SoFi Blog

Winter can be bleak. Short days, long cold nights, and countless snowstorms can take a toll. But come March, there is one emerald green bright spot. St. Patrick’s Day is a fun holiday for all.

There are tricks and treats from mischievous leprechauns that keep kids entertained and plenty of green beer for the adults. March 17 is right around the corner so get your green ready to avoid being pinched by a leprechaun (or your significant other).

If you’re playing host this year and are looking for some St. Patrick’s Day party ideas, we’ve got you covered. These fun festive ideas will have you and your friends feeling the luck of the Irish, all while helping to keep you under budget.

It’s down to the last few seconds. The star point guard steals the ball and dribbles his way down the court. Swish—the buzzer sounds. The game is over and your team is headed to the big tournament.

Every March the 68 teams compete in a frenzy of competition in the big basketball tournament . It’s competition at its best, the fans are loud, the rivalries are tense, and the games are exciting. It’s no wonder that thousands of fans travel in order to show their support for their favorite teams.

The excitement kicks off March 17th on selection Sunday . While supporting your alma mater or favorite college basketball team can be thrilling, it can also get expensive.

When was the last time you spoke to a teller at your local bank? Actually stood there in person at that little window—or even pulled up outside at the drive-through – and deposited or cashed a check, or asked a question about your account?

If you just closed your eyes to think about it—or if the answer still eludes you — you may be ready to move on to a bank without branches. It’s a growing club.

Though plenty of bank branches still sit on city and suburban street corners, consumers are relying less and less on in-person transactions. According to a 2018 Citibank survey , almost half of consumers – including nearly two-thirds of millennials —have increased their mobile banking usage in the last year.

You may have noticed lately the increased incidences of extreme weather—everything from hurricanes to wildfires to a polar vortex. Of course, in the event of a natural disaster, your first obligation is to protect your family.

In advance of these events, most people think immediately of non-negotiable musts like food , water and other supplies (as well they should). However, it’s also a sound idea to make sure that your savings, investments, and other financial obligations are kept safe from the elements and the possible ravages of nature.

As more of our financial lives go online and are stored in clouds, we may tend to dismiss the possibility that natural disasters can wreak havoc on our financial records.

Should an emergency happen in your area, you and your family and friends may need to hang tight for several days before things return to a relative normal.

In this post, we suggest ways to consider how to protect your finances and investments from the physical damage caused by forces of nature. Just like your overall survival plan, protecting your money and financial records takes preparation.

When you’re working on your tax return each year, it’s tempting to get through it as quickly as possible, then forget all about the stress it caused.

But tax season is actually a great time to take a look at the year that’s behind you and use that information to plan for the years ahead—especially if you’ve made some major transitions in your life.

If you’re newly married, new parents, or new homeowners, for example—or expect to be sometime soon—your tax situation may change. And so, by extension, will the ways you budget and invest for the future. Look at it as an opportunity to sit down with your spouse, maybe with a glass of wine, and strategize.