SoFi Blog

Making sure you’re financially secure in every stage of life is one of the most valuable things you can do for yourself. But to do it well, it’s important to plan around how you’ll spend, save, and invest your money.

Keep your plan flexible, because things change all the time. And also think ahead a bit as you put your plan together, because time flies. (Just ask your parents.)

Most of us have the spending and saving parts pretty much figured out by the time we reach adulthood. It’s understanding how to invest our money that’s downright daunting. It’s easy to keep putting it off, but the sooner you jump in—even if it’s a small amount each month—the better.

Holiday Cheer with a Dash of Stock Market Fear

“O Turkey Lurkey, the sky is falling!”
—The Remarkable Story of Chicken Little

Quoting a well-worn children’s tale may seem a bit crass in the wake of an uncertain market. But, this classic yarn remains prophetic because of the timeless lessons it espouses for tumultuous times like these.

For the uninitiated, Chicken Little gets unnecessarily spooked, yells about the end of the world, and convinces all of her flavorful foul friends to prepare for the worst. The wily fox senses opportunity and invites his feathered friends into his den to take shelter from the impending storm—where he then proceeds to consume each worrywart one by one.

Given the market turmoil and disheartening news headlines, many investors may wonder if Chicken Little was on to something, despite knowing her eventual fate. As stock valuations become more reasonable, it may make more sense for investors to act like the opportunistic fox.

During the holiday season, the activities and schedules of Americans tend to change as families and friends take time off to gather together to celebrate. And it isn’t unusual for some traders to also leave work behind to take an extended break from typical routines.

How, though, do traders and investors adjust their schedules in Q4? How do they tweak their investment strategies?

In this post, we’ll offer insights into how stock market activity during the holidays typically compares to the rest of the year, and share information about Christmas stock market trends and historical December stock market trends, overall.

SoFi’s investment portfolios are built for the long-term. Founded on well-worn investment philosophies—diversified investments to help reduce risk, low-fee, tax-efficient funds to reduce unnecessary costs and more—we strive to ensure that our members are in the portfolio that closely aligns with their goals.

While we don’t try to time the market, we do believe that it’s important to monitor global events and understand how those events can affect your portfolio. Most of the time, these events are simply unavoidable speed-bumps on the investing highway and don’t require any adjustments to the portfolios.

Donating to a good cause can be one of the most rewarding and humbling experiences when it comes to personal finances. But, how do you know your money is actually going to help? While the goal of charitable giving is to do good, choosing a charity can be daunting.

As is always the case when money is involved, you want to apply some strategic thinking, in this case, to ensure that your donation is going to a cause and organization that feel right for you.

There are so many worthy charities in need of funding that chwoosing just one can be a difficult task. We’ve compiled some tips to make the charity evaluation process a little easier and help you feel confident about your decision. And don’t forget to talk to a tax professional about how to deduct charitable contributions.