weak economic recovery.

The exception, of course, is Wall Street. A combination of strong profits and layoffs could mean that Wall Street workers enjoy higher bonuses than last year.

TODAY Money expert and CNBC personal finance correspondent Sharon Epperson joined us for a live Web chat Wednesday morning after the show's Money 911 segment.

She answered several tax questions as CNBC just launched their year-end tax tips package. Click here to read the tax advice.

Here are two of her answers from the live chat and a complete archive:

Question from Icilma: I have been unemployed for most of this year, worked from June until September only. Would like to know if there is anything specific I can do to avoid any tax penalties and potentially maximize returns. I have a house and a car.

Sharon Epperson: With your reduction in income, you may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Go to IRS.gov to see if you qualify. Also if you have any taxable investments (outside of IRAs and 401ks) that have lost money you may be able to offset those losses against any investment gains. If you have more losses than gains, you can offset up to $3,000 in taxable income.

Question from Guest: My husband and I are trying to buy a house together. How is the best route to start doing this? Should we pay off all of our credit cards and other bills before trying? Or should we do it as we go?

Sharon Epperson: First make sure you have at least 20 percent of the purchase price for the down payment. Then make sure you have at least 3 mortgage payments and other housing expenses in savings as part of your "rainy day fund." You don't necessarily have to have paid off ALL of your credit card debt before buying a home, but it's a good idea to reduce it as much as possible.

Complete archive:

If you have a question for our TODAY Money experts, submit it here.

To sign up for an e-mail reminder for our next chat, click here.

Watch this week's Money 911 segment:

If you've been reading retail fliers or visiting shopping websites this holiday season, you may be thinking companies are practically giving their products away. 60-to-70 Percent Off! Limited-Time Doorbusters! Buy One, Get One Free!

Well, these endless deal offers may actually be retail traps, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Consumers have to be careful this time of year to do a little math, or they may end up with bargains that are actually busts.

The reporters analyzed a host of so-called deals at retailers across the country including Gap, J.C. Penney, Kohl's and Sears, among others, and looked at the tactics they used to get consumers to open up their wallets. One example was a 50 percent off Black Friday special at Gap. The following day, the retailer sold kids clothing at discounted rates as well, and on one item, a girls skirt, the difference in savings from the "big sale" day to the next day was only 25 cents.

The key to figuring out the good from the bad buys is not getting caught up in the marketing hype, which is what retailers are hoping for.

One suggestion: Bring your calculator and use it. 

Their rising health care costs are threatening the solvency of Medicare. They’ve only saved a fraction of what it will cost to pay for their retirement years. Now, the Me Generation is set to scoop up trillions more wealth from their parents and grandparents.

Baby boomers – who already have inherited some $2.4 trillion from older generations – are in line to inherit $8.4 trillion more, according to a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, sponsored by MetLife.  That’s on top of another $3.2 trillion boomers can expect to collect from their parents while the older generation is still alive.

The wealth transfer represents a nice chunk of change. Total household wealth for all Americans was just shy of $66 trillion in 2007. That means boomers will take in roughly 16 cents of every dollar of American household wealth. About two-thirds of all boomers will inherit something; the median transfer amount will be $64,000 – per boomer.

But like everything else related to wealth in America, there will be a wide range between the biggest and smallest inheritances, according to the study. Boomers from the richest families are in line for as much as $1.5 million each; those at the bottom of the inheritance latter will get just $27,000.

Even with a median inheritance of $64,000, most boomers won’t be able to make up for years of undersaving by waiting around for their parents' money. If Mom and Dad are living in a big house and globetrotting in their golden years, boomers shouldn’t count on getting their hands on that wealth, according to Sandra Timmermann, director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute.

“Any prospective inheritance is uncertain,” she said. “Parents or grandparents who expect to leave a bequest may revise their plans based on fluctuations in their asset values. Wealth may be consumed by medical or long-term care costs — or simply by virtue of long life.”

While some boomers may get bailed out of their busted 401(k)s by their forebears’ money, most still face a big savings shortfall. That looming crisis leaves many with stark choices, said Alicia H. Munnell, co-author of the study and director of the Center for Retirement Research.

“Policymakers should be developing policies and programs to boost Americans’ savings and promote longer work lives,” she said.

I know it's pretty cold out for most of you. But no matter how chilly it gets it's always time for a Chili's brownie sundae with hot fudge, especially when it's free.

Here's the description: "Warm, rich chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge."

If you go here and print out the coupon, you can get a free one all day today. One Chili's restaurant in the mid-Atlantic sells the sundaes for $5.69, so zero cents if a pretty good deal. You'll have to buy at least one entree to get the deal.

And you may want to go solo for lunch or dinner today because there's a limit of one per table.

If you’re looking for a job, chances are you have a LinkedIn account.

