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Many experts recommend having an emergency savings fund. The money is intended to cover bills or living expenses due to a job loss, medical issue, or unexpected repairs. But finding money to put aside on a regular basis can be challenging. The 52-week Savings Challenge will get you there in the simplest way possible.

Learn how this savings challenge works and who will benefit the most from it.

What Is the 52-Week Money Challenge?

The 52-week Savings Challenge is a straightforward way to set aside a little money every week. The plan can help you save more than you might expect over the course of a year. The goal is to have a healthy emergency fund that you can dip into to cover unexpected expenses — like car repairs or a trip to the doctor — without blowing your monthly budget.

Although some people like to start these types of challenges on Jan. 1, you can start today, or the first week of next month, or anytime you like. The result will be the same.

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How Much You’ll Save After Completing the Challenge

Follow our basic guidelines, and you’ll save $1,378 in a year’s time. If you deposit the money in a high-interest savings account, interest will accumulate, increasing the amount you’ve saved.

How the 52-Week Money Challenge Works

The challenge’s structure is simple. In week one, put $1 in savings. Week two, $2. Week three, $3, and so forth for 52 weeks in a row. You can tuck the money into an envelope or put it in a piggy bank — but only if you won’t be tempted to withdraw cash before the challenge ends.

Temptation and interest are two good reasons to deposit the money into a bank account. Once a week, you could transfer the money from a checking account to a savings account that you designated for this challenge.

52-Week Savings Schedule

Enhancing the Challenge

Perhaps you’re looking ahead to Christmas or another time of year when you know that money will be especially tight. You can decide to pay ahead so that, if needed, you can skip saving during the weeks in December. That’s the beauty of this challenge: You can customize it to meet your needs.

When December rolls around, if you don’t have extra cash, no worries. You’ve already made those deposits (which are earning interest). If you can keep depositing money throughout December, do so, and you’ll reap even more benefits at the end of 52 weeks.

Here’s another possibility. As you start to save money in this way, you might find that you can save even more. If so, up the ante, perhaps by doubling the amount you’ll deposit each week, so that you can save money fast.

Pros and Cons of the 52-Week Money Challenge

First, the benefits:

•   You’ll be saving money at a time when so many people live paycheck to paycheck. That, all by itself, is a good thing.

•   You can gain confidence in your ability to budget, and to “pay yourself first.” For extra help, use a budget planner app to make planning easy.

•   As the dollars add up, use the momentum to continue the challenge for a second (third, fourth…) year.

•   Let this challenge motivate you to focus more on your financial goals — and improve your financial situation in new ways. Maybe you want to save money on food or pay off student loans, for example.

•   You can participate in this challenge with friends and family members, which can motivate you to keep going.

•   As your savings muscles get stronger, you can create a plan to save for other goals: a new car, for example, or a trip with your family.

Next, the challenges:

•   If the money is too easy to access, it can be tempting to use the funds before the year is up. To prevent this from happening, it may help to put the money in a bank account where you don’t have a debit card.

•   Because the deposit amounts are relatively small, it can be easy to forget to make your deposit or lose track of which week you’re on. Set reminders in your calendar, or use a buddy system where you and a friend remind each other.

•   If you start this challenge at the beginning of the year, the biggest deposits will be scheduled for the holiday season when you may have more expenses. In that case, start with $52 on Jan. 1, when the challenge is fresh and new, and then deposit a dollar less each week. This has the added benefit of getting more money into the account more quickly, which gives you more motivation early on. Plus, you’ll benefit from more interest more quickly.

•   If you find that you can’t make the deposit during one week, don’t get too down about it. This is a marathon, not a sprint. You can catch up.

Who the 52-Week Money Challenge Is Best For

First, if you’re enthusiastic about the idea, then it’s definitely for you. This idea can be adjusted for all ages, too. If, for example, you have young children and want to teach them good saving habits, start them with cents instead of dollars.

If you’d like to turn the savings process into a game, then this challenge is tailor made. You can, for example, write each of the dollar amounts, $1-$52 on a large piece of paper and then cut them out — one dollar amount per square.

