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The Week in Review
• As the second-quarter gets underway, the first three months of 2021 saw the market post its first negative quarter in two years. Broadly speaking, high inflation, a rising-rate environment, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are weighing on investor sentiment.
• With mortgage rates up near 5%, demand for both new mortgages and refinances are down. MBA mortgage applications fell for the fourth-straight week, and refinance demand is also down 62% year-over-year.
• President Joe Biden extended the pause on federal student loan payments that has been in place throughout the pandemic. They’re now scheduled to resume on August 31 of this year.
For more economic news and how it affects your money, visit the SoFi app.
Calculator: How Much Home Can You Afford?
Buying a home is complicated enough — and trying to estimate how much house you can afford based on just the sales price can be even more confusing. This calculator can estimate your total monthly house payment so you can better budget your home buying journey.
This Week’s Top Stories
Millennials are falling behind in terms of saving for retirement. Bottom line, it's more complicated than cutting out that trip to the coffee shop.
In addition to factors like inflation, it’d be easy to blame the shortfall on millennials spending or saving habits. But there are other obstacles, such as student loans, that the generation must face as well.
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Billionaire Elon Musk has thrown his hat into the social media ring in a big way by taking a large stake in Twitter (TWTR). His vocal criticisms of the platform suggest that he is looking to shake things up. Just last week, Musk flirted with the idea of launching his own social media company.
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Many market pundits think the classic “diversified” portfolio consisting of 60% stocks and 40% bonds is dead, and would not function effectively to protect investors’ downside risk.
Liz isn’t in the market of calling bottoms, but at some point bonds can enter oversold territory and once again add diversification benefits to an investor’s portfolio. How do we know when that point is? See when SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy thinks 60/40 can rise from the dead.
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Deep Dives from SoFi Learn
Let’s face it: Even if you’re making a decent (or heck, a pretty awesome) salary, saving up 20% of the total cost of a home can be difficult — especially if you’re paying rent, juggling student loans, and trying to reach other long-term goals like saving up for a retirement.
While 20% percent down on a home mortgage loan has long been the standard, it might be beneficial for some to put down less. These tips may help you better identify the loan programs that best fit your financial scenario to help put you on the road to owning your own home.
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Why has crypto become so popular? In a word: Growth.
Investors are intrigued by the potential of cryptocurrency to grow in value — as well as the potential transformation of the financial system that crypto might bring. Here’s a closer look at what the market cap of a digital coin tells you, and a list of the top cryptocurrencies by market cap.
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One recent study found that 90% of Americans say money impacts their stress level. If you’ve ever swiped your debit card and seen “transaction denied” or looked at your credit card’s interest rate, you can probably relate to that.
Let’s spend a little time setting some smart money goals that could help you both dissolve your financial anxiety and live your best life. Are you ready to learn how to set and stick to those money goals?
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