SoFi Blog

You’ve got your eye on a big purchase, something you’ve dreamed of owning. So, now what? How do you know when it’s the right time to buy an item that isn’t really a necessity? Well, the first step is to evaluate your current financial situation, including how much money you have in your savings and investment accounts, and the bills you currently owe. Are there any significant expenses you anticipate coming soon? Do you expect any negative impacts on your finances in the predictable future?

If a review of your finances suggests that, yes, it’s reasonable to consider splurging on a big purchase, then it makes sense to determine how you can save money to get the best deal possible.

In this post, we’ll get into money-saving tips, tricks, and hacks to help you save money when buying a car, getting engaged, planning your wedding, going on a cruise, or buying a boat. We’ll also show you how using SoFi Invest can help position you so that you can potentially afford the purchases of your dreams.

What’s Happening In The Market?

As you’re probably aware by now, the stock market has been fluctuating over the past few days. Some say it’s because trade tensions have ratcheted up between the U.S. and China. Others cite that the Fed is expected to hike rates again at its December meeting. Stock analysts note many tech behemoths like Netflix have missed earnings expectations. But, the cause is likely a mix of many factors.

It turns out, current valuation metrics seem in-line with historical averages and the global economy remains in good shape, irrespective of what is the risk du jour. The enthusiasm that surrounded international companies early in the year was likely a little too rosy when stock markets performed well, and the recent pessimism that has driven stocks lower is likely a tad overblown. It comes down to the fact that there are always risks and rewards, so it’s important to keep them in context.

The need to plan a funeral can take you by surprise, leaving you very little time to make arrangements when someone you care about passes away. Having some understanding of what goes into planning for a funeral can only help, especially since funerals tend to happen so soon after someone passes. Your loved one deserves to be honored with dignity when they pass, and in turn, you and your family deserve the opportunity to say a proper goodbye. Ultimately, you want a funeral to be meaningful, and knowing how to facilitate that is key.

Finding the money to pay for a funeral is a high priority. Funeral costs determine the kind of funeral you can have—where you can have the funeral, how many mourners can come pay their respects, and the type of burial or cremation ceremony you can have. However, money is usually the last thing on your mind when a loved one passes away. That’s why it’s a good idea to know how to cover funeral costs, so that you’re not left financially scrambling while grieving. In this article, we’ll look at a breakdown of funeral costs, and outline the ways you can pay for a funeral.

You’ve probably heard the stats about the gender pay gap in America: Women today earn $0.81 for every dollar that men do—which, over the course of a career, can means hundreds of thousands of lost wages.

Here at SoFi, we want to do everything we can to help you attain everything you’re entitled to. Sometimes, that means researching your market value and asking your employer for more. Other times, it might mean looking for a new role, with higher pay and more opportunity for advancement.

But there’s something else you can do to close the gender wage gap—something that might be even more powerful.

Studies show millennial women have enormous power—when it comes to spending, that is. But what about when it comes to building wealth, like saving and investing toward the future? To figure that out, SoFi teamed up with Levo to survey 2,050 millennial women on their behaviors and motivations around financial habits, with intriguing results.

Millennials get a bad rap when it comes to personal finance. They’re often labeled as unprepared for the future or emergencies because they don’t save enough, if anything at all. However, of the women surveyed, 53% have an emergency savings fund set aside (covering three to six-plus months of housing and necessities). And they don’t just keep their money under the bed: 70% review their bank accounts at least once a week. These findings indicate millennial women are much more financially responsible than they’re given credit for, in that they are savers and have cash flow to invest.