SoFi Blog

You can see it now. You’re enjoying a leisurely brunch in the sun-soaked breakfast nook in your brand new home. It’s completely perfect, but just a daydream until you buy the house. Envisioning your life as a homeowner is exciting, full of promise and anticipation.

Finding your next home and discovering all the blissful possibilities of having more room, the perfect kitchen, or a new lifestyle suited exactly to your personal taste is an exciting endeavor. But such a quest may also bring with it a host of stressful challenges, not the least of which are the hidden costs of buying a home.

But fear not, you can do it. Even if you’ve never owned a home before—with a determined mindset and some thorough preparation, you can face down those hurdles associated with buying a home and make your way to the finish line. One key to achieving your goal is to do your homework.

A lot of factors go into planning a college career—applying for financial aid, choosing a major, and even figuring out whether you need to get a job. It’s enough to make your head spin.

If you do decide to work, there might be some significant benefits in finding the right part-time job for your college years, including:

•   Paying for unexpected expenses: You might need to pay for membership dues for a club you want to join, clothing, or extra cups of coffee during finals week.

•   Job experience: Part-time jobs might provide you with experience in your chosen field.

•   Advantages in hiring: Employers, post-graduation, might prefer to hire entry-level professionals who already have some industry-relevant work experience.

So, how do you find the right part-time job during college? When is the right time to find that job? It could be when you’re still applying to schools or after you’re already established in at your chosen college. Whenever you’re looking, here are some ideas for finding the right fit for you.

Law school isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes hard work, dedication, passion, and commitment. After undergrad classes and hours spent studying for the LSAT you may think you’re ready for what lies ahead, but law school is an experience unto itself.

Most likely, you’re at a new school and, in addition to a rigorous course schedule and academic challenges, you’re faced with making new friends and settling into a new life. Before you embark on your first year of law school, here are eight things you should know.

You just did something that many people only dream of. You actually ditched the day job, and now you fly solo. You’re the CEO of your own company, party of one. It takes a lot of self-confidence and chutzpah to make this leap, so if you haven’t patted yourself on the back yet, you probably should.

But don’t revel too long, because hustlin’ ain’t easy.

Choosing to become self-employed, whether as a freelancer, consultant, or small-business owner, can be equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. While it comes with the freedom to take long lunches and set your own schedule, it also means leaving the nest and hunting for your own food.

So, where to start? In some ways, setting financial goals for a business will somewhat mirror how you’d set personal financial goals. In other ways, it will be vastly different. Here are a few tips to help you get a jumpstart on being not only your own CEO, but your own CFO, too.

Remember the long, cold winter days you spent cooped up inside wishing for sunnier, warmer weather? Those days are now a distant memory as the summer heat starts to take hold.

Sure, you could sit in the air conditioning, but who wants to spend all summer inside? And sometimes, fighting the crowds for a spot at the local pool, beach, or lake can be a headache.

If the rising temperatures have you searching for “cold places in July,” this list could be just what you’re looking for. Summer vacations don’t have to be all beaches and hot, humid days. Here are some cool weather summer vacations that could help you beat the heat this summer.