Put the slips of paper in a hat or box, and select a square each week. That’s the amount you’ll save this week. If you need more advance notice of your savings target, pull the slips out of the container at the beginning of the challenge, one by one, and mark them on a calendar. The first slip drawn goes on week one, the second on week two and so forth.

Search for “52-week savings challenge printable,” and you’ll find plenty of other ways to keep track of and enjoy participating in the challenge.

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The Takeaway

The 52-Week Savings Challenge is a straightforward way of saving a relatively small amount of money each week to build up an emergency savings fund. In Week One, you save $1. Week Two, save $2. The most you’ll have to save in a week is $52, at the end of the challenge. Simple as it is, it’s also quite flexible and easy to customize in whatever way will work best for you.

Take control of your finances with SoFi. With our financial insights and credit score monitoring tools, you can view all of your accounts in one convenient dashboard. From there, you can see your various balances, spending breakdowns, and credit score. Plus you can easily set up budgets and discover valuable financial insights — all at no cost.

FAQ

Is the 52-week savings challenge worth it?

If you stick with the plan for a year, you’ll save $1,378 — plus interest if you deposit the funds into an interest-bearing account. This challenge can help you strengthen your savings skills and serve as a springboard for accomplishing other financial goals.

What is the $10,000 challenge?

This challenge is structured in the same way as the 52-week one. In week one, though, you’ll start with $125. Each week, you’ll add another $25 to the amount you save. The result: $10,000 plus any interest earned.

What is the no-spend challenge?

In this challenge, you’ll commit to spend money only on essentials, such as housing, gas, groceries, and utilities. You can set a timeframe for this challenge to build up your savings account. And you can customize the rules however you like — perhaps limiting the challenge to no-spend weekends.

Photo credit: iStock/Jose carlos Cerdeno

SoFi Relay offers users the ability to connect both SoFi accounts and external accounts using Plaid, Inc.’s service. When you use the service to connect an account, you authorize SoFi to obtain account information from any external accounts as set forth in SoFi’s Terms of Use. Based on your consent SoFi will also automatically provide some financial data received from the credit bureau for your visibility, without the need of you connecting additional accounts. SoFi assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, accuracy, deletion, non-delivery or failure to store any user data, loss of user data, communications, or personalization settings. You shall confirm the accuracy of Plaid data through sources independent of SoFi. The credit score is a VantageScore® based on TransUnion® (the “Processing Agent”) data.

*Terms and conditions apply. This offer is only available to new SoFi users without existing SoFi accounts. It is non-transferable. One offer per person. To receive the rewards points offer, you must successfully complete setting up Credit Score Monitoring. Rewards points may only be redeemed towards active SoFi accounts, such as your SoFi Checking or Savings account, subject to program terms that may be found here: SoFi Member Rewards Terms and Conditions. SoFi reserves the right to modify or discontinue this offer at any time without notice.

Non affiliation: SoFi isn’t affiliated with any of the companies highlighted in this article.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

SORL-Q324-049

You’ve been offered a job and everything is falling nicely into place — until your potential employer tells you they need to do a background screening, which will include running a credit check. Your credit score isn’t where you want it to be, and suddenly you’re very concerned. Will they rescind the offer based on your finances?

For positions outside the banking and finance world, your credit report will likely have zero effect on whether you get the position. And background checks for employment don’t affect your credit score.

Read on to learn the common types of background checks employers run and why they may want to look at your creditworthiness.

What Is a Background Check?

Not all job applicants are completely honest during the interview process. For that reason, many companies run some type of background check on prospective employees. Research from SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, found that 92% of companies in the U.S. conduct some type of background screening as part of the hiring process.

Employers order background checks not only to verify your identity, but also to confirm you’re telling the truth about certain things, including your past employment, academic credentials, and whether you have a criminal record. (Similarly, banks run credit checks for new checking accounts mainly to verify your identity and rule out identity theft and fraud. This shouldn’t usually affect your credit score.)

Pre-employment screening is typically conducted by a professional background check company hired by the employer. These third-party firms have access to resources and tools the average employer doesn’t, so they can deliver a more comprehensive report in a shorter amount of time.

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What Are Employers Looking Out For?

