SoFi Blog

If you’ve got a home renovation project on your to-do list, a great season to tackle it is underway. Yes, we’re talking about winter. Remodeling the inside of your home during the coldest months of the year certainly brings its challenges, but it also has a few unexpected upsides. So instead of hiding from the cold, use it as a reason to finally tackle that home improvement project you’ve been putting off.

So, how familiar does the following scenario sound? Spring has sprung, and you’re eager to throw open your windows and doors and start to spring clean. However, once you get started, you find that you really want to go for a walk and then you find yourself focusing on yard work instead—and, oh! Is that really a flower starting to bloom? and then—well, and then you don’t ever really get back to spring cleaning.

The reality is that winter is an ideal time to spring clean, as odd as that may sound. And, in this post, we’ll share four reasons that make the coldest season the best one to roll up your sleeves and give your home a good, old-fashioned cleaning, along with a fifth tip that suggests a totally different approach.

Winter is also a perfect time to do some spring cleaning on your personal finances, so we’ll offer some of those winter cleaning tips, as well. And the beauty of that sort of spring cleaning is that it can continue to pay dividends throughout the year—year after year.

The smooth lines, sumptuous curves and oh, that unmistakable purr. If you’re a classic car enthusiast, these tantalizing traits are just part of the equation. Because besides the obvious attributes—timeless design, intricate details and craftsmanship—there’s a sense of gratification that comes along with classic cars that’s hard to surpass.

If you’re the restorer then you feel an immense sense of pride in a job well done. If you’re the buyer, you’ve instantly made a statement of impeccable taste. And if that’s a perk for you, you’re definitely not alone.

In fact, the value of classic cars has increased 334% over the past decade, according to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index. That growth far outpaces the growth in the value of art, wine, coins, or almost any other collector item. And while that’s gratifying to hear as a classic car collector, it’s still not why you got into the classic car game. You see the value beyond just thinking of your car as an “asset.”

You think you have everything squared away. Your rent is paid. Your student loans are covered for the month. You even have some extra cash to try out the new craft brewery with your friends this weekend.

Then, suddenly a financial disaster strikes. Maybe your beloved dog gets sick or maybe your faithful old clunker of a car suddenly breaks down. All you know is that you need money and you need it quickly.

Of course, there are a number of reasons you might need a sudden infusion of cold hard cash that don’t involve trips to the pet ER or the mechanic. Maybe you want to refinance your credit card debt. It doesn’t matter as much why you need money as it matters where you’re going to get it.

Winter travel is something most of us begrudgingly undertake. We brave the cold, the snow, the sleet, and face down Jack Frost himself to get from point A to point B. Nearly 100 million Americans hit the roads or took to the skies to catch up with family over the 2017 holiday season.

But once the family obligations are done, travelers—including you—could be taking advantage of the colder weather to do something epic: Actually go on vacation. Here’s why winter travel really does reign supreme, a few tips on saving big, and just how you can afford to celebrate the holidays and go on your own vacation all at once.