And chances are, that LinkedIn profile says that you have extensive experience in your field, are innovative, motivated and results-oriented.

You probably even have a proven track record.

Don’t be embarrassed. Everyone else on LinkedIn is saying the same things about themselves.

The job networking site released a list Tuesday of the most overused buzzwords on its U.S. members’ LinkedIn profiles. The company said the list is based on an analysis of the site’s more than 85 million profiles worldwide.

Here’s the full list:

1. Extensive experience
2. Innovative
3. Motivated
4. Results-oriented
5. Dynamic
6. Proven track record
7. Team player
8. Fast-paced
9. Problem solver
10. Entrepreneurial

LinkedIn said it released the list to help its members find better, more unique ways of describing themselves. For example, instead of saying you have “extensive experience,” the company recommends describing how many years of experience you have and what you accomplished in that time.

Women make up about half the work force and have a lower unemployment rate than men, but they still lag far behind the opposite sex when it comes to the top jobs.

A new report from Catalyst finds that women held 14.4 percent of executive officer positions in Fortune 500 companies in 2010. That’s a slight improvement over 2009, when women held 13.5 percent of executive positions.

Women are even less likely to be among the top five earners at their companies. The Catalyst report found that women made up just 7.6 percent of the top earners at Fortune 500 companies. Still, that’s up from 6.3 percent in 2009.

Women are also much less likely to serve on the board of directors of Fortune 500 companies.

Women held 15.7 percent of corporate board seats in 2010, according to Catalyst, up just barely from 15.2 percent in 2009.

Even fewer women are sitting at the head of the board table. The report found that women held just 2.6 percent of board chair positions at Fortune 500 companies, up from 2 percent in 2009.

Catalyst also called out the Fortune 500 companies that have zero female executive officers. They include Apple, Bed Bath & Beyond, Blockbuster and Avis Budget Group.

The companies with the highest percentage of female executive officers included Gap, H&R Block, Limited Brands and TIAA-CREF. Women made up half of the executive suite at each of those companies.

Catalyst is a nonprofit organization that promotes women in business.

Related articles:

‘Boys’ club’ mentality alive and well on Wall Street?

‘Man-cession’ means wives contribute more to family finances

If you were holding off your purchase of a Nintendo DSi game console hoping the price would finally come down, your bet has paid off.

Target fliers that went out this past weekend include a $127 deal, down from $149, on the DSi consoles in the popular blue and pink colors. The offer is in-store only. The price is among the lowest out there right now, but if you want a game or two as well, Wal-Mart's DSi "Value Bundle" may be comparable. For $169 you get two games, valued at about $15 each, and an accessory such as a case that sells for $14.96.

The deals are tempting, but there's no telling how low retailers will go on this item in the countdown to Christmas. It's up to you if you want to risk not getting the funky color requested on that Santa list.

There's no shortage of discount coupon codes on the web, but alas, they don't always work.

For example, the Twitterverse and an array of deal websites were all abuzz yesterday and today with a free-movie offer at Blockbuster kiosks. An array of coupon codes were circulating, but I decided to go straight to the company website to make sure I got one that was valid.

I signed up at BlockbusterExpress.com, had to fill out some personal information, then got an e-mail with my code. I also wrote down one code that was provided on several sites including FabulousDailyDeals.com and SimplyFreeGadgets.com, and then headed to the local Blockbuster kiosk the website said was the closest to my house.

Unfortunately, the system rejected both codes.

So, I drove a few miles to save $1 on a one-night rental and came home empty handed.

A Blockbuster spokeswoman said: "I’m not familiar with coupons for free kiosk rentals. Because the kiosks are licensed by NCR, I’ll need to talk to them, too, to learn what’s going on."

It took a while, but NCR finally got back to me with some information on the problem but it's not going to make those of you hoping to snag a free flick tonight happy. "We are in the process of resolving those issues and they will be fixed by Monday," said Jeff Dudash, an NCR spokesman. "We are also reaching out to those cusotmers who received that code."

I sent an e-mail to FabulousDailyDeals blogger Veronika Clark and shared my story with her and she wrote:

"I used the code yesterday and was able to get a FREE movie, I was just on my way to return it. That did happen to me once before though."

Lesson learned: cyber coupons are like gambling.

If you're feeling lucky, here are the codes I used: G419A and XU14A.

The wealthiest Americans spent much more in 2009 just eating at restaurants than the nation’s poorest spent on all their food for the year.

Americans' richest households, representing the top 20 percent of earners, spent $10,780 on food in 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey. About half of that was spent at restaurants and the like.

By contrast, the nation’s poorest American households, representing the bottom 20 percent of incomes, only spent $3,501 total on food during the year. Only about one-third of that was spent eating out.

The majority of Americans think the federal deficit needs to be reduced, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. They just don’t like many of the ways of doing it.

