SoFi Blog

You’ve been looking for a new gig for ages. Finally, you score a job offer. And it sounds amazing. You’re passionate about the work the company is doing, there are plenty of perks, and you really seemed to jibe with the folks you met during the interview process.

There’s just one downside: the commute. The hours you’ll potentially have to spend in the car driving to and from work have you wondering, “How far should I travel for work?”

The average commute time in the U.S. has been rising steadily over the past few years. The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey, shows that average commute times are now at 26.9 minutes, up from 26.6 minutes the year before. For the nearly 14 million Americans who spend an hour or more traveling to work, a 26-minute commute might be a welcome trade.

You may have already weighed your dream job versus the salary, too. If the job you’re considering also pays more, you might want to review the pros and cons. Weighing these factors could help you determine if the pay increase is worth the extra commute. If it’s time to leave your job and you are willing to put in more drive time for something better, there are a few things you could examine before signing your offer letter.

The dilemma: you’re in a store with an armful of essentials. You’re handing your treasures to the cashier, ready to check out, when they ask, “Would you like to open a credit card account and save 10% today?”

It happens in many a retail store across the country. Cashiers have been trained by corporate to wag the brochures in front of you, tempting you with even deeper discounts. This is your favorite store, right? You want a better deal, right? In the moment, it sounds fantastic—an extra 10% and you can simply put the purchase on that shiny new retail credit card and pay it off when you get home.

Except that a few weeks roll by and you’re back at the same store, tempted by yet another discount, so you whip out that plastic again. Pretty soon, bills come around and there doesn’t seem to be enough money in your checking account to cover the new credit card payment. Maybe it’s time to revisit this important question: How does credit card interest work again?

When ride-sharing app Lyft went public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) March 28, 2019 , the story was probably supposed to follow the same script as other tech unicorn companies (think Facebook and Etsy).

For these companies, the IPO meant a big cash raise and the debut of stocks that would surge in value. Facebook raised over $16 billion its first day and is currently trading around $190 a share. Etsy opened at $16 and nearly doubled the first day.

The IPO, the first time publicly traded stocks are offered for sale, can be a time of hope and celebration. Founders and early investors are hoping to make money, and individual investors have the opportunity to finally buy a share of a company they’re passionate about.

In our efforts to bring you the latest updates on things that might impact your financial life, we may occasionally enter the political fray, covering candidates, bills, laws and more.
Please note: SoFi does not endorse or take official positions on any candidates and the bills they may be sponsoring or proposing. We may occasionally support legislation that we believe would be beneficial to our members, and will make sure to call it out when we do. Our reporting otherwise is for informational purposes only, and shouldn’t be construed as an endorsement.

As the election cycle heats up in anticipation of the 2020 presidential election, national student loan debt relief is becoming a red-hot topic. Mark Huelsman , associate director of policy and research at Demos, shares that Americans can likely expect dramatic student-debt relief proposals, in contrast to previous election debates, saying that, “There is more consensus about the need to go big on college affordability than there has been in previous election cycles.”

Industry insights, IPO updates, and fun facts about some of the world’s favorite firms.

So far, you might describe 2019 as the year of the unicorn companies. These are startup companies valued over $1 billion, and many of them—like Lyft, Beyond Meat, and Zoom—are hitting the market for the first time. But what’s driving this current trend in IPOs, and will it continue?