Did it seem like your wallet was getting magically thinner in recent times? That's because of the effects of inflation. Surprisingly, that trend has now reversed on a dime. In fact, we just had the greatest decline in costs since the 1940s.

When inflation is low, the dollar you earn has more impact for you. If your raises at work haven't been keeping up with inflation, well, you may now see a reversal of fortunes. This year, you'll actually have increased buying power on what you now earn.

Meanwhile, employers have learned that if you cut wages and decimate morale, you may lose more in productivity than you gain in saved wages. The traditionally accepted practice is to thin out the herd and then preserve the wages of those who remain.

We hear a constant litany of headlines about layoffs. Larger companies will trumpet their layoff announcements because it plays out well on Wall Street. After all, investors anticipate that a company reducing its overhead should be able to deliver more profits next quarter. But the problem so often with playing to Wall Street is that you can lose employees who would make you more money over time.