Hiring managers are looking to avoid bringing someone onboard who is unqualified or poses any kind of risk to their business. Without any official vetting, the wrong candidate could result in financial damage to the company or make the workplace less safe for other employees.

By doing a background check, companies can reduce property damage, employee theft, and liability and legal costs incurred by hiring unqualified, uncredentialed people. Companies also hope to avoid employees who have exhibited threatening behavior toward coworkers in the past.

When companies order a credit check for employment, it’s to get an idea of whether the candidate might show signs of financial problems.

Having excessive debt and using a lot of your available credit could signal financial hardship and distress. An employer may see candidates with high outstanding debt or maxed out credit cards as having an increased likelihood of committing theft or fraud.

How a Background Check Affects Your Credit Score

The good news is an employer background credit check won’t affect your credit or FICO score at all. Why? It’s considered a soft inquiry, which pulls most of your financial information for data purposes as opposed to a hard inquiry, which can take points off your score. That’s because hard checks generally take place when a financial institution looks at your score to determine whether or not to issue you a loan or a credit card.

As mentioned earlier, an employer-requested credit report will be modified, listing your credit utilization rate, any past or current bankruptcy, available lines of credit, auto or student loans, and credit card payment history.

The credit report the employer sees won’t show other soft inquiries, so they can’t see if other employers have checked on you.

You, however, can see the soft inquiries if you request your own credit report. You could even sign up for a free credit-monitoring service to keep tabs on your credit on an ongoing basis. A money-tracker app can give you ongoing insights into your financial health.

7 Types of Background Checks

There are many different types of background screenings employers use to vet job candidates. The employer may use one or a combination of checks depending on their needs and concerns. Here are seven kinds of background checks a company may use to screen a new hire:

Identity Verification

This type of check is usually one of the first stages of a background check because an employer wants to first know that the person is who they claim to be. An ID verification confirms the candidate’s name, age, address, and Social Security number, to rule out any aliases or stolen identity.

Criminal Screening

A criminal record check enables the employer to make an informed decision about whether or not the employee will pose a threat to their company, clients, and employees. It’s especially important if the person will have access to financial information, security responsibilities, or work alongside vulnerable populations such as the elderly and children.

Criminal background checks typically include county, state, or federal records of any arrests, convictions for felonies and misdemeanors, outstanding arrest warrants, sex offenses, incarceration records, and any acquittals, pending, or dismissed charges.

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Credit Check

It may not be relevant to run a credit check for every potential new hire. An employer may feel it’s necessary for positions involving a security clearance, proximity to money, sensitive customer data, or confidential company information. And they’re not really interested in knowing whether you have a fair credit score.

A credit check may raise certain red flags that employers want to avoid, especially if it’s a job in the banking or finance sector. Many late payments can indicate you have trouble managing your money, aren’t responsible and organized, or can’t live up to agreements. As mentioned previously, these credit checks will not affect your credit score, nor will the employer be able to see your score.

You may want to see if your state or city allows employer credit checks. Currently, 11 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington), and the District of Columbia have passed laws restricting these types of credit checks. New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia have similar laws.

By the way, credit-monitoring services can alert you when someone has run a hard inquiry on your credit.

Motor Vehicle Records

When an employee may be expected to drive company vehicles or transport clients and customers, the employer will want to review the candidate’s driving record to ensure they’re hiring safe and responsible people.

A driving record check will show the person’s driving history, including any past license suspensions or revocations, vehicular crimes, accident record, DUI convictions and any car insurance lapses. The motor vehicle report will also reveal the number of points someone has on their license.

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Professional License and Education

Some people may exaggerate or even give false professional credentials, claim they’re licensed by an official agency, attended a certain school, or have a specific academic degree, certain training, or certifications, thinking no one will really bother to check. But not so fast. Employers can and, in many cases, do fact check these claims.

Not verifying stated qualifications could lead to hiring a candidate who isn’t professionally qualified for the job. And hiring someone without the skills and education needed can make the company vulnerable to lawsuits and other problems. Education verification checks universities, colleges, vocational schools, and high schools to confirm enrollment, dates of attendance, type of degree obtained, and graduation date, among other details.

