SoFi Blog

If you’ve spent any time lately reading about the financial issues affecting young adults, you may have come across news reports about the need to increase “financial literacy.”

Turns out, even the best and brightest college students and recent graduates aren’t necessarily skilled at managing their money—and they aren’t being provided with much education regarding basic financial concepts.

Getting a new set of wheels can mean freedom on the road, but the process of buying a car inspires a less exciting image. The tricky car salesperson, the lightning-fast dealership sales, and the complicated negotiation process can be a less than thrilling, and even downright stressful, experience for the average buyer.

The good news is the stereotypes and misconceptions of negotiating a car sale can be easily dispelled. With a little bit of prep work, some determination, and a relaxed attitude, you can be a negotiation pro at the dealership.
Read on for some car-buying tips.

So, you made an investment that didn’t work out. The first step is to take a deep breath.

Bad investments can happen. One misstep doesn’t mean you can’t recover your investment. In the long run, it may even make you a more experienced and skillful investor.

An investment, by nature, is some sort of deployment of capital in order to make a profit. Investors should know that in order to make money, they might have to take a risk.

In fact, risk and return are two sides of the same coin. Generally speaking, to have a chance at a higher reward, you must assume a higher risk. Assuming risk means taking the chance that you might lose money. There are no free lunches.

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about who has the upper hand in the current real estate market—buyers or sellers. In recent years, the supply of existing homes for sale has fallen below demand, leading to a real estate market that tends to favor sellers.

Now, it seems the market may be changing, providing better opportunities for prospective buyers, at least in some locations. “It could even become a nationwide trend by mid to late 2020, as supply and demand conditions change,” according to the Home Buying Institute .

If you’re a homeowner—or hoping to become one—you’ve probably heard the terms “seller’s market” and “buyer’s market.” It’s all about how many homes are for sale, how many people are seeking to buy, and how that affects prices and the speed at which homes sell.

Fall is approaching, and that means two things: fall leaves and the sounds of thousands of harried parents navigating increasingly long back-to-school lists. From pencils and notebooks to new school uniforms, your shopping list might be a mile long. For some parents, this back-to-school season will be the first time their kid heads off to school with a new cell phone in their backpack.

If grabbing your child their first cell phone is on your back-to-school to-do list, there are some important things to consider before handing over a tricked-out smartphone to someone whose brain might not be fully developed yet. Deciding to get a cell phone for your child is a personal decision. Here’s what to know when it comes to making that decision.