The survey found that 70 percent of people think the federal budget deficit is a major problem that must be addressed now. Another 23 percent think it’s a major problem, but it can be addressed once the economy improves.

In addition, about 65 percent of people think the best way to reduce the federal budget deficit is through a combination of cutting major programs and increasing taxes.

That all sounds good in theory, but in practice it gets a little dicier. A majority of those polled disapproved of most of the concrete proposals for reducing the deficit.

The ones facing the most fervent opposition include taxing employer-provided health insurance, raising the national gasoline tax and reducing federal education and road funding to states. 

Other unpopular measures include raising Medicare contributions, eliminating the home mortgage interest deduction and gradually raising the Social Security retirement age.

Two proposals garnered some support. About two-thirds of people surveyed support a proposal to raise the Social Security contribution cap, and 59 percent support freezing federal worker salaries.

Not everyone surveyed had heard of a bipartisan deficit reduction commission’s proposal for reducing the deficit, which includes many of the specific items the survey respondents were asked about. But nearly half of those who had heard of the proposal disapproved of that as well.

Given how unpopular most deficit reduction strategies are, it’s not surprising that more than half of those surveyed don’t think significant progress will be made toward reducing the deficit in the next five years.

The concerns about the deficit cut across party lines, with Republicans, Democrats and independents all reporting that is a major concern.

The survey of 1,500 adults was conducted in early December.

Soon retailers will be paying you to get an iPhone. 

Earlier this week, RadioShack offered the iPhone 3GS, including a trade in credit, for $24.99; and today Best Buy confirmed via Twitter it is upping the ante by offering the iPhone for free tomorrow.

Here's the tweet: "It's true: iPhone 3GS 8 GB SKU 1048998 free to qualified customers! One Day Only Fri Dec10."

The offer is only available in Best Buy stores and is only good for new customers who sign up for a two-year contract with AT&T.

To get into the holiday spirit, most people prefer the mall.

To get their holiday shopping done most easily, they prefer going online.

And to get the best deals on holiday gifts? A new survey finds that consumers are about equally divided on whether the best price can be found online or in person.

The survey from StrategyOne finds that 87 percent of people think shopping at a retail outlet is the best way to get into the holiday spirit. But 74 percent say the easiest way to get your holiday shopping done is to go online.

The survey of more than 1,000 people, conducted between Nov. 29 and Dec. 1, found that 52 percent thought the best deals could be found online, while the rest thought they could save more money shopping in person.

Although there are clear perks to online shopping, the survey found that most people – 59 percent – prefer actually shopping at stores.

Still, online holiday shopping is growing in popularity. ComScore said Wednesday that consumers spent $17.5 billion online between Nov. 1 and Dec. 5, up 12 percent from last year. More than $1 billion of that was spent on the Monday after Thanksgiving, dubbed Cyber Monday because many companies offer online sales and deals.

While Republicans are trading high-fives in Washington over a deal that would preserve tax cuts for even the very wealthiest Americans, not all the nation's millionaires and billionaires are cheering.

Certainly plenty of upscale earners on Wall Street and elsewhere are quietly celebrating the promised extension of Bush-era income tax cuts along with a planned reduction in estate taxes, compared with pre-Bush levels. In Greenwich and Palo Alto there might even be a few extra baubles under the Christmas tree this year.

But there are also more than a few outliers -- millionaires who are saying, in effect, "Tax me!"

A new group called Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength has released a list of hundreds of high earners who say they want to see tax cuts for the wealthy expire as scheduled Dec. 31.

"My view is that in hard times it is important for Americans to come together and unite over the idea that medical care ought to be a basic right of citizenship," said Eric Schoenberg, identified as a "private investor" who also teaches at Columbia Business School. "It’s only fair for those of us who have benefited the most from this system to contribute the most.”

Of course it is not completely unheard-of for certain progressively minded millionaires to favor higher taxes. Bill Gates Sr., the father of the Microsoft Corp. founder and chairman, long has championed higher estate taxes. This year he also backed a failed effort to impose a state income tax on high earners in Washington State.

And CNN's billionaire founder Ted Turner said Wednesday that he was not happy with the plan to extend the tax cuts.

But speaking on msnbc's "Morning Joe," he said he does not pay much in taxes anymore because he has given away so much of his wealth.

"I'm one of the few examples of a very wealthy person that's given himself almost to the edge of poverty," he said. "I've got a few million left."

Turner might have been speaking with a bit of hyperbole. Forbes magazine still ranks Turner among the nation's 400 richest individuals with his 2 million acres of land and a net worth of $1.9 billion, down from $6.2 billion a decade ago.

The cost of an Xbox, or any gaming system, is going to hit Santa's wallet hard, but add to it the price of a few games and you and your elves will have to work overtime 

But thanks to Gadget website Gizmodo.com, which includes a great Deals of the Day section, we found out about a Best Buy bargain on the Xbox 360 4GB Console with three games thrown in -- all for $199.