With professional licenses, background screening companies generally contact organizations to check if the person is licensed and is a bonafide member. They will make sure the membership is in good standing and hasn’t lapsed or expired.

Fingerprint Check

Along with the criminal check, fingerprint checks are used to reveal any criminal arrests, charges, or details about prior case results. Unlike other screenings, fingerprint checks require the potential employee to actively participate in the process by having their fingerprints scanned.

Fingerprint checks are often required in regulated industries such as financial services; government or criminal justice agencies; jobs requiring security clearance; and healthcare, where a candidate may be responsible for someone who is vulnerable such as a child or the elderly.

E-Verify

E-Verify is a government-run, web-based system through which employers can confirm an individual’s employment eligibility. Verification is based on data taken from an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification and compared to records available to the Social Security Administration and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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How to Prepare for a Background Check by a Potential Employer

First, be honest on your job application and resume, and during the interview process. Bring up anything you think might concern your employer before they do a background check. You can also do a background check on yourself to see if there are any discrepancies or mistakes in your records you can clear up. You can order one from a provider such as Betterfuture.com.

In terms of your credit report, if you’re concerned an employer may have some issues, it’s a good idea to review yours in case there’s something you need to correct or resolve. The three main credit-reporting bureaus are Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You can access your credit report for free by going to AnnualCreditReport.com, a federally mandated site. (Banks sometimes rely on a tri-merge credit report to see a round up of all three but consumers usually do not have access to this type of report.)

What Are Your Legal Rights as a Job Applicant?

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), employers must obtain your written permission before they can run a background check. You have the right to say no, but bear in mind, this could result in your not getting hired.

When employers use a third party to conduct a background check including credit, criminal record, and past employment, the background check is covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Under this law, employees have the right to:

•   Be informed of the background check

•   Provide consent for the background check

•   Review information pertaining to their personal and financial information

•   Correct any inaccuracies the report may contain

•   Appeal decisions if the applicant feels the decision was made unfairly

Laws in your city or state may impact whether, or when, employers can ask about and run a background check for your criminal or credit history. Before you fill out an application, check the laws in your state.

Can You Get a Copy of the Background Check?

Yes, the Fair Credit Reporting Act states you have the right to a copy of the background check from the company that prepared it. The name of the agency was likely on the consent form you signed, but if you can’t remember it, ask the employer to supply it. The screening agency should be able to provide you with a complimentary copy in a timely manner.

The Takeaway

Background checks have become a pretty routine part of the hiring process. These screenings can include a simple ID verification, driving or criminal record check, and pulling your credit report. Although it can be worrisome to know your employer’s checking on your credit, they’ll see an overview of your financial picture but not your actual credit score. Since it’s a “soft pull,” your credit score number will not change.

By knowing where you might be most vulnerable, you can prepare yourself by maintaining good records, being honest about your work and education history, and conducting your own background check to clear up any inaccuracies or potential problems.

Getting your finances on track starts with your credit score. Free credit monitoring is available with SoFi’s money tracker app. All you have to do is sign up (it takes just minutes) and start getting insights into your financial health.

FAQ

Can a job offer be rescinded due to bad credit?

Yes, an employer can withdraw the job offer for almost any reason, including your credit report. They can’t, however, rescind the offer due to discrimination based on gender, race, or disability. If you think this could be a reason, consider talking to an attorney. Otherwise, you can express your disappointment to the hiring manager and request more details on why they made their decision. This provides an opportunity to get a clear explanation.

What does an employer check show?

Employment background checks are typically performed to see an employee’s job history, if they have a criminal record, and to verify their identity. A screening may also include validating education and/or professional qualifications, driving records, and/or credit history.

Do background checks show up on a credit report?

When a company requests a credit check as part of employment screening, it’s considered a soft inquiry. Since soft inquiries aren’t linked to an application for new credit, they’re only visible to you when you view your credit reports.

