Yesterday, President Obama met with labor leaders and progressives about the looming fiscal cliff. Today Obama will talk with a dozen corporate CEOs. The back-to-back meetings are part of an effort to reach out and hear from different groups about their concerns.

But, what does the fiscal cliff mean to you and your wallet? Economists agree that tax hikes and budget cuts will likely cause Americans to pull back on spending and significantly slow down the overall economy.

Marketplace personal finance senior producer, Paddy Hirsch, says individuals can prepare by beefing up savings and meeting with tax advisers to figure out how tax rate changes could impact their budgets.

Need an easy explainer on the fiscal cliff? Marketplace senior producer Paddy Hirsch breaks it down with a Hollywood analogy in this Whiteboard video: The fiscal cliff explained (with help from Hollywood)