Update: This unit typically sells for $199 at other major retailers including Walmart, but without any games.

The Best Buy special includes LEGO Batman, LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones, which typically sell for about $17 each.

Your LEGO-crazed gamers will be in holiday bliss.

So you’ve made it to the top in a field normally associated with the other gender. The hard work doesn’t stop there.

A new study finds that once a woman succeeds in a male-dominated field -  or vice versa - they are judged more harshly for any missteps.

The researchers say this may help explain why some women experience a “glass cliff,” where they make it to the top job in a normally male-dominated field but then fall from that position.

Researcher Victoria Brescoll, a psychological scientist at Yale University, and several colleagues asked about 200 people to judge various scenarios involving a male and female police chief and a male and female head of a women’s college.

The researchers found that when the scenario involved the female police chief or the male head of a women’s college making a mistake, the respondents judged them more harshly than when the scenario involved a male police chief or a female head of a women’s college making the same mistake.

They got the same results in a similar test when they asked similar questions about a female head of an aerospace engineering firm and a female chief judge.

The researchers suspect that’s because women in traditionally male-dominated fields such as engineering, or men in traditionally female-dominated fields like nursing and teaching, are under closer scrutiny.

"Any mistakes that they make, even very minor ones, could be magnified and seen as even greater mistakes," Brescoll said in a statement announcing the findings.

The study was published in Psychological Science (registration/payment required).

If you're sick of holiday shopping and need some R&R, a $99 three-day cruise may be just the ticket.

DealNews.com tipped us off about the deal on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, which includes an interior stateroom on its shipMajesty of the Seas. The ship leaves from Miami and visits two ports of call -- Cococay and Nassau, Bahamas. The $99 offer, which does not include taxes and fees, lasts through Dec. 31.

The nautical bargain is among "the lowest prices we've found" for a three-day Bahamas cruise, according DealNews.com.

Happy sailing!

Gregory Bull / AP

Satila Higgins, of Evansville, Ind., speaks with a prospective employer at a career fair in San Diego.

Looking for a job in a tough economy can feel like riding a roller coaster – one day things seem to be tumbling down, the next day things seem to be looking up.

Case in point: Despite the bad news last week showing the unemployment rate rose in November, a separate report out Tuesday offered more hope.

It showed that there the number of job openings increased again in October – to the highest level in more than two years -  while the number of job separations decreased.

And again in October, more people quit their jobs than were let go.

The number of people hired in October, at nearly 4.2 million, was about the same as the previous month and up somewhat from a year earlier, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.  

There were nearly 3.4 million job openings in October, up from about 3 million in September and around 2.5 million in October of 2009, according to the report. Although the government said that was the highest level since August 2008, it is still about 1 million fewer job openings than when the recession began in December of 2007.

About 4 million people left a job in October, down slightly from both last month and a year earlier. However, slightly more of those people quit than were laid off or discharged. That’s a sign that perhaps people are feeling more comfortable leaving a job for something better.

Despite this news, anyone who's looking knows the job market remains extremely tough. The unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in November, with more than 15 million people reporting that they were out of work and looking for a job.

Related:

More people quit than were laid off

Consumer Reports readers are pretty happy with their iPhones, but they aren’t nearly so happy with AT&T, the only cell phone carrier for the Apple phone.

AT&T ranked last in a survey of 58,000 Consumerreports.org readers due to be released Tuesday, and the magazine didn’t pull any punches in summarizing its findings.

“This carrier scored lowest in satisfaction in almost all cities in our survey and was the worst-rated in almost all other respects,” the authors wrote.

Ouch.

Consumers’ readers were much more favorable toward the phone itself. The latest model, the iPhone 4, received high marks for display, phone navigation, web browsing and battery life, among other things.

Consumer Reports said the iPhone did well in its tests as well, but the report’s authors noted that Apple’s smart phone faces a growing list of strong competitors. Those include the HTC Evo 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S models.

When it came to carriers, the magazine said Verizon Wireless and Sprint were about even in overall satisfaction, followed closely by T-Mobile. But the authors said regional operator U.S. Cellular, which only does business in 26 states, was the top-rated carrier for contract service.

The magazine also offered some tips for cutting cell phone costs. Among them: consider a family plan, check out employee discounts and buy your phone at warehouse store Costco.

The full story is due out on the website Tuesday, but Consumer Reports provided msnbc.com with a copy ahead of time. It also summarized its findings in this blog post.

Update: A spokeswoman representing AT&T responded to the Consumer Reports story, saying that the company believes it has the fastest mobile broadband network and that its dropped call rate is not far off from the industry leader.

"We take this seriously and we continually look for new ways to improve the customer experience," the statement read.