Photo credit: iStock/MissTuni

SoFi Relay offers users the ability to connect both SoFi accounts and external accounts using Plaid, Inc.’s service. When you use the service to connect an account, you authorize SoFi to obtain account information from any external accounts as set forth in SoFi’s Terms of Use. Based on your consent SoFi will also automatically provide some financial data received from the credit bureau for your visibility, without the need of you connecting additional accounts. SoFi assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, accuracy, deletion, non-delivery or failure to store any user data, loss of user data, communications, or personalization settings. You shall confirm the accuracy of Plaid data through sources independent of SoFi. The credit score is a VantageScore® based on TransUnion® (the “Processing Agent”) data.

Non affiliation: SoFi isn’t affiliated with any of the companies highlighted in this article.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

This article is not intended to be legal advice. Please consult an attorney for advice.

SORL-Q324-040

When the economy contracts and enters a recession, it’s often accompanied by rising unemployment and a declining stock market. For that reason, some investors are caught on their heels, unsure of what to do. But some simple strategies may help investors invest during a recession – and there can be some surprising benefits to doing so.

It may be a good idea to try and keep in mind that because your investments may be trending downward, you shouldn’t let fear or your emotions override your strategy. That’s not easy, of course, but may be helpful to keep in mind.

What You Need to Know About Investing in a Recession

Investors looking to buy and sell stocks or other securities during a time of economic upheaval need to keep many things in mind.

A recession describes a contraction in economic activity, often, though not officially defined as a period of two consecutive quarters of decline in the nation’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — the inflation-adjusted value of all goods and services produced in the United States. However, the National Bureau of Economic Research, which officially declares recessions, takes a broader view — including indicators like wholesale-retail sales, industrial production, employment, and real income.

The point is that the markets tend to price in those indicators, so much so that you may see the prices of stocks start to drop (and bond prices start to rise) even before a recession is officially declared. For example, the S&P 500 Index declined significantly from October 9, 2007, through March 9, 2009, a bear market that started two months before the Great Recession, which lasted from December 2007 through June 2009.

From those lows in March 2009, the S&P 500 delivered a return of 400% through February 2020, surpassing the previous peak in April 2013. Those that stayed in the market despite unprecedented economic declines were still able to experience a positive return.

But that stock volatility can give investors the jitters — and that emotional state that can be contagious.

Behavioral finance experts have dubbed this tendency “herd mentality,” which means you’re more likely to behave similarly to a larger group than you realize. Combine that behavioral bias with another common one — loss aversion — and you can see how emotions can lead some investors to make impulsive choices in a moment of panic or doubt.

However, there is some good news: history shows that most recessions don’t last as long as you might think — about 17 months, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). So while an economic downturn can be scary while it lasts, it’s likely that time is on your side.

By staying the course and sticking with your investment strategy (and not yielding to emotion), the market recovery could help you recoup any losses and possibly see some gains — especially if you buy the dip (when prices are low). Though, remember, that nothing is guaranteed.

Investing Strategies for a Recession

The following are a few investment strategies that may help investors weather a recession:

Dollar-Cost Averaging

While it’s critical for investors to stay true to their long-term strategy during a recession, what about investing new money? This is where the concept of dollar-cost averaging is important for investors to keep in mind.

Dollar-cost averaging, simply put, is a systematic way of investing a fixed amount of money regularly. It’s often used to describe the way most people invest, on a paycheck-by-paycheck basis, through workplace 401(k) and 403(b) plans.

This approach spreads the cost basis out over a long period of time and a wide range of prices. By doing so, it provides a degree of insulation against market fluctuations. During times of rapidly rising share prices, the investor will have a higher cost basis than they otherwise would have had. During times of collapsing stock prices, the investor will have a lower cost basis than they otherwise would have had.

Taken together, then, dollar-cost averaging can help you pay less for your investments on average over time and help to improve long-term returns.

Buy and Hold

Because most investors invest with a long-term time horizon, it may be best to employ a buy and hold investment strategy. This strategy can often be paired with a dollar-cost averaging strategy.

In short, a buy and hold strategy is a passive strategy in which investors buy stocks, exchange-traded funds, and other securities and hold on to them for a long time.

By buying and holding, investors believe that they are likely to earn long-term investment returns despite whatever short-term market volatility may come their way. They think an extended time horizon allows them to ride out short-term dips in the market.

