Saturday,
April 6, 2024
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The week in review
• Powell noted Wednesday that policymakers are in no rush to cut rates, and the recent data proves it's too soon to confidently say inflation is heading back to 2%. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic also shared remarks on monetary policy, saying if the economyās strength continues as he expects, the Fed should wait for the fourth quarter to cut rates.
• Oil prices rose 1.4% as tensions in the Middle East continued to escalate. The ongoing tensions also briefly pushed gold to a record high of roughly $2,300 per ounce.
• U.S. employers announced more than 90,000 layoffs in March, the highest monthly total since January 2023.
For more economic news, visit On the Money ā SoFiās one-stop-shop for news, trends, and tips!
3 steps to get your debt under control
Debt can strain your finances, make it harder to save and keep you up at night. But thereās a way out. Here are three steps to tackle it.
1. Budget, budget, budget. List out how much money you have coming in every month, how much you spend (and on what), as well as all your debts and their interest rates. Find spending that you can reduce and allocate those funds to debt payments.
2. Pick your method. There are different approaches to tackling debt: the avalanche, snowball or fireball methods, for example. The avalanche method prioritizes tackling debts with the highest interest rate first since theyāll cost the most long-term. The snowball approach focuses on paying down the debt with the smallest balance to get a psychological boost. And the fireball method draws on categorizing your debts by good (less than 7% interest rate) and bad (interest rate higher than 7%). No matter your method, continue to make the minimal payments on all your debts.
3. Stay organized. Much of managing your finances is about getting and staying organized. So if youāre looking for a way to manage your debt better, SoFiās debt summary tool can help you make sense of it all.
This weekās top stories
Renting is cheaper than buying again. But thatās not the whole storyRents prices declined for the seventh straight month in February. While thatās good news for renters, prospective homebuyers might be looking at this development with different eyes.
Read more >> Americans are spending bigā¦ on household billsIf you think your day-to-day expenses have gone up, youāre right. Americans are paying a whole lot more for household bills than they did before the pandemic. Here are the top 10 most expensive bills.
Read more >> Do you know how much debt the U.S. has?The Congressional Budget Office is projecting debt-to-GDP to soar into the triple digits in the coming years. We look at what that means.
Read more >>Deep dives from SoFi Learn
You can get a well-paying job without a four-year degreeNo college degree? No problem. Here are some of the highest-paying trade jobs.
Read more >> Tax day is coming. But when and how do you pay taxes on stocks you own?Capital gains taxes are usually due when investors sell stocks, assuming they have made a profit. Hereās what you need to know before Tax Day.
Read more >> March was another month of records for the marketThe S&P 500 recorded more than 20 record closes in the first quarter of 2024. Hereās a lookback at what drove the market in March.
Read more >>