SoFi Blog

Tax season has a mixed effect on people. Some people dread it, while others look forward to it. On the one hand, doing taxes is a nuisance and it’s especially painful if you’re paying out of pocket.

On the other hand, it’s exciting to get a tax refund and think about how to put that extra money to use. Sometimes, a tax refund can be even bigger than a bonus or a paycheck, and without the income taxes.

In all, the IRS paid out $324 billion in tax refunds in 2018 . The average federal tax refund was $2,727. That’s a pretty good chunk of change.

If you are expecting a tax refund, it is worth your while to sit down and plan out what you want to do with the money. Otherwise, it might be too easy to spend the money just as fast as you received it.

Earlier today, we announced two new partnerships in the insurance space to include homeowners and renters insurance through Lemonade and auto insurance through Root with SoFi. These partnerships round out our existing insurance offering with Ladder , giving you access to more tools and services to protect your finances.

As with all SoFi products, we want to offer seamless online experiences, easy-to-understand services, and affordable rates.

[Updated 4/19/19 to include our full statement: Like any other investment advisor, we make changes regularly to the composition and allocation of our members’ portfolios in relation to their investment objectives and risk tolerance. SoFi Select 500 and SoFi Next 500 provide comparable access to market segments at far lower expense ratios than those of other funds, as we have waived all management and trading fees. We notified our members in a timely fashion in accordance with regulations, and will continue to address individual member questions.]

SoFi is always searching for innovative ways to help our members get their money right. After some hard work and planning, we are excited to announce the latest addition to our suite of Automated and Active Invest product portfolios—SoFi ETFs (exchange-traded funds).

We constructed these ETFs specifically with SoFi members in mind. They’re intelligently designed, diversified, and appropriate for both beginner investors and those who are well on their way to achieving their investment goals.

Investing is weird, right? Well, it is until you try it with SoFi. That’s why, earlier today, we launched two new ETFs (aka exchange traded funds) called the SoFi Select 500 ETF (NYSE: SFY) and SoFi Next 500 ETF (NYSE: SFYX). Maybe you’re an investing pro and know all about ETFs. If you are, then skip this next sentence: ETFs are funds that track a stock index or basket of assets – they trade like stocks on an exchange, with prices changing as they are bought and sold.

With an expense ratio of zero for both SFY and SFYX for at least a year¹ (yes – ZERO fee), these funds are designed with your needs and preferences in mind. We don’t think you should pay money to make money. And we know getting started is the greatest barrier to entry when it comes to investing, so we wanted to make this as accessible as possible.

Working during grad school can seem like an impossible task. While it would be nice to be able to solely focus on our studies, not working isn’t a viable option for many of us. Between work, classes, homework, studying, and other daily responsibilities, you’ll likely find your free time dwindling.

If you’re interested in attending graduate school, but the thought of adding even more to your full plate seems daunting, there are options you can explore. It may seem impossible, but with some diligence, working full time and getting your graduate degree can potentially work out for you.

Here are some key tips to help balance work and school without losing your sanity.