This strategy can also help investors avoid emotional investing or trying to time the market.

Rebalancing

Investors try to gauge how close or far they are from their goals because your time horizon determines how you invest. For instance, a younger investor may have a portfolio that’s heavier in growth stocks and lighter when it comes to bonds and cash.

For an investor nearing an important goal, like retirement, the priority may be safety and security or investments like high-quality (but lower-yielding) bonds. Over time, investors need to rebalance their portfolios, shifting the allocation of different asset classes. A younger investor may start with an allocation of 70% stocks and 30% bonds and cash. But as they near retirement, that equity allocation might shift toward 50% stocks or even lower.

Tax-Loss Harvesting

A recession can also be a chance to sell out of a mix of investments, owing to tax considerations. Investors can take advantage of tax-loss harvesting by selling stocks or mutual funds that have appreciated alongside those that have lost value. This strategy allows investors to use investments that have declined in value to offset investment gains and potentially reduce their annual tax bill.

When an investor wants to reduce capital gains taxes they owe on investments they’ve sold, tax-loss harvesting can allow an investor to deduct $3,000 in losses per year. As such, the strategy can be the silver lining on investments that didn’t work out.

Potential Investments During a Recession

It’s worth remembering some investments tend to perform better than others during recessions. Recessions are generally bad news for highly leveraged, cyclical, and speculative companies. These companies may not have the resources to withstand a rocky market.

By contrast, the companies that have traditionally survived and even outperformed during a downturn are companies with very little debt and strong cash flow. If those companies are in traditionally recession-resistant sectors, like essential consumer goods, utilities, defense contractors, and discount retailers, they may deserve closer consideration.

Recommended: What Types of Stocks Do Well During Volatility?

Some investors might also seek out even more defensive positions during a recession by buying real estate, precious metals (e.g., gold), or investing in established, dividend-paying stocks.

Additionally, some investors may look to move some money out of riskier investments like stocks, bonds, or commodities and into cash and cash equivalents. For some investors, having adequate cash on hand or having money invested in certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market funds may be a good option for a portfolio during a recession.

Bear in mind that every recession impacts different sectors in different ways. During the Great Recession of 2008-09, financial companies suffered — because it was a financial crisis. In 2020, biotech companies tended to thrive, but investments in energy companies have been hit harder owing to fluctuating oil prices.

As an investor, you must do the math on where the risks and opportunities lie during a recession.

What to Avoid In a Recession

During a recession, it’s important to remember two key tenets that will help you stick to your investing strategy. The first is: While markets change, your financial goals don’t. The second is: Paper losses aren’t real until you cash out.

The first tenet refers to the fact that investors go into the market because they want to achieve certain financial goals. Those goals are often years or decades in the future. But as noted above, the typically shorter-term nature of a recession may not ultimately impact those longer-term financial plans. So, most investors want to avoid changing their financial goals and strategies on the fly just because the economy and financial markets are declining.

The second tenet is a caveat for the many investors who watch their investments — even their long-term ones — far too closely. While markets can decline and account balances can fall, those losses aren’t real until an investor sells their investments. If you wait, it’s possible you’ll see some of those paper losses regain their value.

So, investors should generally avoid panicking and making rash decisions to sell their investments in the face of down markets. Panicked and emotional selling may lead you into the trap of “buying high and selling low,” the opposite of what most investors are trying to do.

The Takeaway

Investing during a recession is really what you make of it. While market volatility can spark investor worries, it’s possible to manage your emotions, stay in control of your investment strategy, and possibly come out ahead. Sticking to some broad strategies may be able to help, such as dollar-cost averaging or a buy-and-hold approach. Of course, nothing will guarantee that you generate positive returns during a recession, but certain strategies may help buoy your portfolio during economic upheaval.

Invest in what matters most to you with SoFi Active Invest. In a self-directed account provided by SoFi Securities, you can trade stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, alternative funds, options, and more — all while paying $0 commission on every trade. Other fees may apply. Whether you want to trade after-hours or manage your portfolio using real-time stock insights and analyst ratings, you can invest your way in SoFi's easy-to-use mobile app.