SoFi Blog

No one plans to get divorced or separated. It’s not what a couple hopes for when they say their vows. And it’s definitely not what they envision when opening joint bank accounts, purchasing a car, getting a dog, or buying a house together.

But if a pair does end up divorcing, figuring out what will happen to joint assets like these can be confusing and painful—at a time that’s already an emotional rollercoaster.

Taking out a mortgage is the single biggest financial commitment that most married couples make. Collectively, Americans owe $9.1 trillion on their mortgages, which make up by far the largest share of consumer debt.

When you first got to college, becoming an RA may not have been on the top of your to-do list. You probably imagined yourself heading out to fun parties with your friends on a Saturday night, not doing rounds in the dorm.

Now that you’re a full-time college student, the idea of becoming a resident advisor seems slightly more appealing. Sure, you’d have to deal with some negatives, but the job does come with its perks. Before you jump into life as an RA, it’s a good idea to think through some of the benefits and downsides to determine if it’s the right decision for you. Here are a few common starting points.

My partner and I had been in the house not more than five minutes before I turned to our real estate agent and said this—practically yelled it.

The house was a tall, two-story affair that was almost 100-years old. I’d seen the French doors and old growth timber floors online, but they looked better in person. So, I turned to our agent and made my proclamation.

I thought she’d turn to me and yell “Sold!”, we’d high five and be able to move in the next day. But, as I’d learn over the next few weeks, buying your first house is never as easy as saying “we’ll take it.”

There’s a lot of home buying advice out there, and everyone who’s been through the process learns something different. Here are the 10 things I learned when buying my first home.

The last cold snap has finally passed and you can finally go outside without a full-on puffy jacket cocooning you ankle to shoulder. Soon enough it will be summer a.k.a. backyard season.

But what if your backyard is looking a little grim? A backyard remodel can help turn even the dingiest cement patio into your own personal oasis—where you can sit back and relax by your own personal pond, or live out your Masterchef dreams with an outdoor artisan pizza oven that bakes the crispest crusts on the block.

A backyard remodel is also a great way to bring an outdated home into the modern era without worrying about removing walls or making structural changes to the interior of your home. Adding modern landscaping can take a 70’s home from drab to fab faster than you can say “lawn flamingo.”

And depending on the extent of the remodel, updating your backyard could also be cheaper than interior home renovations. A backyard remodel could also potentially increase the value of your home, which means that putting some work into your yard now might help maximize the amount you can sell the home for later.

Here’s what you need to know about backyard remodeling before you start peeping new raised flower beds for behind the pool.

In a perfect world, going on vacation wouldn’t mean sacrificing all the comforts of home. It would be possible to experience new places without ever feeling like you’ve left anything behind. House sharing and interesting new vacation rentals have come close to solving this problem, but there might be an even better solution.

Driving around the country this summer in a recreational vehicle (RV) might just be the way to hit the road. With loads of options from small vintage-inspired teardrop trailers all the way up to rolling mini-mansions, you’ll probably find something that fits your needs in an RV for summer travel.