SoFi Blog

As a college student, the period of time between the start of the school year and the end of the semester can often be challenging. Between classes, studying, extracurricular activities, work-study, and social activities the pressure can be overwhelming.

They say that you can either have good grades and a social life, or good grades and sleep—but we think it’s possible to have all three. If you’ve ever been left wondering “how to get through college,” we’re here to help. These tips and college life hacks will help set you up for success, so you can learn, enjoy all that campus life has to offer, and get some sleep.

Making sure you’re financially secure in every stage of life is one of the most valuable things you can do for yourself. But to do it well, it’s important to plan around how you’ll spend, save, and invest your money.

Keep your plan flexible, because things change all the time. And also think ahead a bit as you put your plan together, because time flies. (Just ask your parents.)

Most of us have the spending and saving parts pretty much figured out by the time we reach adulthood. It’s understanding how to invest our money that’s downright daunting. It’s easy to keep putting it off, but the sooner you jump in—even if it’s a small amount each month—the better.

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.

You completed your courses. You walked across the stage in your cap and gown. You graduated! Now what? Leaving the comforts of college life behind for official adulthood is an uncertain time, and those last few months of school come with a long list of question marks: Where do I want to live? How much will it cost me to get there? What should my first job out of college be, and how do I find it? How much am I going to get paid?

When you add the stress of living expenses and the impending end of your student loan grace period, succeeding as an entry-level professional can seem like an insurmountable task. But as the saying goes, “Work smarter, not harder.” To help you make a smart post-grad start, we put together a list of considerations, to-dos, and tips, because landing the right first job after college is more important than you might think.

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.