SoFi Blog

With spring home buying season just around the corner, you may be gearing up for a string of weekends spent perusing open houses. Want to get a jump on your search now? If you haven’t settled on the best neighborhood to buy a home, now’s a good time to do some research.

Choosing the right neighborhood is no small feat, especially if you’re relocating long distance to an area that you don’t know well. While a great neighborhood can make your dream home even dreamier, just one bad neighbor or experience could have you thinking twice about how much you love your new digs. So how can you tell if you’re buying a home in your ideal community, or if you’re about to become financially tethered to a situation you’ll soon regret?

You may have seen recent headlines about the hottest new employee benefit since the 401(k): student loan assistance. Whether it’s helping employees pay student loans or subsidizing an interest rate discount on student loan refinancing, a growing number of employers are offering some kind of student debt assistance as a tool to recruit and retain talent in today’s competitive job market.

If you feel like you’re underpaid in your your current position, there is a wealth of recent economic data to suggest you’re probably right – and you’re not alone. SoFi’s Q4 2015 Career Trends Report revealed two overarching themes that suggest 2016 is a great year to ask for a pay raise: low unemployment numbers and an ongoing lag in wages.

Asking for a raise can be an intimidating prospect, but the truth is that it’s more dangerous not to ask. The longer you stay in one job without a significant pay increase, the more likely you are to make below market rate when compared to your peers. 

If you’ve been watching the teaser ads for the Big Game this week, you may have seen SoFi’s new spot making the rounds. It was a big bet for a five-year old startup, made even bigger by the fact that we chose a somewhat provocative message—the idea that SoFi provides “great loans for great people.”

While the ad was praised by many for its humor, production quality and creativity, it didn’t take long for a few people to take offense. “The message couldn’t be less inclusive if it were produced by Marie Antoinette’s ad agency,” complained one fintech newsletter. “Don’t bank with us, says fintech bank,” jabbed another headline.